The Goddess and the Bird

The Goddess has been associated with the bird since the beginning of time. In Paleolithic and Neolithic times, there were many known bird Goddesses. It seems the bird may have been an especially revered animal. In the ancient city of Catal Huyuk, the vulture was said to be a powerful and spiritual creature. Wall paintings from some of the houses suggest possible excarnation, although it is said no actual evidence of this practice has been found. Large vultures with wings spread wide fly down to earth towards the people, painted in colors of black and red on white walls. It seems as though the vulture may have been looked at as some kind of great spirit, possibly representing death. The symbolism of the vulture swooping down to earth to take back what's her's, similar to thinking of where we go upon death, essentially back to the earth, back to our Mother.

Other cultures had figures of woman with bird heads, cave paintings of people wearing bird masks in ritual fashion, among many other bird related symbols. Such as the Vinca culture in southeastern Europe. Here, figurines were found that might look like a bird but would have breasts, others might have wings and a birds body, but have a womens head. In the book, Lady of the Beasts by Buffie Johnson, she says that the bird was thought to magically command the weather. This is because they inhabited the upper air where weather originates. Symbolism of the bird was used in rituals, where people would dress up with feathers, beaks and wings. It was thought that the person wearing the birds costume, would magically absorb the birds wisdom and power.

Since the bird lays eggs, and little chicks hatch from eggs, the bird also was seen as a symbol of fertility, and rebirth. In a cave in Merl, France, paintings were found on the walls, of pregnant women with a bird like head and winglike arms, suggesting the connection to birds and the Mother Goddess. Marija Gimbutas suggested that the Bird Goddess of old was seen as the Great Cosmic Creatrix.

Listening to the song of the bird immediately puts me in a trance. It connects me with that primordial energy of creation and life. The ancient coo of the dove reminds me of the voice of the Goddess. The best time for me to experience the primal energy of the bird, is in the early morning before the sun comes up. When all the animals start to stir, and the birds start their song. There is a light breeze and you can still see dew on the leaves and flowers. When the sun has not yet risen but it is light out. That is my time to connect with the bird. To feel the ancient female energy. Listen to their call and let it take you back to before, when our world was a much more sacred place, when we worshiped our earth and were connected to it and all its beautiful creatures. Let it remind you. Feel the song of the bird running through your body, take it all in. Meditate a little on your experience, and make sure to write everything down.

The more we connect with nature, the closer we become with our Great Mother. She can teach us all we need to know, to grow and learn.

Enjoy connecting with the ancient energy of the bird!


For more info, check out Lady of the Beasts by Buffie Johnson




Photo courtesy of Susan Seddon-Boulet

Winner of Custom Goddess Perfume!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway! And the winner is....AngelWolfStorm! Congrats!! I would also like to thank Kat at Organic Brew for donating her lovely custom perfume oil! I hope everyone enjoyed playing. Enjoy your new Goddess perfume oil AngelWolfStorm!! Stay tuned next month for our next giveaway.

Giveaway! Custom Goddess Perfume Oil by Organic Brew!

This month, our giveaway comes to us from Kat at Organic Brew. She has generously donated a custom Goddess perfume oil! You pick the Goddess you want, and the bottle you want for your custom perfume, and Kat will make a magical blend to honor and invoke your deity! I had the chance to speak with Kat a little, here's what she had to say:

1. How long have you been crafting magical products?
I have been creating magickal products for about 10 years. I started as many do creating for family, friends, and clients. I have been a Tarot Reader for almost 20 years and began creating items to aid my clients with different issues and challenges they were facing. When my youngest daughter was diagnosed with asthma and allergies I began paying attention to the products I was using in my home. I was shocked at the amount of chemicals that were in the products I was using to clean my home. Here I was thinking that I was making my home clean for my family when in reality I was coating our everyday items and the air we were breathing with chemicals. There were not many quality organic products readily available at the time with affordable prices. I was already equipped with many supplies from creating magickal items so I just expanded my inventory so that I could begin creating organic products. I saw an immediate improvement in my daughters symptoms. After creating these items for my family, I began creating them for extended family and friends so they also could have a safer environment for their own families. I started the Organic Brew in 2010. I wanted to combine my pagan knowledge with my organic knowledge and thus the Organic Brew was born.



2.Do you have a favorite type of product that you make?
That is a tough question, I love all of my creations and take pride in everything I create. I do have to say that I love creating Perfume Oils. I have always been a perfume lover and before I realized the chemicals that were in perfumes I had an extensive collection. I always have a new “favorite” scent but one of my all time favorites is my Black Forest Unisex Perfume Oil Blend. It is a woodsy blend with notes of spice. I never fail to get compliments when I wear it.


3. Please explain the product you are giving away.
The product I will be offering for the giveaway is a Custom Created Organic Alchemy Goddess Oil. The winner can choose which Goddess she would like her oil based on and I will create a blend specifically for that Goddess. The winner can also choose which bottle they would like their oil to come in. I will take into account any likes or dislike of specific scents to create a blend the winner will love wearing. The Organic Brew's Organic Alchemy Oil Line is a line of the finest quality essential oils blended into a vitamin e and calendula infused carrier oil. No alcohol, chemicals, or cheap fillers are used in any of The Organic Brew's Organic Alchemy Line! These quality ingredients cause the scent to last longer. The oils are absorbed into your skin, they do not just sit on the skin surface.


