The Birth of the Muses

The Nine Muses by Emily Balivet

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125709167/nine-muses-greek-goddess-art-deco?ref=shop_home_active_65

Tuesday, June 14th is the day celebrated as The Birth of the Muses. I do not know the origin for this, be it modern or ancient. No matter which, celebrate Them!


The Muses preside over the arts and sciences, giving inspiration to all artists, particularly poets, painters, dancers, musicians, philosophers, and astronomers.


There were nine Muses according to Hesiod, presiding over a different art, each symbolized with a different item. On the other hand, Varro mentions that only three Muses exist: Melete (practice), Mneme (memory) and Aoide (song). My own expeience of Them (UPG) is that there are nine. They have, in some way or another, directed my life since I was a child and continue to this day.

Here is some information compiled from various sources over the years.

Names and symbols:
• Aoide (song) one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Caliope (fair-voiced), considered the noblest of the Muses, presides over epic song, and was pictured with a wax tablet and pen.
• Clio (she that extols) is the Muse of history, and has a scroll.
• Erato (the lovely one), is the Muse of erotic poetry, with a smaller lyre.
• Euterpe (she that gladdens) is the Muse of lyric song, and has a double flute that was known as an aulos.
• Hypate one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Melete (meditation) one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Melpomene (she that sings) is the Muse of tragedy, and has a tragic mask, ivy wreath, and attributes of hero she is inspiring a song about e.g. the club for Herakles or sword for Perseus.
• Meses one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Mneme (remembrance) one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Nete one of the original Muses, no symbols associated with her
• Polymnia (rich in hymns), is the Muse of serious sacred songs, usually represented as veiled and pensive.
• Terpsichore (she that rejoices in the dance), is the Muse of dancing, with a lyre.
• Thalia (she that flourishes) is the Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry, with the comic mask, the ivy wreath, and the shepherd's staff.
• Urania (the heavenly), the Muse of astronomy, with the celestial globe.

Animal(s):
none


Sacrifices:
frankincense


Primary Cult Center(s):
Helicon, Pieria, Castalia, Aganippe, Sparta


Festivals:
Museia every five years in Thespiae; Current - The Birth of the Muses, June 14th


Ways to honor:
 Create! Learn some art-form you have not experienced before.  Go to museums, theaters, dance recitals, and other places of culture. Dance, sing, play music, study history, study the stars and planets in the night sky, write and/or recite appropriate poetry in honor of the Muses  
Support artists. Give money to street musicians or painters. 



Other information:

http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Mousai.html
http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Mousai.html
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-3887923691185452%3A4lilh6jpty1&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=muses&sa=Search#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=muses&gsc.page=1 - a list of links at Theoi.com for the above links as well as those to each individual Muse.
Apollodorus' Library 1.3.1-4, 3.5.8

Hesiod's Theogony 36-115

Homer's Iliad 2.594-600

Homer's Odyssey 8.63-64, 8.479-481, 24.60-61

Homeric Hymn to Apollo and the Muses 25

Ovid's Metamorphoses 5.273-340, 5.662-678

Pausanias' Description of Greece 9.24.3, 9.29.1-6

A Hymn To the Muses
 

Daughters of Mnemosyne, 

The Nine who inspire and empower creativity.

Beloved are You all, 

Calliope, Clio, Erato, 

Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, 

Terpsechore, Thaleia and Urania.
You birth the thoughts that stir my soul,
You nourish my soul and kindle the flame within,

You tend the flame that brings my art.

You touch me and I forget that which is not needed.

Instead, I create, I dance, I sing, I remember, I laugh,

I see the stars and gain wisdom and contentment.  

You have given sacred and mystic rites;

With these, I make magic.
Do come, Lovely and Blessed Muses,

Kiss the brow of this Daughter of the Artes,

Bless the hand that holds needle and thread, pen and brush.

Bless the voice that sings and the hands that strum the strings,

Bless the breathe that carries wind through wood.  

Come to one who is Your initiate, O Goddesses, 

For Your brilliant light of inspiration draws and holds me,

My soul longs for the touch of The Nine.

copyright Elizabeth A Kaufman 2010

I will post the Weekly Oracle tomorrow. I wanted to be sure to give all of you the information about The Birth of the Muses at least a bit in advance should anyone wish to make arrangements to celebrate.

Blessings Nine!

Is It Still A Mystery Tradition?

There will be many people who will not agree with what I have to say about this subject. Lady knows, some of my own friends, practicing witches, Pagans, and Polytheists, all for many, many years, don't all agree. We simply agree to disagree and go our own ways, down our own paths, because we are friends, and we truly respect each other's right to practice as we see fit.

Respecting others' right to practice as they choose is very important. How I choose to practice is none of anyone's business. However, if you are attending one of my rites, you will not be able to bring your children. I know many who have their children attend rites for sabbats, full moons, and other rituals. I don't attend those rituals. I don't attend large open rituals, especially with people I don't know. If you are invited to attend my rituals you will not be a man, you will be a woman who was born a woman, and you will be expected to be respectful of the Goddesses, Spirits, the Ancestors, the other women, and the way this coven practices. You will be expected to wear simple ritual clothing, not some outlandish, silly costume. You will come with the mindset that this is a mystery tradition for women, it is not open to just anyone; my coven, my choice of who belongs.

