To all mothers of all types, mothers by blood, our Mother Earth, and those mothers we encounter on the road of life … thank you!
10 May
To all mothers of all types, mothers by blood, our Mother Earth, and those mothers we encounter on the road of life … thank you!
12 May
Just a quick, floral Happy Mother’s Day. To anyone who fulfills a Mother role — whether through biological motherhood, stepmothers, grandmothers who stand in for mom’s, or those who nurture others and our Mother Earth and Her creatures in profound and loving ways — thank you for being you. I wish each and every one of you a special day filled with love and beauty.
22 Apr
Happy Earth Day and a belated Happy Easter to everyone! Things are certainly returning to life in Michigan:
Whether this Earth Day finds you in the glories of Spring or the quiet rustle of Autumn, I wish you increased awareness of our Mother Earth, who nurtures and provides for us. May she know and feel our love! May she grow healthy and strong as we honor her.
14 May
Our friend Tim sent this lovely photo of his Mother’s Day altar and said I could share it here. Wishing all mothers and those who mother or love and honor The Mother a Happy Mother’s Day!
5 Feb
Today’s post comes as a follow-up to yesterday’s shared post with Ann Kreilkamp of Exopermaculture. If you’ve not read that, please click through to both of our comments by following this link. We’ll begin with a comment bump-up from reader Kieron:
Y’know, in seeking out info on that ritual that took place last Sunday (and I forbade anyone in my house to watch it, BTW), I’ve found several references to the “sacrificial” or “blood sacrifice” date of “Imbolg,” with references to ritual killings to honor Brigid, Bride or any other spelling of Her name. Or “connections” to “Imbolg” (which is how it’s being spelled in these sites) as a Satanic holiday. Obviously there’s a lot of disinfo, not to mention idle speculation by people who have no idea what Imbolc is about. But it sorta fits with Ann’s remark about the increase in demonization of the awakening Divine Feminine. The disinfo controllers know their days are numbered so they’re opening the sewers to create a stink and keep people from finding the bits of truth in the mess.
For those not aware, the ritual to which Kieron refers is the Superbowl half-time show, which for the past several years has been (or has at least been designed to appear) overtly Satanic. I don’t need to go through the ritual here. I didn’t watch it. I don’t have a television. I consider the Superbowl a barbaric embarrassment to America and to humanity in general. It’s one of the largest human trafficking events in the world, the hugest drunkfest, and an enormous waste of resources and for what? A bunch of men running around and getting concussions? Uh-huh, great stuff, even without the halftime “show.”
You can find innumerable analyses of that halftime show ranging from somewhat intelligent to completely hysterical, fundamentalist fear porn. Here’s the deal, and I said this about last year’s performance, too: the Illumi-snotty know they’ve been busted for their sick child sacrifices and other things beyond the imagination of normal, healthy humans. Will they fess up? No, not really, and these in your face rituals are not — as some people assume — designed as confessions. They’re designed to redirect public attention. As I have noted before, and as Ann notes again in yesterday’s commentary, conveniently, the demonized element becomes … wait for it … some “evil” Goddess, along with anyone who has ever showed any interest in agricultural/Earth celebrations like The Wheel of the Year, which originally celebrated the seasons and Mother Earth.
Of course, in a patriarchal, genetically modified, transhumanist-pushing, weather-warfared world, tuning into real mothers, natural feminine creative force, and actual, un-manipulated seasons becomes a threat. Aligning with Goddess energy, especially with Mother Earth, any Goddess associated with Sovereignty and the Land, or the mother aspects (think mama bear) of any people-loving powerful Goddess would be things the patriarchal pariahs want to discourage at all costs. We’ve had millennia of propaganda, genocides, book burnings, and witch burnings, and yet still, here She is. That pesky feminine force that will not be silenced.
If you can’t suppress from above, then what’s the next best thing? Start a revolution from below. Get the well-intentioned but still patriarchal and largely brainwashed New Agers to unite with born again Christians and start busting the “pagan” qualities in all these rituals. Nevermind that pagans (“country dwellers”) and heathens (“of the heath”) existed long before the “Holy” Roman Empire massacred anyone who wouldn’t accept their one, redeeming “truth.” It’s all Satanic, yep, that’s the ticket to complete domination. Begin it as a conspiracy and pretty soon, even the dumbed down masses will imbibe what their slightly more awake (but still controlled by the hidden hand) “peers” tell them about the self-appointed “elite” puppeteers.
