Wisdom From the Earth
Josephine Wall: Nature's Guardian Angel
Entering a New Zone:
Shifting Waves of Change
It has not been easy to begin writing this article, as it seems we have entered a whole NEW ZONE on Planet Earth. Are you feeling this too? Nothing feels quite the same, at least on the deeper inner levels and even in the outer world things are beginning to really shift. At the end of this year a new president will be ready to take office in the U.S., and by the looks of it now there will be much conflict and unrest during the process. It seems there is a Great Wave of Change and Chaos upon us and it is reflected all around in the outer world. It’s so hard to predict how things will play out. All we can do is try to stay as centered, present and peaceful as we can through the shifting tides.
This has been an uncomfortable and especially harsh and restrictive Winter for many of us, as we have had to go deep within to find out where we are as the shifting waves of Change churn within us, throwing us off our normal sense of balance and equilibrium. It has sure been a time to re-examine and wade through the waters to find new solid ground somewhere, and the ground is a newly found land, that has not yet been discovered. Have you been feeling this too? We are truly walking in the unknown, at times it feels scary, other times exciting and hopeful, but the old maps no longer guide us to where we are used to going. A lot is up for grab, will our journey into the New Consciousness be rocky or filled with Grace? The decisions we make now are sure to influence the tone of our transition.
As we move into the new vibration, into the new consciousness of Oneness and Unity on the Earth, everything that is out of alignment with the New Earth Consciousness will be challenged to be healed, transformed and transmuted. This is a great opportunity for change and the Universe is creating just the portals and energies we need in order to make it through the Doorway into the New World. But will it be gentle or challenging? We all have a choice! It will be important more than ever to do our deep inner work and surrender to the waves of change as we humbly open ourselves to the new vibrations of the New Age dawning. The more we resist, the more difficult it may be. The more we surrender and trust the unfolding, the more graceful it will be.
As our senses become more subtly attuned and awakened we may be more painfully aware of the areas within our hearts and souls that are in need of deep healing and love, as well as those of our brothers and sisters and our dear Mother Earth Gaia. We may feel a greater sensitivity to the suffering, violence, injustice and chaos in our world and feel more deeply compassionate for All Beings; We may also be more aware of our humanity, the earth, the animals, and that which connects us all as, aware of our inherent Oneness, knowing that we are all in this together. We may also be poignantly aware of what is out of balance, what needs to be cleared, cleansed and re-aligned in our Psyche/Soul and the greater world, so that we may live in greater harmony. Spring is a perfect time for us to focus on these issues and do the deep Soulcleansing and release that will help us evolve into thesentient beings we are.
Spring Cleansing & Release
As the Creative Fires of Spring blow in upon the Watery Shores of our Wintered Soul, it is important to look deeply at what still needs transmutation, cleansing and release in our lives. Take some time for deep Soul Spring cleaning, on all levels of your Being. Be willing to let go of the old that just doesn’t serve you anymore. What old beliefs, feelings, attachments, anger, and resentment need to be cleared so that the New Growth of Spring can come forth? What “toxins” on all levels, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually do you need to clean out? What “cob-webs” need clearing? What old “things”, what “torn and tattered clothes” need to be taken out of your “closets” and given away or released? Take the time to do it NOW. Use your will and the strong energies of the Aries Sun to cleanse, purify and release once and for all these out-modes energies from your soul. Empty out, and create the space you need so that new life can have room to grow. Tend and cultivate the soil of your soul’s garden so that the New Seeds will have the foundation they need to take root. Be patient and thorough in your clearing!! This is a great time to Feng Shui your entire life and your home to bring things into a more harmonious flow.
Planting the New Seeds
Once you have cleared, cleansed and purified your inner and outer home, take some time to focus on the new seeds you wish to bring forth into manifestation this spring. You saw glimpses of this during the passing winter season, now it is time to work with the creative forces of spring to assist you in the creation and manifestation of these germinating dreams and visions.
What seeds have been germinating within you?
What do you wish to bring forth on the Earth at this time?
What is bursting forth within you longing for outward expression?
What new life has been stirring deep within that seeks outward expression?
What “seeds” do you wish to plant, tendand harvest in the coming “growing” season?
What new possibilities are you “pregnant with” and want to nurture to full gestation and birth?
Take some time to really be with and reflect upon these potent questions, write about it in your journal, create a ceremony, or say a prayer or whatever you are naturally drawn to do to express your heartfelt desires at this powerful time of Re-Birth. Take time to also focus on the seeds for the New Earth Consciousness that you wish to plant and tend for the collective Humanity at this time.
What Seed of the New Earth will you closely tend?
Will it be a seed of Love, Beauty, Joy, Humility, Healing, Play, Forgiveness, Unity, Compassion for All Beings, protecting animals and our environment, living a sustainable life, raising children with love, staying fully present to what is in each moment, or bringing your greatest talents and gifts forward for the Highest Service to Humanity and Mother Earth?
Whatever these seeds are, make your intentions very strong, clear and focused. Breathe into them! Bring them to LIFE!! Allow them to bloom and watch them grow. We all know that whatever we focus our consciousness, love, care and attention on is what will grow.
Moving into the Spring Season
Spring Season is always a time of new beginnings, the resurrection and re-birth of the Creative Spirit, the Divine Child as the Cosmic Christ, as well as the greening and fertility of the Earth. We awaken in spring to plant the seeds of our Becoming in the fertile soil of our inner being. Persephone returns from the Underworld in her Maiden form to bring fertility back to the Land. The Green Man comes alive with the creative Life Force. Artemis comes out to commune with the Nature Spirits and to tend to the little vulnerable ones just being born.
The world around us bursts forth with new life throughthe greening and burgeoning of the plants, trees, and flowers. The birds sing, the peeper frogs sound their mating calls to bring forth the rains of Spring, to create new life, to bring added Green to the Earth and assure the fertility of the lands.
Father Sun and Mother Earth begin their sensual dance once more in celebration. There is NEW LIFE stirring andbursting forth everywhere!! Within us and all around us!!!
We feel ALIVE once more.
So let us allow the metaphors and ancient rites of Spring Season to inform our journey as we navigate our way into the Awakened Consciousness on the New Earth.
Maiden by Josephine Wall
The Sacred Rites and Portals of Spring 2008
The rites of spring have been celebrated since ancient times with many ceremonies and feasts to honor renewal and re-birth, the fertility of the Earth and all creatures, plants and flowers, as well as the Union of Male and Female, Yin and Yang energy. Staying deeply attuned to these Ancient Mysteries and Sacred Rites of Spring informs our Soul’s journey and helps us feel connected to the Earth, and the Greater Archetypal Cycles of the Universe. Within every Season are portals of consciousness mirrored to us in nature. Each year as consciousness accelerates, these portals are becoming more powerful and potentially transformational.
