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Monday, May 30, 2011

Nuit, Egyptian Goddess of the Sky


Nuit, also spelled Nut, was an Egyptian Goddess of the sky and all heavenly bodies. She was depicted with her body stretched over the earth covered in a stars and sky motif. Her name literally translates to mean "sky". She is considered one of the oldest deities on the Egyptian pantheon. According to myth, it was said that during the day the sun and moon, would pass over the body of Nuit. Then, at dusk, they would be swallowed and went through her belly during the night, to be reborn again at dawn. You can see by this myth, that she could also be seen as a Mother Creation Goddess, because she gives birth to a new day, everyday.

Nuit was also known to be a Goddess of death and of passing over. Her image was sometimes painted on the inside lid of a sarcophagus to protect the deceased. Being the ancient Goddess that she is, she was known as "The Mistress of All" or "She who Bore the Gods". Mother to Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys, she was clearly seen as being the original Mother Goddess of Egypt.

Call on Nuit for renewal and rebirth in your own life. She helps us to create our desires and manifest them into reality. She is also a Goddess that symbolizes ferility, and be called upon for pregnancy and childbirth as well.

On your altar for Nuit, have herbs of olive, coconut, galbanum, sycamore; Crystals of Lapis Lazuli, Quartz Crystal, Blue Goldstone; Candle colors of blue or silver or white; A statue or representation of Nuit.

Enjoy connecting with this ancient Egyptian Goddess of the Sky!





Photo courtesy of FromCairo.com

Friday, May 27, 2011

Winner of Vintage Necklace from Goddess Amour!

Thanks to everyone who entered! Im glad you all have found a great new shop to buy your vintage jewelry from. Now to announce the winner..........and the winner is...........Marissa Moondaughter!
Congrats! Thanks to Kim for donating one of her beautiful creations. Enjoy your new necklace Marissa! Check back in June for our next monthly giveaway.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Giveaway from Goddess Amour!



This months giveaway comes to us from Goddess Amour, Goddess inspired jewelry with a vintage and feminine flair. The lovely owner Kim, has graciously donated one of her beautiful vintage necklaces titled, Blood of Isis. I had the chance to speak with Kim, here's what she had to say.


1. How long have you been crafting beautiful Goddess inspired jewelry?

I have been making beaded jewelry for about 9 years now. It all started when a friend brought her beads over and taught me how to string a necklace. Needless to say, I was hooked, and instantly became a ‘bead junkie’! The rest of what I know, I taught myself. Over the years, I’ve tried my hand at a number of different styles of jewelry before finally finding my niche with the Goddess-inspired jewelry. I’ve sold various pieces locally throughout the years, but most recently I decided to start selling on Etsy.


2. Do you have a favorite product that you make?

I simply love making prayer beads! It is both inspiring and humbling to think that I am crafting something that someone will be using in their worship—a tool to help them connect with the Divine. Also, I find the act of making prayer beads to be a very meditative process, and one that I put my whole self into.


3. Please explain the item you are giving away.
My patron Goddess is Isis, the ancient Egyptian Mother Goddess, and this is the necklace that I created in her honor. I gave it the name: “The Blood of Isis,” after an ancient Egyptian amulet that was often made of red wood, stone or glass.
This necklace features a luscious vintage Lucite bead. This type of bead is known as “moonglow”, for its soft, moon-like sheen. The color is simply stunning, and is a wonderful-cherry red that reminds me of a piece of candy! The bead measures 15mm x 11mm and is topped with a 4mm garnet gemstone and surrounded by antiqued brass bead caps, and finished off with antiqued brass cable chain. The length of the necklace is 18-inches.



Ok so now time for the rules. Go to Kim's shop, find a product that you like, and come back to here to comment on it. Also for extra credit, check out Kim's lovely blog and become a follower. For even more extra credit, follow this blog. The giveaway will last for one week, at which time I will announce the winner.

I hope everyone enjoys exploring the Goddess inspired jewelry by Goddess Amour. Thank you to Kim for her generous donation! Have fun playing!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Her Sacred Fires 2011


Today people around the world will be celebrating the Rite of Her Sacred Fires. This ritual was created and organized by Sorita d'Este, author and devotee of Hekate, in May of 2010. She plans to perform the ritual every May during the waxing full moon. I plan to take part in the Rite of Her Sacred Fires today with others around the world who are doing the same. For more information and access to the ritual, check out : Sacred Fires.

In honor of my matron Goddess, and for her sacred ritual, I wrote a small hymn, that I'm going to share here. Please feel free to share your own hymns/rituals in your comments as well!

Hekate! Hekate!
Queen of the night,

Your saffron robes, flowing in moon light,

Coiled with snakes,

Accompanied by dogs,

Torches in your hands,

Flames of gold.


Mistress of darkness,

Goddess of the moon,

Your sacred fires are in bloom.


Lady of the triple formed worlds,

Earth, sea and sky,

I dance in your sacred fires tonight!


Hail Hekate!



Blessings to all who will be celebrating the Rite of Her Sacred Fires today!