Just like in the French Revolution, which the Illumi-snotty brag about orchestrating (talk about a blood sacrifice!), the “useless eaters” will begin demanding that anyone and everyone who sounds like a witch, a pagan, a heathen, even gardeners (now on the terrorist watch list, no lie!), and anyone who uses esoteric skills, works with Mother Earth, or honors the Goddess in her many forms, should be burned at the stake, hung from the nearest lamppost, because they’re “just like George H.W. Bush or Queen Lizardbeth.” Those two will, no doubt, go into hiding or fake their deaths, not actually be affected the 21st century Inquisition. Meanwhile, the frenzied, fiery masses — if stoked enough — will demand a purge to usher in either a State sponsored official “rational religion” or an even more complete right-wing, fundamentalist backlash against women, the Earth and any individual connection to Spirit or Soul.
Guess who will be most affected by this New Age Inquisition? New Ager’s. Yep, just like Communists use their liberal mouthpieces like journalists, artists and intellectuals to whip up frenzied demands for Communism and then promptly kill all these people once they get in power, the very “Christ Consciousness” New Ager’s getting so frothy against paganism will likely be lumped into the “esoteric” purge. Already in the UK, there’s a movement to shut down “esoteric” websites, supposedly because some child pornography rings have hidden behind them as cover. This has gotten public approval, but it has also linked child pornography with esoteric learning. A very small percentage of occult or esoterically educated people have anything to do with the horrors of child pornography or child sacrifice. Those who do are usually in positions of power like police chiefs, presidents, Senators, princes, Secret Societies or their high-powered associates.
The people who probably are not involved are your friendly neighborhood gardeners, tarot readers or people who gather for Wheel of the Year feasts celebrating the harvest. Yes, the harvest … or the planting season, the first growth, the animals’ various stages of reproduction. The Land. The Elements. The cycles of time, birth, life, death and rebirth. This brings me to today’s title, “Disinfo Alert: What is Imboc (Imbolg) and Who is Brigid?”
Imbolc translates to “in belly” and refers to the ewes being nearly ready to give birth to their lambs, which in pre-modern times meant fresh milk after a long winter of dwindling rations. Another version of the word, “Oimelc,” actually meant “ewe’s milk.” Contrary to whatever disinfo the hysterical people are spreading around online, and contrary to whatever patriarchal perversions the self-appointed “elite” have twisted this cross-quarter day into, Imbolc (celebrated on February 1) traditionally honored aspects of motherhood. Gestation, milk, lambs. The Irish Goddess Brigid — patron of midwives, newborn children, mothers and the hearthfire — was also honored on that date. In fact, devotion to this powerful Goddess was so strong that the Irish refused to give her up. The Catholic Church needed to adopt her — pretty much as is — and honor her on the same day.
“The Christian Feast Day of St. Brigid of Kildare, one of the two patron saints of Ireland, is held on February 1, the pre-Christian holiday known as Imbloc. It is well known that St. Brigid has the same name as a pre-Christian Goddess of Ireland, variously known as Brighid (pronounced “Breed”), Brigid, Brigit, Bride, or Bridie. The name Brigid is from the Celtic ‘Brig’ meaning ‘High One’ or ‘Exalted One.’ Brigid like other Irish Goddesses was originally associated with a Mountain Mother, protectress of the people who lived within sight of her and of the flocks nurtured on her slopes.” (source)
In addition to all these mother-related associations, Brigid was a goddess of sacred wells — wells with healing water, not whirlpools for drowning! Associated with healing, poetry and smithcraft and the fire that inspires all three, Brigid was and is one of the most powerful feminine forces revered for ages. Originally, iron for smithworking was associated with the menstrual blood of the Earth. Smithing was a magickal profession that required Brigid’s favor. You couldn’t just rape the Earth of her innards and expect to survive; you needed to honor the Mother, ask for permission and follow protocols. You needed the blessing of a powerful midwife Goddess.
I haven’t read all the discussions of “Imbolg,” but as Kieron shared in his comment, they mostly focus on blood and fire “sacrifices.” I mentioned yesterday that the original blood offering came from women and was menstrual blood — something potent, nourishing, powerful and deeply, unequivocally feminine. If a patriarchal crew suddenly wanted to co-opt a peaceful religion and somehow associated blood with power, then the only way to do so without honoring women would be to turn a peaceful female blood offering into violent blood sacrifices. This does not and never did have anything to do with Brigid! Anyone who says it does is either misinformed through propaganda; is referring to some patriarchal perversion of an original celebration of mothers, motherhood, milk and fertility; or is trying to foment a 21st century witch hunt. Please don’t participate in this kind of slander, which will only backfire on those perpetuating it.