Spring/Vernal Equinox
Sun in Aries
This year the Spring Equinox falls on Thursday, March 20th at 12:48 AM (EDT), and on the 19th in other time zones, 9:48 PM (PDT). At this very moment the Sun enters the sign of Aries, marking the beginning of the Western Solar Zodiac year. In many traditions, including the Mayan, Baha’I, Persian/Zoroastrian, this is considered their New Year.
Spring Equinox is a time of complete balance of day and night when the Sun is exactly positioned at the Equator as it begins its sojourn Northward once more. This day symbolizes the balance of light and dark, yin and yang, masculine and feminine, God and Goddess energies. It is one of the sacred turning points of year; a time to pause and experience the perfect balance on earth before the days begin to get significantly longer and the yang and masculine energies increase, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere it is their Autumn Equinox. On this sacred day, tune in and allow yourself to experience the sacred balance of energies that exists on the earth. Get in touch with what is out of alignment and bring it back into balance. Pray and meditate on Peace, Harmony, and Balance. Ground these energies into your being and into the earth through a simple prayer or ritual.
In the Celtic tradition, Spring Equinox, is known as Ostara, named after the Goddess Ostara or Eostre, the Germanic Goddess of the Dawn and for whom Easter is named.
Mayan New Year
On March 21st is also the Mayan New Year when we enter into the new energies of 6 EB (according to the Yucatec Maya Calendar) and 10 KAT or KAN (according to the Kiche Maya Calendar). According to Aluna Joy 6 EB “is a year in which we return to reclaim our destiny’s purpose and to finish what was not completed in previous lives. It is a year in which our creation can flow easily. Eb resides in the HEART CHAKRA and has powerful emotion, but we find ourselves getting hurt easily if we take things personally. Eb also will influence us with powerful psychic abilities and a great drive to get the job done. We will find unity and oneness while feeling more relaxed, courteous, and a desire to be useful.”
According to Aluna Joy, 10 KAT, “will be a great year in which we will fish out things that are hidden. The trick in this year is not to collect anything that is not useful for the future. Otherwise you will be bogged down with unfinished projects and have a house filled with un-read books and un-used stuff. Kat bundles thoughts, ideas, and wisdom together to create better solutions. This can be a powerful creative year in which you will collect the tools needed to manifest in this dimension your mission and destiny.” For more Aluna Joy click here.
Symbols of Spring
In the Native American tradition the Spring is connected to the East, one of the cardinal directions in the Great Medicine Wheel of Life. This is considered the Eastern Doorway, the Golden Door or en-trance to the Medicine Wheel, and is the place of the rising Sun. It is the Sacred Entryway, the place of initiation, and the beginning of conscious awareness. What are you being initiated into this Spring Season? What is being re-born within you and your life?
The East also represents the Air Element, including Sound, Wind and Breath. The guardians of this gate are the Hawk, Eagle and Condor, the harbingers of messages from the Spirit world who help us to see the bigger picture. The Eastern Doorway is the place of clarity and new vision. At this time open your third eye to receive guidance, clarity and vision for the growing year to come, soar above to get the overview of the sacred path you are on. Holding a clear quartz crystal or placing a clear stone like quartz, apophyllite, selenite, azeztulite, danburite, phenecite, Herkimer diamond or purple amethyst on your third eye can also help in this process.
This is a great time to create a vision board of your heartfelt desires of creation. What do you want to create and bring into this world? What are your heartfelt visions for the New World we are co-creating together?
Eggs are an association many of us have with Spring and Easter, reminding us of the birth of something new. Since ancient times eggs have been painted and decorated, to symbolize the fertility of Mother/Father Earth. In some cultures they were painted yellow to honor the increasing light of the Sun and energy of the Sun God at the time of Spring.
In the Goddess tradition, Spring is the time when the Maiden returns from the Underworld, from the darkness of the winter. The Maiden reminds us of ourYouth, and the time in life when all things are possible! When life is still ahead of us to be discovered and created with the innocence of a child. And at this time we have the amazing opportunity to seed the New World from our visions, to dream the New World into being.
The Maiden is the virgin, the beginning of all things, the spark of life, the dawn, fresh and green. She is the waxing moon, eternal youth, puberty, innocence and growth. “I am the movement toward becoming... expanding... enhancing...the impulse deep within all beings... to develop... evolve... press onward...to fulfill...all that is possible.” (Eostre from The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky.) No matter what age we are, the Maiden, and the young and adolescent part of us, always lives inside, as that part that is curious and open, that takes risks, has faith in life and like the Fool card in the Tarot, that finds incredible joy in the simplicity of life, that is innocent, full of new dreams and visions for life, that is adventuresome, irresponsible and self-expressive and who can be “foolish”. D.J. Conway speaks of the Maiden as “unique in Herself, Her empathy for all creatures, Her curiosity about all things, Her determination to be Her individual Self and all She is capable of achieving.....are qualities that are vital to human happiness and development. The Maiden shows us the way...She runs before us, enticing us to follow the path we fear the most. The Maiden is the Way-Shower, the Keeper of the Keys, the seed stage of creation, whether that creation be physical, mental, or spiritual.” (From Maiden, Mother, Crone) At this time take a look any fears you may have that could be holding you back and take a leap of faith into something NEW. Dare to DREAM!!! And take ACTION!
The Maiden or Page, is Virginal, One Who is Whole Unto One Self, needing no one to complete themselves, the Maiden/Page is free to be who s/he really is, communing with nature and All-That-Is, s/he is a Sovereign Being, and has sovereignty over the domain of her own Soul-land. Within her exists the union of the Masculine and Feminine energies, of Yin and Yang, light and shadow.
With the energies of Aries it is a time when we feel our own Sword of Truth, Creation and Focus, as we focus our intention on that which we want to create and express. We may also feel our Inner Spiritual Warrior/ess come alive as we are more aware of our own personal truth and may feel a need to speak up about the injustices in the world.
It’s not surprising that in the Tarot tradition, Spring embodies the energies of the Swords, the element air as well as the creative masculine, the impulse to move forward, begin new things, be adventurous and create. Swords represent the focus and discernment of the mind as well as communication. Spring Season is a good time to focus the mind, with clarity and renewed visions. It is a time to awaken, to nurture new ideas, remembering that all manifestation begins first with a thought. All of our intentions, goals, dreams and visions begin in the mind’s eye. It is during Spring Season that we awaken our imagination, find illumination, new awareness and renewed vision.
Libra Full Moon
This Spring comes in with an added intensity with the Libra Full Moon the day after the Equinox, on March 21st and Easter later that weekend. Before Christianity, and the sacred day of Easter, people celebrated the Vernal Equinox. It’s interesting to note that Easter has always been the first Sunday after the first full moon following Spring Equinox, that is why it is so early this year.
