Taurus Goddess – Demeter

Taurus Goddess ~ Demeter Demeter’s tears scorched the earth,

For Persephone’s lost, beyond birth.

When the land remembers the sweet smell of spring,

Demeter’s reign will come to an end.

Demeter is the Greek grain Goddess, later known as the Roman Goddess, Ceres or Kore. Demeter is often portrayed in mourning for her daughter Persephone, who had been abducted by Hades, God of the Underworld. Demeter’s weeping causes summer to end permanently until Persephone returns along with the changing seasons.

Each New and Full Moon I will be posting a Goddess of the Month. If you have a favorite Zodiac Goddess, drop me a line and let me know more about her!

Waning Moon Collage - Dark Goddess Sheila-na-gig

“We can make art letting the voice of the goddess – the oracle – speak through us in healing words and images.” ~ Vicki Noble Sheela-Na-Gig is a goddess I have wanted to work with for a long time. She represents much that we, as women, have had to subdue just to fit in. She is fierce and uncompromising.

“She is remembered in Ireland as the Old Woman Creatress who gave birth to all races of men. Her function in the church was like that of the Gorgon on Athena’s shield: to protect and ward off evil. Labeled obscene in later more prudish times, the carvings were destroyed or defaced, sometimes buried in yards of the churches they once sanctified.” ~ Elinor W. Gadon - The Once & Future Goddess

My Waning Moon collage was created on the computer. The background consists of an abstract painting from my recent series “Journey into Intimacy” and the quotation was something I had used beneath my photo in my graduation yearbook from Graphic Design College, back in 1992!

This Collage is an example of the kind of creative activity we will be doing in my new eCourse Awaken the Divine Feminine which begins anew at every New Moon at the Wise Woman School founded by Susun Weed. The course is 4 weeks long and was created especially for women to help awaken, inspire and engage our passionate, intuitive, creative selves through the creation of a Moon Musing Journal, Moon Collages and Moon Musing Exercises in honour of the new, full and waning moons.

Your Favorite Goddess - Part 2

I asked my Facebook Fan page members to write and tell me all about their favorite Goddesses in order to win an Astrology Goddess 14 page report and this is what they told me!

Jo Settle Sprouse (Asheville, NC):
I was originally called by Brigid, who knew I would accept her first on my pagan path. But I have grown closer to the river and sea goddesses as I have studied and practiced. At this time, I feel kin to Senua, as she was recently rediscovered in 2002, and is said to be a river goddess with healing and wisdom gifts. When I read about her rediscovery I felt drawn to her, as she has not been revered in years, and I am on an new-old path that my family has not walked in generations. I feel that her coming out again and my rediscovering this ancient path are linked spiritually.

Shannon Emigh New York, NY):

I've always liked Persephone, Greek goddess of the Underworld, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Her tale is deliciously tragic, as she was abducted by Hades and whisked away to the Underworld to be its queen, while Demeter was left to grieve for her lost daughter. When Demeter discovered what had become of Persephone, she sunk into isolation, leaving the Earth to wither without its goddess of the harvest. Knowing that this couldn't endure, Zeus forced Hades to release Persephone, but before she left the Underworld, Hades gifted her with a pomegranate. When she ate of the fruit, it bound her to the Underworld for a third of the year for eternity. This myth is a very creative explanation for the different seasons. While Persephone is with Hades in the Underworld, nature begins to wilt entering into Fall and then Winter, and while she is back on Earth with her mother, nature is renewed entering into Spring and then Summer.
Heather Davis:
That's a hard one as I have many goddesses that I love, but if I had to make a decision I would have to pick Blodeuwedd, a welsh virgin Goddess of Spring. Her totemic form is an owl, the bird of wisdom and lunar mysteries.
One of the many Goddesses I honor is the Welsh Goddess Cerridwen, who was a shape-shifting goddess of prophetic powers, enchantment and divination. Her cauldron is a powerful symbol of transforming magic, and of the lessons learned through change and experience, as well as divine creative inspiration.
Dana Weekley (Trenton/Princeton, NJ):
Favorite Goddess - Dana - "Even though Dana is an Irish goddess, her name also has a depth of meaning in Sanskrit as well. Her name, as well as the name Pali in Sanskrit, means generosity and giving. The sub-context of this meaning is not only in giving, but in the joy someone receives when they give or donate without expecting anything in return, and seeing the recipients' happiness and delighting in it. It's funny how this description of this name from a totally different culture than that of the Irish conveys exactly what Dana represents in Ireland, an all caring Mother who loves to give to those who ask."
Susan Manning:
I am drawn to the Virgin of Guadalupe who some may not think of as a goddess but more of a patron saint for our area. She is known to appear to the innocents and to children but she is someone whom I turn to when I need help or am struggling with an issue. Qwan Yin is another goddess who hears the cries of the world and uses her many arms and eyes to pour her mercy down onto the world. Finally, I think of Lakshmi who is a goddess of abundance, when I feel lacking in any way. All three goddesses are represented in my room because they give me comfort.
Lola Fisher:
Goddess Qwan Yin, goddess of compassion brings me peace with waves of tears. Sometimes my own personal fears/tears other times fears/tears of earth, which brings me to the awareness of ONE, we are all ONE. With that comes peace.
Mary Miller (Columbus, OH):
Goddess I am honoring today: CIANNAIT. She is a Celtic-Gailic Goddess of water, inspiration, dreams and creativity. I chose her today because I find myself being drawn to water. This aspiration is to invite coolness, to calm the fires of Mars and allow my receptivity to come into view. Ciannait also can encourage communication between lovers and dreamers creating a balance between action and relaxation, something we all need. I sometimes forget this, hence why I am calling upon her today!