Ok everyone, now for the rules. Go to Kats shop, find a product that you like, and come back here to comment on it. In your comment, you must also include the Goddess you would like, and the bottle of your choice (pick from the three pictured above). For an extra entry, follow Kat on her blog or her facebook page. For even more extra credit, follow this blog. Thanks to Kat for donating her uniquely Goddess inspired perfume oil! Have fun playing!

The Goddess in the Landscape

The Goddess in the ancient world, was seen as the earth itself. The Great Mother that gave birth to all the animals and the plants, the earth was her body. So in many places, there are hills or mountain ranges named in her honor. Like the Paps on Anu in Ireland, and the Sleeping Beauty Mountain on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides, Scotland.

The Paps of Anu, located in county Kerry near the town of Killarney, are breast shaped hills named after the Goddess Anu. She was the Irish Goddess of fertility and mother to the Tuatha De Danaan, the ancestor to all the Gods. The ancient people who worshiped her at her breast shaped hills, erected nipple like cairns and standing stone formations to make up her body. After this process was complete, they had created a woman in the landscape lying on her back. There is no head, arms or legs, just a belly rising up to meet two breasts, all that is needed to represent the fertility of the earth, and the fertility of our Great Mother.

The Sleeping Beauty Mountain (pictured above), is on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. It is clearly a woman lying on her back with her breasts pointing towards the sky, also with her nipples erected by stones, put their by our Goddess worshiping ancestors. In Gealic she is called " Cailleach na Mointeach" which translates to "The old woman of the Moors". Every nineteen years or so, there is a celestial event that happens with the moon and the Sleeping Beauty. It is known as a lunar standstill, and the moon rises over the Sleeping Beauty's body as though she is giving birth to a new lunar cycle. The moon is then said to pass through the famous Callanish stones a few hours later. Some say that when this event took place in the ancient world, there may have been some ritual practices going on the symbolize a form of rebirth.

There are many other places where the Goddess is in the landscape, like the Paps of Jura in Scotland, the Paps of Morrigan in Ireland , Knockainey Hill in Ireland where the pregnant belly of the Goddess Aine is said to be, and many more. It is very clear that our ancestors worshiped our Great Mother in her natural earthly sanctuaries. They saw mountains and hills as her breasts, or pregnant belly. Just like they saw caves as her sacred womb. They performed rituals where the landscape Goddess birthed the moon or the sun, and rituals of transformation by entering her sacred womb caves. These people clearly respected and revered our Mother Earth, as the Great Cosmic force that is the Goddess. I hope someday to visit many of these great sites, and witness the Goddess in her greatest form as our ancient ancestors once did!




Photo courtesy of GoddessAlive!

Diana, Huntress Goddess of the Moon.

Diana is the Roman Goddess of the moon, as well as of animals, nature, and the hunt. She is the equivalent of the Greek Goddess Artemis, who she was later merged with in Ephesus. She is often depicted accompanied by dogs or deer, and carrying a bow and arrow. Diana was the virgin Patroness of childbirth and is known for protecting women and girls. Daughter to Jupiter and Latona, and sister to Apollo, she was originally worshiped on mountains and in wild places.

Diana had a temple in the forest on the shores of Lake Nemi, where she was known as "Diana Nemorensis" or "Diana of the Grove". The Oak tree was sacred to her and she was often worshiped in Oak forests. It is said the her male priests would fight to the death to become one of hers. She also had a shrine on Aventine Hill where she was mainly worshiped by slaves and lower class people.

In the old practice of Stregheria, or Italian Witchcraft, she was known as "Queen of the Witches", and she had a daughter, Aradia. It is said that Aradia was sent to earth to teach witchcraft to the peasants, to fight against the new church. Some think that Aradia was a figure in Italian myth, others think she was a real person who actually led a group of Diana worshiping witches.

Diana was also associated with the Goddesses Luna and Hekate. It is interesting to note that one of Diana's sacred festivals was August 13th, which was also the day Hekate had a sacred festival. She was so closely related to the Goddess Artemis, that the two became interchangeable later in history. In Ephesus, her and Artemis were both worshiped at the great Temple of Artemis, where the famous many breasted statue of her stood.

Diana teaches us to connect with nature, to find our way back to our roots. As we are all children of Mother Earth. She helps us to honor our bodies and menstrual cycles as women, and she protects us during childbirth. She also teaches us to have strength and to fight for what we believe in. On your altar to Diana, have representations of the moon, picture or statue of deer, dogs or the Goddess herself, white candles, clear quartz crystal, selenite or moonstone, herbs of mugwort, jasmine or lavender and honey.

Enjoy working with this wild woman Goddess of the Moon!




Photo courtesy of Hrana Janto