The Libra Full Moon, at 2:40 PM (EDT) on the 21st emphasizes the Equinox theme of balance, and adds to it the Libran qualities of peace, love and harmony. Libra is a very relational sign and with the Sun in Aries and the Moon in Libra one may feel a pull between ones independent urges and those of being sensitive to the needs of others in relationship. In the larger world this could play out as well and will be a theme for the whole Spring Season. How can you honor your own Truth, take care of your personal needs and at the same time honor the needs of those you are in close relationship with as well as the larger collective needs of Mother Earth and your larger human family?
Solar Wave
Spring Equinox is also the time of the Annual Solar Wave, a 24 hour synchronized global celebration to anchor the peaceful energies of the Equinox for humanity. This year it is celebrated on the same day as Good Friday and the Full Moon, between 1:20-1:52 PM wherever you are. It just so happens that here on the east coast, this coincides with the exact time of the Full Moon which is very powerful. The intention of the Solar Wave ceremonies and celebrations world-wide are for people to clear out what ever is not in alignment with the Divine Plan unfolding on earth and to pray for peace and harmony world-wide. “This is the call to the awakening masses to join together to activate a Huge Stellar Wave of POSITIVE MASS CONSCIOUSNESS to spontaneously heal all discordant energy on EARTH, and Initiate a Spontaneous Awakening of Humanity! To Reclaim Paradise… and usher in the age of PEACE, HARMONY, LOVE, COMPASSION & IMPECCABILITY” –Aluna Joy. For more information please click here.
Easter
This year Easter falls on Sunday, March 23rd. To support the Easter theme of resurrection, before the life of Christ, there were many resurrection myths honored at this time of year, one of the first being the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris, the dismemberment of Dionysus, as well as the return and resurrection of Persephone and Inanna from the Underworld. This is an age old mythos-archetypal pattern of consciousness. At this time reflect on what old patterns and ways of being you are ready to sacrifice, or have dis-membered so that the your Higher Self, your inner God/Goddess Self, the Christ within, can be reborn and resurrected. What lost parts of your Soul need to be retrieved and re-claimed so you can experience your wholeness?
Aries New Moon
April 6th at 10:55 PM (EDT) is the Aires New Moon, with the Sun and Moon conjoined in Aries, this is a time when we really feel the energies of Spring moving forward. This day more than any other day is a time to plant your seeds of intention with sword-like focus, strong will and determination. The fires of creation will be available to give your seeds quite an awakening of life-force. Use these energies wisely and be very aware and sensitive to the intentions of your seeds, as the old saying goes, “Be careful for what you ask for” as the life-force will be particularly strong at this time.
Sun in Taurus
When the Sun enters the earth sign of Taurus, on April 19th at 12:51 PM, soon afterwards we have the celebration of Earth Day and many festivals honoring Earth as Mother and the Divine Mother in her many forms. This is a powerful time to honor your Body-Temple that houses your Spirit, as well as your sexuality and sensuality. Take time now to tend your gardens and get your hands in the Earth, to remember all the bounty and fertility that comes forth from our beloved Earth, take time to give thanks!!
Festival of Beltane-May Day
Between April 30th and May 5th, since ancient times, has been the period of the year marking the fertility of the Earth, the burgeoning of sexuality and the union of the masculine and feminine. Beltane is the point marking Mid-Spring, the mid-point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, and is observed around the world as one of the eight great festivals of the year. The rising of the Pleiades, for the first time of the year, is the signal of the start of Beltane. The word Beltane contains the name of the god known as Bel and the Celtic God Belenus, and thus the phallic implications of the maypole with its’ connected streamers, and the traditional celebration of dancing around the maypole. This is a time to celebrate, dance, purify and cleanse in order to bring fertility to the land.
It is the celebration of the sacred marriage, between masculine and feminine, between Mother Earth and Father Sky-Sun; it is this alchemical union that brings the fertility and abundance we experience in nature. At this time, honor your own inner sacred marriage, the mysterium conjunctionus, do a ceremony “wedding” and joining your own inner feminine and masculine energies, bringing these energies together in union within. You may want to consider a ceremony to honor your union with an earthly beloved as well.
Two Wesak Full Moons
This Year we have two Wesak/Scorpio Full Moons, the first falls on April 20th at 6:25 AM (EDT) and the second falls on May 19th at 10:11 PM (EDT). The second full moon is considered a Blue Moon, since it is rare to have two Scorpio Full Moons in one months’ time. The Wesak full moon is considered Lunar Beltaine, and is also known as the Flower/Corn-Planting Moon in indigenous cultures. The Scorpio Full Moon with the Sun in Taurus is a powerfully healing full moon. It is a time of deep transformation as well as a time to honor our body-temple and our senses, to celebrate our sensuality and the beauty, grace and power of our bodies.
In the Buddhist tradition, it is known as the powerful Wesak Full Moon. This is the full moon, according to metaphysical tradition, when the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and left Earthly incarnation. Mystics say that the Buddha returns now to help regenerate the Earth, and to bring new light and healing love. Esoterically, it is believed that the Buddha embodied the Principle of Light and because of this illumination, was named the “Illumined One” and because of Buddha’s light, humanity was able to let in Christ, who embodied the Principle of Love. During the Wesak Full Moon spiritual leaders gather in Wesak Valley, a mythic place high in the Himalayas, (and in other sacred places around the planet including a huge gathering in Mt. Shasta, California) where initiates arrange themselves in the form of a pentagram, (a symbol of the world soul), during the eight minutes surrounding the exact moment of the Full Moon, while they receive the in coming light of the Buddha. Many people will also pause for meditation during those eight magic minutes at the exact time of the Full Moon. “Meditation is a potent method of service to humanity when the mind is used as a channel for the reception of the energies of light and love and the will-to-good and their direction into human consciousness. And the moment of the full moon each month offers the greatest opportunity for meditation - particularly in group formation - to be used as a means of cooperation with the divine Plan or Intention for our world.” ~ Alice A. Bailey
During the Wesak Full Moons join together with people of like mind and heart. Eliminate from your consciousness all negativity, and clearly align yourself with the Forces of Incoming Light. Allow yourself to move beyond your personal difficulties to carry forth your path of service to humanity at this time. Remember that the Wesak Festival covers a five-day period of time, the two days preceding the full moon, the full moon and the following two days. This is a powerful time for meditation, ceremony and prayers for the spiritual awakening and evolution of consciousness on our planet. For the two days prior to the full moon prepare yourself by cleansing and purifying yourself in order to become receptive and clear.
The day of the Wesak full moon is known as the Day of Safeguarding. On this day we surrender and open ourselves completely to receive the incoming light and to stay in a state of inner peace. Open yourself as a channel for the Divine to flow through you.The two days following the Wesak full moon are called the Days of Distribution. On these two succeeding days, it is suggested that the focus of our attention be steadily turned away from ourselves and from the inner meditative planes to the outer world and passing this spiritual energy onto to others, and to the earth. Know that this time represents an incredible doorway, and a great cycle of opportunity for the Spiritual Awakening, Healing and Evolution of Human Consciousness on Earth. Take time to honor this Full Moon and to open your heart to the incoming Spiritual energies that are flooding the Earth during both these Wesak Full Moons. What a blessing we have this Spring.
