Beltane 2024
Fresh Eggs
Newsletter of the Women's Spirituality Forum
Edited by Lisa Crow and Tinnekke Bebout
WHAT'S FRESH?
Goddess Festival 2024 is approaching and the theme is Goddess Culture. Z is conjuring amazing celebrations of our culture as Goddess women in various forms. Music, dance, lore, and living culture from places where the Goddess remained part of life even in the face of patriarchal oppression. Come to the Sacred Redwoods and howl to the moon and dance as wild women do!
FROM Z:
Dianic Genesis
In the beginning there was unknowable
silence. She had an unknowable
name which echoed through the universe; the power of this name, that no one shall utter, filled the universe with action.
Silence broke into its components, lights and
shadows. From these
lights action made form, and
from the shadows,
formlessness. Visible and invisible, She created a blend of the two we know today as Nature.
In this blend of form and formlessness,
lights
and
shadows,
visible
and
invisible, She created all the creatures,
making infinite variations of Herself as the birthing force, and the different forms of Her, where She is not
so
clearly
visible,
the
birthed-in form.
She intermingled
with Herself, as She was never divided, and created our solar system, our mother planet, and
all
the
creatures upon it. Among the creatures She ordained, all species will know Her either through instinct or through search, but all She created will periodically return to Her holiness, and then again take form inside Her.
And ever since, the world has had a blend of visible forms, female and male, and a blend of invisible forms, self-love
and self-hate. The
divine mixing of these
creates reality, for Her essence is present
in all, but Her forms do not conform
to temporary social orders. She is the circle of rebirth; thus, we celebrate the moment in our lives as an honor to Her, She whose Genesis is still happening, She
who has not returned
to any comfortable heaven to “watch” over us or forget us.
She who still creates all reality daily, She who is visible and invisible in
Nature, She whose name is
secret, She who rules the Universe. The Force of Life and Death and all that is in between. She is All.
 |
Ostara 2023 by Sharon McCarthy
|
Good Morning!
The Wheel of the Year brings us to the Vernal Equinox, and we are profoundly ready for a new season!
Today the Sun’s position at noon is directly above the equator ~ rising due east and setting due west.
Twice a year at the Equinoxes, the Earth’s axis tilts neither towards nor away from the Sun.
That’s an apropos lens through which to reset our inner compass as we ask ourselves ~
What are we tilting towards, and what are we tilting away from?
It’s time to renew our regard for the preciousness of all life in response to Spring’s awakening.
Are we intentionally living in accord with our heart’s desire, or somehow holding ourselves back?
Are we already moving beyond people, behaviors and ideologies that no longer nurture our well-being?
Spring gifts us with the energy to rebirth the loving ways we bloom into balance.
Today the Sun enters Aries at 2:24 pm PDT and begins the astrological solar year anew.
It’s an auspicious time to release the multitude of conflicting habits we carry in our bodies.
We can imagine the feeling of emerging from an egg, shedding a skin, or flowering from a bud.
As we move into days of increasing Light, we also honor the Dark from which we emerge.
Our luminous health depends on the vitality of our green allies whose roots thrive in the dark fertile soil.
May we practice compassion while facing all the light and dark in this world, as well as within ourselves.
Tomorrow the New Moon in Aries adds potency to Spring’s new beginning.
The bright side of the Moon faces away from us, while it positions itself between Earth and the Sun.
With clear intention ~ our work and play, gardens and relationships will flourish with the increasing light.
Our inner balance supports the impetus and fulfillment of our intentions.
So we attend to the health of our nervous system, our organ systems, and our relationships.
One practice that facilitates balance is drawing energy and awareness to our center, from our crown to roots.
Increase equanimity by slowing the vibrational busyness acquired through constantly leaning outwards.
Imagine ourselves as that mythical egg, “that balances upright on the Equinox.”
Feel as if we’re standing at the equator with the Sun above us and Earth firmly beneath our feet.
Aligned with the continuity of our vertical center, we can feel the golden rising of Spring.
