In the earliest of times, I believe humans did not see themselves as separate from all that was around them.\u00a0 All of life was interdependent.\u00a0 I see this in my own practice today.\u00a0 When we are born, we are born to a mother.\u00a0 Our lives are solely dependent on her for survival.\u00a0 We are birthed by her, nourished by her, protected by her, and sometimes forced out to experience on our own, by her.\u00a0 She is at first, our own Original Uncultured Mother.\u00a0 Once we move from her shelter, we begin to experience our world in the same way, looking not only for what nourishes, what protects and what shelters, but also for what we need to be mindful of for our own safety, those forces far out of our control.\u00a0 Those forces, which were uncontrollable, the ancients held in high esteem, and honored with reverence.<\/p>\n
We might see her in all the symbols around us.\u00a0 If we look at the Earth as the Body of the Goddess we might see her soil as her skin, her rivers and streams as her blood, flowing just as women\u2019s blood flowed.\u00a0 We would see the oceans as the waters of life bringing forth new beings, sustenance for all.\u00a0 At the same time, these oceans could be seen as her mighty power, taking and giving with the tides, those same tides controlling the cycles of women\u2019s bleeding times.\u00a0 We would see the mountains as her breasts, the snow melting and running down her sides into the rivers and streams as her nourishing milk.\u00a0 We often describe our earth Goddess by saying, \u201cher flesh is the soil; her hair is the trees and other plants.\u00a0 Her bones are the rocks, and her breath is the wind.\u00a0 She lies, her limbs and body extended, and on her body, we live.\u00a0 When it is cold, she shivers; when it is hot, she sweats.\u00a0 And when she moves, there is an earthquake.\u201d\u00a0 We see this carried forth in mythology, once written language was developed.\u00a0 Look at Danu who was the mighty Danube River; Cailleach Bheara, found in ancient Scottish and Irish mythology as the maker of mountains, lakes and rivers.\u00a0 In Co. Meath, Ireland there is a set of chambered cairns on a hill, which is known as Sliabh na Caillighe, which means “the Hag’s mountain,” or “the witches’ hills.”\u00a0 Finally, David Leeming, in his book, Goddess: Myths of the Divine Female,<\/span> describes the cave, \u201ca mysterious damp orifice \u2026 maternal wombs \u2026 vulva slits, all connected to the mysteries of birth and the source of all life.<\/p>\n In my own practice today, I feel very connected to these ancient people in the ways that I honor the sacred.\u00a0\u00a0 I have, for the most part, shed much of my dualistic thinking and reconnected to the whole in my reverence for Goddess.\u00a0 In my daily living, I find physical ways to immerse myself in her.\u00a0 When I am able to be by the sea, I stand in Her sacred waters. If I cannot do it in person, I do it in my mind.\u00a0\u00a0 Each day I feel Her breath on my skin, and bend to feel the soil at my feet.\u00a0 I listen to the birds, and on occasion, I am blessed with wild animals at my back door.\u00a0 The trees are a very real part of my life \u2013 my friends \u2013 my kin!\u00a0 From all of these I look for messages to guide my life.\u00a0 I know that I am dependent of all that surrounds me.\u00a0 I look to the Sky above me, to the Seas surrounding me, and to the Land beneath my feet, and most importantly, to She Who is the Sacred Fire infusing and inspiring us all.\u00a0 She is my Original Uncultured Mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the earliest of times, I believe humans did not see themselves as separate from all that was around them.\u00a0 All of life was interdependent.\u00a0 I see this in my own practice today.\u00a0 When we are born, we are born to a mother.\u00a0 Our lives are solely dependent on her for survival.\u00a0 We are birthed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1255,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1047","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n