Earth Day
On April 22nd every year is Earth Day, a time to honor Mother Earth Gaia. A time to commune with nature, send healing energy to Mother Earth, plant a special plant or tree, build a special altar in nature where you can meditate and honor Earth Mother always, join together with others in sacred ceremony and drumming circles to honor Gaia. "Mother Earth, renew and restore my knowledge and respect for you. As my awareness of you as a living being and of the necessity to care for you grows, strengthen my knowledge that I am part of you and you are part of me.” -From The Goddess Speaks: Myths, Meditations, Symbols and Sacred Sites by Dee Poth.
Taurus New Moon
In between the two powerful Wesak Full Moons is the Taurus New Moon on May 5th at 8:18 AM (EDT). With the Sun and Moon in Taurus, allow yourself to be one with Mother Earth and feel the sensuality of your body and your senses. This is a good day to make new commitments to love, honor and give pleasure to your body-self, get a facial or massage, relax in a hot-tub, pamper yourself with oils and scents, indulge your senses, bask in the pleasures of your body! This is also a good time to focus on your natural cycles and what you want to manifest in your life. The Goddesses that are fortuitous to call upon at this time are; Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of abundance and fertility, and Hathor the winged Cow Goddess who carries the energies of Taurus, who is the Goddess of Pleasure. “When you come to me, I take your spirit, from the stars, and clothe it, in a body of sensation, to finely focus you on form, to benignly bask you in bliss. You are here to experience delight, enjoy gratification, know satisfaction, have pleasure, in all ways, in all modes, in all aspects. Pleasure makes you juicy, twinkles your eyes, enlivens your life force. The exquisiteness of existence is pleasure. Get ready to feel soooooo good.” From The Goddess Oracle: A Way to Wholeness Through the Goddess and Ritual by Amy Sophia Marashinsky.
Sun in Gemini
When the Sun enters Gemini,on May 20th at 12:01 PM (EDT), the sign of the Twins, we have the theme of polarity and duality as well as the Union again of the Divine Masculine and Feminine, yin and yang. As the Sun grows in power, during Gemini time, we will be much more focused on the outer world of social connections, and our more etheral connections with nature, as we commune with the devas and nature spirits of the plants, flowers, stones, creatures as well as the members of our human Soul Family.
New Moon in Gemini
The New Moon in Gemini occurs on June 3rd at 3:23 PM (EDT). This marks the beginning of the sixth lunation cycle. At this new moon, with the sun and moon in Gemini, set new goals for yourself around learning, writing, and communication. A wonderful time to pay attention to partnerships of all kinds in your life, and to finding allies of like mind, and to having gatherings of friends and family. A great time to be “social” in a light and playful way.
Full Moon in Sagittarius
June 18th at 1:30 PM (EDT) is the Rose/ Berry Full Moon in Sagittarius. At this full moon there may be a great feeling of expansive energy. Feel your desire to soar to the heights, to look down and see the big picture, the higher purpose and meaning of life. Allow yourself to philosophize and connect with larger Universal energies, but remember to check out the details as well. Feel the expansiveness of your connection to the Higher Universal Truths. In the New Age, this Full Moon is considered the Festival of the Christ, the month following the powerful Buddha Wesak Full Moons. At this full moon the focus is on humanity aspiring to cultivate their own personal connection with the Divine, with God/Goddess All-That-Is. In the New World every being will have inner Sovereignty, with a direct personal connection with the Divine. It will no longer be necessary for us to have intermediaries between ourselves and God/Goddess as we will each be living embodiments the Divine, each a unique Ray or Emanation of the One Great Being, all connected to the One Heart.
Summer Solstice
As we get closer to the Summer Solstice on June 20th at 7:59 PM (EDT), and the height of the Light of the Sun and the Masculine energies, we have many festivals and celebrations to honor the Sun, the Divine Masculine and Father Archetype. Take this time to give thanks for the blessings the Great Sun brings to your life. Honor your own Sun-Self, the radiant Being that shines forth from your heart center. Take time to CELEBRATE your life, and ALL LIFE, dance and sing in gratitude for all the blessings in your life, and allow your Self to shine forth as the Magnificent Divine Being that you ARE.
May you have a most Blessed Spring Season as you tend and nurture the Seeds of your Becoming!!
Dance of the Seasons by Josephine Wall
Deborah Knighton Tallarico, MA, LCPC, is a transpersonal psychotherapist, counselor & healer, devoted planetary server & priestess who has dedicated her life to guiding & empowering others during this powerful transition on the Earth. It is her prayer that ALL beings be free of sufferingand connected to the Love and Oneness of All-That-Is.
She can be reached at: (207) 653-7823 or moonsoul9@aol.com
www.templeoftheheart.com
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www.spiritualrenaissance.com
Sacred Calendar Days
Josephine Wall: Breath of Gaia
Spring 2008
Themes of the Spring Season:
Psychological Themes & Time of life:
Youth, Adolescence and Maidenhood, Renewal, healing, Rebirth, Resurrection of the Spirit, Planting New Seeds, New Beginnings, The Inner Marriage
Archetypal Themes:
Birth, Rebirth, Resurrection, New Beginnings, The Budding and Fertility of the Earth, Growth, Life, Creation, Burgeoning Sexuality and Conception
Symbols:
Eggs, Seeds, Buds, Flowers, The Rising Sun
Archetypal Energies/Dieties:
Ostara/Eostre, Artemis, Venus/Aphrodite, Budha, Christ, Pan, Green Man, Floralia, Maia, Juno, Hathor, Inanna and Persephone returning from the Underworld.
“Oh Great Powers of the East and the Air Element, Place of the Rising Sun….Spirit of Eagle and Hawk Medicine and all the Devas, Angels and Spirit Keepers of the East…Come to me now….. Purify, Clear and illumine my mind and my mind’s eye that I may be open to See with renewed vision....Help me find the courage to create and manifest my deepest dreams and visions, the awareness to bring my sacred gifts and love to the Earth and Her people...... Bless my sacred seeds, full of potential, that they become their Highest Destiny…I come to you naked, like a new babe, with hope & openness, ready to learn and grow, eager to hear your messages & teachings. I pray for illumination and inspiration this beautiful Spring Season. Hear my prayers great powers of the East, as I release them to the Spirit of the Wind......I thank you for your blessings....”
Throughout the Spring Season are celebrations with themes of: creation, rebirth, renewal, resurrection, creativity, earth’s fertility, the sacred marriage of male and female, earth and sky.
