Winter and the Hag

The sacred Wheel of the Year has turned again and now Autumn has now given way to Winter. The hours of daylight are noticeably shorter and temperatures lower. The leaves are falling steadily from the trees, leaving them as bare skeletons. We have entered the time of the Death Hag, She who rules the barren earth. The following is an excerpt from The Gaia Tradition: Celebrating the Earth in Her Seasons by Kisma Stephanich that is most appropriate to share at this time of the year.

In the Winter, all life slows down, breathing is laboured, silence. Everywhere the stark land stretches. All is dormant, awaiting the rebirth of the Sun, awaiting the gentle touching fingertips of the solar rays when they reach down and caress the land, planting their essence of warmth to germinate the seeds burrowed deep in the Mother’s womb.

Prayer to the Goddess

A Healing Altar

When I started writing this posting, I hesitated due to one word - that being the word "prayer".  I wondered where it was an appropriate word to use due to the heavy Christain associated with it, however other associated words such as "plea", "desire", "request", "hope" or even "petition" (a word I do personally tend to use) just simply did not have the right sounding.  According to an online dictionary, the word "prayer" does mean "religious observance" which is the context of the word I am after, so "prayer" it is.

The following is the first of a series of prayers that can be said to the Great Goddess, the Divine Feminine, during sessions of honouring and worship.  If there is a particular Goddess that you personally align with, then their name (and title) can be included wherever appropriate.

Invocation to Sekhmet

The Lion headed Goddess, also known as the "Eye of Ra", is one of the five Goddesses who we will be working with during this year's "Encountering the Dark Goddess" workshop.

As it was at Memphis,
So be it now!

Hear me, I beseech Thee, O Powerful One!

Lady of Rekht,
Lady of Pekhet,
Lady of Set,
Lady of Rehesaui,
Lady of Tchar and of Sehert!

Ride of the Valkyries

Ride of the Vakyries by Kirsten Preston

The Wheel of the Year is constantly turning and as Summer reluctantly making way for Autumn, a rather poignant day is fast approaching for those of us who reside in Australia and New Zealand - that of ANZAC Day which occurs on 25 April every year.  I wrote about the history surrounding this day last year on my other blog.  Instead, I thought I would write about the Valkyries, the Norse deities who would roam the battle fields deciding which soul will die and which would live.

Tanit of Carthage

Tanit was a Phoenician Goddess and the patron of Carthage in northern Africa as well as throughout the western Mediterranean, from Malta to Gades (Cadiz in south western Spain), into Hellenistic times.  Associated with the moon, from the 5^th BCE onwards she is associated with Baal Hammon where she was given the epithet of  pene baal ("face of Baal"), along with the title of rabat, the female form of rab (chief).

In North Africa, where the inscriptions and material remains are more plentiful, aside from being the consort of Baal Hammon, Tanit was also depicted as the Heavenly Goddess of War, a virginal “mother” goddess, and less specifically, a symbol of fertility.

Her shrine excavated at Sarepta in southern Phoenicia revealed an inscription that identified her for the first time in her homeland and related her securely to the Phoenician Goddess Astarte (who was also identified with Ishtar).  The worship of Tanit was also uncovered at Kerkoyane in the Tunisian Cap Bon peninsula.

Blessings of Ixcacao and the Cacao Tree

Easter often equals chocolate in the minds of many people as opposed to it's religious significance held by those of the Christian faith.


The Cacao Tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilisation of Central America and Southern Mexico, who believed it to be of divine origin, cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning "God Food" hence the tree's modern generic Latin name 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning ‘Food of the Gods’. 

The Maya brewed a spicy, bitter sweet drink by roasting and pounding the seeds of the cacao tree (cocoa beans) with maize and capsicum (chilli) peppers and letting the mixture ferment. This drink was reserved for use in ceremonies as well as for drinking by the wealthy and religious elite, they also ate a cacao porridge.