Encountering Tiamat from the Watery Deep

Takhisis, Queen of Darkness
by Jeff Easley

Often depicted as a watery demon, the Babylonian Goddess Tiamat was actually a primordial deity whose death created the heavens and the earth.  From the watery chaos of the oceans, Tiamat (who related to the salt water) mated with her partner Abzu/Apsu (the God of the fresh water) in order to create the Babylonian pantheon.

When the younger Gods killed her beloved Abzu, Tiamat sought revenge, only to come up against the Babylonian hero, Marduk, who trapped her in his net.  Being asociated with the winds, Marduk "blew" Tiamat up with his winds and eventually killed her by piercing her stomach with an arrow.  Marduk then cut her body in half: from the upper half he created the sky and from the lower half he made the earth. From her water came forth the clouds and her tears became the source of the Tigris and Euphratus rivers.

Journey with Persephone

Here in the Southern Hemisphere the time of the Autumn Equinox is fast approaching.  Soon it will be the time when, for a brief moment, there is be a balance in the hours of day and night before the scales are tipped in the dark half of the year's favour with the coming of Winter.

Seeds of Light in the Valley of Depair

The following is from Daily Om by Madisyn Taylor

Even in our darkest times, there are seeds of light within ourselves,

we need only call them forward.

Anyone who has walked through the valley of despair and come out the other side knows that even in that darkness, seeds of light can be found.  Often their tendrils reach out of the gloom and into the daylight alongside the journeyer who emerges from that deep sorrow.   When we find ourselves in a place of despair, it can help us to know this, so that we do not give up.  We can stop, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves that we will find ourselves on the other side of this troubled time, and that we may even emerge with something new to offer.

International Women's Day (2013)

Today (8 March 2013) marks International Women’s Day (IWD), a day that marks and acknowledges the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future.  It is also a day when women are recognised for their achievements, regardless of divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.  The struggles and accomplishments of the past are acknowledged as we look towards the future in order to tap into the unrecognised potentials and opportunities that await future generations of women. 

UN Women Australia’s theme for International Women’s Day 2013 is ‘Ending Violence Against Women’.

Encountering the Dark Goddess Kali

This year's Encountering the Dark Goddess workshop will be taking place on 4 May 2013 and already the places are filling up quickly.  As such, one of re-occuring Goddesses that we work within during this workshop is the Hindu Dark Mother, Kali.  This is because even in today's 21st century, Kali is still one of the more mysterious and enigmatic of all the Hindu Goddesses.

Even to the Westerner, Kali brings about feelings of awesome (albeit often greatly misunderstood).  She holds the energies of life and death, which can be likened to the Greek Fates or the Norns, only that she is them rolled into one.