Aries
Josephine Wall: Aries
~MARCH~
Spring Equinox: Thursday, March 20th at 12:48 AM (EDT) and Sun Moves into Aries
20th : Feast of Gabriel, the Angel of Truth and the Feast of the Artisan: devoted to the inspirational and creative Gods and Goddesses such as: Minerva (Old Roman), Brighid (Celtic), Sarasvati (Hindu), Ptah (old Egyptian), Ogun (Yoruban) Hephaistos (Old Greek), all Deities of creativity, crafts, music, poetry, and inspiration. Invite the creative muses into your life and feel your inspiration sparked by the Divine Creative Spirit, quite aligned with the Aires New Moon.
Old Sumerian Festival celebrating the return of Dumuzi to his beloved partner Inanna as he returns from the underworld where he is destined to stay for half the year, marking the return of Spring and the new agricultural year.In the Taoist tradition Spring Equinox is a time that honors the deities of the Spring, the Eastern Direction, and the element water and is a day to pray for enlightenment, new growth and to live life in greater alignment with nature.
20th -22nd : Feast of the Gods and Goddesses of the Seas
March 21st : at 2:40 PM (EDT) is the Libra Full Moon, also known as the Virgin/White moon. This a time to feel the balance in your life between the need to be in relationship, considerate of other people’s feelings (Libra) and the importance of honoring your own personal needs, desires for freedom and independence (Aires). Feel the fullness of your inner beauty and your desire to experience balance and harmony in your life and surroundings. Allow the lightness of being and love to fill you.
Mayan New Year: of 6 EB and 10 KAN (see article on left column) Naw Ruz: Baha’i New Year
Taoist Festival honoring the Shen, deities of Water, East and Spring, the time of growth. Japanese Buddhist Haru-no-Higan day, a day of meditation the impermanence of death.
Purim: A Jewish holiday to celebrate and feast!
Norouz; Persian/Zoroastrian New Year
Magha Puja: A Buddhist Celebration where people visit the temples to perform meritorious acts and offer flowers, candles and incense in the temple as they pray to Lord Buddha, expressing their repentance for any ugly deeds. Later, there is a candle-lit procession and the faithful participate in it with great zeal.
21st: Passion Friday/Good Friday, the day to mourn the torture, killing and crucifixion of Jesus Christ upon the cross. A time to meditate on the meaning of the “sacrifice” for the liberation of All; a time to reflect upon that which may be important to sacrifice from your “ego”, that perhaps impedes your own liberation and the liberation of others in your life.
21st -22nd: Festival of the First Creation, (Old Egyptian culture). A time when God/Goddess lay and fertilize the cosmic egg from which all life and existence is born.
22nd: Holi- Holi is the first major Hindu Festival of the year. The colorful festival of Holi has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. It is meant to welcome Spring and to win the blessings of the Gods for good harvest and the fertility of the land. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi' and indulge in the intoxicating drinks and sweets prepared by using opium. It is a festival of romance often represented by the love-play of Radha and Krishna.
Hola Mohalla: The Sikh celebration of Holi
Holy Saturday: in remembrance of Christ in the Cave/Tomb.
23rd: Pascha or Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an important day to contemplate the meaning of the resurrection and themes of death and rebirth in your life. These archetypal energies are particularly strong right now. Meditate on the meaning of Christ
Consciousness and the rebirth of this consciousness in your life, look at the ways you can bring more love, compassion, selflessness, and forgiveness into your life Especially look at how you can bring compassion to those parts of yourself and others that are usually unacceptable to you or society. Christ Consciousness has a love and compassion for ALL.
25th: Feast of Oshun: the Santerian/Yoruban festival of passion and fertility.
25th: Annunciation of the Virgin Mary – Christian Feast of the Blessed Mary.
26th: Mahayana Buddhist festival celebrating the birth of the female Bodhisattva Tara / Kuan Yin/ Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion and mercy. Kuan Yin hears the cries of all those who suffer, brings rain to the earth and souls to the newborns. Though Kuan Yin could leave the earth, as she has attained enlightenment, she has chosen not to have until every single being is free of suffering. In alignment with the spring and the swords of the Tarot, Kuan Yin rides a dragon and carries a sword of clarity and wisdom, one that has the power to cut through illusion. She is Goddess of Compassion but the kind of compassion that is joined with wisdom. At times we must be ruthless in order to be compassionate and to truly know what is “right” action. It is important to reflect on the true meaning of compassion now. We so often confuse compassion with sympathy. True compassion is strong. At this time of the year let us invoke the sword of compassion for our Selves, our sisters and brothers; a compassion that can truly serve the Highest Good of All.
~April~
April is dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite, who also resonates with the Taurean energies beginning on April 19th through May 20th.
1st: Veneralia, the Old Roman Festival celebrating the Goddess of Love, Venus/Aphrodite, in her aspect as nurturer of peace, love and friendship and her vanquishing of Ares the God of War. Known as Golden Aphrodite and Goddess of the Dawn, she is born of the sea and thus the bringer of life. “Doves and waterbirds attend her, as do the Graces,who dress her in robes dyed with spring flowers. Her particular flowers are the rose and the lily, representing the vulva; her special fruit is the apple of fertility....Aphrodite is a Goddess of the waters, the source of life and the element linked with the emotions. She is the dew and rain which unite heaven and earth.” From -The Heart of the Goddess by Hallie Iglehart Austen. As the Goddess of Love and passionate relationship, Aphrodite brings life and beauty to the world and embodies the healing and transformative powers of love, sexuality and the many pleasures of life. She is present whenever we fall in love or feel that deep, romantic and sensual love for another. This month, and during Taurean times allow yourself the space and time to nourish your relationship to your own passionate and sensual Self as well as your love relationships with others. Create an altar of shells, symbolic of where she emerges from, and flowers to invoke Her energies.
5th: Zen Mindfulness Day is A day to be mindful that the joys and suffering of our brothers and sisters is also a reflection of our joys and suffering.
The Festival of Fortuna: A day to honor the Goddess Fortuna, the personification of Good Fortune.
5th -8th: Iroquios Thunder Ceremony. This is a time to give thanks for the rains and to honor the descent of Sky Woman/Awenhai as she comes down to create the earth.
6th at 10:55 PM (EDT) is the Aires New Moon marking the beginning of the fourth lunation cycle of this year, the first being the new moon of Capricorn. This Aries New Moon with the Sun also in Aries as is always so at a New Moon, is sometimes referred to as the Wind Moon, “When the Wind Moon rides high in the heavens, her strong winds whirl away the clouds and she looks down upon a world of growing green. As leaf buds burst from bare branches, a veil of varied greens is laid across the forest. New grass in the meadows is already high enough to catch the dew. Shyly folded, the white and purple violets are waiting for dawn to bloom. The energy of spring pulses in the air, and when the moon-light touches each new leaf, it unfurls in ecstasy.” From Grandmother Moon: Lunar Magic in Our Lives by Z. Budapest. At this first new moon of the new Solar Year, be very clear about your intentions and the new seeds you are planting. Plant them with great awareness.
