Selenite towers looking wintery, icy and magical.
So much is happening this December. There seem to be so many goddesses to honor while participating in the mundane celebrations as well. Tonight, for example, is the Celebration of Creation, honoring Spider Woman, She who created the world and all within it. Although I do not follow a Native American path, She is a "goddess" who has always drawn my attention - the needlework, the weaving and spinning. I could not possibly not honor Her. She is a Crone, seated at Her spinning, benevolent, although sometimes known to be destructive - as are all Crone goddesses. She bestowed the gift of weaving upon Navajo women, although She is honored by many tribes. So tonight, I will weave something special and unusual in Her honor, taking on the attributes of the spider to cast my threads, weave and stitch. It is said that Spider Woman guides the hands of those who pursue Her craft. It is traditional to rub the hands of baby girls with spiderwebs so that Spider Woman's gifts will be passed on to the child. For myself, I rub my hands with these webs before beginning a ritual of this sort. Different tribes honor Her differently, but for most, She is considered the Great Creatrix who watches over all Her people and Her world.
I will also make offerings and pay homage to Sapientia, the Roman goddess of wisdom on the 16th. Her festival was held each year on the eve of the Saturnalia, which I do not celebrate, but honoring Sapientia is very important, especially this year. I feel that I have been given many insights, lessons, much wisdom and many blessings throughout this year - some painful and tough to get through, but most joyously amazing. I have had a change in my journey that is so very important and is bestowing incredible experiences upon me, giving thanks on many levels, to many goddesses and spirits take precedence over everything else.
My annual Nine Nights Hallowing of the Winter Solstice will begin on the 18th, three nights of dusk, three nights of darkest night, the second night of this, the actual Solstice, and then three nights of the dawning. I've changed the days a bit and made some other changes in my ritual aslo, accommodating the changes in my path.
Of course there is Christmas Eve and I still haven't really decided what I will be doing. We usually have a large open house, but with other commitments, I think I will just invite a very few friends to enjoy some savories and sweets along with good conversation. This means we WILL have enough lasagna for Christmas day! In the past, when serving it Christmas Eve, my quests ate almost the whole pan!
My solstice tree is still not up, despite my best intentions, but will be by Friday. Why, you may ask? A very good reason. A special little being - 38 inches long and quite beautiful - has joined our family, a Ball Python I've named Circe. Due to the creation of a special home for her, I had to pull apart book cases and move furniture. Finally, everything is settling in, including Circe who has given her first shed to me. I can now make some interesting charms. She has a very sweet energy and I hope we will be doing some interesting work together. I know, I know, some of you are saying eew, yuck among other exclamations!
In addition to the above, more mundane tasks of baking, candy making and making sure those I love have wonderful goodies for the holidays. So... onward with this joyous and lovely season!
Blessings nine!
My daughter will be so jealous - she'd love to have a snake.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard about Spider Woman. Thanks for the information. She sounds very interesting. xx
I grew up next door to a herpetologist and had snakes for many years. When I met my husband, I found out he also had snakes and so we had them for many years. It has been some time, but we are very glad to have another.
ReplyDeleteAs for Spider Woman, yes, indeed, very interesting. XO