A reading of the Bright Mother's Journey to the Cave of the World

 

A Walk with The Bright Mother.

 This time, the waves calmed as a star kindled over Her. She walked to the shores of creation and through the deep forests. As she walked, she grew greater with child and the star grew brighter. When the Mistress of All Things came to the cave at the center of the world, the entrance into the abyss, her angels and the elder kin drew about her. Her handmaiden stood at the entrance of the cave as the star's light grew ten thousandfold, illuminating the place almost as bright as day. - Clear Recital: CDV, The Birth of the Holy Daughter verses 16 to 19, pg 21 lines 12 to 22

 As strange as it sounds, right now, the Bright Mother is walking through creation to her place of laying in. Prayers to Marya are especially effective, for in this moment, we are one with her, though we do not know it. Even as she moves through the whole of creation, she moves through us to the center of our being. Take a moment, now and between Mother's Night, when she enters the Cave of the World, and meditate on the closeness of your celestial mother. Feel her love and concern for your well being that has moved her to take this action.

For in entering creation, Marya briefly sets foot upon the wheel of incarnation. In a fallen world, perfection walks to bring our deliverance. She suffers the pains of pregnancy and labor with out the grief that death may await her or her babe on the moment of delivery. Marya has become one with us, she knows our hopes and dreams. She knows our sorrows and losses. She knows us in a way that no intimate companion of this world can. She sees our true callings in this world and gently encourages us to reach for them. She comforts us as only a loving mother can as we struggle in this world.

And yet, her greatest act of love is yet to come.

The Star of Hope

 Dear Reader,

If you are reading the Clear Recital: CDV, you will find an accounting of how the Bright Mother moves through creation cloaked in the shadows of the second night. Above her is a star that grows brighter as she draws closer to her destination, the Cave of the World. This star is the star of Hope. It bespeaks the promise of the Holy Daughter to permanently fix reunion with the Bright Mother.

This causes all the children of Déa to remember themselves and put aside their striving against each other and to journey to the Cave of the world, but one. The Dark Queen weeps and laments how she has defiled herself and how unworthy she feels to approach the Bright Mother for forgiveness. Torn between her frenzied rage and her deep grief, the Dark Queen descends farther into madness and deeper into the pit of Khear in an attempt to flee the gentle light of the star of Hope. But, even into the eternal blackness of the pit of Khear, the light of the star of Hope shines. For where does hope shine brightest but in the places of despair and grief.

Veiled Witch Video: The Conception of the Holy Daughter

 Dear Reader,

Tomorrow is the holiday commemorating and celebrating the conception of the Daughter of the Bright Mother. This week's video is a reading from the Clear Recital: Children of Déa Version of that event.

Blessed Nativity & Sai Herthe's day

Dear Reader,

The past month has been quite challenging. Computer technical issues combined with the chaos of preparing for Nativity & Yule made it hard to find time to blog or do much writing at all. When Mother's Night came, I decided to spend Nativity resting. I have been doing needlepoint by day and crochet in the evening. I am finding it difficult to work around my anxiety and social phobia to go out and do things.

I will be back to my regular posting schedule as of Distaff day (that would be the day after Epiphany, the 7th of January). I am spending Sai Herthe's day doing some light cleaning and then back to the embroidery. When we hit the end of Nativity, I will post pictures of what I've been making and a little bit of the story of some of these projects. Right now, I have to go mind the children and wash up some dishes.

I will be getting back to any inquiries and comments that have been on my blog next week by Wednesday at the latest. Thank you for your patience.

Life update & Blessed Mother's Night.

Dear Reader,

As Yule is literally right around the corner, I have been busy. We've been cleaning house, cooking, and decorating. This is on top of the usual daily rounds of parenting and keeping house. Honestly, I'm looking forward to the break that I'm going to take after Nativity starts. I am taking the 12 days of Nativity (which is when my family also celebrates Yule) off from things like making projects for other people and doing hard housework. Just light housework and the minimum necessities to keep the house running.

