It's March, and today is the 20th.  While it may not feel like it, tomorrow is the Spring Equinox.  I guess Persephone is a little late this year.  Or at least, it feels like it.  Easter is also coming late this year, and I remind my readers (mostly Pagans I would imagine, many of whom likely do not really know much about the origin of Christian holidays) that Easter is loosely determined as the first Sunday following the first full moon *after* the Spring Equinox, and of course, we just had a Full Moon right before the Equinox.  I have noticed that lunar cycles seem to have a bearing as well (of course) as to the determination of the seasons; so Spring likely just seems late because we're calculating by a fixed solar calendar.  And of course, fall was very warm, very late in the year as well.

So my opening to the Kore is later than I intended to do it, combining the late spring with my busy life.  But I am ready now and here it is, and I love it!  I will inform those who may be new readers of my blog that I have given a commitment to Draw Down a different Goddess each month and channel Her message in automatic writing, and the Kore, Persephone, is the Goddess I chose (who chose me?) for March.  Persephone, also called the Kore or "the Maiden" is the Greek Goddess, unwilling bride of Hades, Lord of the Underworld (or once-unwilling but now loving, depending on the myth) whose return to the World Above heralds the coming of Spring.  But either by choice or Hades' trickery, She is required to descend for three (or six) months into the Underworld again each year because She ate pomegranate seeds that bound Her to the Underworld.  So She is an excellent source of inspiration for those who wish to find light in darkness and overcome suffering, and Her timely message is very meaningful to me right now, with all that is going on in the world.  It's not terribly long but why waste words?  She said what She wanted to say:

Children of the Earth, children of My Mother, there is so much fear in you at this time but do not fear. The spring always comes again! Surely you know by now that the flowers will always bloom and the sun shines. Things happen in their own time, not in the time you think is best. The seasons come when they may, and I too must wait. My return heralds the coming of spring; I do not decide when that is! Like the flowers and the buds on the trees, I come when it is time; not before, and not later. Spring is like the birth of a baby. You can estimate when you think it is time for the baby to come, but you cannot make it happen faster or hold it off once it is time.

Even the young have become cynical and angry, forgetting how to enjoy that which is all around you. When was the last time you stopped to smell a flower or feel the sun on your face, between your work and your duties? Renew yourself! Embrace the joy of this moment, this time, this NOW. You are here to live! That is why you came. You only get to be physical for such a brief time, and most of you only complain about it! There are such joys and pleasures here for you and you deny them to yourself due to obligation and expectation. I intend to enjoy my time in the sun to its fullest. I love to return to this world and taste its pleasures. I love flowers and sunshine and green fields and making love. I know that there will come the time again in the fall when I must return to dark halls and take on my duties as Queen of the Underworld, but for now, I am here, and I want to dance! Will you dance with me, children of the Earth?

Listen to the surging of your blood and allow yourself to be passionate and intense! Be here, now. Do you see how the light refracts iridescent blue off of the body of the blue-bottle fly? Do you see how blue the sky can be? How about the deep and mysterious blue of the ocean depths? Does it not amaze you that there are so many beautiful shades of blue? How can you be angry and unhappy when you consider that!

I see these signs on the walls of your homes; "Live Laugh Love." It is good advice. Why not make it real?

Please go out and do something just for yourself today to just live in the moment. Pick a wildflower, go dancing, eat that piece of cheesecake, you can diet tomorrow! Watch a spring storm and listen to the lightning crackle. Love with your whole heart. Dye your hair turquoise. Steal an extra ten minutes on your lunch break and go bird watching. Whatever it may be, do something to remind yourself that you are here NOW, and you are ALIVE, and life is beautiful and precious! Do it NOW. Spring can't last forever.

She laughs out loud, kisses me full on the lips, and dances away in a slightly cool spring wind.

