FRESH EGGS SUMMER SOLSTICE 2023

Litha 2023

 

 Fresh Eggs

 

 

Newsletter of the Women's Spirituality Forum

Edited by Lisa Crow & Tinnekke Bebout

 What's Fresh?

Now that Z has re-released The Holy Book, she is embarking upon the process of bringing back into print The Grandmother of Time! This process will take some time since there was no electronic version of the manuscript, but it has been converted and it is being updated for the new century of witches. 

Z has also been very active online! The Goddess has sent her a wonderful new friend and helper who has been making Z sparkle and has helped her locally to create new content for all women to enjoy. Solstice weekend there will be a live Zoom ritual!

 From Z:

 Summer Solstice - from The Grandmother of Time

Happy Midsummer to you all! Now the earth has reached the midpoint on her journey around the sun. From this time on, the daylight hours will begin to shorten again. This peak of the summer time is Midsummer, summer solstice.

The goddess of this season is Litha (European, North African). She is abundance and fertility, power and order. If you wish to conceive a divine child (and whose child isn't!), lie with your lover tonight. Tonight is lovers night all over the world. Renamed by the Christians as St. John's Day, Midsummer is an excellent time to perform divinations about affairs of the heart.

For protection in the coming year and purification from sorrow, jump over a balefire or a candle ( or your trusty hibachi) in your backyard. If there is something that bothers you a lot, write it on a white paper with red ink, smear it with honey, fold it gently and let this burn in the flames, saying:

I give my sorrow to the flames, the Goddess of fire will consume my pain. It is done.

If you are single, it's a good night to cast a love spell.

Another goddess associated with the season is Cerridwen, who usually has cauldron of handy as she brews the ingredients of our lives. Her sacred animal is the sow, so eat some pork tonight if you're not a vegetarian.

Ishtar(Babylonian), Ishtar (Canaanite), Aphrodite (Greek), Yemaya or Oshun (Brazilian) are all love goddesses who may be celebrated with fires and fruit offerings tonight. The fiery goddess Aine (Irish) is honored with torchlight processions around the fields; cattle are driven through the fires to purify them from sickness. The wheel of the year is turning; from the high point of summer, we now face the coming winter, even though its first signs are far away.

Summer solstice is a magical time for wishing. Walk to the nearest river, ocean, bay, brook, or lake and, chanting to yourself (the Muses will tell you how), float a flower with your kiss on it- traditionally a rose- into the waves to carry your wish home. It is a message to the Cosmic Mother (whose symbol the rose is) on the waters (her life-giving element) to send something to her daughter or son- yourself.

Here is a chant to make a midsummer wish:

Yes, you are here in the soft buzzing grass.

Yes, you are listening among the flowering gardens.

Yes, you are shining from the most royal blue sky.

Yes, you are granting me what I wish tonight:

Grant me a healthy life rich with high purpose,

A true partner to share my joys and my tears,

Wisdom to hear your voice giving me guidance,

Wealth to give others as you have given it to me.

 

Summer Solstice by Sharon McCarthy

 

Good Morning Sunshine!


The Tropic of Cancer is the parallel of latitude 23°27’ north of the Equator.

It’s the northernmost point on Earth where the sun appears directly overhead at noon.

It runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China.

I hear it was named one Summer Solstice over 2000 years ago

Designating its solar alignment with the constellation Cancer.

 

On June 21st our Bright Star shines directly over this Tropic of Cancer

and enters the cardinal (initiatory) Water sign of Cancer, at 7:58 am PDT.

Reaching this most northern position relative to Earth it appears to pause.

 

Ellipses, rotations, and tilts ~ Oh Gaia!

 

 🔆 Summer Solstice offers a much-needed time to rest truly and dance freely. 🔆

It is a time to honor our own sacred ‘interbeing’ with our lovely planet and solar system.

The Northern Hemisphere celebrates the maximal daylight of Midsummer,

while the Southern Hemisphere experiences the longest night.

 

I invite us all to experientially connect to the energetic aesthetics of this day.

All life on this planet knowingly or not, feels the influence of this astronomical alignment.

