The Wiccan Life: Mythology

Showing posts with label Mythology. Show all posts

Saturday, February 04, 2023

The week 'as it were' ...

Greetings everyone! Well, this was my week in a nutshell - a holiday, an appliance headache, and a groundhog ... yup, the about sums it all up! After our washing machine broke down on us the week before, we ordered a new one from Home Depot and The Geek Squad delivered it on Friday. ONLY to find out that not only could they not take away the old one but they could not even install and set up the new one because the old one still had water inside of it that we could not see AND we were told that our water lines needed to be replaced due to some corrosion. Ergo, they refused to do anything but take the new machine downstairs and sit it at the bottom of the basement steps. We will have to take care of this crap and then set up another date for them to do the rest. UGH, what a big mess!

The new "uninstalled" washing machine.

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Moving on, this week we celebrated Imbolg/Imbolc/Candlemas respectively ... (shared from "Tamed Wild" website)

And ...... HERE'S PHIL! ...

I got up early on February 2nd for the express purpose of watching our very own Punxsutawney Phil give his annual weather "prediction" - it will be SIX more weeks of winter which is no surprise since we would have to endure six more week regardless because February 2nd lands right smack in the middle of winter ...

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In other news, with the prices of eggs being as crazy as they are, my mom's neighbor has a friend who owns a farm and was selling fresh farm eggs for only $3.00/dozen.. So, I bought two dozen ($6.00) and began putting them to good use today ...

Egg and cheese omelets for breakfast.

And, French Toast. Both made in the air fryer oven.

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My husband found this interesting wine yesterday ... "Scrapple"? (Spiced Cranberry Apple flavored) lol

And last, but certainly not least, a few new kitty pics taken this weekend ...

Teddy is getting very comfortable being a house cat these days.

Butterscotch lounging around on the sofa.

Miss Ginger.

Have a great week all!

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Ataragtis: The First Mermaid

Atargatis: The First Mermaid

THE FIRST MERMAID IS ALSO CALLED GODDESS OF THE SEA:

In Ancient Roman times, Atargatis was was beautiful and powerful priestess who fell in love with a human shepherd boy. He, being simply mortal, did not survive her divine love-making. She became pregnant with his baby and soon became distraught and remorseful. After the birth of a baby girl, Semiranus on the shore, she threw herself into the ocean to drown. Her beauty was so great that the gods did not let her die, but changed her into a mermaid. Not only did she become a mermaid, but a goddess of the seas. Half woman and half fish. Atargatis was depicted as having long, flowing hair like the water. She is THE FIRST mermaid.

GREAT MOTHER AND GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND WATER:

History - during the Roman Era, she was worshiped at the shrine in Hierapolis and had multiple temples dedicated to her. At her temples were ponds containing her sacred fish that only her priests were allowed to touch. Supposedly the fish knew their own names and would come when called. They even wore jewels and would snuggle up to people like a pet. In her day, worshipers would immerse themselves in her sacred waters to offer praise.

(Reference: https://everythingmermaid.com/first-mermaid/)

Sunday, March 27, 2022

A weekend off

Greetings, friends! This weekend has been the first "free" weekend that I have had in a very long time! So, I made the best of it. Yesterday, I ran all of my essential errands and then spent the remainder of the day cleaning the house. Today, my sister Aurora Skye and I chose to spend some well-needed quality time out and about. We decided to have lunch at a very nice place called, "Ganly's Pub" located down the road from my house, then frequented our usual places. Two of them were "The Mint Leaf" and "Soul-Centered Wellness" where I found a couple of wonderful little fun items ...

I could not resist this new book about the Celtic Gods & Goddesses. I can't wait to read it! ...

There was a sale on "Serendipity" soy candles ...

Some new items for Spring ...

Holiday hand decorated slate coasters.

A hand sewn mermaid cushion.

"Cat Lover's" pen set.

A pretty new blouse.

And, two new awesome scented soy candles ...

On the way home we stopped off at two more stores we both love - "Celtic Myth & Moonlight" and "The Gem on Penn" where I picked up these cool things ...

Sir Leo checking out the new Dragon themed Sabbat Astrology bag. 💗

A new addition to my Bastet altar ...

A large Bastet altar candle ...

A gemstone cage and fluorite stone. Fluorite helps balance emotions in people. Its energy imparts emotional stability to handle difficult situations with a clear mind, not overwhelmed by emotions. Fluorite stone balls are popular feng shui items.

Have a great week all!!