I was listening to a collection of songs about the Spring Equinox that I put together in order to achieve the right trance-state for this, and this is one of the songs that played.  She identified with it immediately as being exactly what She was saying and urged me to include it in the blog.  It's by Gaia's Voice and it's called "Lucky to Be Alive."  I've loved it for a long time and I'm pleased to share it with you, but you'll have to download it directly because I can't seem to make the player work in the blog window:

~ Lucky to Be Alive by Gaia's Voice ~

Blessed be,

I've been pretty involved with things as the Lunar New Year has turned.  I've started a new teaching coven and I'm getting to know them better; it's a big group and they're keen and bright and fun and they're keeping me busy with the social aspects.  I've also recently discovered that most of the health problems I've experienced over the past several years can likely be traced to a wheat or gluten allergy, and since you would be amazed at the foods that have wheat in them (like artificial crab, a nasty surprise I discovered last night that turned my touch of seafood stir fry into vegetarian stir fry,) adjusting my diet to accommodate has been an adventure!  I'll rant about all that later; but for now, I promised to channel Kwan Yin, Boddhisatva of Compassion this month for my automatic writing / Drawing Down exercise, and though I am behind on the date that I intended to do this, I give this keyboard over to Her, and welcome Her and invite Her to say what She will to all of you:

See this flame that I hold in my hand? It is the Lavender Flame of Compassion. It is the spark of life itself. For what is Life without compassion? This is the Divine Spark of Creation and it is also the flame that dwells in the heart of all living creatures. The human condition is centered in embracing the Lavender Flame. I know it may look frightening to you; you are afraid of being burned. But the Flame really is quite cool and soothing. You must dare to touch it before it can bring you its healing and soothing balm to your spirit, however.

Come, sit with me. Think of the most calm, tranquil place that you know. Perhaps it is a graden, perhaps a river, maybe it is your own bathtub. Wherever it is, we are there.

What now? Now just sit, child. When was the last time you just sat? Sit, and be, and be here, now, in this, your sacred and soothing place. In the sound of your silence, you will hear and learn more than all of my greatest words could teach you.

Be present with your own heart. Do you feel its anguish? It suffers because of attachment, because of focus on outcome rather than experience and being in the moment. This moment is here, now, for a reason. Why do you

choose to spend so much of yourself worrying about tomorrow? Is it not good enough that you are here today?

When you go from this place, put your hand on the heart of another and ask that peson to do the same for you. Meet eyes and connect in spirit as well as body. Just sit for five minutes. Can you do that? Why not? What are you afraid of? Do you fear that the other person will see how much you care? How can that be a bad thing? Besides, you have nothing to fear. Why would this other person hurt you? The illusion of "Other" is a potent one, is it not? That person is also yourself, just as you are also the Other. Why would you hurt yourself? Choose to just accept, and be.

I would encourage you to love more, but the human condition is love. So you just need to listen more to the wishes of yur own being, and allow love to be. Practice compassion for all living beings. Live as lightly as you can. Trust.

Now, you are already prepared to reenter your busy life. You are rushing, but I will trust that you will come back to just be in your own time. Go in peace and love. If you can, take time to just be everyday. Namaste.

Take the time to just sit for several minutes if you are wanting to have the full effect of Kwan Yin's words.  As I was channelling this, I spent several minutes in quiet meditation.  Try to do that for at least five to ten minutes everyday.  And I will try to take Kwan Yin's advice as well; being busy is something I do too well!  I could learn to just sit and be more.

As I Googled for pictures to add to this blog entry, I found by accident a YouTube video which offers Kwan Yin's  Lavender Flame Reiki Attunement.  It seemed appropriate to link it and so I have.  This video offers the attunement by watching it, so if you are ready to receive the Lavender Flame attunement (which he explains a little at the beginning of the video before offering the attunement,) find a place to sit comfortably and undisturbed, and just allow it to happen.  Here you are:

The mantra that repeats itself in the video is Kwan Yin's mantra, which encourages compassion and opening your heart chakra.  The mantra, if you wish to work with it, is OM MANI PADME HUM.  If you wish, you can incorporate this in your own life by placing your hands in the prayer position over your heart chakra and repeating the mantra as you begin your daily "just sitting" practice.  You can do it once, three times, or use Buddhist prayer beads to keep track as you recite.

Peace to all, life to all, love to all!

