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Wildflowers and Toadstools: When God Seems Silent (Motivational and Inspirational, 1) - Kindle edition by Sherrie Giddens. Download it once and read it on. Wildflowers & Toadstools: When God Seems Silent (Motivational & Inspirational, 1) by Sherrie Giddens, @Amy Lyons Blandford.
Her antlers adorned shrines and altars, were buried in ceremonial graves, and were worn as shamanic headdresses. Her image was etched in standing stones, woven into ceremonial cloth and clothing, cast in jewelry, painted on drums, and tattooed onto skin. The reindeer was often shown leaping or flying through the air with neck outstretched and legs flung out fore and aft. Her antlers were frequently depicted as the tree of life, carrying birds, the sun, moon and stars.
And across the northern world, it was the Deer Mother who took flight from the dark of the old year to bring light and life to the new. At Winter solstice, warm butter a symbol of the sun was smeared on doorposts as a sacrifice to Beaivi so that she could gain strength and fly higher and higher into the sky. Beivve was often shown accompanied by her daughter in an enclosure of reindeer antlers and together they returned green and fertility to the land. Many winter goddesses in northern legends were associated with solstice.
They took to the skies led by a bevy of flying animals. She flew across the heavens in a sleigh pulled by horned reindeer and threw pebbles of amber symbolizing the sun into chimneys. The image of the mother goddess Rohanitsa is often shown with antlers and gives birth to deer as well as children. For her feast day in late December most likely solstice white iced cookies shaped like deer were given as presents or good luck tokens, and red and white embroidery depicting her image were displayed.
In Siberian legends the reindeer took flight each winter after ingesting the hallucinogenic Amanita Muscaria mushroom, the archetypal red toadstool with white spots.
Shamans would join them on a vision quest, by taking the mushrooms themselves. Climbing the tree of life in her horns, they would take flight like a bird into the upper realms.
Other folktales tell how shamans, dressed in red suits with white spots, would collect the mushrooms and then deliver them through chimneys as gifts on the winter solstice. Talk about a wild night. The ceremonial clothing worn by medicine women healers of Siberia and Lapland, was green and white with a red peaked hat, curled toed boots, reindeer mittens, fur lining and trim.
Horned Kichko, ancient russian shaman females sacred hat. So this solstice take a moment to remember the forgotten winter goddesses of old and their magical reindeer. Look out from your warm cozy home into the cold of the darkening eve. And on the sacred night when the sun is reborn, look for the Deer Mother flying across starry skies, carrying the tree of life in her horns. Many have never heard of the Deer Mother or her female shaman -which is no surprize. Today the internet is awash with articles examining the pagan origins of Christmas but what is consistently overlooked is the idea that there may have been a feminine source for yule traditions.
Little mention is made that this ceremonial clothing was worn by the earliest shamans in the northern regions who were -and still are — female. Much historical scholarship has assumed that many horned images found in archaic relics, ritual objects and artwork were male. But considering the evidence for a reindeer mother goddess cult dating from the prehistoric, many scholars now suggest that some of these images may be in fact, female reindeer. That early female shaman wore horned headdresses and antlers is also well documented.
Lead Plaque of Horned God or Goddess? Esther Jacobson compiled the deer iconography of the early nomads of South Siberia and northern Central Asia. The deer goddess was known across northern Europe. Antlered female shaman believed to be Nishan from NE Asia. These priestesses-of-the-antlered-ones who flew through the night to gather blessings and healing and then distributed these gifts to their tribe members must surely be considered as proto-typical Fore-Mothers of Santa.
So based on these sources and I could go on! It also seems likely that female shamans took to shamanic flight with the Deer Mother on this sacred night. Why does this image still speak so strongly to us?
Could it be that they evoke an ancient memory? Are we remembering the long forgotten mother of winter solstice? I like to think so. Here in Maryland where I live, the very first snowflakes of the winter are just starting to fall outside my window as I write. We are being tested and upgraded, dissolved and then reformed, taken apart and put back together in completely new and at times unfamiliar ways. Many people are feeling that the total solar eclipse which occurred on August 21st was a big turning point, a time when significant rapid changes were set into motion, within each of us as well as in the collective of humanity.