We might ask ourselves ‘what insights arise as we tune into this seasonal shift’?

What imminent life changes might be supported by this cyclic transition?

 

~~~Here’s a Soul-full Solstice practice for us~~~

 

Creatively choose a place to stand relaxed and present upon the Earth.

Tuning into the seasonal pause of the Solstice Sun’s path -

We calm our minds to stillness, as our hearts dance in rhythm with our sweet pulsing aliveness.

We breathe in warm vitality, releasing accumulated effort and tensions as we exhale.

 

Connecting with the Noonday Sun shining majestically above our crown,

We breathe ourselves open ~ even if we’re indoors, in the shade, or under cloud cover.

We envision our bodies receiving and being filled with this Golden Summer Light.

Immersed in this radiance, we open our awareness to the sensations within and All Around Us.

 

We absorb the Medicine of this Light, filling our bodies like sacred solar collectors.

Welcoming light in through our Crown, we bless each chakra -

Renewing each center’s spiral of energy 🌀down to our Root.

 

As we draw the flows of Solar energy down into 'Earth our Body',

We’re honoring the cellular memories of our ancient alliance with the plant kingdom.

We feel the integration of celestial light above us and the fertile dark planet upon which we stand.

 

On this solar holyday let’s include the sense of darkness directly beneath our feet.

We give our ‘soles’ a chance to deeply extend our roots into Mother Earth.

We belong.  We relax.  We renew.  We breathe. We reciprocate.

 

We engage the sense of our whole being ~ the sense of self all around us, above and below.

We gather and coalesce this Summer Luminosity into a Bubble of Light ~

Filled with the essence of our greatest aspirations, prayers and Blessings.

 

We might fill it with loving energy for personal healing and planetary flourishing.

We can infuse it with the multicolors of consciousness when we feel truly free and happy.

Then we breathe our heart’s song into its center and send it out as a Blessing to the Universe.

 

When the bubble finally pops, we feel its tiny droplets floating down to us and

Blessing our own Radiance.

 

I send you luminous wishes for a Soul full, Sol-filled Summer.


Bright Blessings and Love,

Sharon ~ SoulsVision Healing

Zsuzsanna Budapest is calling the women back to our sacred land to meet in 2024! Join her in the redwoods of California to sing, dance, celebrate over a half century of Goddess culture, and howl at the moon! 

The Goddess Festival Early Registration has opened! Sign up before January 1, 2024 to get the best rates and the most options for payment. We need volunteers and we need vendors! If you are interested in doing either at the Festival, please email Tinn at dreamweaver93@sbcglobal.net and put Goddess Festival in the subject line. Many hands make the work of the Goddess light! 💗

 

Goddess of the Month  - June 2023: Pelehonuamea

WHO IS PELEHONUAMEA?

Pelehonuamea, also known as Pele, is one of the great aumakua or ancestral spirits of the Hawaiian
people. She is considered to be a living part of the islands and their people, and Her blood flows through their veins. Her name means 'The Red Earth' or 'Lava' and She is said to reside in the crater of Halema’uma’u at the summit of Kilauea, but all of the big island of Hawaii is considered to be Her especial domain. She is also the Goddess of lightning, dance, fire, and all volcanic activity. Because She is first and foremost the great volcanoes of the islands, She is a Goddess of destruction, yes, but also creation, and She has added more than 70 acres to the Big Island just in the last two decades. Some of Her other titles include:

 

She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land
Pele Ai Honua - Pele Who Devours the Earth
Pele Honua Mea - Pele of the Sacred Earth
Tutu Pele - Grandmother Pele

 

 

 

The Legends of Pele