Why? Well, there are a few reasons. I see my practice, my artes of magick, communion with the Goddesses, as sacred and private. I feel, and again, this is only my opinion, my way for me, that a very large ritual generally ends up as dead space with many people who do not focus, are not respectful because they think it is a party, a freaky thing to do - not all, but many I have attended in years past. I want to know who I am practicing with and where they are coming from spiritually. I want to know that they are serious about their journey.

I also want to create a place where women are not intimidated or judged by standards that society has chosen. I want them to feel safe to open themselves to the Goddesses, to each other. I want them to find that sacred safe place.

We have sacrificed the Mystery for acceptance and popularity; with that we have lost a great deal. I do not give a rat's patootie  how others' judge what I do. It isn't open for discussion or opinions. And that is a good thing. While I share many things on this blog, there is much more that isn't shared and will never be. However, I want to give women who are searching for something more Goddess-centered, more woman-centered, a safe place for spiritual expression. I want to share a basic foundation for them to build their own practice, away from prying eyes and judgement.

For some reason, at this Hallowstide season, I felt the need to share this.

Blessings dark and deep! 

Festival of Mater Matuta

Tomorrow, June 11, is the Festival of Mater Matuta. She is a Roman goddess of fertility and childbirth, motherhood, growth, and the raising of children. She has been associated with other goddesses, most notably Aurora, but this was because of something written by the Roman poet, Lucretius. She was worshiped widely throughout the Roman Empire and a temple was built in Her honor in Rome.

There is some conflicting information about how Mater Matuta was honored. I have read that only women who were married for the first time could participate in Her rites. The women also could only pray for their sisters' children and not their own. Interesting.

So... how do I honor Mater Matuta? Well, I don't have any human children, fur babies only. I do however have a niece and nephews, so I ask for Her blessings to be bestowed on them, as well as the children of friends, and all children throughout the world. This harkens back to when I was a very little girl and, like a good little Catholic child, I said my prayers every night. I used to spend a very long time asking God to watch over, forgive, and bless everyone I knew. I even asked God to forgive my parents because they were always kissing and hugging, and... well I suspected something else, LOL. This is a sweet little memory. However, since I suffered from anxiety, I was always worried about leaving someone out. I finally just asked God to bless everyone in the world and that took care of that problem. Rather an intelligent way to solve the problem for a 6 year old. And that's what I do now during my prayers to Mater Matuta; I simply ask for Her blessings on everyone; after all, we are are all someone's child.

I usually make an offering of cake and a libation of honey-sweetened milk. This has no historical basis, it just simply feels right to me. I also light a white candle for all children and a red candle for Mater Matuta; again, just because it feels right.

So, tomorrow night, make blessings and prayers for the whole world.

Just a reminder, the Vestalia began on the 7th of June and is celebrated through the 15th. My coven will perform our rites on Saturday night. Don't forget to honor Vesta and Her priestesses.

Blessings nine!

   

Charge of the Dark Goddess

Charge of the Dark Goddess

by E. A. Kaufman 

She is stillness and silence.

Her voice older than time, yet young and sweet.

She is knowledge of the ages and Mother of Rebirth.

She is the heart at its deepest core,

and desire and need.

She is the the Dark Lady, the Dark Goddess, 

the Darkest Mother of the Seed. 

She is who we long for, never truly understanding,

Yet full to overflowing with need and fear all at once.

Listen to Her speak, hear Her words,

Let them seep into you like the night, 

The night that spills and stains the day.

I am the darkness and shadow beneath the night sky.

I am the absence of awareness in your deepest sleep. 

I am the Ending and the Beginning, 

the decay that feeds and enriches. 

I am the endless cave, the hidden hollow, the moon unseen.

I am all that is hidden, dark, and deep. 

Yet, I am the key, the torch, the lost dream remembered. 

Come, be with Me on the night of the Dark Moon.

 Walk with Me along the Ghost Roads, 

Know that which is seen, See that which is unseen. 

Face your fears and know that you are not alone. 

Walk to me through the blackest night,  

to the center of My Mysteries, 

 I will hold the torch and light your path. 

Find your way to Me through those fears, 

and yours will be the understanding of My Mysteries. 

Think of Me and know that I am the shadow at your back. 

And at the time that is proper and right,

When you have accomplished the tasks I have set for you,

Then shall we meet at the Crossroads betwixt and between,

and then, shall we begin again.

copyright E A Kaufman, 2014

Blessings dark and deep!

Feast of Epona

Epona, Goddess

Epona, the Great Mare, is a Gaulish goddess of horses. Adopted by Roman soldiers, they spread Her cult throughout the world. However, She is also a fertility goddess, a goddess of the moon, a goddess of abundance and prosperity. She is sometimes shown holding bread or other foods of the harvest. She also may be depicted wearing keys, a possible connection to the Underworld, dreams and nightmares. For myself, She assists in crossing into the Otherworlds, Her white horse the vehicle.

Make offerings of seasonal fruits, such as berries, and bread; honeyed milk has always seemed a perfect libation to me. A white candle,  statues of horses, and the offerings, make a fine altar for Her.

Epona, Divine White Mare,

Open the way for me,

Bestow dreams and visions

As I ride along with You

Through the long night and

Into the places of Mystery.

Hail Epona!

Blessings nine!