#WiseWoman

[templeofmaatknoxville]

WildWomen, WiseWomen & Witches - A new paradigm for Maiden, Mother & Crone

I run a small private group on FB with adjacent sites at IG & YouTube on the Feminine Divine - A safe space for women moving forward during a lot of cultural change. The following essay was written for my previous Patreon by the same name. I hope you enjoy

Maiden, Mother & Crone The times are changing… with the growing awareness of the spectrum that IS gender, the range and diversity of expression, the many colorful and unique voices that are part of our humanity, it is time to reevaluate in our ongoing effort to Restore the Goddess, some of the more traditional forms perhaps needing a bit of an update to evolve into a more inclusive and embraceable form of the Feminine Divine.

I have spoken to many women over the decades who have expressed great dissatisfaction with the Great Goddess archetypes of Maiden, Mother and Crone. From discussion on the fact that a Maiden does not mean virgin, to the ageism that is intrinsic in the form of the Crone to the feminist movements of the 70s that exalted the independent woman, not for her womb, but for her intelligence and power and to many other patriarchal nomenclature we can no longer embrace.

It might be a time for a deeper dive into this concept and new ways to embrace the concepts represented. For quite some time, I have chosen agrarian terms to express this 3-Fold Goddess… with the sprout of a plant being the maiden, the bloom or fruit of a plant being the mother and the seed itself, in the dark earth, the crone. This is a really lovely way to approach the energies of the Goddess, but more importantly, we must examine the various thresholds that are part of our feminine experience, expressed in divine form.

We are WildWomen, WiseWomen and Witches… Maiden: I think of the Maiden archetype as ripe with youth, empowered by passion and dancing precariously on a precipice of life & death… challenging mortality with an independent spirit, self-assured and maybe even cocky, with a deep connection to Nature that will remain throughout her days. She is like Diana of the Forest and a sister of the Dryads, fierce and untamed. She is a WildWoman, young and with lots of energy, driven by a rather naïve sentiment retained from childhood, but coming face to face with her own power…the New Witch just beginning to blossom on her path and deepen her connection with herself by connecting to nature. She is the seed of the WiseWoman and will hold fast all the experiences of this time in her life as they inform her future. If you are in the Maiden phase, how you relate to the Mother or Crone (Blossom and Seed, Young Woman and Mature Woman) will be different in these years… The Mature Woman will be a mother or a mentor and the Crone will be an elder who perhaps you have been taught to respect, or have chosen to honor because of a special connection, like a grandmother or teacher.

Mother Mother…We must never allow this role to be devalued. Being a Mother, bearing a child is a phenomenal and life-changing experience. As a single mom, I have great respect for the responsibility that comes with this and as the daughter of an amazingly spiritual woman, I am thankful for how I have been ‘mothered’, but just like me, my mother was a woman first. And not every woman chooses to be a mother. That does not make her any less of a woman. This is the one ‘concept’ within the 3-Fold Goddess that has become the most problematic, at least at this moment in time. How many young, fertile women hear “when are you going to have a kid”? OR “when are you going to settle down and start a family”. These are patriarchal remnants of a cultural fabric that is unravelling, so it is incumbent on us to weave a new and stronger tapestry that honors women as autonomous, unique and sacred beings.

So, how do we redesign? Blossom for Mother is a simple start, but let’s examine the period of life that Motherhood encompasses. I use the term ‘mature’ woman because she is no longer an ingenue’. She has experiences under her belt that make her wiser, more discerning, but perhaps not yet free or even finished with patterns and habits that inhibit her growth. She has greater resources, more refined desires and hopefully, a strong support system not only of family, but other strong and confident women. I think of Hera and Brigid, but also of figures like Mary Magdalene and the Goddess Sophia, perhaps the most supernal expression I know of Feminine Wisdom besides Shekinah.