6th-14th: Navaratri/Gangaur, the Hindu festival honoring the Great Goddess Maha Devi as Gauri, who embodies life, growth and fruition. The word Navaratri, means “nine nights”, and is a Hindu festival celebrating and worshipping the Great Goddess in her form as Divine Mother. This is a period for introspection and purification, and is traditionally an auspicious time for starting new ventures. During this time Durga, the slayer of the demons of ignorance, Lakshmi, Goddess of fertility and abundance, and Sarasvati, consort of Brahma and Water Goddess of flowing words and music, are the aspects of Divine Mother, Shakti or Cosmic energy, that are worshipped. “May Divine Mother shower Her abundant Grace upon all Her children.”
6th: Hindu New Year
6th–14t : Ramayana - Hindu
7th: World Health Day
8th: Zen Buddhists celebration of Buddha’s birth in the year 563 BCE
10th: Mawlid al-Nabi-day: honoring the birthday of the Muslim Prophet, Muhammad.
12th-20th Passover/Pesach- Jewish Festival of deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
10th –19th: Old Greek and Roman festival of the Goddess Demeter/Ceres. Ceres/ Demeter, whose name means “doorway of the mysterious feminine”, was worshipped as the Great Mother Goddess. She is the Goddess of the grain, connected to the agricultural cycle of the year and thebarrenness of the land for half the year, as her daughter Kore/Persephone departs to the underworld. She is the Goddess of the Elusinian Mysteries. This is a time when women celebrate sisterhood, mother-daughter relationships, the sacredness of female fertility and the feminine divine as she is revealed in Nature.
11th-12th: Old Greek & Roman Feast of the Goddess Artemis/Diana, protector of wild animals, women, nature and vegetation. She is the Maiden huntress and moon goddess; she aids women in childbirth, and runs with the nymphs of the forest. She is Goddess of the night, with the deer and the bear as Her sacred animals. She is a Virgin Goddess, whole and complete unto her Self. She was strong and knew who she really was, she was her own authority, made her own choices, thought for herself, had a heart and mind of HER OWN. Her energy is certainly aligned with the energies of Aires, self-reliant, independent, free and unencumbered by the outer world. At this time you may want to explore how you do and do not honor your own Selfhood, are you true to your Self? Do you have free time and space just for you? Do you know what YOU want? During this time, honor that part of you that wants to feel free and wild, connected to nature, the trees and animals. Spend some time alone with your Self, in the woods, appreciating the smells, sights and sounds. Feel your free spirit. Celebrate your Selfhood and deeply honor your own independence and freedom to be who you really are.
13th Meditation Day for Green Tara & the Tantric bodhisattva Deities, the enlightened ones of Compassion for all sentient beings.
13th-14th: Ramanavami- The celebration of the Hindi God Rama.
14th: Indian New Year, also called Vaisakhi, when the Hindus bath in the Ganges River to purify themselves.
Cetacean Day: A day to honor all creatures of the sea and to meditate on the Divine as it manifests through sea creatures. Spend time this day calling forth the energies of the great sea creatures in your meditation, especially the whales and dolphins who are very evolved creatures with a lot to teach us all. Whales are the Earth Keepers, who carry the his/herstory of Mother Earth within them. They are here to teach us about balance and movement, sound, resonance, and living and appreciating the sacredness and holiness that has always been here on Earth. It is a good time to sing your own sacred song, honoring the holiness and wisdom that already lies within. Dolphin medicine teaches us about the breath and rhythms of life. Take time to meditate on your own inner rhythm and the rhythms of nature all around you.
14th - 25th : Old Norse Summer Day Feast. This is a time when those of this tradition honor their deities: Odin, Thor, Frigg and Sif, and to pray for plenty.
TAURUS
Taurus by Josephine Wall
April 19th at 12:51 PM (EDT) the Sun moves into Taurus, a very fertile earth sign, connected to the beauty of Mother Earth, and is a very fertile and sensual time of year. Ruled by the planet Venus with the Bull as it’s sacred symbol. Goddess Venus/Aphrodite is a fitting Goddess for this time of year.
20th at 6:25 AM (EDT) is the first Weask Full Moon. This year we have a rare occurrence by having two Wesak Scopio Full Moon or Blue Moon it is also called. This full moon is considered Lunar Beltaine, and is also known as the Flower/Corn-Planting Moon in indigenous cultures. In the Buddhist tradition, is known as the powerful Wesak Full Moon. WESAK, with the Sun in Taurus and the Full Moon in Scorpio, is considered the most powerful Full Moon of the year. This is the full moon, according to metaphysical tradition, when the Buddha was born, attained enlightenment, and left Earthly incarnation. Mystics say that the Buddha returns now to help regenerate the Earth, and to bring new light and healing love. Esoterically, it is believed that the Buddha embodied the Principle of Light and because of this illumination, was named the “Illumined One” and because Buddha’s light, humanity was able to let in Christ, who embodied the Principle of Love. During the Wesak Full Moon spiritual leaders gather in Wesak Valley, a mythic place high in the Himalayas, where initiates arrange themselves in the form of a pentagram, (a symbol of the world soul), during the eight minutes surrounding the exact moment of the Full Moon, while they receive the in coming light of the Buddha. Many people will also pause for meditation during those eight magic minutes at the exact time of the Full Moon.
“Meditation is a potent method of service to humanity when the mind is used as a channel for the reception of the energies of light and love and the will-to-good and their direction into human consciousness. And the moment of the full moon each month offers the greatest opportunity for meditation - particularly in group formation - to be used as a means of cooperation with the divine Plan or Intention for our world.” ~ Alice A. Bailey
20th 23rd-Lyrid Meteor Showers, Peak: 21st
20th -23rd Theravadin Buddhist New Year
Eve. of 19th-27th: Pesach (Passover): One of the most popular Jewish holidays and the first of the three major festivals of the Jewish tradition, that has both historical and agricultural significance.
Pesach marks the beginning of the harvest season in Israel. The primary reason for its observance is related to the Exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt after generations of slavery. 'Pesach' in Hebrew means 'Passing over' referring to the fact that God 'passed over' the houses of the Jews while afflicting the Egypt with the tenth plague. Hence the name of the festival is 'Pesach' or 'Passover'. Christians also celebrate 'Passover' on the day Jesus was sacrificed with a view that 'Jesus was the sacrificial lamb of God that delivered all mankind from the slavery of sins.
21st: First Day of Ridvan:- Baha'i
22nd: Earth Day: a day to honor the Earth and Mother Earth as Gaia. A time to spend time in nature, send healing energy to Mother Earth, plant a special plant or tree, build a special altar in nature where you can meditate and honor Earth Mother always, join together with others in sacred ceremony and drumming circles to honor Gaia. “Mother Earth, renew and restore my knowledge and respect for you. As my awareness of you as a living being and of the necessity to care for you grows, strengthen my knowledge that I am part of you and you are part of me.” -From The Goddess Speaks: Myths, Meditations, Symbols and Sacred Sites by Dee Poth.