Next Month:  Persephone, Goddess of the Cycle of the Seasons

Having had a good experience with automatic writing a couple of months ago in Lois' Psychic Development class, when she instructed us to channel Gaia, I decided that in order to practice my Drawing Down the Moon, and the practical skill of automatic writing, I would do it once a month through 2011, and post the results on this blog.  I chose the time of the crescent moon, Diana's Bow, to do it because while still a magickal time and a time sacred to the Goddess, it would not interfere with any Full Moon gatherings I might want to attend.  I chose the Goddesses that I would Draw Down during the year according to what felt right per each month, and set out to do it.  Last night was my first intended date but I didn't get to it until this morning, while I was sitting alone at the shop during a quiet period.

For January, with Imbolc approaching, I chose to call upon Brighid.  I am part of a sisterhood of Flamekeepers who honour Her by burning a sacred flame for 24 hours every 19 days, so I already work with Her and She is a comfortable presence to me.  The neat thing about Her is that She transcends faiths and beliefs with a grace that I think is unsurpassed by any other Goddess.  To the Celts, She was one of the Tuatha de Danaan "Children of Dana,' a faerie goddess,) the Goddess of the flame, the hearth, blacksmithing and "fire in the head" (bardic inspiration); the loss of Her son was the world's first song of grief ("keening,") and drawing Her mantle over the world brought peace and healing to all.  In this similar guise, She was also Bride and Brigantia elsewhere in the British Isles.  To the Catholic Irish, She became St. Brighid "Mary of the Gael," who was midwife to Christ.  She was a holy virgin who gave everything she and her father owned away to the needy and the poor, who always had food for the hungry, who caused cows to never dry of their milk and sheep to never run out of wool, and her mantle healed the sick and the wounded.  Interestingly, She also made it into the loa of Voodoo.  In that guise, She is the wife of Baron Samedi, who is the spirit of death, but who also loves "life" (He drinks, smokes, eats and parties it up with a seemlngly insatiable appetite and a legendary sense of humour.)  Brighid there intercedes on behalf of humanity, asking Her husband to spare people His dread gaze.  To modern Witches, She is a Triple Goddess, symbolized by both Fire and Water, Cauldron and Well; the Womb and the Tomb.

My channelled message mentions some of that, and my distinct impression while Drawing Her Down (which I have never done before, though I have worked with Her many times) is that She does not care what name or guise you prefer; that Her compassion is limitless and that all She really wants to do is relieve suffering, in whatever life-affirming way She can.  You will see some of that in Her message, and I think that some of all of Her various aspects came through!  At times She is a demure Maiden healer, at times a nurturing and protective Mother, at times a fiesty Warrior, and at times a wise and stubborn, sarcastic Crone!  Here is what She wanted to say:

I am the Bride of the World; she who carries the light into the darkness. call to me when you have need to be healed, and I will answer. Listen to your inner voice and speak the words of prophecy, of Awen; I am that flame also. I am the Maiden, the Mother and Crone; to the Christians, I am the Midwife of Christ, "Mary of the Gael;" to the voodoun, I am the Bride of Death.

I am with you all the days of your life; I bear and share your pain.  I will hold your hand when you weep and scream whether you want Me to or not! My love is for all, and through this I teach you to open your hearts and carry a flame for your sisters and brothers.

I am the voice of the underdog, she who speaks for those for whom none speak.  I love and all should love. 

I ask you now to reach out with your love and compassion. Is there someone you know is struggling? I would give the very breath of life to all who have need.

In this time of apathy and dispair, I urge you not to forget that even in the deepest dark, the light will shine. Be that light to others! Love is the only thing, you say, that is increased by the sharing. If you harden you heart, you will never know this fulfillment.

Commit a random act of kindness!  Hold a crying baby. Share the warmth of your hearth, the food of your larder, the healing of your compassionate hands. Be a gift of gentleness and understanding in the world.

I will mourn your losses; give them to me, do not bear them on your shoulders. I will hold your head up when you lack the strength; just ask me to intervene. Let my flame be the light of hope to all who would have need of it; let my fires burn iin the heart and the head.

Do not neglect the fire of your own spirit which cries out for expression and purchase! Give it room to breathe, to grow! Do not stifle your Will and your creativity by the expectations of others, dreary schedules, or fear. Let the light wihin you shine forth!