The Mother is the ‘Presence’ of the Goddess, comprised of the experiences of her youth while shaping the events of her future, preparing for a time when life will slow down, her responsibilities will diminish and the body will need more rest. As someone who is knocking on the door of the Crone (delightfully so, I might add) how I now relate to those in their ‘Sprout’ or seedling phase as more than one generation removed, as the ‘younger generation’ to whom we must provide as much support as we can. As I leave this sense of ‘mother’ albeit raising my grandchild, I see more with the eyes of the Crone…

As a mature woman, I engage with the Goddess much differently than I did as a young woman. Then, she was the Great Mother Isis and the Independent Goddess Diana… I looked up to Her, sought Her guidance. Now, I think of Isis as my sister. It was actually a very natural development. When I work with Hekate, I go to Her Hearth, sit beside the fire for a spell and converse with Her as if She was my older and wiser sister….

Crone And now, when I work with the Crone, I see a true WiseWoman, shaped by her experiences and allowing life to flow gracefully and eternally, awakening to worlds not only beyond death, but beyond time, space, perspective…. The Crone is the Elder, the Sage, the Seer, the Shaman, the WiseWoman in the Woods. Her knowledge is buried deep in the earth, where the seed of ‘All-Potential’ lies dormant from one season to another, always part of the cycle… what must it be like beyond this dimension? Does the same cycle apply?

So The Great Goddess is all these things… She is Maiden, Mother, Crone, Daughter, Sister, Lover…. Provider, Savior, Destroyer…. I encourage you to start embracing a more inclusive paradigm, not just the politically correct terms, but the ones formed in compassion and empathy for all human life. That is why I chose Sprout, Blossom and Seed. My Blossom is fading, but the seeds that will result will help create a new generation of love and hope.

[jackiebranc]

WITCHES ON THE ROOF No.3

SEE FULL PROJECT -> https://jackiebranc.site/witches-on-the-roof/

[ancestorsalive]

Season of the Witch

- The origins (and places) of the Cailleach

The Cailleach, divine Hag/Crone of Gaelic folklore, is often portrayed as the embodiment of Winter. She is said to appear as the earth is dying, and is known as a bringer of storms. She is said to control the weather and determine the length of Winter and its harshness.

She is also said to be responsible for the formation of many of the country’s most prominent landmarks, and there are probably more geographical and archaeological features on the Irish landscape, that are associated with the Cailleach, than any other character in Irish folklore (see pics for landmarks & associations).

As a creator of the land and controller of the weather, the Cailleach would appear to represent an archetypal sovereignty/land goddess, whose origins may be traced back to Bronze-Age, or even Neolithic cosmologies.

However, despite her presence on the landscape, the Cailleach does not appear in ANY of the Irish literary myths. In fact, most of the traditions we now associate with the Cailleach (such as her association with winter), can only be traced back as far as the late-19th Century Gaelic revival in Scotland, where she features much more prominently than in Irish folklore.

Her earliest appearance in any written form is in an ‘untitled’ poem from a 16th Century manuscript (though its language suggests some of it was written at a much earlier date - possibly 10th Century) which, after it was first translated in 1899, has come to be known as ‘The Lament of the Old Woman of Beare’.

In the poem, the woman (name unknown) describes herself as an aging Queen of the Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland; lamenting the passing of her youth and the riches and attention that went with it. The poem’s essentially christian narrative holds no hope of redemption or regeneration for the the old woman or the ‘old ways’ that she seems to represent.

Although the poem is untitled, the original introduction line reads… “Sentainne Bérri Cecenit íarna senad don chríni” (The Old Woman of Beare said this when senility had aged her).

The Old-Irish word ‘Sentainne’ meaning ‘Old-Woman’ would come to be replaced in later Middle-Irish with the word ‘Caillech’ - which in Old-Irish means “the veiled one” (specifically a ‘Nun’) but by the 10th Century, had come to signify any woman beyond childbearing years (which was OLD in those days).

The Old Irish ‘caillech’ ('veiled one'), from Old Irish ‘caille’ (‘veil/cloak’) is generally thought to be a loan-word from the Latin ‘pallium/palli(i)’ meaning ‘cover’ or ‘cloak’ (usually in reference to religious vestments - hence the 'nun' translation).

If so, this would make the Cailleach a ‘relative’ newcomer (etymologically speaking), which has led many medievalist academics to propound that she is an early-medieval folk figure rather than an ancient divinity (no surprise there !). . . However, this could be yet another ‘folk-etymology’ - where the meaning of a word changes due to a popular misconception regarding its origins.