Blessed with the conscious rhythm of our breath, the rising and falling of our diaphragm touching our liver.
Sensing our liver, we activate the vital energy that blossoms our dreams into the world.
Emerging from the chrysalis of winter, gradually transforming ~ we open our wings, open our hearts.
We allow our heads to rest upon our vertical center which helps to equalize our balance.
We rest our weight evenly upon our two legs and let our feet feel their connection to our beautiful Gaia.
Spring is springing. Our hills are greening. Birds are singing. Bless our roots and wings!
May we spend some time today 'finding center' and offering ourselves the loving care we most need.
Green Blessings of Renewal! World Blessings for Peace and Equanimity!
Peace and Love,
Sharon McCarthy
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! Goddess Festival Information
This
is a teaching coven. We are educating our sisters about our sis-ters
from the past. Some newsletters will include a lesson, a reading from
the book and discussion questions for you to answer. When we meet, we
will go over the answers. These questions are posed to inspire you to
really think about what you have been taught about religion and how that
way of thinking has influenced you and those around you.
Our
hope is that you start a group wherever you are and discuss the meaning
of the works we study with each other and wake up a few more ladies
from their patriarchal propaganda trance. We are focusing on political
spellcasting and educating our sisters about our sisters from the past.
Patriarchal culture has deprived women from knowing about the Elders who
went before us; we reclaim them in order to invite to us a better
future. These are important tasks for the times in which we live. Please
join us in this work.
To
join, please send a request with the following information: 1) Why you
are interested in joining the coven and 2) What skills/abilities you
have to contribute to our sisterhood.
MEMBERSHIP
UPDATE! We are asking all coven members to set up a monthly recurring
donation via PayPal (instead of an annual fee, as we have done in the
past). This will give Z a more steady and predictable stream of
resources so we can stay ahead of the curve and bring our ideas and
events to life, including our next biggest event: Goddess Festival 2024
(where coven members get a discount)!
Goddess of the Month - March 2023: Dziewanna
Tinnekke Bebout
 |
Devana by Viktor Korolov
|
WHO IS DZIEWANNA?
Dziewanna
(Jeh' van na)is a Slavic goddess who filled many roles in our rich
culture. Daughter of Perun and Dodola, She is the Spring Maiden and
revered by farmers as Goddess of agriculture. However, She is unlike
Persephone in that role. She does not come back from sleeping under the
Earth in winter. Lada, who is the Spring Mother, does that. Dziewanna is
a Maiden Huntress and a fierce warrior. While some have claimed a link
between Her and the Roman Diana, their roles are only superficially
similar. There are traces of Her worship that have been found from the
Baltic Sea to the Balkans of an ancient wild forest goddess in the
oldest relics. She is wild and free, Mistress of horses, Who rides
through the land awakening the plants and banishing the winter crone, so
that Lada may return. There are many spellings of Her name depending on
the tribe of Slavs. Some of these include:
Dziewona - Poland
Dilwica - Serbia
Devana - Czech, Russian
Debena - Slovenia
The Maiden
One
of the interesting things about Dziewanna is that Her name translates
as "The Maiden" or shares linguistic roots with the word for maiden in
every tribal Slavic language. It's also fascinating that Her name also
translates in Polish as "Giver of Life". "The people believed that the
God Zywie, the Lord of Life, used to transform himself into a cuckoo, in
order to address the faithful with ominous voice. This deity is the
male counterpart of Jiva, the Slavonian Goddess of the Spring, whose
name is a contracted form of Jivana, in Polish Ziewonia, that is, "the
giver of life" (jizn')." - J. Grimm, Deustche Mythologie.(1) No matter
what version of Her you encounter, She is a true virgin, whole unto
Herself, Her hair wild and free. Like Mokosz, Her free hair is very much
a part of Her iconography, as it is a cultural designator of a woman
not bound to any man. Women in Slavic cultures traditionally bound their
hair into tight, complex braids as part of their preparations for
marriage. The thicker and heavier the braid, the better in Slavic