For more information about Sorita d'Este, check out : Sorita.co.uk



Photo courtesy of: My personal altar for Her Sacred Fires

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Home Sweet Home

We have returned home from our honeymoon with lots of new stories and experiences to share! We had a lovely time during our trip, and will remember it always. Both of the countries we visited were very different from one another. Switzerland was absolutely breathtaking! The Swiss Alps are quite a site to see! The food was impeccable and the people nice and helpful. Our first stop in Lucerne, we stayed in a hotel overlooking the famous and beautiful lake there. With mountains and hills and beautiful architecture, Lucerne was a very charming Swiss city. After there, we headed off to Interlaken. We actually ended up staying in a little town near Interlaken, called Wilderswil, which was situated up in the hills at the base of some huge and beautiful mountains. This was no doubt my favorite place in Switzerland. Here, we took a train to a town called Lauterbrunnen, from there we took a few cable cars up to the mountains until we reached the peak of the Schilhtorn. Quite literally at the top of the Alps! There was still lots of snow and it was quite cold up there, but breathtaking none the less.

I loved waking up in the morning, with the windows open and a fresh crisp breeze coming in, hearing the sounds of the cows with the cow bells jingling around their necks, and the crows cawing, with a beautiful mountain sunrise. Needless to say, I wasnt ready to leave Wilderswil that day! Although our next stop in Lugano, was also an extremely beautiful place. Right on the border of Italy, it was a fusion of cultures, Swiss and Italian. While it had the Swiss scenery of large jutting hills and mountains coming out the the lake of Lugano, it also had Mediterranean villages surrounding the hills, that made it look like a Mediterranean fantasy land! Switzerland is truly a place to remember and hopefully a place we will return to one day.


The next day we took a train to Italy. My first experience here was in a taxi that was taking us to our hotel. Needless to say Rome is a very hectic, chaotic city with cars, mopeds and people going in every direction possible. No lanes, lights or stop signs to guide the roads, kind of like a free for all! I was a little scared at first, but got used to it rather quickly. Our first site in Rome was the Pantheon, which was massive and spectacular! You walk down cobblestone streets, and then the street opens up into a courtyard of sorts, with the Pantheon at its center. Stopped me right in my tracks! This, in its day, was a polytheistic temple (a temple to all the Gods), which now has Catholic influence on the inside, no longer Pagan, but magnificant none the less. The next day we toured the Baths of Caracalla, The Colosseum and The Forum. All of which left me breathless! So well preserved, you can just imagine all the events that took place there in its hay day. At the Forum, we got to see the Temple of Vesta, and the House of the Vestal Virgins directly behind it. I was surprised to see that many of the statues at the House of the Vestal Virgins are still there! I made a little offering, said my prayer, and we were off to the next fantastic ruin.

Then, our second day in Rome, we visited The Vatican. We only saw the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, which was about a 3 hour tour. The museum was fantastic! With Egyptian , Roman and Greek artifacts, and some even from other cultures. Its one of the best museums I've ever seen. There were rooms with long halls where the walls were lined back to back with Roman and Greek statues of Goddesses, Gods, Emperors, etc. I even saw my beloved Hekate there, and of course took some pictures! As well as Selene, Ceres, Artemis, Athena, Medusa, Isis, Sekhmet, Anubis, Dionysos and many others.


Our third day in Rome, we took a day trip out to the Amalfi coast and Pompeii. This was definitely the highlight of our trip! Our driver stopped in a little town on the Amalfi coast called Positano. I will never forget the pure beauty of this place. Right on the water surrounded by huge hills and mountains covered in little Italian villages and some Medieval buildings, Positano is a place I will dream of going back to. As we only had about 2 hours there, before we set off for the Ancient site of Pompeii. We absolutely loved Pompeii! This site is so incredibly preserved, its easy to see how they once lived. There is even some paint left on the walls in the some of the buildings. It is also a huge complex, so we did not get to see the whole thing even with a two hour tour of it. Also unfortunately, the area that housed the Temple of Isis was closed for restoration, so I could not see that. Although I did get to see a Temple to Fortuna, and a Temple to the Emperor Augustus. Pompeii is a great place that I plan to learn more about, its a place I've dreamed of going for many years, and Im so happy I've been able to capture that dream fabulously!

Well as you can see, our trip was pretty full, so needless to say, we were dead tired by our last day there. So we decided to just take it easy our last day, walk around the city, do some shopping, eat more Italian food, and relax with some wine.

Looking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing about our trip. Everything worked out great and we have some wonderful memories and pictures that we will hold dear for many years. Some advice to those of you who are planning to check out Rome. This city is jam packed with people, as well as all the ancient sites. Even though Rome has a grand reputation, dont forget it is still a city, and it can be dirty, and the unfortunate smell of urine lets itself be known! There are also some pick pocketers, and scammers trying to sell you what they offer and they are very persistent. So much so, that I actually had to snap at one of them to leave me alone, because he so clearly wasn't getting the hint. You learn as you travel, to take the good with the bad, I was in Rome for one particular purpose, that was to see the famous ancient ruins. Which I had to keep reminding myself of. None the less it was a great experience that neither of us will forget.