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, fight for those who suffer. And let my cauldron of transformation take your cares and make them gifts; let me transmute your fear to strength, your dispair to compassion, your anger to courage, your grief to wisdom. Know that I am within you and with you, always, and my love and heart have no limits - nor does yours.

Blessed be, God bless you, aiay!

PS - I work with Brighid when I do Reiki; She's one of my Reiki guides.  She asked me to send you Reiki to go with this message, so I (we) send healing to you all with this symbol.

Next month: Kwan Yin, Boddhisatva/Goddess of Compassion.

Blessed be,

In the Psychic Development class that I am currently doing with Lois, we were directed to do an exercise in automatic writing.  I haven't had any experience with automatic writing, so I asked for "the idiot's explanation" for how to do it.  Lois' Guide explained it as "just like Drawing Down the Moon; you have to get yourself out of the way, and then instead of using your vocal apparatus, you use your hands."  I had that eureka moment; that made perfect sense to me!  "Yeah!" I thought to myself, "I can do that!"

We agreed that we would commune with Gaia, as an entity (Deity) that we all would be happy to work with (two Witches, a Shaman, and a Spiritualist.)  We then did a meditation to focus our awareness, and understanding things from this perspective, I went within and found that connection fairly quickly.  I then sat down in front of the computer, closed my eyes, and listened as Gaia dictated the following:

I weep for the wounding you cause to yourselves! I struggle to reach out to you. You do not know your own power; you are brilliant, perfect, passionate and free. The chains that bind you are the ones of your own making. They are illusions. They are only as real as you permit them to be. How can you not hear the cry of your brothers and sisters, with whom you share this earth? Why do you deny yourselves, and allow yourselves to live in fear? Reach beyond these things! You do not have to be taught how to feel the love/pain/passion of the creatures you share this place, this body of Mine, with. You just need to remember.

Take a moment now and reach out, reach like you did when you were a child. First, take your arms to the sky. Look into the sun and the clouds above you. Watch the clouds rolling past, gently shifting and changing. Do you remember what it was to feel you could touch the sky? Reach out with your arms, and your awareness, and then when you have floated through the clouds long enough to lose yourself in them, just do it! You can fly. Like the transformation of Arthur when he learned to be a Druid, you can transcend the limits of your physical form and soar with the birds, sail on the clouds, touch the Macrocosm that is the Star Goddess or Father Sky. Let your heart lift you into that free space. Here, there is no time and no space; there is only you and your heart.

And now, can you see the other hearts that share this space/time with you? When you realize that you are not constrained by matter, you know that you can do anything, be anything, connect to everything and all. You are luminous beings of light and stars and love. Release your limitations and inhibitions and just BE.

Now, look to My body beneath you. Do you see Me? No, you see lights, and cities, and fields, but where are My wild places where you can reach Me? Hidden in the street lights and the concrete and the smog. But My loves, I am still here. And now, some of you are beginning to awaken to that knowledge.

Sit very still, or lie still, with your body touching Mine. Lay on grass or rock or sand; do not lay on the floor. Stretch your arms out now and touch Me! I am real, and solid, and like you I have a body. Mine is just bigger, and slower. The cycles of your life are echoes in the cycles of My seasons. It’s just slower for Me. To My eyes, you are all flickering brief candles, passing in and out of the world like winking starlights. But you are part of My body, just like each organ and tissue that you have in your bodies. So understand, you are not a cancer or a blight, as some have said. You are meant to be here at this moment in time/space. You are like a baby growing in My womb, and you are taking over My resources and draining My energy, and you are growing faster than I am ready for, but you are just infants, zygotes, growing and changing and dividing and determining who you are.

All you have to do to complete this cycle is finish your growth, change, and Awaken! Stop resisting the birth pangs; you have no choice to be born. If you do not, both of us will die. Awaken, accept that change is necessary and that there will be growing pains, and know that I always love you and I am waiting to catch you in My arms, when your consciousness is awake enough to speak to Me at last.

I felt the need to share Gaia's message and so I'm posting it here.  I will also be posting this on the new the Medium, the Witch, and the Shaman website, where you will also find Vicky's message from Gaia.

Blessed be,