cultures, where part of the wedding ritual was "the buying of the braid"
by the groom. However, the picture is even more interesting for those
who take the time to learn about Her. Dziewanna is married; married and
free of the control of a man at the same time. In a world of cultural
boxes that put Maiden Goddesses squarely into the category of unmarried
and having no romantic relationships, She is something of a pickle. Her
mate, Veles, is a strong deity as well, Lord of the Earth, Water, and
the Underworld, as well as poetry and music. He is also Lord of Magick
and is heavily associated with dragons. Unlike the ownership marriages
of other cultures, the ancient marriage of Dziewanna and Veles is one of
equals where both are whole to themselves, meeting as helpmeets and
partners who complement one another. They both take other partners at
various times and also spend time alone. There is no trace of jealous
rages in their stories, just a self-assured partnership. Together they
had one son, Jarilo, Lord of all things green and growing and also a
warrior, who returns with the Spring every year from the land of the
dead. There are stories of Jarilo being son of Veles rival Perun, but if
you look at the oldest folk references, especially those fom old
Serbian, his full name is Jarovit Kobilic, Kobilic being a surname that
translates as "Son of the Mare". In all Slavic cultures, Dziewanna is
the Mare, and is represented by a mare in much of the iconography, so
you see that Jarilo's roots as the son of Dziewanna and Veles are easy
to find. I find in Her and in Her relationships with Veles and Jarilo a
wonderful model for modern womyn who are wanting to be truly free in
themselves and have a relationship of love with any kind of partner.
Multifaceted Goddess
Looking
into the nature of Dziewanna, there are so many places to find Her and
commune with Her. Pomerania in northern Poland has an area with heavy
associations both in names and in legends of Dziewanna and Her Wild
Hunt. The villages of Zydowo and Polanow and the surrounding forests and
lakes are deep in this lore. The track of Her Hunt is said to go from
Gallow Hill the Holy Mountain of Polanow. On the Holy Mountain is a
sacred spring identified in local lore with the Wild Virgin. At the
outlet of the Radew River near Zydowo is the hillfort of the Goddess.
Southeast of Zydowo is Stone Lake, which is said to contain two bells at
its bottom. These bells are associated with the Winter Queen Marzanna
and with the Spring Maiden Dziewanna. During the spring festival of
Maslenitsa, it was traditional for men and women to work together
creating a straw figure dressed in women's clothing which would be
driven around the village during the festivites until sunset of the
final day, when the people would carry it out of town to "Bury Death".
The creation of this figure usually took place in the home of the last
person to die prior to Maslenitsa. Depending on the location, the figure
would either be buried at the roots of an oak tree or thrown into a
body of water. After this figure is banished, they bring back into the
village a prettily dressed doll which is called many things, but most
commonly the May Queen or Dziewanna. This doll represents the fertility
of the coming season and the warming of the Earth. In addition to all
this work as Goddess of Spring and Sacred Mare, Dziewanna is also the
Maiden Huntress who protects all wild places. She is free and roams the
forests with on horseback with Her hounds. She is also Goddess of the
Moon. As a lunar goddess, She was said to run through the Carpathians
with Her pack of wolves.
Wild Huntress - by Tinnekke Bebout
Ahwoo! The wolves howl!
Whose soft footsteps are in the night?
Do you see the moonlight flashing on Her bow?
It is Dziewanna, Wild Huntress taking flight!
On Her white mare She rides,
Her faithful pack at Her side.
She chases away the Winter Crone;
She opens the way for the return of life.
Follow Her, the Wild and Free One.
Join Her hunt if you dare.
Send Springs blessings to us, Lady!
Banish death and the dark!
Send the chill of Winter's Breath
Back to the Land of Ice and Snow.
Summon Your son, Lord of the Growing Things
To bring us plenty of fruit and grain.
Lead Your spouse, Lord of Rain
To bless our fields and make plants grow!
Thank you Lady of the Wild Wood
For giving us sustenance in the dark
When the grip of ice was upon the land
And nothing green can ever grow.
(1) Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie (p. 543)
Beltane 2024 
Comments
Post a Comment