I hope you enjoyed listening about our European adventure, as well as the pictures I posted! If you would like to see more pictures, check out my fan page on facebook, as I plan to post a few more pictures on there.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Leaving on a trip of a lifetime!

Tomorrow my husband and I embark on our late (but worth the wait) honeymoon! We will be gone for almost two weeks, exploring the mountains of Switzerland, and the ancient cities of Rome and Pompeii! We have put lots of planning into this trip, and are so excited.

We arrive in Switzerland early Thursday morning, where we will hang out in Zurich for a little while. Then we get a car a drive to the majestic mountainous town of Interlaken. From there we will end up in Lugano which is right near the border of Italy. In this part of Switzerland, there is an exotic mix of cultures, Swiss and Italian. The town and area surrounding looks like a Mediterranean fantasy land. So beautiful! After that, we take a train to the ancient, famous city of Rome.

Rome is a place I've dreamed of going for a very long time. To be in the same place of this ancient powerful culture, to be among the sacred temples and places of worship, where history was being made, is something that is very meaningful to me. I cant wait to feel the energy in this ancient city!

Of course we will be doing your typical touristy type stuff. Colosseum, The Forum, The Vatican, and the Baths of Caracalla. We will also be visiting various sites on Palatine and Aventine Hills. Such as the Temple of Cybele, Temple of Diana and the Temple of Minerva. Actually, two of these temples are no longer there anymore (Diana and Minerva), but we will be visiting the spot where they once stood. So I can stand in the very same place, the ancient priestesses of Diana stood, and pay homage to her greatness.

We will also be taking a day trip out to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. I am so incredibly excited for Pompeii! The story and history of this place has always intrigued me. It is said to be the best preserved ancient city known. There is also a temple to Isis in Pompeii (pictured above), that Im dying to see! In Italy and many other areas around the ancient world, a mixture of cultures and deities occured, and in many places they incorporated foreign deities into their own practice. Such as the worhsip of Isis. Not only was she worshipped in Egypt, but in Rome and Greece. There was even evidence of her worship in other parts of Europe. The great thing about this, is that her temple in Pompeii is still very much intact, and is wonderfully preserved!

We then relax our last day in Italy before we return home. With another great experience to add to our lives! We are both so excited for this trip, and feel so lucky to have the opportunity to visit such beautiful places. I cant wait to share my new stories and experiences with everyone when we return!




Photo courtesy of PhilipHarland.com

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Beltane, Fire Festival of Love.

Beltane is an ancient Celtic fire festival representing fertility and love. It is also known as May Day and Walpurgisnacht. This holiday marks the start of the bright half of the year. It's name stands for "bright fires" or "brilliant fires". Ancient people would light a big bonfire to kick off the celebration. People would dance and frolic around it, some would jump over the fire. This was said to bring good luck. Couples would get married on Beltane, to symbolize the Sacred Marriage of the Goddess and the God. It was a ritual to honor the fruitfulness and the fertility of Spring.

At Beltane we honor the Goddess Freyja, Goddess of love, fertility and war. She was known to be a beautiful and sexual Goddess on the Norse pantheon. We also honor Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of beauty and love, and Artemis, Greek Goddess of the hunt. Beltane is also a time when the veil between worlds in thin, and contact with the faeries is possible. It is said that the Queen of the Faeries rides out on her horse on Beltane eve, to search for people to snatch into faeryland. Faeries were known to lure people into their magical world, never to return again, on nights like Beltane. Enjoy the Fae from afar, dont get to close! To work with the Fae on Beltane, leave offerings of honey cakes, milk and butter, make little places for them to bathe like a bird bath, or leave little stones and crystals.

There are many crafts to make for Beltane. Like a May Pole to dance around or a May basket. My favorite is a flower crown. You can make it with real or fake flowers.

Beltane Flower Crown

* 2 pipe cleaners
* fake or real flowers
* ribbon
* hot glue gun
* scissors

Twist one end from each pipe cleaner together. Hold it around the upper part of your forehead and then twist the other ends together. This will make the base of the crown.

Cut the flowers from the main stem. Leave an inch or two of each stem on the flowers if possible. You can also leave some leaves, or use them separately if that works better. Glue the flowers and leaves around the pipe cleaner. Use as many or few as you want.

Once you get the flowers how you want them, you are ready to add the ribbon. Cut 8 - 10 pieces of ribbon; all different lengths, between 1 and 2 feet long. Glue one end of each piece of ribbon to the inside, back edge of the flower crown. If desired glue a flower to the other end of the ribbon. You can also wrap a ribbon or two around the pipe cleaners.

On your altar: Flowers and greenery, colors of red and white to represent the Goddess, also Spring colors of purple, yellow and green. Representation of the Goddess of your choice. Faeries and Faery dust, (if you plan on leaving an offering for the faeries, milk and honey are a good choice.) Crystals of rose quartz, amethyst, carnelian, lapis lazuli. If you can, light a fire on Beltane, this will connect you with the ancient Celtic tradition. If you dont have access to anywhere to light a fire, you can use candles on your altar.

Wishing everyone many Beltane blessings!


Flower Crown taken from About.com



Photo courtesy of the Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival