Sunrise Solstice

Last year at Yule, I got up early, made a cake and we ate it and said "hello" to the returning Sun.  I kinda forgot about it until a friend commented on what a cool tradition our family has.  I must have had a deer-in-the-headlights look because she laughed and explained that my oldest son had been explaining our "annual tradition" just moments before.  Oh!  Good thing, because he never said a word about it to me!  Fortunately, it gave me enough time to prepare.  :)
So this year, I again rose early enough to bake a cake, set out candles and greet the rising sun.  I love this observance because with 3 young kids, I have absolutely no desire to stay up all night to keep vigil.  I stay up all night keeping vigil often enough over sick kids, kids with nightmares and other fun nighttime adventures!
It is also very simple.  I set out the cake, we light candles, sing songs that remind us of the sun and talk about the successes of the past year and hopes for the coming year.  Then we eat cake and say, "Welcome back, Sun!!"
Here's our solstice cake recipe if you'd like to make one too.

RasJane's Solstice Cake

Free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts and sugar

1 c sorghum or rice flour    

1 c tapioca starch      

3/4 c millet flour or fine corn flour

2 tsp each: xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda

2tsp cinnamon or fall spice blend

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c coconut oil

1 c apple juice concentrate

1 c orange juice concentrate

5 eggs

zest of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 325F and grease and flour 2 - 8"round cake pans

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.  Cut in the coconut oil until evenly crumbly.  Wisk together the eggs and juice concentrates and add the zest.  Pour all at once into the flour mixture.  Mix quickly until just combined.  Divide batter between the 2 cake pans and bake in the center of oven for 25 minutes.  Cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn onto cake rack.

We ate our cake warm.  I got up early, but not that early!  Place one cake face down on a platter.  Thinly slice the orange you took the zest from and peel.  Arrange the slices on the cake.  Top with the second cake.  You can either frost with your favorite frosting, spread with jam or serve as-is.  This is a very moist cake.   Especially if it's still warm.

Enjoy the sunny goodness while you celebrate the re-birth of the light.

Ostara

We had a great Ostara this year.  It was our first time celebrating with others and it was a nice change.  I have been taking classes through Lyceum of Trees which have been wonderful.  The group hosts regular Sabbats and Esbats that are open and often kid-friendly.  We were a little late getting to the party as G also had a birthday party to attend for one of his friends.  So, we missed the egg dying with natural dyes (boo) but everyone was so sweet and reset an egg hunt for my kids.   Here they are hunting for eggs.

I love this last one.  E figured out pretty quick that the eggs had CANDY inside.  Forget this gathering for fun stuff.  He had to stop right then, empty his pockets and start eating immediately.   And since big M couldn't eat the candy and G just wasn't as interested as his younger, sugar addicted brother, E made a right haul.  Below is the haul.  Yeah, we had to drag him away.  Guess what his favorite holiday is now?

Our friend Gina and her kids  loaned us some books, so we read the story of the Rabbit in the moon.  After eating some candy, we enjoyed the potluck.  Mmmm, yummy food!
Then, with a slight break in the rain, the Lyceum elders conducted the Ostara ritual.  We held our eggs and thought of something good we wanted to bring into our lives. Ostara is about the coming spring full of growth, potential, things taking root.  This is literal as we watch plants start growing again, but also figurative as we begin thinking of new projects and areas of our lives we want to improve.  So we held  our wishes in our eggs and promised to take them into ourselves as we ate the eggs.  I'm bad at describing it, but it was beautiful, I promise.  :-)
At home, we talked some about the newness that Spring provides.  I love Spring.  I love watching the flowers start to bloom.  I adore trees in bloom!  We have sung "Popcorn Popping" about a million times. More or less.  And I am thinking about the garden.  I planted some kale, spinach and kolrabi.  I am waiting for the new moon when I will plant the rest of my seeds. I'm running a little late, but better late than never I guess.  Those seeds will hang out in the greenhouse until the temperatures rise a bit and the rain stops pelting so hard on a near daily basis.
Anyway, Yay! for spring.  May all the good you are hoping for take healthy root in your life, and may the warming sun give you strength in your endeavors.

Serpent Mythology

Today is St Patrick's Day.  The day we celebrate the miracle of St Patrick ridding Ireland of the snakes.  Growing up, I had always assumed that was a literal miracle.  Who wouldn't want to chase out creepy snakes, right?  I have since learned though that the snakes were symbolic of the native, goddess worshiping religion.  In my reading, I have been fascinated to learn of the prevalence of the serpent as a symbol of the Goddess, eternity and fertility.
Most Christians think immediately of the Creation Story when we think of serpents and serpent symbols.  Indeed, for much of modern, Western history, the serpent has been symbol of the devil, temptation, evil, and the Fall.  So, when we see pictures of snakes or hear of stories revering them, the conclusion is "devil worship".  But this is inaccurate.  Pre-Christianity, the serpent was a powerful, and nearly universal, symbol of deity, fertility and strength.  The serpent has been seen as both male, female and androgynous; as cosmic or earth-bound.
A cosmic serpent is the Ouroboros. It was a part of Greek and Egypt beliefs.  The Ourobouros was an eternal symbol.  With it's head biting the tail and encircling the earth, it had no ending or beginning and encompassed everything.  By consuming itself, the Ouroboros is a symbol similar to the Pheonix, creating life again from death.

