Easter has come and gone and i have to say that it finally feels like spring. the trees finally have that golden green glow that means new life. So far, my garden is lackluster and truth be told, im not sure what im going to do with it just yet. my blueberry bushes are sprouting leaves, as are the blackberries, and the wedding-bells are just over a foot tall. They had been spreading like crazy over the years and earlier, around mid march, i corralled them in with a recycled brick circle ( affectionately called a crop circle by my sister).
But on to Easter. To the ancient greeks, it meant that Prosephone, daughter of Demeter, had once again returned to the world, and to the (pardon the generality) wiccan community the goddess is once again youthful and full of life as the now reborn god is growing into adolescence. The generic myth is actually quite poetic and beautiful. To Christians, this is a time of rejoicing in the Resurrection of Christ after his crucifiction and death. Again, the promise of life.
Now you might be asking where i'm going with this. In the Orthodox Church there is a great emphasis on Mary the Virgin Mother of God, who we call the Theotokos. Always she is referenced as our greatest protector, consoler, and emmisary to God. She takes the role of the balancer in my mind. There is iconography of herself arms open, the infant Jesus within a circle within her. It is through her that we were given a mortal born but deified creation; and i cant help but wonder if her role would have been different had the church not been patriarchal.
In any event, ive gone off on a completely different tangent that i had planned... i was actually going to talk about powders and folk beliefs... meh, next time. But anywho, i gues what im working on conceptually is the nature of the holy spirit as a femenin principle. In the way the Trinity, for me, gains some clarity. God as Father, Child, and Spirit, where that spirit gives rise to creation and takes on the role of Mother.
... I'll get back to you
Solstice