Classical writings indicate that the “Cailleach” may have been known as early as the 5th Century BC; in the area known today as Galicia, which gets its name from a Celtic tribe known as the Callaeci. This tribe on the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula were first named as the ‘Kallaikoi’ by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th Century BC; before being Latinised by Roman writers to ‘Callaeci’ in the 2nd Century BC - a name which Ptolemy suggested as meaning ‘worshippers of the Callaec’.

Interestingly, in Spanish folklore, another name for Galicia is "Terra Meiga" (Land of the Witches).

Given that recent archaeological, linguistic and genetic evidence points to a migration into Ireland by ‘Proto-Indo European/Proto-Celtic’ speakers during the Bronze-Age (c.2000 BCE); rather than the traditional view of a later migration of ‘Celtic/Old Irish’ speakers during the Iron-Age, (c.500-100 BCE): It seems unlikely that the word(s) ’caillech/caille’ would be ‘borrowed’ from Latin into Irish at such a late date.

Both Italic (Latin) and Celtic (Irish) are closely related branches of the Indo-European language family; with both languages diverging from the original Proto Indo-European (PIE) language sometime after 2000BCE (The similarity between the Celtic & Italic languages has even led some scholars to believe that there was a Proto Italo-Celtic language spoken prior to their divergence from each other).

Therefore, it now seems likely that the word ‘caille’ derives directly from the PIE root word, *kel- meaning ‘to conceal/hide/cover’.

However. *kel- is also the root of another PIE word - *Kolyo - meaning ‘the coverer’, which is thought to describe a (hypothetical) goddess who is half maiden / half grotesque, governing the realm of death, but also the life which is sustained by death… sound familiar?

It is therefore possible that the modern Cailleach is a variation of this ancient female deity/character (*Kolyo), brought here in the Bronze Age by the same Indo-European speakers, from whom the peoples of Ireland and Scotland are descended ?

- Jane Brideson

The Labbacallee (Hag’s Bed) Wedge Tomb in Co. Cork is said to be another of the Cailleach’s dwellings; which in this instance, she shared with her husband, the druid Mog Roith. Local folklore tells us that during an argument, a huge rock lying in the nearby river was thrown by the Cailleach at her fleeing husband, pinning him to the riverbed. . .

[frommoon2moon]

Moon To Moon; Crone

[thatrevertmarwah]

[antrumpythiae]

The Oracle of Delphi, a city in Phocis, was the most famous oracular centre in Greece, and it had established itself on all other oracles since the VII century BC. It was located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and had originated from the killing by Apollo of the monstrous snake Python, which had been once placed there to guard a sacred source. According to the myth, Apollo then installed the Phythian sanctuary and ordered that a virgin, the Phythia, uttered prophecies inspired by the divine exalations coming up from a crack in the ground, believed to be the very point where the Universe was born from. The pilgrims were admitted one by one inside the temple of Apollo. First, however, they had to purify themselves with the water from the source Castalia - just as Apollo himself had done after killing the Python - pay a tax and offer a goat as sacrifice to the god. From that moment the pilgrims were ready to meet the Phythia who, in the innermost cell of the temple, hidden from the gaze of men, was sitting on a high three-legged stool, the tripod, placed over the crack from which water from the Cassiotis sprung, along with psychoactive exalations. Originally the Phythia was a young virgin: later, a woman of older age was chosen, and she would live inside the sanctuary and observe rigorous chastity. Like the pilgrims, the Phythia also underwent a ceremony before uttering the response of the god Apollo: she would drink water from the Cassiotis source, chew some laurel leaves and absorbe the vapors that rose from some fissures in the ground and that would put her in a state of trance. The more or less intelligible sounds that came out of her mouth were reformulated by the priests often with ambiguous words: the risk of being contradicted by future events could definitively compromise the prestige of the Phythia. Therefore any wrong responses were attributed to the inability of the priests to understand the oracle, rather than the inability of the Phythia to predict the future. #oracle #oracleofdelphi #meditation #grounding #divination #scrying #oldworldwitchcraft #oldwalnuttree #oldreligion #witch #witchesofinstagram #wildwomanrising #wisewoman #witchywoman (presso Δελφοί (Delphi)) https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_5rtKqGLE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thejaggedpoisonpath]

Butterfly Pea Flower tincture⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ This flower is known to enhance memory, cognition, & intelligence. ⠀⠀⠀ This tincture is used as a calmative /anxiolytic to reduce stress and anxiety, and also as an anti-depressant, anti-convulsant, and anti-inflammatory. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ Butterfly Pea flowers have been shown to contain anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, diuretic, and analgesic properties, as well as proving beneficial as a local anesthetic, insecticidal, anti-diabetic, vascular smooth muscle relaxer, and blood platelet aggregation inhibitor. ⠀⠀⠀ Butterfly pea flower helps to maintain healthy eyesight, due to the anti-oxidant proanthocyanidin. ⠀⠀⠀ Butterfly pea flower is effective in preventing cataracts and glaucoma, treating retinal damage, reducing watery eyes and blurred vision, improving night vision, and soothing inflamed eyes. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ Another traditional is to promote the growth of dark, lustrous, thick hair, as it is able to combat hair loss and restore hair color, as it is rich in bioflavonoids (found in products that stimulate hair growth). Butterfly pea flower revitalizes and nourishes not only hair but also skin. ⠀ ⠀⠀ The anti-oxidants increase the collagen and elasticity of the skin cells, therefore helping to reduce premature wrinkles and other signs of skin aging. ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ Butterfly pea flower is considered an aphrodisiac for women, & also used for problems associated with menstruation.⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ Very relaxing and grounding when used for meditation purposes.⠀⠀ *Statements not reviewed by the FDA. Information not meant to take the place of medical advice. *⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ #butterflypeaflower #thejaggedpath #apothecary #bruja #lefthandpath #queerfemaleowned #poisonpath #wisewoman #newyear (at Houston, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmyqRz0rp7p/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[penningthoughts]

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Wise counsel!!!

[theloulouge]

Reminder Reflections 206

“A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.” – Maya Angelou

[theghostofdash]

The Wise woman Watercolour

April 9 2019

[magdalene-spirit]

Shaming is Control 🗡️

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—

When you are shamed

In front of others

Someone wants to control you

To take possession of your precious life-force

And direct it for you

To decide for you

Where it must go

Soon your innate creativity

And deep body wisdom

Will be collapsed

Next time your innate

Body wisdom ‘speaks’

Through the Mother Tongue

Of sensation

To warn you of danger

Around you in the intent of other people towards you

You can no longer hear Her voice

You have been shut down, numbed and collapsed by strategic, systemic shaming

You can no longer adequately respond to danger

And instead you override

Your knowing and push forward

Your boundaries have been violated

Now you can no longer tell

Where & who you are

You feel lost

You feel empty

You can’t feel your own

True vibration of being

Your inner warning system

Has been corrupted

Now your natural response

To avoid what is wrong for you

Can be medicalised

As social anxiety etc.

And you can get some pills

To push you forward

To deplete your inner life-force

To use your inner life force

Pursuing things that are not

Really true for you

That are not of the Soul

The Self within

You have been tricked

Into abandoning yourself

Into self-betrayal & self-sabotage

You have betrayed the true creative Soul life, to build the life, from the inside out that is true for you

#socialanxiety #shame #wisewomen #wisewoman #wisdom #bodywisdom #wisewomentradition #awarebody #bodyawareness #sophia

[templeofmaatknoxville]

The 5-Fold Kiss of the Goddess

From the now defunct Patreon: WildWomen, WiseWomen & Witches

One of the first works that influenced my path, and which I worked through faithfully for 2 seasonal cycles performing all the rituals with my teacher & magickal partner, was The Witches Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar, British Traditional Witchcraft at its very beginnings. As part of the Wheel of the Year, as outlined in that book, we often performed the Great Rite as part of each sabbat.