25th-26th: Second Feast of Old Greek Goddess Artemis. A sacred day to honor women’s fertility. (See Above)
25th: Arbor Day: a day to honor trees, to plant trees, and to meditate on Deity manifesting as trees., Helic/Willow (old Greek), Yggdrasi/Ash (Old Teutonic), Yazche/World Tree (Maya), Asherah/Tree of Life (Old Canannite/Hebrew)
26th-3rd of May: Mayan Rain Festival, to welcome the nourishing rains and to honor the Rain God Chac and His attendant Chacmool.
28th-evening of May 3rd : Floralia, the Old Roman festival devoted to Flora, Goddess of Flowers, another manifestation of the earth-goddess. This five day festival includes offerings of milk and honey, altars of flowers, a time where people wear flowers in their hair, and is the Roman equivalent to May Day/Beltane.
Evening of April 30th - evening of May 2nd :Old Celtic/WelshFestival of Beltaine, Feast of the Sacred Marriage
30th-May 5th: Mid-Spring, May Day and Walpurgis. All around the world since ancient days, this period of year is the time of the fertility of Mother Earth, the burgeoning of sexuality and the divine union of the masculine and feminine. Beltaine is the point marking Mid-Spring, the mid-point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, and is observed around the world as one of the eight great festivals of the year. The rising of the Pleiades, for the first time of the year, is the signal of the start of Beltaine. The word Beltaine contains the name of the god known as Bel and the Celtic God Belenus, and thus the phallic implications of the maypole with its’ connected streamers, and the traditional celebration of dancing around the maypole. This is a time to celebrate, dance, purify and cleanse in order to bring in fertility to the land. It is the celebration of the sacred marriage, between man and woman, masculine and feminine as well as the fertility and abundance of nature, the burgeoning of fresh green leaves, and the ripening of sexuality. It is time to honor your own internal sacred marriage, the mysterium conjunctionus, a wonderful time to do a ceremony wedding your inner feminine and masculine energies, a time for bringing energies together. During Beltaine in ancient times, people were allowed to break their marriage vows for this one night to indulge in their sensuality, any babies conceived during this time were considered a gift from the Goddess.
~ May ~
The month of May: Dedicated to the Goddess in Her manifestation as Maia, the wife of Mars. Maia is the Roman Goddess of Springtime, Growth and Increase and the mother of Mercury/Hermes, the messenger of the Gods. In cultures all over the world this time of year is connected to the fertility and tending of the earth, and a time of rituals consecrating one’s relationship and commitment to the earth and to a higher state of being. The folklore of birds is strong this time of year, symbolic of the power of spirit and the winds which bring renewed hope.
May 1st : Christian Feast of the Divine Marriage: honoring the sacred marriage of Blessed Mary and St. Joseph.
Feast of the Sacred Marriage, a time dedicated to the sacred union of Parvati and Shiva, Isis and Osiris, Inanna and Dumuzi, as well as many others. Take the time now to honor your relationships, celebrate the sacredness of these unions.
Kindness Day: a time to practice anonymous acts of kindness and sensitivity towards all beings and creatures.National Prayer Day: A day to pray for spiritual and religious freedom for ALL beings.
1st at 3 PM (EDT): Global Ascension Day, A day where people gather across the earth in meditation to focus on ascension into light and the awakening of the New Age. http://ascension.vision2012.net/
Ascension Day: Christian Feast honoring the day Christ ascended.
1st-4th: Zuni and Pueblo Tribes Green Corn Dances, a time to welcome back the Corn Maidens after the barrenness of winter to bless the lands for the coming growing season.
2nd-6th: Eta Aquarid Meteor Showers.
3rd: Dakinis’ Day
May 3rd: Zen Mindfulness Day: a day to be mindful and to meditate on how everything you do, or fail to do, can effect all sentient beings on the earth.Japanese Shinto rice-planting festival, honoring the bursting vitality of nature and is known as the beginning point of the “Month of Fresh Green Leaves.”
3rd-6th: Annual Dolphin Convocation in Indonesia. Each year, during this time, huge numbers of dolphins (millions) gather in the waters between Bali and Lombok islands, swimming in a gigantic wheel or spiral pattern. No one knows exactly why this happens. In Hawaii a similar thing happens with spinner dolphins.
5th at 8:18 AM (EDT): New Moon in Taurus. This marks the beginning of the fifth lunation cycle of the year. With the Sun and Moon in Taurus, allow yourself to be one with Mother Earth and feel the sensuality of your body and your senses. A good day to make new commitments to love, honor and give pleasure to your body-self., get a facial or massage, relax in a hot-tub, pamper yourself with oils and scents, indulge your senses, bask in the pleasures of your body! This is also a good time to focus on our natural cycles and what we want to manifest in our lives. The Goddesses that are fortuitous to call upon at this time are; Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of abundance and fertility, and Hathor the winged Cow Goddess who carries the energies of Taurus., and is the Goddess of Pleasure, “When you come to me, I take your spirit, from the stars, and clothe it, in a body of sensation, to finely focus you on form, to benignly bask you in bliss. You are here to experience delight, enjoy gratification, know satisfaction, have pleasure, in all ways, in all modes, in all aspects. Pleasure makes you juicy, twinkles your eyes, enlivens your life force. The exquisiteness of existence is pleasure. Get ready to feel soooooo good.” From The Goddess Oracle: A Way to Wholeness Through the Goddess and Ritual by Amy Sophia Marashinsky.
5th-8th is the Iroquios Corn-Planting Ceremony in gratitude for the Corn seed and all it brings to our Earth.
5th: Green Tara Meditation as well as the Avalokitesvara’s who are Bodhisattvas, in male form, who, just like Kuan Yin, even though they have attained enlightenment, have agreed to stay on the earth plane until all people are free of suffering and are totally liberated. They are the embodiment of compassion and oneness with Nature. The name Tara means “star”, and it is Her you can call on in tumultuous times when you wish to find inner stillness, strength and peace. Tara was born as she emerged from a Lotus in a lake that was formed by the first tear of compassion. This is a good time to invoke Green Tara and Avalokitesvara, to honor the equality of all sentient beings, to meditate and focus on the heart of compassion for All and to find the center of Peace within the stillness of your own Being.
5th: Yom Ha-Shoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day. The full name of the daycommemorating the victims of the Holocaust is “Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah”— literally the "Day of (remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism."
6th: Animal Day and the Feast of the good Shepard/Lord of Animals, a day to honor all the creatures of this beautiful earth, to acknowledge the “medicine” and gifts that each animal carries. A time to honor the Divine as He/She manifests in animal form, for example as Ra/Lion and Rait/Lioness, Osiris (Old Egyptian), Pan (Old Greek), Dumuzi (Old Sumerian), Mica/Coyote (Lakota), Nandi/Bull and Prisni/Cow (Hindu) and many more from various traditions.
8th-9th: Old Greek Feast of Aphrodite and Eros, a time to honor LOVE and passion.