Today was exhausting. I had this goal of getting all of the hard cleaning and housework done by sunset. Sundown was at 4:30 in the afternoon. Thus, I was hustling and going at it in serious effort all day from when I got up at 5:30 this morning. I am unofficially celebrating Yule over the weekend too, because why not get a few more ounces of joy out of the days. Big family doings are happening on the 25th with the extended family celebrating Christmas. It's going to be a busy day.

In the last few days leading up to Nativity, I am going to be working on getting my planner set up for next month and writing more devotional poetry. Tonight, I am tired and my feet hurt from being on them all day. Hefting furniture around to clean around it is not as easy as it used to be when I was 20. I blame the fact that I turned 40 this year.

Tonight is Mother's Night. I honor the disir and my foremothers tonight. If I weren't so worn out, I'd keep vigil until sunrise. In my stead, I will have a little electric candle going on the altar and in my ancestor's shrine. I also put out an offering of rose water for Dea, the great Mother, during her time of labor. I remember labor, it was thirsty work and tiring. I can only imagine how great the work of labor is for Dea in this world, such as it is.

I wish you all a peaceful and blessed Mother's Night. My posting will be sporadic because the kids are on vacation right now. I am also making a point of resting over the time of Nativity, which means I may be doing other leisure activities instead of posting in the coming time. I view Nativity as a time of celebration and joy. I view Yule the same way. I also believe they are a time where the hard work of life should be suspended enough so that we can enjoy ourselves during this period.

High Holidays: Filianic

Eastre

Florimaia

Exaultation

Rosa Mundi

• Blessed Solstice & Rosa Mundi 2016

Chelayna

• Autumn:Harvest and Creation 2018

Cuviyana

• Autumn: Harvest and Creation 2018

Tamala

• Tamala/Samhain 2018
• A Shrine for the Beloved Dead 2014

Nativity

• Yuletide 2015
• Advent Begins 2015

Lucaid

Amity Day

• Love is Love is Love 2017

Moura Day

• The Season of Moura 2018
• Moura Day 2016
• Moura Eve 2016

Kala

• Eve of Kala Thoughts 2018

Hiatus

• Hiatus and Equinox 2017

This page will be updated as the relevant posts are collated and put here.

Filianic Calendar Notes - Astraea 3336

The Filianic Calendar denotes the beginning of the season of Winter with the first day of the month of Astraea (11/28). In many households, this is when the Yule tree is put up. There are also those who will set up an Advent wreath at this time.

Each Rayadi/Sunna's Day/Sunday, a candle is lit with prayers of anticipation of the birth of the Daughter. This happens until the week of Nativity. Different color candles are associated with different themes for each week. More will be discussed about this as the season of Advent progresses.

The holidays observed this month are the following:

Advent begins: Astraea 1 (11/28)

Feast of Conception: Astraea 11 (12/8)

Winter Solstice, Mother's Night: Astraea 24 (12/21)*

Nativity Eve: Astraea 27 (12/24)*

Nativity Day: Astraea 28 (12/25)

Yule is reckoned as beginning with Mother's Night and lasting for thirteen nights and twelve days in the Germanic/Nordic faith traditions. The celebration of Nativity is thirteen nights and twelve days, beginning on Nativity Day.

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Mother's Night is celebrated by some on the evening of the Winter Solstice. It is argued to have historically fallen around Nativity Eve and there is many historical signs to indicate that this was a shift of the traditional date to coincide with newly adopted Christian practices.

Yuletide

Three days into the celebration of Yule and I am feeling somewhat burned out. I originally planned to celebrate Yule and Nativity with the kids. Now, as I am sitting here on the evening of the third day of Yule, I honestly don't think I have the energy to go for the whole 17 days. Having the overlap between Yule and Nativity is pretty cool. It makes less stuff to worry about, but I am finding that it is taking a lot of energy to get stuff for this done and manage the household needs along with the remaining stuff I need to take care of for presents.

I spent the night before the Solstice meditating on the Disir. I put out some offerings just for them that evening. The night before the Solstice is known as Mother's Night. In ancient times, rituals were done to honor the ancestral mothers, known collectively as the Disir. I presume that Freyja was honored as well because she is the Vanadis and I am confident that Frigga was honored at this time. Dame Hulda (Holda, Bertcha, and many other names) is honored at this time as well. She is described alternately as a grandmotherly figure or a stern goddess known as the Lady in White. There is a good amount of folklore about Dame Hulda.

