Awakening the Holy Feminine

I’ve been thinking about the word “mother” lately. Although it is generally considered a noun (as in “I need to call my mother this weekend”), it can also be a verb. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the verb form of mother as:   To care for and protect like a mother And the Cambridge dictionary defines it in this way:   To treat a person with great kindness and love and  to try to protect them from anything dangerous or difficult. The word mother is also used as a formal address for a religious woman – specifically within a convent (Mother Superior). Traditionally, humans have also referred to our planet as Mother Earth. When you consider the definitions of the word mother, it makes sense that the earth is the universal mother. Our earth provides humans and all living beings with all we need to survive like mothers do for their children:   the water we drink, the air we breathe, the food we eat. The earth’s atmosphere...

Holidays are a big deal for most people. It’s a time to get together with family and friends. It’s a time for revelry and feasting and comradery. Some holidays commemorate national events, and some have religious roots. For me, holidays acknowledge the cycles of the seasons.             Prior to industrialization, humans were an agricultural people. Their lives were driven by planting and caring for crops and harvesting and storing foods for the cold days. Although we no longer have to grow all our own, we still rely on farmers to supply us with our food, and farmers still follow the cycle of the seasons.             My spirituality is also still focused on the changing of the seasons, the turning of the wheel of the year. Even though my day-to-day life is not driven by actual planting and harvesting, my spiritual life is driven by it. When I live without conscious co...