The hearth flame of Brigid represents home and the nourishing qualities of fire, not the burn your house down or burn the nearest witch quality of fire. Each Element is a powerful force capable of nurturing or destruction. Originally, people honored fire at cross quarter days (the halfway points between each season’s start on the Wheel of the Year) for its life giving or nurturing properties, specific to the time of year. At Imbolc, halfway between Winter and Spring, fire meant “hearth fire.” At Bealtaine, cattle were run between fires in order to remove parasites. Bealtaine also celebrates the inner fire of passion and its outward expression of fertility. At Lammas (loaf mass) or Lughnassagh (for Lugh, the Sun God), they celebrated the baking of grain into bread and the hot, bright sun that allowed crops to grow. On Samhain, perhaps the most legitimately “scary” of the festivals, at least for people who fear death, it was time to honor the ancestors and to put the land to sleep for the winter. The final harvest festival of the year, Samhain acknowledges the importance of death as part of the life cycle. People lit candles for ancestors, with whom they still felt deep kinship.
Imbolc also has associations with “spring cleaning” and taking stock of winter supplies. Halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, Imbolc marked the time of checking if a family had enough food to make it through May. These seasons are based on British Isles and Old Europe, so obviously, in some areas like Northern Indiana, a household would need more than half their supplies to make it through early harvest. Our last frost date sometimes doesn’t occur until early June! In the most traditional sense, Imbolc celebrated the return of the ewe’s milk, which offered sustenance not only for the little lambs, but also for hungry humans nearing the end of their food stores. Imbolc was a celebration of life and the promise that Winter would not last forever. We don’t know a lot about it, except that rural people held this day as incredibly important. In a culture that recognized a spiritual and soulful connection in their food growth and harvesting, we can perhaps understand why this would be so.
I hope these descriptions begin to clarify some of the deep, targeted disinformation and slander making waves on the internet these days. Brigid is the Matron Goddess of Faery Healing. You can read more about that here. If you’d like to learn more about celebrating the seasons, you can find countless books on rituals to honor the Wheel of Year. One particularly nice one is Jane Meredith’s “Rituals of Celebration.” There are beautiful rituals ranging from simple solitary to complex group, but I’ve never seen anything advising human sacrifice. Even this pagan website called (a threatening to some) “Raise the Horns,” doesn’t consider Imbolc any kind of sacrificial event. The article traces the history of Brigid, Imbolc, and the simultaneous but differently derived Candlemas. If you’d like to read more about the bizarre lengths our culture has gone to from pretty much every direction to denigrate or suppress the Goddess energies, I highly recommend Monica Sjoo’s book, “Return of the Dark/Light Goddess or New Age Armageddon.”
My friend Mitch also has this to say of her other book, “Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth”: While I appreciate and have learned much from Dark/Light Mother, Monica Sjoo’s calling is ‘Cosmic Mother’, I cannot put it down. It’s hard to describe but it really feels like I’m reading a sacred text or a pivitol historic masterpiece, even though I don’t like that word but you get the gist, it just feels like ‘home’, sacred truth, kind of a ‘ahh so this is what it’s all about’ feeling. It truly is one of the best and most important books I’ve ever read. The only thing lacking is any knowledge of an (male) ET war on the divine feminine in Universe(?) and on Mother Earth but those holes are easily filled in. Almost every page has some incredible factoid nugget or connective wisdom I want to take an iphoto and send you so instead I urge you to order it and dive in, even if you have a pile of other books waiting, lol.
I do have a huge pile of other books waiting, but I ordered Great Cosmic Mother anyway. Other reference books would include Barbara Tedlock’s “The Woman in the Shaman’s Body” and, oddly enough, a belly dancing book called, “Grandmother’s Secrets.” The Illumi-snotty would have everyone reject the power of ritual as something evil or ridiculous, while keeping the power of ritual all to themselves. In our time of reclamation, let us also reclaim our own rights to live in harmony with each other and with Earth, Sea and Sky. May we heal them, and allow them to heal us!
19 Jan
From YouTube:
Enjoy the Beauty of Mother Earth on Music by Robert Gass. Track “Ancient Mother” from the CD “Discovering Spirit in Sound Chanting”. For the free wallpapers used in this clip, please visit http://www.naturedesktop.org
8 Nov
I just discovered Jonathan Evatt’s wonderful, thoughtful blog. This post goes right along with some of my recent posts on the Sacred Feminine, tuning in with Mother Earth, and it even describes the origins of the word, “Terra.”
