Comparison god to goddess.

 ¨Visual images of the Goddesses stand in stark contrast to the image of God as an old white man, jarring us to question our culture's view that all legitimate power is male and that female power is dangerous and evil. The image of the naked Eve brazenly taking the apple from the serpent, then cowering in shame before a wrathful male God, tells us not only that female will is the source of all the evil in the universe, but also that the naked female body is part of the problem. This image communicates to the deep mind the message that female will and female nakedness must be controlled and punished by male authority. In contrast, the Goddesses show us that the female can be symbolic of all that is creative and powerful in the universe. The simplest and most profound meaning of the image of the Goddess is the legitimacy and goodness of female power, the female body, and female will.¨-Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess

Moving along my path...I'm not going to keep posting here about goddesses and pagans.  It didn't seem to bring that much new information, and I preferred reading to posting.

So I'm still available on my other 3 blogs:

Alchemy of Clay - about my pottery life

Living in Black Mountain NC - mainly photos

When I Was 69 - Personal Archives

Sick as a dog...just saying

So glad I'm not sick as a cat.  Who knows what that would be like.

And I'm grateful for friends who have sent healing energies my way.  I have to laugh at one friend who says she wants me to have such good healing that I'll feel better than I did before I got sick. 

I don't post that much about my ailments...which seem to come on more and more often with the years.  So perhaps I do post a lot about them.  But, tee hee, there's still the delete button.

Do you journal?  I have for years...though there are big gaps.  And do you happen to use any divination aids?  Divine guidance through cards, pendulums, books, or whatever?

I do Tarot cards.  They give me insights into what my psyche is needing to hear about...or as Jung would say, my unconscious is talking to my conscious personality.  Whatever.  These little ideas that are flung out on the table relate to me enough that I can remember them throughout the day or week...and perhaps guide my actions accordingly.  I don't believe they tell the future.  I often don't even have a question to pose to the cards.  I just like having a different view of things pointed out to me.

So while I'm recuperating, I'll probably have a chance to do a spread.  I use the Motherpeace deck, and use the Celtic spread...at least I think that's what it's called.  If I'm in a rush, I sometimes just do one card for each direction.

Some thoughts with Byron's help

I seem to end up posting links here, more than sharing astute wisdom of my own.  Mmmm.
Well, wisdom flows like a river, and the internet has become one of links between us.
Here's  H.Byron Ballard's recent post about Imbolc.  More on Imbolc will be here soon.  From me.  I promise.

Divine feminine poetry

Poetry by divine feminine friends...
Susa Silvermarie

Yes, you can click and go to the site.  It's a divine thing to do!

Annelinde Metzner

Goddess Pages is an excellent resource from the UK.

And here's Linda's blog link, where she posts a poem of hers weekly.

Osun celebration

A PBS show about Osun, one of a series about various religious rituals...is available on PBS.org until Jan 28.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365384458/

Watch this one to learn about Osun, (say Oshune) the goddess of the waters, from the Yoruba people of Nigeria.

And go to Nigeria with Americans who are to be initiated as Priestesses and attend the annual Osun festival.  If you don't have time to watch the whole 55 minutes, you'll miss some snippets of how a goddess religion has endured, traveled, and adapted.

I have friends in Asheville, NC who celebrate Osun and have rituals by the waters in our North Carolina mountains...but they didn't get into this movie.  I'll post some pictures of our rituals though soon.

Goddess shows up everywhere

Calendar, both as wall style and a spiral bound version, with my friend's poetry included!

Phoenician carving dating to the 7th century BCE, found in Italy.

Dextra Quotskuyva, Hopi potter,  sipapu symbol .the womb of Mother Earth, emergence of beings from the underworld