Original conversation in April of 2020 among A Gathering of Goddess Members:
Mrs Eva K: That's right. It's you, fellow goddess. Because each one of us is what's keeping our small corner of the world turning.
So tell us, how are you honoring yourself while the world is in chaos? How are you holding your world together? If you would like, share your "myth," your personal story. Tell us your scared colors, scents, stones, and/or flowers. What's your personal symbol and/or sacred animal?
Blessed Being: Ooh, cool idea, Eva!
For many years I've carried a piece of tumbled Angelite which I named Angel (not imaginative, but comforting to have an Angel in my pocket--which is where she rests during the day).
www.firemountaingems.com/res
ources/enc
yclobeadia/gem-notes/ha56
When my sorting through boxes recently turned up a small bag of tumbled stones from a few years ago, which I could no longer identify, I was drawn to the bright semi-translucent raspberry pink stone I think is Rhodochrosite which I named Princesa (princess in Spanish).
thehealingchest.com/crystals
-stones/rh
odochrosite-meaning/
She now also sits in my pocket with Angel (and my Burt's Bees pink grapefruit lip balm). I kiss them as I pick them up from their cotton padded nest in the morning, and kiss them goodnight as I return them before bed.
Connecting with angel power and self love every day is why I carry them around, just one small blessing. I touch them every time I reach for my lip balm, which reminds me to focus on positive things.
Pebblegeek: I'm wearing my favourite gemmy aquamarine point pendant from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed. It helps me focus on being calm amidst the challenge of having our adult autistic offspring home for the duration of this crisis. I'll put it on the windowsill tonight during the full moon (it was foggy last night).
Normally our daughter lives in a fantastic residential home about 300 miles away but we made an express sprint to collect her last month, arriving home barely hours before the UK lock down was announced. We also collected our adult autistic son, who is much more able and lives in a small flat of his own in a city about fifty miles from us, and brought him home too. We couldn't bear the thought of him being alone and isolated in his city and feared for his mental equilibrium. It was all extremely stressful.
However, we are incredibly fortunate to live on a small group of islands off the coast of south west UK. With a population of 2000 spread across five very small islands, it's not hard to maintain social distance or self isolation according to needs. All travel has virtually stopped with only essential and key workers being allowed to come here, and islanders who have to return home or need to attend vital medical appointments. So we are locked down pretty tightly.
We have a large property which includes not only our own accommodation but also three self contained holiday apartments so we have plenty of space to spread out. It's so weird not having any holiday visitors in them with Easter just round the corner! We also have a large private garden which is reeling from all the attention it's been getting, plus two greenhouses. We're sowing lots of seeds in preparation for growing our own veg this year. We've also got a beach less than fifty yards from our gate so we can take our daughter down for a swim (which she adores!) once or twice a week. Probably against the strictest rules but it makes her so happy.
Accordingly, I have chunks of rough black tourmaline and rough aquamarine in various places around our accommodation, amethyst and rose quartz spheres in our living room and the oil burner is in daily use. Don't forget that lavender oil is a brilliant calming resource and helps our daughter so much if she's getting agitated.
We've just completed our mandatory fourteen days self isolation after our mainland trip so hubby can get out to do the shopping for us again. Our local small supermarket was brilliant at accepting email orders and delivering food to households in self isolation. We haven't been able to get a delivery slot for a mainland supermarket because it's all booked up for three weeks in advance. I can't get bread flour or yeast at all, rice is hardly ever available and we've almost run out of our daughter's favourite salad cream. But those are minor irritation in the grand scheme of things....
I hope all the goddesses remain safe and well in these troubling times and that the awesome combined efforts of countries around the world will lead to effective treatments, vaccines and better supplies of essential items like ventilators, masks and PPE
Mrs Eva K: I am a summer baby through and through. A goddess that reenergizes from the sun, much more than the moon.
My alter has dandelion paintings above it. I painted them myself a few years ago. The small sunflower (they are tiny tiny sunflowers) are resilient, coming back after almost any trauma, and like myself are, pretty useful. youtu.be/KAwuTiQlrfw
I also enjoy their message, "Let it go."
I wear orange blossom scents, most often in a lotion or cream. Orange blossom, for me, is energizing and relaxing at the same time. One of its metaphysical uses is to bring good fortune. When possible my cleaning supplies contain orange oil for fragrance as well as the anti-bacterial properties. Even when eating, my favorite flavors are oranges and lemons. It's honestly weird in a certain way.
I don't carry stones regularly, but my favorite bracelet that I wear when I leave the house is a trio of red, lavender, and green jade in a silver setting. I have another that's just 3 red jade stones that I wear almost as often. I admit the red jade is my favorite as is the color red even though I don't wear much of it. When this is over I'm going to rectify that situation.
www.crystalvaults.com/crystal-encycl
op
edia/jade
If you know me, you know I am a cat lady. I'm a Leo. A solar sign with a firey element. And much like a lion, I don't roar, unless I have to.