It is said that from Mother's Night to Distaff day (Jan 2) women took a holiday from their household labors, except for that which was needful. The practice of spinning was one that was notably suspended. Different opinions as to what Dame Hulda would do if she found a distaff still loaded come from different regions where she was honored. Some said that for each thread of fiber found left on the distaff, Dame Hulda would bring misfortune to the mistress of the distaff. Others said that for each thread of fiber, she would bless the owner of the distaff. Honestly, I fall on the blessing side of the ledger. But that is only because it has been my experience.

I have been giving the kids little gifts each day of Yule. We're saving the big gifts for the 25th. The rest of the extended family celebrates Christmas. It is also the first day of Nativity. Thus, we're doing the big presents from us and 'from' Odin that day. I think it will help make the holidays less confusing for them. As much as I want to do something special and unique for Nativity, I anticipate being exhausted.

Nativity is the date of the birth of the Daughter. It is a twelve day celebration. It includes the date of the Daughter's birth, the feast of Epiphany, and the day known as Duodecima or 3 Princesses day. I find myself sliding into the habit of referring to Duodecima as 3 Queen's day. It is a bit of a departure from the canon but it just feels correct. And considering that Duodecima is celebrated with Queen cakes (which are sweet heart shaped cakes) the use of the word queen only makes more sense.

The mythos surrounding Nativity eve and Nativity are in many ways parallels to modern mythos of Chrismas. At Nativity eve, the Mother Marya is understood to enter into the Cave of the World to birth her Daughter Anna*. This birth takes place at the dawning of Nativity day. The story of Nativity is beautiful and charming in its simplicity. While the story could be argued to begin with the Conception, the feast of Conception is approximately two weeks before the festival of Nativity begins.

I don't think the separation of the Conception from Nativity diminishes either. It is my understanding that the Conception is separate to reflect the importance of this event and the wonder of it, I also think this is something that is separated so that it is not lost in the Nativity narrative or somehow not given proper consideration. From a theological standpoint the mythos of Nativity is a logical extension of the mythos of creation, which is celebrated in the season of autumn. All of this, however, is better suited for its own post.

Some of the folklore that surrounds Nativity eve is similar to the secular folklore of the Western world. There is a demigoddess figure known as the Star Fairy. She is considered the Queen of the Air Fairies (some argue of all Fairies) and she goes from household to household on Nativity eve blessing each home. She rides in a chariot drawn by eight white horses and she is dressed entirely in white. It is said that she gives gifts to children who are virtuous and leaves a switch for children who are not. She is said to enter the home by coming down the chimney. In many ways, she is like the figure of Santa Claus. I like to think of her as a cross between Queen Mab and Santa, actually.

My children haven't been introduced to the concept of the Star Fairy yet. I am not sure how to approach it. I view the Star Fairy as an embodiment of the holiday spirit. Much like how others view Santa Claus. (I have some issues surrounding Santa Claus, but if I were able to suspend them, I would view Santa the same way.)
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* The orthodox Filyani spell the Daughter's proper name as Inanna. I use Anna for two reasons. One it is a logical derivative of the name Inanna and the etymology makes sense. Two, the Daughter of Filianism is different from the Sumerian goddess Inanna and I don't want to accidentally invoke one when I'm trying to reach the other. Awkward things would happen with that, at best.

Advent begins.

Today is the second day of the Filianic month of Astrea. It is also the second day of Advent. This is a hard time of year for me. I have a great deal of sad and painful things associated with what is, for most people, a time of gaiety and joy. I am, however, determined not to let this cast a shadow over things this year. As such, I am working on coming up with small celebratory things I can do each day of the months.

I am still working on my devotional journal. (I am actually a bit behind because of life complications over the last few months.) I am making a concerted effort to at the very least be grateful in my entries if I can not be joyful. It has been hard, though, because witnessing the atrocious things happening in the world, I have much fear and sorrow in my heart right now. It is my hope, however, that with focused effort, I will find things that will lift me up.