I was reading through an interesting web page with information on ancient prophecies. Someone made the comment that the idea of an “Mother Earth” within Native North America is a new idea. The commenter seemed to primarily be referring to it being a new term within Native American ideology, suggesting that it arose from a book credited to Black Elk of the Sioux, and that the concept then became popular in the 1980’2 onward. He said has found no reference to this concept across Canadian or North American native tribes.
Here’s what I wrote in reply to his observations… which I am posting here as it may be of interest to my readership.
I am not sure whether you are particularly looking for reference to the exact phrase “mother earth” or for something that references that concept. The concept most certainly exists, and there is evidence showing it goes back at least 20,000 years or more. However, I am no historian of Native North American traditions, so I can’t comment there. But I can give other examples, that would suggest it’s highly UNLIKELY the Native North American’s had no concept of the mother of creation, and of the Earth as a Motherly Being.
In New Zealand, the Maori refer to Papatuanuku. That’s the Earth Mother in their language. It dates back thousands of years.
The Kogi people of Columbia (a pre-Columbian civilisation still intact today) refer to the Mother in a vast array of manifestations. One of those is the Mother of the Earth. But for them, pretty much everything has a Mother. Mountains, lakes, species, the Sun, etc, and everything is born out of a the Mother. Their very existence is dedicated to the Mother. They also refer to the creative dimension or “mind” of the Mother… called Aluna.
Elsewhere throughout the Andes there is the recognition of Pachamama, the Earth Mother, the source and creator of all life on Earth.
In India there are a multitude of references to the Mother aspect of creation. The most cosmic or vast is Gayatri, the Mother of all Creation. Shakti is a reference to more of an Earthly creative mother energy. Another example is Nullri Laksmi, the eternal consort of Lord Visnu and life-giver to Him and all the world. Then there’s the Goddess Devi, in whom the world and gods exist and flourish. There are many other similar Divine, Cosmic, and Earth Mother names and deities in the Hindu culture.
Early Christian ideology also referred to the Mother. Not specifically “Earth Mother” but most certainly a Divine Feminine aspect of Creation. Early Gnostic Christian texts refer to the Mother extensively. The Catholic concept of the Mother Virgin Mary was also used as a representation of the Divine Mother, and had links to the notion of the Mother of the Earth, even as the Mother of God.
It also helps to look at the meaning behind common words we use. The English word “matter” comes from the Greek and Latin word ‘matar’, meaning Mother. This is reflective of a culture and ideology that related to the Earth and the physical dimension as a Mother or Motherly force.
‘Earth’ in Greek is ‘Gaia’, which also refers to a feminine Goddess deity who is the Mother of the Earth.
Throughout Slavic, Scandinavian, European, Middle Eastern, North African, Celtic, Roman, etc. cultures are a plentitude of names and references to the Earth Mother. Screeds and screeds of them, actually. Way too many to list here.
The word ‘Terra’, which in English refers to Earth, is Roman for a Goddess who is the personification of the Earth. The term Terra Mater was a common reference to the Mother Earth.
The exact term “Earth mother” in English is etymologically attributed back to at least 1904, as a literal translation of German ‘erdmutter’, which refers to a Goddess that is the source of Life. Again, it means “Earth Mother”.
As for Canada and North America? Well, as I said… I am not an expert on such things. But in light of what I have just shared above, I would be VERY VERY surprised if somehow the vast number of tribes and cultures that once lived in those regions of the Earth were collectively somehow one of the only ancient human cultures and traditions to be oblivious to the notion of the Earth Mother… to the mother as the source of all Life, and form, of their very being.
~ Some potential evidence of Native North American appreciation of the Mother of the Earth ~
Not content with leaving this subject and not speaking more to the Native (North) American relationship to ‘Mother Earth’, I’ve done a little research into the Native American side of this story… and here are a few quotations that indicate that indicate to me the concept of Mother Earth in Native North America is not something that arose out of the 1960’s…
* Wakan Tanka, the Lakota Sioux name for “Great Spirit,” “Great Mystery,” or Supreme Being, is an amalgamation of a dominant Father sky god, Mother Earth, and numerous spirits who control the elements as well as human life…
* Other Indian nations since ancient times have believed in a Supreme Being whom they called “father” and thought of either as a man or an animal — especially a wolf — with human thoughts and speech. This creator god is addressed by the Shoshone, for instance, as Tam Apo (“Our Father”). Belief in a Mother Earth figure echoes the Neolithic Goddess culture in which women were essentially equal partners with men, and the feminine principle was openly acknowledged as the great source of human, animal, and vegetable life.
* Hopi Maze or Mother Earth Symbol
– This is an important symbol of the Hopi people and many other Native American tribes. The Maze represents the maze of life, that is, the obstacles and challenges that one has to overcome to evolve spiritually and become one with the divine power. It is also known as the Mother Earth symbol and signifies the deep bond between the mother Earth and us, her children. The center line symbolizes the child (a metaphor for the beginning of our philosophical journey) and the surrounding maze represents the mother’s (Earth’s or Nature’s) support that is always available to guide the child through life. The Mother Earth/Maze symbol identifies all that is sacred in nature and reminds man to revere and be thankful to it.
* Ina maka — This term translates as “mother earth.” (Oglala Lakota)
* (from Wikipedia): The Hopi people of North America (Turtle Island), Arizona, USA, refer to the Earth as Tuuwaqatsi-Earth Mother. According to the knowledge they have carefully preserved down the ages, the Earth is our “Land and our Life,” which is remembered in their first law: Tutskwa I’qatsi – Land and Life are one. The Goddess-Earth has a male counterpart representing the inner life or core of the Earth. This inner life-soul-mind-womb is sometimes referred to as Maski, or spirit-home, the place where people go following death. This place is sometimes referred to as the “underworld.”
++ There’s also plenty of interesting reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_goddess
Whilst it’s not all specifically about “Earth Mother”, it’s all relevant, and there is a section on Earth Mother traditions.
** Granted, I’ve not researched the original sources of these quotes, so they might all be invalid. But I doubt that’s the case, and they certainly seem on parr with what one might expect, based on how most other ancient and indigenous cultures had an appreciation of the Divine Mother, and of the Earth as Mother, or the Mother of the Earth.
Looking at the above information—which really only scratches the surface of this topic—it would seem the Mother took a long holy-day somewhere other than here on Earth. In contemporary “Western” societies there is almost zero reference to the Divine Mother and the Earth Mother. She’s all but vanished. Where did she go, and how?
Of course, the Mother didn’t go anywhere, it’s more a question of where did she go within our view of the world. Some people speak of us living in an age of materialism which is in fact maternalism at its root, which implies the -ism of the Mother. Yet our society is basically oblivious to the idea of the Divine Mother. Some religions refer to the Divine Father, yet want to us to believe the Mother’s gone on eternal maternity leave or something.
From my perspective the Mother was systematically and intentionally removed from the Human story. She was an inconvenience, in more ways than one, that those who wished to maintain power and control over the world wanted to do without. Millions of Goddess worshiping women were killed right across Europe not that long ago. Nearly all pagan (and Goddess worshipping) traditions were intentionally whipped out. Indigenous and native cultural traditions (and often the entire culture and race) were destroyed all over the world. Most of this madness was done in the name of spreading an almost entirely patriarchal religion around the world. A religion that previously eliminated its own references to and acknowledgement of the Divine Feminine.
So it’s not that the Mother has gone. She’s as present as a human mother is present to the birth of a human child. Simply put, the Mother is indispensable. We just need to open our spiritual eyes (and Heart) and SEE.
[You can find the original article here, along with many more posts. I love it when thoughtful males really “get” it about the Divine Mother and the vital return of the Sacred Feminine. Many thanks, Jonathan!]
27 May
Thanks, Mitch! Below you’ll find an incredible short documentary about tree activists near Eureka, CA — people who protected the Redwoods by actually living in them. I’m struck by the difference between pruning trees to help them grow and the sheer destruction of logging. Having lived in Northern California and Southern Oregon, I’ve witnessed both the majesty of the redwood groves and the landscape’s scars. A handful of people can make a huge difference! Many thanks for their dedication and love for the Tree People and Mother Earth.
From the makers of the film:
“Risking injury and incarceration, an environmental activist disrupts the clear-cutting of an ancient redwood grove by sitting on a tiny platform a hundred feet up in the tree canopy. Already three years into the tree-sit when filming begins, AMONG GIANTS blends vérité cinematography with intimate personal reflection to remarkable effect.
This film was shot and edited in 2011, and a year later, the tree-sit ended as a victory for the tree-sitters (indybay.org/newsitems/2012/06/26/18716373.php) As of 2013, negotiations are still underway for the sale of the land, and the exact acreage is still being determined.
Huge thanks to “Farmer,” “Bingmouse,” “Amanita,” and the rest of the tree-sitters for allowing us to live with them and film their story. Learn more about their work, donate, and see what they’re up to now: efhumboldt.org
for further requests about the film, please contact info@rainhousecinema.com
Thanks for watching!
– Chris, Ben, Sam // Rainhouse Cinema”
Among Giants from Rainhouse Cinema on Vimeo.
12 May
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, Earth lovers, goddesses, and to those who nurture and love others, whether their own or others’ children.