Image credit

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr is the serpent son of Loki, who grows so large he encompases the Earth.  He and Thor are enemies and part of the final battle will be Thor's face-off with the "World-Serpent".

In the Kundalini tradition, Sakti is the serpent representing feminine power.  Kundalini yoga is an ancient practice designed to waken the Sakti and allow her to unite with Siva at the crown chakra, representing pure consciousness.  Sakti is illustrated as a spiral or an elaborate knot.
And who could forget the Caduceus.  The North American symbol of medicine, doctors and hospitals?  The exact origins of this symbol are not exactly clear from my research.  It appears there are several stories related to the Cauceus, some positive, some negative.

St Brigid's Day was celebrated last month.  One of the symbols of Brigid (the bride) and of her followers, is the serpent.  In fact, this symbolism  is so strong that we still celebrate the end of her people every year in March.  But most people don't realize it.  I didn't until I studied more about serpent mythology.  The story goes that St Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland and that is why there are no snakes on the island today.  In reality, there probably weren't any snakes in Ireland when St. Patrick lived there either.  The snakes are a reference to the followers of the old religion.  St Patrick baptized most of the leaders and prominent citizenry to the Catholic church.  The followers of Brigid were either forced to hide their beliefs or leave.  Much of their practices were actually absorbed into the church.  Brigid was remade as a saint.  Her holiday was renamed Candlemas and her symbol of the 4 seasons/wheel of the year was called a cross and said to describe the Passions of Christ.  The symbol of the serpent was completely turned around and came to represent the devil and his temptations.

Jenni just reviewed the book, Dance of the Dissident Daughter.  She shared with me this quote:
To my surprise, I'd learned that in ancient times the snake was not maligned or sen as evil but rather symbolized female wisdom, power, and regeneration. It was associated with the ancient Goddess and was protrayed as her companion. The snake was perhaps the central symbol of sacred feminine energy.
...
That day as I gazed at the picture of Eve and the serpent, I remembered Goddess and her connection to the snake, and inside I heard a resounding click...Questions followed one another in rapid-fire succession: how had the snake, of all creatures--an animal no better or worse than other wild beings-come to embody the full projection of evil within the Jewish and Christian traditions? Why was the snake selected to represent Satan in the origin myth? Could it be that the patriarchal force chose the snake in hopes of diminishing women's connection to feminine wisdom, power, and regeneration? Was it a way of discrediting the Feminine Divine?
In the context of that time and history, the idea made gut-wrenching sense. In fact, later I would read many such theories by scholars, theologians, and historians. 
...
Holding the picture of Eve and the serpent that day, I realized how significant and sad it is that in the story Yahweh forever placed enmity between Eve and the snake. Taking symbolic history into account, we might say that Yahweh placed enmity between Eve and her deep Feminine Source, her wisdom and power. 
What did it mean spiritually and psychologically for a woman to be at odds with that source? Wasn't this another way of portraying women's severed connection with their feminine souls?


This aspect of the creation story has bothered me, well, forever.  But since I have learned more about the Goddess and the Divine Feminine, it bothers me more.  Stories are powerful and the creation story has had great influence in the world.  I hope to review the book, Eve and Choice made in Eden soon.  In it, Beverly Campbell postulates that this story has done great harm to women and our place in society.  By relating women to evil, much has been done to women in the name of purification.
So, in honor of the serpent and the Goddess, I'd like to start a discussion today.  What influence has the creation story had on your world-view?  Does the knowledge of the original symbolism of the serpent change your view of St Patrick's day?  What other thoughts does this bring to mind?  Do share!

RasJane

13 years ago, I converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I distinctly remember the feeling I had upon completing my reading of the Book of Mormon. It was a warm feeling of belief. I was not a convert who was found by the Missionaries, referred by a friend or who joined because of an interest in genealogy. My husband was raised in the church, but was inactive when we met. I started reading his Book of Mormon, asked to talk to the missionaries and was baptized after a year of investigating. I greatly appreciated the family focus of the church, but for me it has always been about the gospel.
In studying my scriptures to find answers on how to help my oldest child who bears many burdens, the scriptural admonition such as that found in Moses 2:14 stood out to me. "And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons,for days, and for years;"
This has been the small pill that is hard to swallow. I have known that this is important to my family, but I have not been diligent in finding a way to implement it. The culture of the church does not support relying on the "lights in the firmament of the heaven" to guide us through the year. Our modern society barely acknowledges the existence of them outside purely scientific inquiry. Yet our ancestors devoted significant time to the study of the stars, the moon and the sun, as well as their motion through the sky.
It has only been through some very difficult trials this year that I have turned to the study of Wicca to supplement my study of the restored gospel. Suddenly my inspiration of many years ago seems very clear. This year, I am dedicated to observing the lunar cycles and the 8 traditional Sabbats. By so doing, I hope to begin to restore my and my family's connection to Nature. Through that connection we will be able to follow the rhythms our bodies crave, increase our understanding of this world and our place in it, and gain a more balanced view of God and Goddess.