Volume 14 Issue 4
Lammas 2017

Seasons of the Moon is a quarterly online magazine published by students and members of The Order of The White Moon, an eclectic international order of women dedicated to The Goddess. The Order provides personal empowerment and priestess training, and operates local groups. All contributions are original material submitted by our students and members. (We do not accept outside contributions.) Please direct comments and questions to the Ezine Editor.

Lammas 2017

Ritual Work
Bad Dreams and Night Terrors, Peace Whitehorse

Sacred Sites
Chalcatzingo , Ajna DreamsAwake

OWM Awareness
OWM Happenings, Ka Wahine Ahi

Crystal's Collection
Affirming Community in Song, Crystal Spiritweaver

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit
Medusa, Mystic Amazon
Prayer to Green Tara, Mystic Amazon
Cornucopia , Peace Whitehorse
The Fall of the Year , Peace Whitehorse
My Harvest, Violet Thistlejoy
Midnight Song, Crystal Spiritweaver

Ritual Work

Bad Dreams and Night Terrors

Many times we or our loved ones suffer from bad dreams, nightmares or even night terrors. They can affect us in many ways, such as not getting enough sleep, carrying anxiety throughout the day, or not wanting to fall asleep.

Bad Dreams

Bad dreams are just that. They make us uncomfortable and may cause anxiety or fear, and may wake us from sleep. Nightmares take that up a notch, to great fear or terror, while asleep, possibly waking us. In the case of both bad dreams and nightmares, these feelings may linger after waking but do generally dissipate after a bit. Nevertheless, they do make us uncomfortable or uneasy. We may wake with these feelings without remembering any dream, but it is probably a dream that produced these feelings.

Night Terrors

Night terrors are different. This is great fear that descends on you upon waking. There may or may not have been a dream associated with it.

Smudging

I would advise smudging the home and especially the rooms where these things are occurring. I like to start at the uppermost level, smudging each room in a clockwise fashion, then going down to the next level and doing the same until on the main floor. If there is a basement, go into the basement next, and smudge in a clockwise manner. Then come up to the main level and do it also in a clockwise manner. Opening a window and/or door on the main level will help in pushing the bad energy out of the house. When smudging you are removing negative energy. While you are pushing the bad energy out of each room with the smudge, you must replace that negative energy with something else. If you don't, Nature will do it for you and it may not be something that you desire. So while smudging, state something along the lines of, "Everything foul and evil must go, replaced by love and positive energy." Replacing what you remove is VERY IMPORTANT because Nature abhors a vacuum and will fill it with whatever is handy if you do not fill it yourself.

Holy Water

While smudging, you can have another person following along blessing with Holy Water. Simply take water ‐ if possible from a natural source such as a stream or a lake ‐ about a cup or two, and mix with it some salt, about three good pinches. Then carry the water through the house behind the smudger, sprinkling the mixture as you go. You can sprinkle with fingers, or use a small piece of pine with needles on it to asperge, or sprinkle, the Holy Water.

Remedies

The following two remedies, the oil and the medicine bag, will help with both bad dreams/nightmares and night terrors, in adults and in children.

Lavender oil blend ‐ simply Lavender Essential Oil in a base oil.
- Apply to beds ‐ headboards, footboards and/or frames ‐ using the rune algiz shown below.
- Apply to forehead at bedtime using the rune algiz shown below.
- Apply to all window and door frames using the rune algiz shown below.
No Nightmares Medicine bag ‐ hang in the center of the home.
- Citrine ‐ for protection.
- Clear Quartz ‐ amplifies whatever it is placed with.
- Lavender ‐ to promote relaxation and good sleep.
- Chamomile ‐ promote peace and tranquility and prevent pain.
- Rosemary ‐ specifically to keep away nightmares.
- Basil ‐ to promote happiness, love and peace.
- Sage ‐ for protection.
- Algiz ‐ for protection ‐ draw on a smooth river rock with a permanent marker:
- Peace ‐ for peace ‐ draw on a smooth river rock with a permanent marker:

Peace Whitehorse is a graduate of The Sacred Three Goddess School and a High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon, teacher at the Peace Grove School of the Goddess and facilitator and High Priestess of the Peace Grove Coven. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.

Sacred Sites

Chalcatzingo

South of Mexico City, lies the ancient ruins of Chalcatzingo, Nahuatl for "venerated place of sacred waters" or "place of precious jades". The site covers roughly 100 acres and archeological evidence suggests the site had been settled as early as 1500 BCE and was still populated in the 13th century. It was situated in a fertile plain, at the base of two hills, Cerro Chalcatzingo and Cerro Delgado. A spring at the base of the hills provided a source of drinking water for the population, and is the likely reason why the area remained a place of pilgrimage even though the population itself had dwindled significantly by 500 BCE. With the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, the site and its stunning reliefs, were interred or hidden beneath foundations. And were not rediscovered until the 20th century.

Chalcatzingo is the only pre‐Columbian site known in central Mexico with large bas‐reliefs (sculptures and rock carvings). Little is known about the Olmec civilization, which flourished between 1800 B.C. and A.D. 400 in the region, but their lasting legacy includes massive stone heads and monumental architecture. It is believed the Olmecs carved out reliefs in the mountains at Chalcatzingo more than 2,800 years ago.

The site includes a central plaza, residences, sunken patios, ceremonial structures and terraces. The largest structure is a burial site of high‐status individuals, although most villagers appear to have been buried beneath their houses. Relief carvings in the settlement itself depict the achievements of the people who dwelled here. Chalcatzingo also contains what may be the earliest representation of a woman in Mesoamerican monumental art. A stela, dated to 700‐500 BCE depicts a woman, dressed in sandals, wearing a head covering and skirt, touching a column. It mirrors a second stela depicting a male in a similar position, suggesting a marriage ceremony.

A second group of reliefs, at the foot of the mountains, depict creatures from the Olmec cosmogony, such as feathered serpents and jaguars, seeming to dominate or attack the much smaller human figures.

relief

A third grouping, considered to be the most important, is referred to as the Water Dancing group due to its themes of water and fertility. These images hold a place of prominence, high on the hillside of Cerro Chalcatzingo. The best known carving from Chalcatzingo is Monument 1, also known as "El Rey" (The King). The scene depicts the earliest known image of a cave in Mesoamerican art. It is a life‐size carving of an ornately dressed figure, holding a ceremonial scroll and seated on a throne at the entrance to a cave. Along the top of the relief are a number of stylized objects which have been interpreted as rain clouds and raindrops. Mist or smoke emanates from the cave, with corn plants springing up as well as concentric circles (symbols for water and jade).

Throughout Mesoamerica cultures, caves were considered sacred spaces, places of transformation and home to powerful deities. Their associations with the sacred earth as well as the underworld made them important places to conduct rituals for rainmaking and agricultural fertility. Those caves containing water were especially favoured because cave water was considered pure and untouched. Since this carving is situated above a natural water channel, the scene has been interpreted as a leader using his power to bring water to the region. (El Rey has also been identified as a rain god, a mountain god or jaguar god). However, knowing that caves and springs were a sacred place of ritual to the Goddess, and it is most likely that it is Chalchiutlicue who is depicted seated upon the throne at the cave's entrance.

Chalchiuhtlicue was known as "Goddess of the Living Waters" , "Lady of the Jade Skirt" and "the deep flowing waters of life". She is associated with water, fertility, caves, crops, marriage, and childbirth. She is a guardian of women and children. Her symbols include serpents, maize, and shells. As a water goddess, She is connected with the life‐giving waters of the womb, as well as the destructive waters of floods. Her consort is the rain God Tlaloc, an imperious deity who reigned over the Fourth world. The myth goes that, enraged with Tlaloc’s behaviour, she unleashed 52 years of rain which caused massive flooding. This sacred act of purification led to the destruction of the Fourth world. But the goddess loved her people, she transformed some into fish and these were able to survive the floods. She saved others by building a bridge, leading them out of the destroyed world and into the Fifth (the one we are currently living in).

Image courtesy of: http://anthropology.ua.edu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalchiuhtlicue
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/caves-as-sacred-spaces-in-mesoamerica
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcatzingo
http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/anthpubs/ucb/text/arf003-004.pdf
http://www.revistascisan.unam.mx/Voices/pdfs/5516.pdf

Ajna DreamsAwake is a High Priestess and founder of Dark Moon's Heart School. Her personal journey of self‐discovery continues as she supports and guides women along their own healing paths.

OWM Awareness

White Moon Happenings

Three of our wonderful students have excelled in their studies and completed Levels of Traditional White Moon Studies! I am delighted to share their accomplishments with you.

Aquilla in the Sisters of the Rising Moon School has successfully completed Level Two and is now an Adept. Read her fascinating project on Rangda: Queen of Witches.

Mystic Sage from Dark Moon's Heart has successfully completed Level I and is now an Initiate! See her wonderful Level I Project on Lilith in the Goddess Gallery.

Aurora Silverspiritus Amadahy from Dark Moon's Heart has successfully completed Level I and is now an Initiate!

We are delighted to welcome our new students in The Sisters of the Rising Moon, Sacred Three and Dark Moon's Heart. We are always happy when sisters find their way to OWM!

If you're not an OWM student and you'd like to learn more about the Order of the White Moon, the schools offering Traditional White Moon Studies, or browse the Goddess Gallery, we welcome you to learn about us!

May the Peaceful, Compassionate and Healing Presence of the Goddess be with you now and always.

HP Ka Wahine Ahi is the President of the Board of Directors and the Head of the Order. She teaches White Moon lessons to women in the school that she founded, The Sisters of the Rising Moon School of the Feminine Divine.

Crystal's Collection

Affirming Community in Song

Oh Mother God, flowing through our hearts,
We give thanks for the bread of our lives,
For the hands in the Earth, and the fruit of your womb.
Oh Mother God, bless'ed be.
‐Karen Drucker

These are the opening words of Karen Drucker's album, Songs of the Spirit I. Karen is a New Thought musician with a strong Woman's Spirit ‐one of my favorite comforting tracks. I first heard her music in a Unity Center I attended for several years. In fact, the first song I heard was The Power of Women, a rousing chant that proclaims, "I've got the Power! You've got the Power! We've got the Power!" During a time when I needed all the personal encouragement I could find, Karen's music was the perfect welcome into a community where I found that, and more. I chose to review this album here because, though it's not strictly Goddess‐centered, it is welcoming and affirming of all paths and traditions, just as the Order is.

From the gentle, cradling sound of Woman's Spirit to the chanting I Give Myself Permission (to be all that I can be!), this music is positive, spirited, and healing. With a full band and a chorus of women, Karen offers more affirmations including:

I praise myself, I raise myself in the name of Love.

I am ready to receive the gifts of the Goddess.

I am ready to be healed.

Love (joy, peace) is my Source, … my power, … [and] gives me everything I need.

I am filled with loving kindness. I am well. I am peaceful and at ease. And I am happy.

That last one is from a Buddhist prayer to end the day. And the affirmation, "I send my love over the mountains … And it comes back to me," is a great reminder of the three‐fold law. Karen seamlessly brings together the wisdom of many different traditions into a Spirit of Oneness that any community can easily embrace.

You can purchase the independent album, Songs of the Spirit I, as a download here:
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/drucker3

I hope you have enjoyed this series of music reviews. Positive, Goddess‐affirming music is all around us! It's been an honor to share some of my favorites with you.

Crystal is a Level 1 student in The Sacred Three school. Music has always been important to her and is a joyful expression of her spiritual path.

The Bardic Soul: Poetry and Song for the Spirit

Medusa

I thought about the woman whose hair
Was wreathed in snakes,
And I wondered...
Why punish her for having a lover,
When Apollo was unharmed?
Why didn't he stand up for her?
How was a mortal woman
Supposed to tell a God, "No"?

So her beauty was taken away
And she was given snakes for her hair.
Surely, she should have known better
Than to make love in a temple,
But then so did Apollo know better.
It wasn't fair.
True, she got powers from it...
They were dark powers that destroyed.

I can see her now, beautiful, naked
With snakes for hair,
Snakes writhing all around her feet,
Calm except when someone invaded
Her privacy and saw her serpent hair...
Then, fierce with glaring eyes and frown,
Turning them to ice within their veins
And then, to marble.

I read she had other Gorgon sisters
But she was the only beauty.
Surely her snakes talked to her,
Hissing in their own language;
Warning her of approaching
Heroes that would come to destroy.
Her anger at her metamorphosis
Would swell into a killing rage.

