Day 1
The Moon is the representation of the Goddess. Its four phases coincide with the Four Aspects of the Goddess:
Maiden- new moon to first quarter
Mother – first quarter to full
Matriarch – full to second quarter
Crone – second quarter to new moon
Four aspects? Your puzzled expression gives voice to your confusion? “The Goddess only has 3 aspects” you protest as you debate the value of reading further. I beg you to let me explain.
Traditionally the Goddess has a triple aspect, maiden, mother and crone seen in the moon by the first quarter, full and second quarter phases. The new moon is typically attributed to her time of rest (or death). I feel this lacks an adequate structure for me. I am compelled to add the matriarch into the mix. Matriarch aspect comes between the Mother and the Crone. No longer of child bearing age, yet not the old Crone who has seen and done it all. The Matriarch is compassionate and sensual. She is not old and worn from life, looking toward the journey of rebirth. She is still full of life; her experiences are turning her knowledge to wisdom. She is the great teacher. Kind, patient, loving, forgiving and understanding. She is the aspect we call on for inspiration, for that nudge we need to get us out of the rut we are in, the one who can add a bit more oomph to our spell work.
And yet she is more than that as Matriarch. She is resolute, steadfast, and tough as nails when it comes to those who cause her pain. She is the backbone we call on when things are tough. The armor we don when we must fight. She is our strength when we have had a major setback. She understands us all and holds us to our potential. She asks the most of us and when we comply she rewards us the best. She is the crucible of knowledge and experience. She tests our abilities and we know her best when we can admit our own weaknesses and perceive our strengths.
Her journey from maiden to crone is the journey of every woman. We may not all walk through the same phases but we all follow behind her. She is our light on dark nights and our rhythm setter. She has achieved the age in which she is happy with all aspects of herself. Her happiness brings serenity that all women I know long for. Through her we may find it.
Day 2
Words. Powerful things. So much about them is misunderstood. We can’t learn without them. Many of us can’t go a day without using them. They are our main form of communication. Yet we often use them wrong. We use slang or a form of verbal shorthand, we don’t realize until we have a problem how many meanings a word can have to other people.
Example:
“The kids played hard today. I think the little one just passed out.”
“Oh my God! Did you take him to the emergency room?”
“Huh?!”
“You said he passed out! Take him to the emergency room something could be wrong!”
“Oh…no, he didn’t ‘pass out’ he fell asleep really fast.”
“You scared me.”
“Sorry”
See? We do it everyday. In most cases the meaning is understood. Sometimes we get the wrong outcome and unless we continue to communicate with the other person one or both of us are left confused or upset.
It happens more and more as social networks expand. It is harder when one takes into account the amount of conversations happening through text messages. Vague statements on Face Book, Twitter, or MySpace can have many repercussions. How many times have you read a text and not had any idea what the other person is saying?
Yet we continue to do it. We know what we mean so we don’t think twice about what we say. The problem is we do the same with our spells and prayers. We get the words just the way we want them. They rhyme and everything. Than we speak them in spell or prayer and things start to happen. We get confused as the spell we cast comes out terribly wrong. We don’t understand what happened.
Later we look back and possibly realize we did something wrong. Most will look back and call it a ‘life lesson the universe felt I needed” and yet not understand the lesson. So they wait for the answer to be revealed. If they were to look closely at the words they used, they may find the lesson quicker. Unfortunately most are only setting themselves up to repeat that lesson again.
Need and want can not be interchanged in spells, nor should they ever be at anytime. Need indicates necessity, ‘I need food to survive’. Want is a desire, ‘I want cheesecake’. Try changing those two words in the sentences. The first one is wrong, the second sounds alright. Now try it with:
‘I need a place to live.’
‘I want a mansion.’
It gives a bit of a different meaning when you change them. No one needs a mansion to live in. That is a structure build solely on desire.
Words can start wars, divorce proceedings, criminal cases and many more forms of trouble. They can also be comfort to a loved one, bring peace, and change a person’s decision. They are powerful and lasting; you can’t take them back once they fly out of your mouth.
For today pay attention to how you use words. If you have the time, read over your spells, especially those you feel didn’t go as you planned. See if you could have a different outcome if you changed just a few words.
Day3
The God, as seen in the Sun has a Quadruple Aspect. He is the Fellow and love of the Maiden, the Father or the Mother’s children, the Patriarch consort to the Matriarch, and the Codger the Crone’s forever love.
As Patriarch he is still robust and hearty, his age is showing in the silver streaks in his auburn hair. He is prone to introspection and yet still able to kick up his heels in a late autumn burst of life. An example of abundant patience. He has been there, done that, and you can’t surprise him. He walks the width and breadth of time. He shepards the animals into their winter homes. He turns the trees from the lush green of summer to the blaze of autumn colors.
He is still the preeminent provider. He can track longer than any other, and no track is unseen by him. He is the spirit of all that is wild and free. He is the source from which adrenaline flows. He is love, romance and passion. He is an example of how one should live their life. He is moral and ethical and will not bend to meet a trend or please another.
His word is his bond. Therefore he rarely speaks. When moved to speak he is as the thunder in the mountains as it rolls into a crescendo in the valley below. The pounding of a storm tossed sea upon a beach is but an echo of his voice. To ignore his words and wisdom is to court danger. He is discipline and consequence, the soul shaking voice that you hear when you stray down the wrong road.
As Codger he is wizened and frail looking, do not let that fool you, he is stronger than you think and a master of ALL the arts. He is the physical embodiment of truth. His appearance is scary to many upon first glimpse. His warn appearance becomes a comfort to those who have chosen to walk with him.
His day is spent wandering the forests and checking in on the animals. He smells of pipe tobacco, roasted meat and just a hint of ale.
Removed from the burning desires of the flesh, he still remembers them perfectly. There is nothing he can’t remember. He mourns the lose of all life, even as he snares a rabbit for his dinner. He is time itself and the master of all. Humbling and uplifting, a soul is safe within his presence. His gaze is cold as the winter wind if you have done wrong, yet also as warm as the hearth if you admit your error and learn from it. He holds no judgment or grudge. He is accepting of all that we do, as all actions are learning experiences that we must experience to grow.