Your Favorite Goddess - Part 1

I asked my Facebook Fan and Group page members to write and tell me all about their favorite Goddesses in order to win an Astrology Goddess 14 page report and this is what they told me!
(This contest is still open for entries - the winner will be announced at the next New Moon - July 21, 2009)

Artemis - Sagittarian Goddess

Shawna Jamison (UC Riverside):
My favorite Goddess is Artemis, Greek Goddess of the Hunt. She's woodsy and outdoorsy like me, and never wanted to be forced into marriage. I feel a kinship to her because of these things; I love being outside and I don't want to define myself through a man. She is strong and independent, and I try to be that way myself.

Tracy Angelina Evans (Greenville, NC):
Lilith ~ much reviled by the Patriarchy, once a handmaiden to Inanna. She embodies the spirit of feminine freedom from the rules of the Father. "I would rather live in a cave on the edge of a torrential sea than lie under my equal!" Absolutely Lilith, my personal Mother of Memory, Lhihlhilshian Kela'Menan!

Margaret Hargett:
Quan Yin is my favorite Goddess since I have been attuned to the Violet Flame of love and compassion. She teaches us to practice a life of harmlessness, using great care to ease suffering in the world and not add to it in any way. Quan Yin always hears and answers our prayers and no special ritual is necessary to contact her. 'Om Mani Padme Hum', which means "Hail to the jewel in the lotus flower." While invoking her, I have seen her reddish mist and hot pink Orbs around me and over a small statue I have of her. May Many Angel Blessings surround All that Is, *Namaste*

Kuan-Yin - Capricorn Goddess

Meredith Laskow:

My favorite Goddess is Qu'an shi Yin (Ku'an Yin) because she was gifted to me. Years ago, when I was visiting the home of a friend, she said that back home in Taiwan, people bought small laminated cards of Gods and Goddesses, which they used as a focus for their prayers. The front of the card was a picture of the God/dess, and the flip side was a prayer invoking them and their attribute. My friend gave me the card for Qu'an shi Yin, because she said the Goddess worked through me and I embodied Her attribute of compassion. She said I should display the card to see it regularly (I do) and be reminded of the quality that shines through me the strongest.

Ix Chel - Aquarian Goddess


Maitri Libellule (Wilmington, NC):

I am a devotee of the Goddess and celebrate the new moon every month. I love your site and your work and am excited and delighted being a part of this. My favorite (so hard to choose, I have so many that I love) is Ixchel, Mayan Goddess of the Moon, protector of women in childbirth (I am a midwife, though no longer practicing, a childbirth educator and a La Leche League Leader), linked to the cycles of the moon; a weaver (I am a weaver) and she is often seen with a dragonfly. (My last name, Libellule, is dragonfly in French and the dragonfly is my totem animal and my home is Dragonfly Cottage.) I also wear pendants of Kwan Yin, Rhiannon, and Athena, but because of the moon/women/weaving/dragonfly connections Ixchel is the one I am most strongly drawn to at this time in my life.

Angela K. (Waco, Texas):
My favorite Goddess would have to be Cerridwen because she is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge and inspiration, even if it is of the Underworld. As a Pagan, I have communicated with her numerous times and every single time, it has been helpful. Some people tend to forget that she does bring forth amazing inspiration, even if she does not rule above ground.

Deborah Stinson (Toledo, OH):
My favorite goddess is Athena. I guess I'm old school, since she's a Greek mythology goddess. Athena is not only the goddess of wisdom, she is also the goddess of arts and crafts including agriculture, navigation, spinning, weaving, and needlework. I don't know how she had time to go to war, but then we all make time for that, don't we? There are other interesting things about her too including that her father was Zeus and he gave birth to her. Weird.

The artwork featured in this article is from a series of 38 paintings I originally created as part of a experiential book/project/meditation that involved writing and painting all the astrological signs in conjunction with the moon as it passed through these signs over one month's time. I currently offer soul readings with this deck.

Don't forget to enter this goddess giveaway by telling me all about your favorite Goddess here on my Soul Reader Fan Page.

How To Develop Your Psychic & Intuitive Abilities - Part 1

This blog post was written in response to a question emailed to me by one of my clients. It was such a good question that I thought it deserved a blog post (or 2, or 3)!

Andrea's Question: "Do you have any recommendations about how one should go about furthering their psychic abilities? I've read tarot cards on and off, and seem to have a knack, and then of course there's my natural ability to "read" people. But not necessarily with dates & times and all that predictive stuff"

My Response: I personally like to learn experientially in a hands-on fashion, but my very earliest experiences with the intuitive realms involved private exploration of dreams and dream journaling, astrology, tarot and paganism. I began learning about these things in my early teens and have gone on to develop my natural intuitive abilities (which we all have) with the help of teachers, through group classes, workshops, lectures, books and private sessions with healers and intuitive guides.

Dreams

I started out by working with my dreams and recommend keeping a dream journal by your bed where you can record dreams when you wake up or by setting an alarm clock to wake yourself up at an odd hour to facilitate dream remembrance. Significant dreams will stay with you and resonate for years to come and you will begin to know which dreams are significant with practice. You can also work with lucid dreaming or by asking yourself a question before falling asleep and requesting that the answer come to you in a dream. Often dreams will allow you to re-connect with deceased friends or relatives and sometimes you may astro travel as well.

Recommended books: “Symbols for Self Understanding” by Betty Bethard

Astrology

There is much more to astrology than just your sun sign (determined by the day you were born.) Becoming involved with the study of the planets and stars will expand your awareness on a universal level connecting you with the bigger picture crossing generations and even universes. My own studies in metaphysics began with dreams, then astrology.

Recommended books: “The Only Way To Learn Astrology” (6 Volumes) by Marion March & Joan McEvers, “Planets in Transit” by Robert Hand, “Astrology for the Soul” by Jan Spiller, “The Liquid Light of Sex” by Barbara Hand Clow, “The Changing Sky” by Steven Forrest

Recommended magazine: “The Mountain Astrologer”

Recommended authors & teachers: Steven Forrest, Barbara Hand Clow

Tarot

Tarot decks are a whole world onto themselves and can involve you in an ancient study of images and symbols with mysterious origins. Working with tarot cards has allowed me to access the many realms depicted in the cards. By working with a Pre-Celtic Shamanistic deck called “The Greenwood Deck” I first encountered one of my main spirit guides while meditating upon the Ancestor card.

Recommended books: “Tarot For Yourself” by Mary K. Greer

Paganism & Goddess Worship:

I became involved with the study of paganism and ancient goddess religions when I was at university taking a Women’s Studies class, but was first introduced on a personal level to this topic by a male friend of mine who liked to dress up as Pan on Halloween. I have attended several goddess groups and pagan rituals but prefer to practice my own solitary, eclectic and personal blend of reverence for Mother Earth. Currently I practice Third Celtic Faerie Shamanism and was initiated into this tradition in 2017 by Francesca De Grandis.

Recommended books:”The Language of the Goddess” by Marija Gimbutas (archaeology), “The Motherpeace Tarot” deck and book by Vicki Noble, “The Book of Goddesses & Heroines” by Patricia Monaghan

Recommended authors, teachers & leaders: Starhawk, Szusanna Budapest, COG (Covenant of the Goddess)

This blog post details how I developed my own metaphysical practices and studies and I hope you will expand upon these suggestions in your own personal way. Upcoming posts will delve into: shamanism, energy healing, herbs, mediumship, crystal healing, channeling, psychic work, law of attraction, meditation, yoga and past life regression.

To read more posts about My Psychic Background please click here and for Psychic Development please click here.