11th: Mother’s Day and as we all know a time to honor all mothers and to celebrate motherhood in all its forms. It is no accident that Mother’s Day falls during Taurean times. On a deeper level it is a time to also honor the sacredness of our Great Mother Earth and the “Mother Archetype” which manifests through each woman and man in different ways. Take the time to reflect on this archetype in your own life.
11th: Pentecostal Sunday This Feast of Solemnity occurs Fifty days after Easter Sunday each year. It is a Christian celebration of the descent of the Holy Mother/Holy Spirit, also known by many as Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom and Grace.
18th-25th: Old Greek and Roman Festival of Pan/Faunus, a time when men celebrated brotherhood, father-son relationships and male fertility. It is a time to honor the masculine side of Nature, within and without, and the “true” Masculine which integrates strength, compassion, truth and wisdom.
18th-20th: Feast of Divine Love and Compassion: A day to honor the healing, compassionate and loving Goddesses cross-culturally including: Isis (Egyptian), Lakshmi (India), Oshun (Yoruban/Santerian), Rahamin (Jewish), Grace (Christian), Tara and Kuan Yin.
18th: Trinity Sunday also known as Holy Trinity Sunday, is celebrated a week after Pentecost Sunday in honor of the most fundamental of Christian beliefs—belief in the Holy Trinity. We can never fully understand the mystery of the Trinity, but we can sum it up in the following formula: God is three Persons in one Nature. The three
Persons of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are all equally God, and They cannot be divided.
19th: Celtic festival honoring the Goddess Brighid, daughter of mother Goddess Danu and father God Dagda. At this time the sacred healing wells and springs are adorned with flowers. Brighid, the ancient Goddess of Ireland, healer and keeper of the deep flowing wells, the mists, the fire and inspires us with ideas and visions, to move us, to help our perceptions shift. Where do you need new inspiration in your life?
19th: Second Wesak Full Moon in Scorpio at 10:11 PM (EDT).
20th: Visakha Puju: Buddha Day: This is the holiest day of all Buddhist days marking the birth, enlightenment and nirvana of the Lord Buddha. Buddhists will make merits and attend sermons at the temples
GEMINI
Gemini by Josephine Wall
May 20th at 12:01 PM (EDT) Sun Gemini. During Gemini time the energies are light and communication a focus. A good time of year to join with friends, discussing interesting topics and ideas, and gathering lots of information.22nd Dakinis’ Day to honor the Tantric Female Deities.
27th– 30th: Iroquios Strawberry Ceremony.
29th-31st: Feast of the Moon, dedicated to the Goddess-God as Maat-Thoth (old Egypt),a Ningal-Sin (old Sumerian), Selene, (Old Greek) and many more Goddess/Gods of the moon.
~ June ~
The month of June was sacred to the Goddess Juno/Hera who resides over marriage and family. During this month you may feel your own feelings and issues arise concerning marriage and commitment. You may want to “rekindle” your devotion to a life partner, a part of yourself or your life that you deeply need to devote your Self to.
June 1st: Partners Day- A day to honor and appreciate your partner.
3rd at 3:23 PM (EDT): New Moon in Gemini: This marks the beginning of the sixth lunation cycle. At this new moon, with the sun and moon in Gemini, set new goals for yourself around learning, writing, and communication. A wonderful time to pay attention to partnerships of all kinds in your life and to finding allies of like mind, and having gatherings of friends and family.
Old European feast of the Triple Goddess, marking the transformation of the Virgin/Maiden into the Mother. At this time the seeds we have planted at the Spring Equinox are coming to fruition, and the Earth is blooming, things are “ripening”, the Mother is emerging in her fullness., pregnant and full of life. As we stand beneath the longest days of the year, take the time now to acknowledge this transition, experience your own ripening, your own flowers in bloom, the fullness of your own light, the power of the sun, within and without.
5th World Environment Day, a day to pray for healing of the earth, to celebrate her beauty and to take whatever action you can to help bring her back into balance.
7th: Mindfulness Day in the Zen Buddhist tradition, a day to meditate on the interdependence of all things in the Universe.
7th-15th: Vestalia, Old Roman festival honoring the Goddess of the Hearth, Vesta/Hestia. Vesta is the Goddess who keeps the sacred flame of the home and heart always burning.
8th-10th: Shavuot/Feast of the First Fruits: a day of gratitude for the first fruits harvest of the year and a time to honor Moses’ receipt of the Ten Commandments. Shavuot, also known as the Feast of Weeks, Celebrates the Revelation at Sinai. The word "Shavuot" literally means "weeks". There are at least five names commonly given to this holiday:
Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, Feast of the first fruits, the harvest festival, "Atzeret" (the "ending", Passover being the beginning), and the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, are all biblical names for theholiday.
13th: Old Egyptian Feast of Hathor, Goddess of Love and Fertility.
15th: Fathers Day, a day to honor our father and any father archetypes in our lives and in our selves. The Father Archetype embodies the energies of guidance and wisdom, and the imparting of guidelines for life. A true Father Archetype, guides with strength and kindness, patience and steadfastness. Father’s day falls each year just before the Solstice with the heightened energies of the Sun.
18th at 1:30 PM (EDT) is the Rose/ Berry Full Moon in Sagittarius: At this full moon there may be a great feeling of expansive energy. Feel your desire to soar to the heights, to look down and see the big picture, the higher purpose and meaning of life. Allow yourself to philosophize and connect with larger Universal energies, but remember to check out the details as well. Feel the expansiveness of your connection to the Higher Universal Truths. In the New Age, this Full Moon is considered the Festival of the Christ, the month following the powerful Buddha Wesak Full Moon. At this full moon the focus is on humanity aspiring to God/Goddess All-That-Is.
20th-21st: Feast of the Great Spirit/Great Mystery: this encompasses Mother Earth and Father Sky. This is also the Feast of Deity as Father, the Divine Father, Father of All, Transcendent Masculine Divine Spirit.
Inti Rain Festival- Incan festival honoring their Sun God Inti. Feast of the Transcendent Masculine Divine Spirit: Honoring God in all His manifestations, Allah, Shiva, eloh, Holy Father.
20th-23rd: Lakota /Plains Tribes’Sun Dance and festival of prayers, dancing, fasting and healing in honor of the Sun God, Wi, offerings are made to Maka/Mother Earth and Haokah/ Father Sky.
20th-24th: Feast of the Sun, dedicated to God/Goddess as Ra (Egypt), Helios (Greek), Solis (Christian), Amaterasu (Japanese),
20th: at 7:59 PM (EDT) and 6:57 (MDT) marks the moment of the Summer Solstice, also called Litha and the movement of the Sun into Cancer. This is a time to honor all the Sun Gods and Goddesses. Celebrate Father/ Grandfather Sun and your full, expressive, and expansive energy!!!!!
Until we meet again, stay rooted and grounded, pray for deep healing for the earth and humanity during this powerful Spring Season