There are many origin stories of Pele, but they all agree that Her mother was Haumea, daughter of the supreme beings, Papa, Earth Mother, and Wakea, Sky Father. Pele is said to have been born in a land far from Hawaii and She voyaged over the ocean chased by Her angry Sister Na-maka-o-kaha'i, the Sea Goddess, because She seduced her brother-in-law, the fire god Lono-makua, and eventually landed on the island of Kaua'i. However, when She tried to dig a home there, Her Sister would flood the pits, and Pele once again had to flee. She touched on all the Hawaiian islands looking for refuge until She landed on the big island and took shelter on Mauna Loa, which is the tallest mountain on Earth, if you measure it from its base on the ocean floor. Na-maka-o-kaha'i could not send Her waves high enough to reach Pele on Mauna Loa, so there She remained, and sent for Her beloved brothers to join Her. Pelehonuamea and Her brothers and Sister are a constant presence in the islands to this day. Her brothers are Ka-moho-ali'i, king of the sharks and the keeper of the gourd that held the water of life, which gave him the power to revive the dead, whose sacred home is on a cliff of Kilauea, which Pele never allows to be touched by Her volcanic steam; Kane-hekili, lord of thunder; Ka-poho-i-kahi-ola, lord of explosions; Ke-ua-a-kepo, lord of the showers of fire; and Ke-o-ahi-kama-kaua, lord of the spears of lava that escape from fissures in the Earth.

Pele's lovers are many, but one of the most famous - and for the islands, beneficial - is Kamapua'a, the pig god who brings the rains. They had a tumultuous relationship because whenever She covered the land with lava, he would send the rains to extinguish the fires, and then send in his sacred boars to dig in the new earth which prepared it for seeds to grow. Their arguments were the stuff of legend. It is said it grew so bad that Pele's brothers begged Her to give in to Kamapua'a for fear that his rains would extinguish Her fire sticks and kill Her power to restore fire. There is a place called Ka-lua-o-Pele, where the land is torn up in such a way that it looks as though some great struggle took place; the legend says that here Pele and Kamapua'a spent Their passions ferociously, which eventually resulted in the birth of a child.

 

Pele in the Modern Age

Even though Christians came to the Hawaiian islands in the 18th century and attempted to convert the people to their religion, Pele's influence remains strong. In 1819, when the old religion was abolished by the royal family who had converted, a group of Christian missionaries, accompanied by the high chiefess Kapi'olani, ventured to the big island to defy Pele. They went to Her sacred caldera of Halema'uma'u and there ate ohelo berries without first asking Pele's permission or giving Her proper offering. The people were horrified by this act, though the missionaries and the chiefess all proclaimed that nothing would happen from so offending the Goddess, because, of course, only their Christ had any power now. Then Kapi'olani threw rocks into the caldera. Her people, fearing Pele's retribution, broke small branches from the ohelo and threw them into the caldera in offering to make up for the chiefess's impiety. There is a prayer said even to this day for this specific kind of offering:

E Pele, eia ka 'ohelo 'au;
e taumaha aku wau 'ia 'oe
e 'ai ho'i au tetahi

Oh, Pele, here are your branches
I offer some to you
some I also eat 

Even now in the 21st century, when the volcanoes erupt or earthquakes shake the land, the people will say, "There goes Pele again!" Every year, at the beginning of the Merrie Monarch Festival, all the hula dancers gather on the rim of Kilauea, to petition Pele as Goddess of the Dance, to bless them and to give Her honor. In this gathering, the dancers dance for Pele's pleasure and chant songs to Her. Afterwards they throw Pele many flowered leis as an offering. The people of the big island of all faiths acknowledge that they live there on Pele's sufferance and at Her pleasure She may destroy their homes to create new lands. Those who live near Her sacred home often report of seeing a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and a flowing red dress dancing on the edge of the crater. Others report seeing Her other manifestation, Tutu Pele, which is an old woman with a little white dog. In this aspect, She often speaks to Her people and gives advice or warns of impending disaster. People know they have encountered Tutu Pele because the little old woman will speak with them, then light her cigarette without a lighter, and vanish.

 

Visitors to the Big Island are reminded to be most respectful of Pele. To not remove stones or sand from Her volcanoes, and to be mindful of the land or aina, and if they wish to pay Her respect by giving Her offering to buy the offering and not take plants or flowers from Her volcanoes to give to Her. Those who have taken from Her home improperly end up having terrible luck or bad dreams. They end up sending those items back to Hawaii along with coins and flowers and fruit as offerings. These have been received many times by the staff at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and they are all addressed to 'Madam Pele'.