Within that rite is something called the 5-Fold Kiss that the High Priest performs upon the naked body of the High Priestess. It begins with the High Priest kissing both feet of the High Priestess and saying, ‘Blessed are thy feet that have carried you on this path’, or something similar. The High Priestess performs the same ritual on the High Priest. Here is an accessible version to use as a reference. https://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos173.htm

In this more intimate version, WE are the Lover AND the Beloved. This is intentionally a very intimate ritual for you to perform, alone, in sacred space with a full-length mirror, if possible, to connect to the Goddess within and without. Allow yourself to grow deeper roots into the core of who you are as a divine woman and embodiment of the Feminine Divine.

If you have body issues, like me, this can be somewhat difficult to perform. When I was younger, I’m not sure I could have and done it with the freedom and authenticity that really makes it powerful. Now that I am older, I LOVE my body… it looks like the body of a woman! This ritual is very meaningful to me. I feel like it channels my inner Het-Heru (Hathor) and other Goddesses of Love & Beauty.

You can perform this as part of a ritual bath, in the privacy of your bedroom, or in a secluded place in Nature. It’s a rite that truly takes courage, because it connects to an acceptance we have often denied ourselves because of wounds to the feminine, and to the beauty and wholeness of the feminine form.

RITUAL Set up some music, preferably instrumental and atmospheric. The 852 Hz frequency is powerful in ritual of this nature. I like to have the steam going in the shower and place a little essential oil in a little spot in the shower. Have a few candles, enough lighting so you can see yourself well in the mirror. (And of course, safety first with your candles. Never leave unattended, especially if you have cats.)

Affirmations: Start with some affirmations, things you know it is important to say to yourself, like: You are powerful, “I believe in you!”, “You are the body of the Goddess!

5-Fold Kiss Begin with the feet. I kiss the tips of the fingers on both my hands, and reach down to touch my feet and say: “Blessed are these feet that keep me connected to Mother Earth”

Kiss your fingertips and place them on each knee, saying: “Blessed are these knees that have knelt in prayer to the Goddess of the Earth”

Kiss your fingertips and place them over your sacral chakra: “Blessed is the Divine Womb that has birthed the Arts of Life”

Kiss your fingertips and place them on your breasts: “Blessed are these breasts that have sustained life and love within their embrace”

And finally, hold your fingers to your lips: “Blessed are these lips that speak with reverence of the Goddess Within & Without”

You may choose to offer up a prayer of healing to your chosen Goddess or one you associate with healing. Sekhmet is a good energy for this type of work, as a netjert of healing, the WiseWoman. Then there is Lilith, who now represents the power of the feminine in this modern world, an independent and WildWoman, and of course, consider the Witch in all of us, gifted with our own medicines to share.

Radical Self-Acceptance - It is important to take some time to honor this body that has been the vehicle of expression for your soul, been the vehicle for your experience of the world around you and the life you have created. The more fulfilled you are, the more your world will fulfill you. As Within, So Without. As Above, So Below.

[plantbasedmimi3]

Just a woman wifing, mothering, evolving + finding balance 🤍🌱

#wisewomanera

[daphnedarko]

She’s the calm, the storm, & the equilibrium.

I’ve always found myself in storms, but I tended to resonate in a melancholic manner. Rain, thunder, lightning— they were expressions of my deep emotional nature. However, like most inherent feminine qualities, being “too emotional” felt like a burden to me; like a flaw. In reality, this is just another fallacy women are made to believe. When our emotional nature is understood and cultivated, it is undoubtedly a superpower.

[amybrownmastiffstudios]

Four surreal images by Amy Brown. Shop online at Amy-Brown.pixels.com Surreal images by Amy Brown of Mastiff Studios. #surrealartcollector #surrealism #womanpirate #pirate #skullpainting #pheonix #wisewoman #watercolorpainting #mixedmediaart (at Mastiff Studios) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoKRrGhLMt-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[teatoast-n-tarot]

#libra #tarot #tarotcardsoftheday #tarotdailymessage #tarotcard #tarotday #circe #triplegoddess #tarottribe #signs #seeingbeyond #spiritualpath #gift #oldways #wisewoman #higherconciousness #communicate #thoughts #mystic #themind #themoon #metaphysics #natural #supreme #subconscious #enlightenment #triotrebletribe #blessed #asabovesobelow #somoteitbe (at Liverpool) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoJ6LRUMlLs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=