Serpent Queen,
You are losing your humanity...
Quell your rage, you were human once,
And a priestess.
Try to remember that
Before your serpent nature
Takes over again,
And leads to your final destruction.

Mystic Amazon is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon and an Ordained Minister. Her hobbies include writing, folk art, folk magick, Reiki, and reading.

Prayer to Green Tara

Green Tara, tall and strong
Limber and Fierce in your
Protection of us,
Turn your seven eyes
Our way.

Serene but youthful
More full of laughter
than your White Self,
Turn your seven eyes
Our way.

21 aspects are many,
O goddess!
Teach us how
to understand them.

Turn your seven eyes
Our way,
O Goddess!
Turn, Turn!
We wait for you.

Dance with your
Joyful feet,
So that we
May watch you.

Heal us
and our neighbors
So that we
May see you.

Bless us
With your hands
So that we
May touch you.

Shine your green
Light upon us
So that we may
Feel your Rays.

Come down
from your Lotus
O Goddess,
We are waiting.

We feel your care
and our lives
Are brighter,
O Goddess!

Turn your seven eyes
Our way,
O Goddess!
Turn, turn!
We pray for you.

Mystic Amazon is a High Priestess of the Order of the White Moon and an Ordained Minister. Her hobbies include writing, folk art, folk magick, Reiki, and reading.

Cornucopia

It lies on its side,
Full of the bounty
Of the field and grove.
Shaped like
A curved cone,
Its wicker shining in the
Lowering sunlight.
A misshapen basket.
Reach in, take an apple
Or some corn or squash.
A pear or some grapes.
Whatever strikes your fancy.
Colored leaves are
Falling all about it.
It is the Mabon Cornucopia!

Peace Whitehorse is a graduate of The Sacred Three Goddess School and a High Priestess in the Order of the White Moon. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and her Shetland sheepdogs, and is active in Sheltie Rescue.

The Fall of the Year

Fall. It radiates coolness
After the hellish heat of summer.
Such a relief it is to us
As the Wheel turns once again.

Autumn. Leaves are turning,
Showing off their splendor.
Nights are cooler
And days are for sweaters.

Mabon, marks the delineation
Between Summer and Fall.
Sweet Mabon, the second harvest.
Time of field corn and apples.

Lay in the cold weather stores,
for the winter comes, and soon
The snows will be upon us.
The fields cleared and fallow.

Then the long wait begins.

My Harvest

My harvest is plenty I know and I believe.
I now give myself permission to fully receive.
With gratitude I do sow my seeds.
In loving response shall there be a glorius yield.
Of abundant blessings from my Highest Good's field.
Some will nourish my body, mind and soul.
While others may prove to have a more hidden role.
I am learning that I own all of this land.
And within its Divine boundaries,
I speak my sacred command.

So it will be.

Violet Thistlejoy is a level one student in The Sacred Three School. She is committed to love, learning, and laughter.

Midnight Song

Listen and download this song here:
https://mysticalstrings.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/midnight_song.mp3

It's midnight as the hours turn.
The clock is ticking; candles burn.
As I embrace the dark that churns,
It's midnight as the hours turn.

It's midnight as the world spins.
The time is passing; hear the din.
I reach for moonlight deep within;
It's midnight as the world spins.

It's midnight as the mind repairs.
The time is healing, easing cares.
I rest content to be in prayer;
It's midnight as the mind repairs.

It's midnight as the soul awakes.
Forget the clock of time and space.
As Spirit lights the dreamland scape,
It's midnight as the soul awakes.

It's midnight as the hours turn.
My life is ticking; fire burns.
As I embrace the dark and learn,
It's midnight as the hours turn.

The darkest hours always turn.

Crystal is a Level 1 student in The Sacred Three school. Music has always been important to her and is a joyful expression of her spiritual path.

The articles featured in Seasons of the Moon are written and/or submitted by members of the Order of the White Moon and are their own intellectual property. Please feel free to share this publication but do give credit where credit is due and link back to the source.

Thank you for reading, we hope that you have enjoyed it just as much as we have enjoyed presenting it to you.

Many blessings to you and yours,
Seasons of The Moon Staff

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Volume 14 Issue 4 Lammas 2017