The messages coming through to me now feel rough around the edges, at times dark and frightening, at times filled with the brightest light and unconditional love. There is no gray area here! My dreams have become mysterious and unfamiliar. When I pick up a book to read, or when I sink into a meditative state, I keep seeing the same messages: Where there used to be gentleness and patience from my spirit guides, now there is a certain forcefulness, a pressing urgency.
All living organisms possess immune systems which are biologically designed to protect them. Earth is being threatened on a massive level by oil drilling, deforestation, fossil fuel emissions, and much more. As a living organism, Hawkins says, Earth has the capacity to send out protective vehicles, like the white blood cells in our bodies. And I believe that we humans are most certainly not the only while blood cells acting on behalf of Earth for her protection. I have recently actually, quite suddenly, immediately following the total solar eclipse in August developed a severe allergy to beef and pork.
The farming of livestock primarily cows and pigs is one of the greatest threats to our planet, for multiple reasons, and is also a source of incomparable suffering for hundreds of thousands of animals every single year. If humans were to stop consuming beef and pork, it would make a significant difference in a positive direction as related to reducing climate change. So upon further research, it turns out that I am not the only one who has recently developed an allergy to beef and pork. The allergy called Alpha-gal Allergy is caused by a tick bite, and is rapidly spreading through North America, Europe, and Australia.
The allergy causes a terrible reaction when someone eats beef or pork: How does this allergy happen? From what I understand, when a human is bitten by a tick, certain sugars enter the human bloodstream, which produce an antibody in that person, against sugars that are carried by 4-legged mammals cows, pork, sheep, etc. So after the tick bite, the person will experience a severe allergic reaction whenever they eat beef, pork, lamb, etc. This does not happen with all ticks — Only specific types, such as the Lone Star tick. So I ask you this: What would be the global consequences of such an epidemic?
And how very interesting that the Alpha-gal Allergy is most prevalent in the Southeastern United States, where people probably eat the highest quantities of red meat versus other locations. These ticks are changing the physical makeup of human beings so that we are physically unable to continue eating red meat. I also ask you this: What other white blood cell activity will Mother Earth send out? This question feels a bit scary, admittedly, and yet at the same time, fills me with tremendous hope.
And at the same time, certain biological forces are swinging powerfully into action to protect our Great Mother. So you may want to practice being a vegetarian or a pescatarian now … In preparation for that beef and pork allergy which just might be coming your way! So my suggestion to you is to keep your eyes open, and stay connected to your truth as we enter into these dark days of winter. Know that you are evolving rapidly right now, and this is not an easy process. Be patient with yourself. It is natural for us to need more sleep and to have lower energy when the days are short and the nights are long.
Be sure to listen to your body and take time out for rest and rejuvenation. If you are experiencing health issues, or difficult times, know that you are not alone. It is all part of this massive evolutionary process that we are navigating.
Trust that there is a higher reason for all of it; trust that you are part of a larger collective, and that all of our experiences have great meaning and are part of a larger plan. Here is something important that you can do to deepen into your evolution and understand the important messages that are being sent to you by the incredible intelligence of the universe: Tune in to your dreams. She is giving these workbooks away for free until December 21st.
Last year, I wrote down a dream for these 12 consecutive nights.
They correspond to the months of the year, and I read them back recently. And it was all in my dreams already…. To make people aware that they also have this power and inner knowledge that they can access during the 12 Nights of Yule. And to find some peace and quiet during the frantic days around Christmas. Traditionally, the period following Midwinter, also called Yuletide, was a sacred time.
The 12 nights of Yule, starting with the Night preceding Yule were a time of contemplation, and divination, often sitting by the fire, staring into the flames of the Yule log burning the modern Christmas tree. In our modern life, we have almost completely lost the connection to this sacred time. Paying attention to your inner world is helpful in navigating decisions and finding peace and quiet, especially during the holiday season.
This can be in the form of visions, dreams or insights. Dreams occurring during these dark 12 nights have divinatory powers and hold powerful messages about the coming year, in which the 12 nights of Yule are connected to the months of the year. I have walked beneath a thin crescent moon and offered tobacco to the land in heartfelt gratitude for miracles ….
I love this image of the rain falling on the mountains: Press enter to begin your search. We Are Being Upgraded and Recalibrated. Can You Feel it? Can you feel it, rising up within you? We have been repressed, suppressed, put down, put into boxes. These are all examples of how we hide our true selves. Just as animals know ahead of time when an earthquake is going to happen or a tsunami is coming … We too have extra sensory perception.
We have the ability to connect with the ancient and infinite intelligence of the cosmos. We have the ability to receive tremendous abundance. We are receiving these cosmic downloads of information continuously. We have all of this within us already, working to support us, working to help us be happy and free and prosperous. So why do we doubt ourselves? Why do we think that we are not good enough, not smart enough, not special enough? No longer can we submit to staying trapped within the walls of what society deems appropriate for our minds, our hearts, our spirits.
It is time to break free from ALL of that. We are here today, to be rebels. We are here today, to be revolutionaries. Where does that leave us with our power? It leaves us without power — if we subscribe to those rules and norms.
As long as it is done in service to goodness and truth … Do it now! This is my invitation to you. This may be hard at first.
I understand, I really do. It may be a big difference, or a small one. It may be anywhere in between. The size and scope do not matter. We have so much bottled up within us that is trying to tell us something … That is trying to give us critical information … That is trying to help us break free.
You are being asked to respond in some way. All you have to do is ask, and trust that the answer is within you. It will lead you in the direction of whatever is perfectly right for you. Set your intentions to be very open to whatever that might be. Clearly, that model is NOT working any longer. If you are reading this, then YOU are being powerfully called to change.
To get outside of your comfort zone. To shake things up a bit in your life. We have the ability, as human beings, to birth something entirely new and different than what we have known until now. Have fun with it! Let it be joyful and playful. And dare to do something different than you have ever done before. I ask you this because this is exactly how I feel every single day! We live in a time in which the old ways of doing things are no longer working. And this is happening to us on multiple levels, both internally and externally.
All of this is happening for a reason. Because not only are we here to witness the destruction of the old ways of living, to release and UNLEARN all that no longer serves the highest good … We are also here to co-create with divine intelligence, to build the new world that WANTS to be created through us. And this is not meant to be easy! Just as Mother Earth incubates all the life-forms, And provides fertile ground for the Spring awakening, You birth the more brilliant future that our eyes long to see. You embody the miracle of the spring equinox.
The return of the vital life-force After a long, harsh winter. You are infinite You are our brightest tomorrow Show us the way Embrace your role as our greatest inspiration; Stand with pride With a glint of laughter in your eye For you know the secrets You have seen the future And it is all more beautiful Than our human minds can fully comprehend.
Woman, show us the way. We are surrounded by invisible magical forces. We are all one. I just discovered this morning that you have a blog, Karen--and I am thrilled to find it! What a lovely place for us homeschooling mothers to find inspiration and encouragement. I have taken the Edith Holden book out from the library, and I was amazed at her careful artwork and penmanship. It truly is an inspiration. I am in the process of reading Pocketful of pinecones, I love this idea of the gentle art of learning.
I am a 50 year old Mother of 3 adult children, grandma to a 3 month old grandson, I did not home school, our children went to a private Christian School. I am now encouraging my daughter and future daughter-in-law in this gentle art of learning. I plan to purchase these books, one by one, and share them with them. They are both planning to home-school, so I feel that even though I missed out on this wonderful opportunity, they will not. Thank you for allowing God to use you to share with so many others, what every Mother should consider. Upon your recommendation I puchased the video.
It is food for the soul and a feast for the eyes. Thankyou for telling about it. I am enjoying your blog so much. When do you think your next book will come out - the one based on the Parent Review magazine? Learning something new is refreshing. I can see these pokeberries from our bedroom window. Dora, one of the characters in Lessons at Blackberry Inn , is a self-taught spinner of wool.
Whenever I go for walks, I keep my eyes open for plant dyes. Dean found it in the grass and got out his camera. It opened the next day. Where have I seen a toadstool like this? I have been to Alaska it was everything you wrote and more. Laverne Lopes rated it liked it Mar 02, Lee Hanson rated it it was amazing Jun 18, Karina Gioertz rated it liked it Apr 13, Ralph Giddens rated it it was amazing Jul 05, Heywood rated it really liked it Sep 10, Laurie Arritt marked it as to-read Apr 20, Jenny marked it as to-read Apr 24, Hasmukh Panchal marked it as to-read Jun 04, Beth Taylor marked it as to-read Jun 18, Nospin added it Jan 21, Stephanie Clarke marked it as to-read Jan 21, Kenna marked it as to-read Dec 15, Jenny marked it as to-read Mar 23, Sandra Sutherland added it Sep 16,