August 2020 Newsletter
“Once Upon A Time”
When you hear these words, you know you are about to witness a story come to life…
You allow yourself to be touched by the words and images, the feelings and memories, the trials and lessons that live and breathe as the story unfolds and in doing so, it becomes a part of who you are, part of your ‘life story.’
The story of your life is a living story- It is both history and current events- it is your self-portrait. It is your personal creation, and it will never be finished as long as you live. It is a thread woven into the fabric of the universe, part of the greater story of all and yet it is uniquely yours.
Your story is full of moments in time that matter. It is a record of your choices that make you who you are. Sometimes, change comes like a lightning bolt and alters your reality in an instant. Sometimes, change moves like a glacier, slowly and steadily pushing you towards your eventual destination.
Always, your story is yours to tell and yours to change.
It’s Time to Do the Work….
Tell me your story.
Remember a moment in time of profound importance that defined your world … remember how you felt, what you wanted, what you feared… write it down.
Have you always told this story the same way? Does it seem now to be the same story as it was when it first happened? Or has your perspective changed? What has shifted for you? Is there someone else who might tell this same story differently? How does the telling alter the outcome of the story? Or does it?
Keep these reflections in your journal and contemplate them.
Monthly Meditation –
Call to mind a story that you “think” you know. Identify the moments in that story where choices are made that affect the outcome.
Questions to Ponder –
What if they were your choices to make? Would you have done things differently?
Looking Deeper –
Do you really ‘know’ the story of Eleusis? Below are two Teller’s of the Story….
Homeric Hymn to Demeter
https://uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html
Orphic Hymns 1 – 40
https://www.theoi.com/Text/OrphicHymns1.html
September 2020 Newsletter
The flowers know what day it is. They bow their heads, for the Traveller. Their petals once full and vibrant begin to wither. The stems that once danced in the wind, begin to sag with their heavy load. With their last breathe they release their most precious gift. Seeds fall softly to the Earth, a promise given.
All Hail the Goer…..
She who Is, She who will Be, and She who Remembers.
October 2020 Newsletter
Samhain approaches…. Now the long, soft days are spent. The grace and ease of summer abundance gives way to the patience and prudence of storing for the lean times. Now the keener days of autumn are upon us. Shadows lengthen. Dusk thickens. Night edges into day, every round a little darker. We watch the fade… the drop of fruit, of leaves and seeds. Now is the time of the last harvest before the long night. Now is the time when the gifts of the earth… the apple and herb, the grape and the grain are gathered in before the first rains come. Now is the time when some things must die. Now is the time for turning under the fields and laying them to rest for the long night. Now is the time for your work to begin in earnest.
Reflect and Journal…. You must lay your stores, both material and spiritual for the journey, children of earth. Answer these questions in your journal and reflect on them in your heart:
What will you put in your stores?
What are you most grateful for?
How will you make everything you do an offering of devotion?
Act… Make everything you do, an act of devotion, an offering that benefits all beings. When you wash the dishes, weed the garden, or call a friend, make it an offering. Think of every table in your life as an altar.
Learn this prayer and take it into your heart before we gather for our Rites:
Holy Mother Earth,
Yours is the power, to grow, to destroy, to give birth
We conjure you now, by seed and shoot,
by flower and fruit,by light and by love,
from below and above. In your ancient names,
Kore, Demeter, Hekate,
Grant us the blessings of your body.
Thank you for the blessings of Your Body.
November 2020 – Hekate Offering
The Gods that you will meet as you travel to Eleusis are pieces of the ONE Creator, just as you are. As you learn Our ways you will gain tools that you can utilize on your own life journey.
I am Hekate, of the Old Gods, the Caldeans heard my voice in their Oracles.
You may seek Me when you need assistance… in choosing the most beneficial path.
My way opens the doors that may be currently closed.
I am wild and protective in My nature.
My way motivates each seeker in the way that they need most.
My personified form may appear to you as kind and lovely and also harsh and frightening, Notice why this is.
I am that which illuminates the path ways.
It is YOU who must do the choosing and keep moving in your chosen direction..
Meditate
When you come to a point in your journey where that path splits, which way will you go? How will you choose which direction to progress in your life? Do you rely on others to decide the direction you should go? Do you understand that you have a choice?
Call My wisdom into your meditation. Use My name.Pour me offerings of red wine. Ask your questions, so I may share My divine insight.
Journal
How do you make your decisions? Do you plan? or simply go where the road takes you?
In your Journal write down 3 ways that you use to make decisions on the journey that is your life. Make sure that at least one of these ideas is a new one.
Action
When you come to your daily moments of choosing, big and small, pause and count slowly to 3. As you quiet your mind, ask for inner guidance. Listen. Make using your new tools a habit.
~ Priestess of Hekate
December 2020 – Zeus Offering
I hold Mortals close to my Eternal Heart
You Heroes and Heroines most of all
I delight in the fruition of Your Potential
Son of Time and Comfort, Lord of the Sky and Heavens
King of Olympus on High.
Know my approach by my signs
The Soaring Eagle, the Mighty Bull
Crashing Thunderbolts, the Reaching Oak
I am Zeus
Look to the stilled waters,
See your reflection thereon
The face you see is Sovereign
Your Kingdom is your Body and Mind,
Be Honest with Yourself to Rule Wisely
Meditate:
Ponder that to give your candle away is to walk in Darkness, yet to light another’s candle with your own is to see All Light amplified. Do you allow your Sovereign authority over yourself to be co-opted by others? Meditate on the balance between Giving too Much or too Little of yourself in your interactions.
Journal:
Do you seek self empowerment? Would you take self power at the cost of another’s or of your own values? Write about Two Specific times you achieved greater personal power- Once when you attained it at no cost to another and once when your power came at the cost of another.
Action:
This past year saw many restrictions to your freedoms, many of your choices made for or taken away from you. A New Year stretches out before you now and every task you complete will add to the momentum of your Personal Power. There is a building of power in completing your responsibilities. Chores and tasks can build up and weigh you down so complete them daily, live in Choice! Be Positive in how you view yourself and be Patient with yourself.
February 2021 – Hermes Offering
You may feel stuck at home, but you are still on the journey to Eleusis…
Greetings, my intrepid travelers!
Your faithful Hermes, here. Surely you remember? I am the walker between worlds, conveyor of messages between the heavens, the earth, and the Underworld, I am the….well, you get the idea.
These are strange times, my weary pilgrims, and the Way is yet long and twisted. You might be experiencing a feeling of being stuck, stagnant, paused. Some of you might feel a sense of relief and release from life’s expectations. What has actually changed and shifted? Has the world collapsed down to the mere space you call home? It might feel that way, but these are mere illusions, for the Wheel is turning, always turning.
Welcome to The Waiting Times. They are as important as the moving forward times. There is a time to move forward and there is a time to hold fast and let the waves pass silently above. Darkness abounds and we know not how long it will take until the Light returns, but be assured the day is dawning.
Are you receiving the signal I’m beaming out here? In short, get your shit together and be ready. This is the moment to focus on what is emerging for you. The breaking force of what has been upon us, is about to be released.
~Meditate~
If you find yourself in this place of repeating patterns, sink into that feeling and see where it leads. Close your eyes, the better to shut out the veil of the world-as-it-seems. Allow yourself to hover in space until the pattern dissolves below you…then wait and see what emerges. I am always here with you at the periphery of dreams.
~Journey and Discover~
I bid you to step outside of your house, and seek out a crossroads. Stand there and just be…gaze down the roads that lay before you in all directions. Look behind you down the path that has brought you to this place. What are you learning about yourself during The Waiting Times? What decisions have you made? What are you doing with your time? Are you spending it in introspection or are you wasting it obsessively observing others? Become aware of how you are using your time. What do you notice about how it feels to stand still? Write down who you are in The Waiting Times. Journal about this when you are ready and share if you will by responding to this missive.
~Act~
How can you use this time which will wind down as surely as the night will end?
Life changes in the direction of your intention. Set your course.
This time will not last. What seems like a burden is actually a gift, a chance to escape the maddening rush of Life’s incessant stream…if only for a time.
Do. Not. Waste. It.
You are not alone. Look to me in your darkest hour and fear not, for the Way is known and I will always lend my Light to those who come in sincere seeking of the truth.
~Your Faithful Hermes
August 2021 – Baubo Newsletter
I am the untamed power that runs through your cells
Gnashing teeth and peels of laughter
With far-reaching and ancient roots
I am the earthy, bodily, bawdy, Fleshy One, Unbridled Passion.
An electric pulse beating the drum of life.
Do you hear it? No? Listen, you will hear it inside.
Ba-dum… ba-dum
Laugh to renew your strength
Laugh with wild abdanonment
Live in Joy,
Die without Fear!
In these times…
this spirit is needed by all who seek a better way.
I am Survivor, I am Sacred Fool,
I am the Goddess of Mirth!
I am Baubo.
Meditate
Change is inevitable, much is beyond our control. Grief will inevitably touch each living being at some point. Opportunities for personal transformation are most often unannounced, and are at times disguised as a traumatic event. Even positive changes can be tumultuous and scary. When life is chaotic or unkind, how do you respond?
You choose how we react to things, you choose how to show up.
Meditate on how you might respond to a challenge with curiosity, rather than stress, trust rather than fear. Ready thyself. You begin a journey. Your feet fall upon the path, unburdened by expectation, the heart open to receive.
How do you prepare for a shift?
Journal
What makes you come alive? What makes you feel joy? How does it feel when you laugh?
Make a list of things that infuse you with laughter, with joy, and with a sense of being alive. Refer to this list often and reflect What does it take to transcend one frame of mind and turn it into another? We can change our attitude by how we choose to relate to it.
Action
Laughter is medicine, there is sacred service in making others laugh.
Make someone else laugh. Tell a joke. Tickle a loved one. Watch a funny movie or comedian with someone. It is said that laughter is the shortest distance between two people.