I was not able to locate an advent calendar for the boys that I liked. Most of the ones I found had strong Christian overtones (which is not surprising because that is the primary market for these things). I tried to find secular ones but those that I did find were constructed in such a manner where it was difficult to see the numbers on them. This leaves me in a position where I am seriously considering fashioning something of the sort on my own.

When the kids are at school, I will be making a paper chain marking the days until Yule. I am planning on doing something special with them weekly, at the very least. I have begun the process of getting things out of hiding for decorating for the season. In the past, I left holiday decorating until the last minute. Now, however, I am going to see if I can make arrangements to have a small tree that we can decorate a little bit every day. I don't think we'll be using all the fancy ornaments that we have in storage. No, I have decided that we are going to make our ornaments. I have egg cartons that will be turned into bells and snowmen with a few additional supplies. I have paper to cut into snowflakes and to make paper chains with. I have bags of popcorn to be popped and strung onto thread and hung up.

I'm going to try delving into my memories of what I did as a child to celebrate the holiday and see if I can reacquaint myself with the happiness and excitement I felt for this season when I was a girl. I have cleaned off the entertainment center in preparation to make a place where we might hang stockings. I figure on the day of Nativity, we can put on a youtube video of a crackling fireplace as we open presents. I look forward to taking my few trips for holiday shopping over the next few weeks. I do enjoy watching how the boys light up at the sights of the holiday lights and displays. I also love to watch them pick out presents for each other.

My stockpiling of empty quart sized jars will be soon turned into things like cookie mixes, hot cocoa mixes, and other goods that I will be giving as gifts. If I can, I am probably going to put the boys to work in fashioning these things. They've got some math skills now, I think it is a good time to get them started with how to measure things in the kitchen as a first step towards cooking. I don't know if I am going to get much done in the way of baking this year. As much as I would like to make some traditional foods such as Stollen and shortbread, I recognize that not everyone in my family would be interested in eating it.

My plan for overcoming the anger and grief that this time of year brings out in me is to fake happiness and cheer until I can make it happen. It may be that I tire myself out with this. But, a wise person I knew once said that happiness is a learned trait. I like to think that my late grandmother was right about that one. So, I'm going to try to teach myself how to be happy with this time of year. I will let the anger and such wait until January, if I can.

Wishing you a blessed Epiphany.

From Here

Today is the Filianic feast of Epiphany. In ancient days, the celebration of the maiden goddess Kore happened approximately this time of the year. Kore, like the aspect of Dea known as the Maiden or Anna (others within the Filianic and related community know her by the name Inanna and consider both names to be related), is the daughter of the mother goddess and was celebrated as being revealed to the faithful at this time.

Epiphany comes this year on one of the coldest days of the winter thus far. Within the warm confines of my home, I find myself drawn to gratitude for the blessings that surround me and how this good shows forth the goodness of Dea. It is the final celebration of the Nativity season and one of the first of the new calendar year. I look to the Maiden, who is revealed to us in her mother's arms, and feel hope for the coming spring.

May it be that the light kindled in the Mother's arms shines upon you in warmth and love.

A Blessed Nativity!

I wish you all a blessed Nativity. While your day may be filled with joyful chaos or it may be a more solemn observance, I sincerely hope that Nativity brings to you much healing, joy, and peace as is needed in our increasingly troubled world.

Just as the wee angel to the right comes bearing light, so too are we called to bear light into the darkness of the world. This light is the light of love. Love that is pure and unconditional is the first step to healing the wounds of this world. Just as the Daughter is born to heal the rift of khear that separates all that is from the Mother, love that is boundless must be born in our hearts to heal the rifts that separate us from the world

From Here

We must take hope in the birth of the Daughter. She comes to us as living light to cast out the darkness within all things. The Daughter is perhaps the greatest miracle and greatest gift that our Mother has given us after our own entrance into existence.

While the world would have us focus on spending and giving expensive baubles, we should take time to focus upon the truly valuable things we have in our lives. Love, compassion, and fellowship with others are a bountiful blessing that many in this world do not have access to. Faith in ourselves and that which is greater then ourselves are a blessing that sustain us in ways we may have a hard time describing. This faith is hard won and should be held close to the breast as a precious jewel.

May the Mother and her Daughter bless you abundantly this season.