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Throwback Thursday: The Norse Goddess Freya

One of my favorite goddesses has got to be Freya. She was a warrior goddess whose consort was the Norse god Od. She was also the goddess of sensual love and is usually depicted as a beautiful red-head who is known for her appreciation of romantic music and stunning flowers.

But this was only part of who she was. She was also the leader of Valkyrie and had the right to claim half the souls of the bravest warriors slain in battle (the other half belonged to Odin). As such, she would gather them all on the battlefield and take them back with her to spend the afterlife in her home in eternal rest and recreation.

Freya was also called upon to comfort the dying and to help make the transition into the otherworld (known as Valhalla) easier by serving as their guide and comforting companion on their journey.

It is said that when Freya and the Valkyries rode forth on their missions, their armor caused the beautiful flickering light that we know as the Aurora Borealis ~ also called the Northern Lights.

While fishing one day, Od heard a lovely song coming from a nest of cats which seemed to be lulling him to sleep. It was a tom cat singing to his kittens to "sleep, sleep, my dear little ones." When Od very strongly suggested that the male cat stop his singing, the cat replied, "You have no idea how difficult it is to rear children as a single parent" and asked Od if he knew of any women who would be willing to take in his very special kittens as they were blue and deserved the life of royalty.

Od immediately thought of Freya, and brought the kittens back home with him to present to her as a gift. Freya was so enchanted with them that she did the kittens honor by allowing them to accompany her on her daily rounds in her golden chariot across the sky.

(image credits)

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

The Rabbit on the Moon

Rabbits in Mythology: The Story Behind the Moon Rabbit

As Wiccans, I am sure you are all familiar with the hare/rabbit and its' connection to the goddess Eostre, the Teutunic Lunar Goddess of Fertility. But, how many of you have ever heard the story of the "Moon Rabbit?"

The Moon Rabbit has a very ancient and colorful history indeed. Based on the belief that identifies the various markings of the Moon as a rabbit, this tale exists in many different cultures, most especially in East Asian folklore and Aztec mythology. In East Asia, the rabbit is seen pounding in a mortar and pestle, but the contents of the mortar vary among Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folklore. In the Chinese version, the rabbit is portrayed as a companian to the Moon goddess, Chang'e, and is constantly pounding the "elixir of life" for Her. In Japanese and Korean folklore; however, it is pounding the ingredients for rice cake.

One of the earliest stories mentioned regarding this rabbit on the moon appears in the Chu Ci, a Western Han anthology of Chinese poems from the Warring States period which notes that, along with a toad, there is a rabbit on the Moon who continuously pounds herbs for immortals. This idea is also supported by later texts which include the Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era encyclopedia of the Song Dynasty where Han Dynasty poets refer to the rabbit on the Moon as "Jade Rabbit" or the "Gold Rabbit," and these titles or phrases were often used in place of the word for the Moon.

In the Buddhist Sasajataka (Jataka Tale 316), a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit all agreed to practice charity on the day of the full moon, believing that a demonstration of great virture would earn them equally great reward. When an old man begged them for food, the monkey gathered fruits from the trees, the otter collected fish, and the jackal wrongfully pilfered a lizard and a pot of milk-curd. The rabbit, who knew only how to gather grass, instead offered itself, sacrificing its' own body into the fire which the man had built. The rabbit, to everyone's surprise, was not burnt! The old man had then revealed himself to all to be Sakra. And, touched by the rabbit's virtue, he had decided to draw the likeness of the rabbit on the Moon for all to see. It is said that the lunar image is still draped in the smoke that rose when the rabbit cast itself into the fire.

There are similar legends which occur in Mexican folklore where people also identified the Moon's markings as a rabbit as well as the myth of the god Quetzalcoatl in Aztec legend. In more modern reference, the Chinese lunar rover Yutu, which landed on the Moon on December14th 2013, was named after the Jade Rabbit as a result of an online poll.

And, speaking of spaceflight, the Moon Rabbit was also mentioned in the conversation between Houston and the crew of Apollo 11 just before the first Moon landing in 1969:

Houston: "Among the large headlines concerning Apollo this morning, there's one asking that you watch for a lovely girl with a big rabbit. An ancient legend says a beautiful Chinese girl named Chang-o has been living there for 4,000 years. It seems she was banished to the Moon because she stole the pill of immortality from her husband. You might also look for her companian, a large rabbit who is easy to spot since he is always standing on his hind feet in the shade of a cinnamon tree. The name of the rabbit is not reported."

Michael Collins: "Okay, we'll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl."