Earth Day or What would the World Mother say?

A living planet is a much more complex metaphor for deity than just a bigger father with a bigger fist. If an omniscient, all-powerful Dad ignores your prayers, it's taken personally. Hear only silence long enough, and you start wondering about his power. His fairness. His very existence. But if a World Mother doesn't reply, Her excuse is simple. She never claimed conceited omnipotence. She has countless others clinging to her apron strings, including myriad species unable to speak for themselves. To Her elder offspring She says - go raid the fridge. Go play outside. Go get a job. Or, better yet, lend me a hand. I have no time for idle whining.

~David Brin

I like this quote because it reminds me to see Gaia as I think she truly is; a vital, creative paradox of life and death, feast and famine, dark and light, heat and cold, endings and beginnings and all the variations in between.

Her laws are those of cause and effect; the loss of one is a loss to all, a threat to one is a threat to all. When we save, restore and conserve we do not do it for Her alone, we do it for ourselves. The dance of life on this planet will go on with human beings or without us. I, for one, would like to stay here dancing as long as I can.

The most basic element of my practice is this:

It's not about command and control.
It's about connection and communion.

If we understand this, if we live it, then the music will play on and we'll be here to hear it.

Happy Earth Day

Sia

Photo by AtWitsEnd - Used with permission

Full Moons & Golden Eyed Cats: Concerning The Great Mother Cybele

Tonight is full moon. The weather changed suddenly, and the plum blossoms that so joyfully greeted the sun last weekend are now covered in snow. Tonight, there will be drumming and singing and hot apple cider.

This morning I refilled all the bird feeders and I can hear the Douglas squirrels arguing with the jays over peanuts. These squirrels are new to me. They are so small and so fond of the second breakfast we provide that we've dubbed them Hobbit Squirrels. One bold, cheery fellow is my favorite, and I've named him Pippin.

This week I was finally able to trap a scared, wounded stray cat we've been feeding for the month and a half. He had open, infected bite wounds on his leg and neck. He was covered in fleas and had a tick under one arm.

A long haired, golden eyed ginger cat, he's obviously a family pet, and could not even hunt for himself the way the feral cats who roam these woods can. He's got scratches on his pretty face, mostly likely from run-ins with these same butch ferals. At least he avoided the coyotes and raccoons. We found had motor oil in his lovely fur no doubt from huddling under cars to get out of the rain, and we had to shave him in places. He'll get his looks back - he's a beautiful boy, and I've named him Beau. Someone must have dumped him on or near our property. When you live in the country you see this a lot.

Bea is a real sweetheart. He wasn't going to last much longer in the wild, weak and sick and unskilled as he was. I'm glad I got him in before this last snow hit. He's young, only a year and a half old and will heal quickly. We've had him fixed, he is on antibiotics, and his blood tests were clean, so he is otherwise in excellent health. Soon, he'll have all his shots. Right now, he's sleeping warm, with a full tummy. He likes the attention he gets from my wonderful Vet and her staff, and blinks at us in trust and contentment. Next week, he'll go to a no kill cat shelter where some lucky family will give little Beau his happy ending.

Let's see, what else? I've walked the dog and played with our cats. (You guys are so lucky - do you know that?). The housework is done (or as done as it's going to be) and my article for PanGaia is finished, as well. (Whoever said that "Writers don't write, they rewrite" truly understood the process). The rest of this day is mine and I've filled my cup with the promise of some quiet time, books and, later, good company. On days like these my best prayer is simply to go outside and say "Thank you".

In honor of this moon and one golden-eyed cat, I would like to share a post from a mythology blog called Between Old and New Moons on the Great Mother Goddess Cybele. Helping stay cats find their way into humane traps is not, strictly speaking, on her classic list of attributes. Still, Cybele (like Bast and Freya) loves lions and cats and, like most women I know, she does any job that needs doing, so who knows?

May the blessings of the Mother go with you,

Sia

Photo: Photo courtesy of Unusual Lions

Reclaiming Mother's Day

For those who might be interested:

Beyond Mere Sentiment: Reclaiming Mother's Day.

Excerpt:

The Radical Origins of Mother’s Day:

In an article written for WorkingForChange.com, Gev Parish notes:

Julia Ward Howe called for the establishment of Mother's Day in 1870. Her gesture was intended not as a sentimental tribute to those who bear children, but as a call for women to wage a general strike to end war. (1)

Julia, a poet and suffragist, began her work to honor mothers as a radical act. We tend to forget that mothers are, and always have been, politically and socially active. Throughout history, they have used the wisdom they gained as mothers to think of future generations and work for the good of all. (2)

Real Life Moms:

Motherhood’s a tough gig.

To be a mother is to cry and rage and worry and work till you want to drop. And most women do this without any help from any darn village.

Motherhood is both mind numbing and inspiring, frustrating and fulfilling. It’s a job worth doing and it takes a great deal of strength, wisdom, and self esteem to do it well. The many images of the Great Mother give us a sense of this. Her secret is contained within a paradox of seeming contradictions. She is both and equally, Kuan Yin and Kali, Isis and Morrigan, Aphrodite and Hecate, Lakshmi and Durga, Freya and Ha Hai-i Wuhti. In other, psychologically profound myths, she is portrayed as Medea, who destroyed her children in a fit of rage, and Lysistrata, who organized other mothers, stopped a war and saved two cities in the process. To see only one, sweet side of a mother is to ignore the complex, empowering truth of Her; a truth we can’t afford to miss.

Real mothers sometimes want to punch a wall. Instead they give hugs. They also teach, encourage, praise, and protect, and they do this creatively, day after day, no matter what. No wonder they simplified this holiday – it’s too hard to get all of that in one greeting card....

The Creatrix

Some of us don’t have children (either by choice or by chance) so we honor the Creatrix. The Creatrix is connected to Gaia. She creates her own life as well as great friendships, arts and crafts, loving homes, beauty, peace, prosperity, and opportunities. She empowers friends and family and is, herself, empowered. She cares for others and she protects those who cannot protect themselves. She is a mistress of learning, knowledge, and culture. She has many forms including that of Artemis, Hestia, Athena, and Bridget. She can stand alone or with a partner. It’s her choice. We know her by the blessings that flow from her hand and the ideas that come from her mind and heart. This form of creation is worth knowing and honoring, as well.

[To read the full article, click on the link. The article also contains a bibliography]

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The artwork that accompanies this article (and is copied above) is called Rhea. It is by Sandra M. Stanton. If you would like to see more of Susan's Goddess art, visit Goddess Myths. A portion of all sales from her prints goes to the Global Fund for Women. This image is used with her permission.

Sia