During this chaos, I wake each morning and do my sun salutes. It's a calming activity that sets my mood for the day. my mantra is, "Be the best me I can be on this particular day." Then I shower and take care of my crew. I keep the "cub" on track with her schedule for school. I'm keeping a sense of order for her during this chaos. I make sure Brenna and I get some fresh air and sunshine every day, even if it's just checking on our container garden. I keep a check on family and neighbors and help other mothers find their way through the process of distance learning. I'm a caretaker by nature. Knowing my loved ones are safe, that gives me a sense that everything will be okay when the dust settles. I've provided "travel care packages" where I can with a paper or cloth mask, gloves, and small hand sanitizer, for when they go out to the store to buy essentials.
Blessed Being: Yes, scent is important. I had planned to mention that I have 2 favorite hand soaps from Trader Joe's--lavender in the bathroom to soothe and calm, and pink grapefruit in the kitchen to energize. www.google.com/search?q=trad
er+joe%27s+hand+soap&sxsrf=ALeKk01
vyVPNX
U29UPfvHMg7Yfp-B7Pu_g:1586362487
77
2&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictR>x=1&fir=5QIUYLQAMw13bM%253A%252C
HC
ZaaQ0CxAyOQM%252C_&vet=1&
;usg=A
I4_-kRQXO2N4Vo0PVY5xxPQMjlnz
9jn9Q&
sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj99M
XknNnoAhVHu54K
He1MD4UQ9QEwC3oECAgQMg#imgrc=5QIUYLQAMw13bM:
And exercising regularly through the day is another way I'm nurturing myself and staying strong. And I like sharing the resources I find--short workouts for during work breaks, senior workouts, qigong for mental & physical balancing, excellent PT on YouTube with Ask Doctor Jo. It pleases me to encourage others to take advantage of these resources to nourish their well-being, especially now.
One of the things I'm doing to support myself is to exercise regularly. During the week, I do short workouts for am, lunch, and pm breaks just like I did when I went to the office. But instead of taking the elevator from the 10th floor to the lobby and then the stairs to the basement & using the recumbent bike or weights, I'm doing YouTube videos of cardio, ST, PT, stretching & qigong.
I'm keeping lists of exercises w/ links, grouped by type and duration, noting which are my favorites & if I did modifications to protect joints. Then I'm sharing lists with coworkers and friends, and teammates, because I love sharing helpful resources to encourage self-care and wellness activities. With so much happening beyond our control, it's nice to be reminded of positive, empowering choices we can all make. Just today I got instant messages from 2 different coworkers thanking me for the tools I've shared. That pleases me so much!
I'm keeping lists of exercises w/ links, grouped by type and duration, noting which are my favorites & if I did modifications to protect joints. Then I'm sharing lists with coworkers and friends, and teammates, because I love sharing helpful resources to encourage self-care and wellness activities. With so much happening beyond our control, it's nice to be reminded of positive, empowering choices we can all make. Just today I got instant messages from 2 different coworkers thanking me for the tools I've shared. That pleases me so much!
MYRINA_SAVANT (Paula): I have managed to keep to my routine with a few tweaks here and there.
I start my day with my morning ritual at my altar
Getting up early to exercise really helps.
Grocery shopping has changed and I have sourced a place that does fruit and vegetable boxes on a weekly basis plus a cheese box on a monthly basis.
A year ago DH was having problems with his appetite and I ended up getting meals from a firm that does mini meals as well as single portion meals. I have ordered some of these again as a back up.
Figuring out where to get the things we need has been a challenge but I have a well stocked freezer and store cupboard. No delivery slots in the supermarket makes life interesting.
Helping my neighbour who lives alone and has no internet access and has health issues means he has food as well. I have been sharing our vegetable box with him as we often have more than we can use in a week.
Like DH he is in the High Risk category but not the Highest meaning we don't get any help with deliveries so we help each other.
This weekend I am making out neighbour and us an apple pie.
Making time for relaxation is important and lessens the stress. I have been gardening, colouring, knitting and I am learning a new skill, knitting socks toe up using magic loop.
Music and my audio books help as I can do chores and have something fun to listen to.
We limit the news to once a day as it gets depressing, we need updates and can see what is going happening online as well.
Staying in contact with friends and what family we have is different as we use emails more and the phone.
Life has changed but we manage to adjust as we find new ways to do things. Thank goodness we have the internet it has made life a lot easier than it would have been without it.
I start my day with my morning ritual at my altar
Getting up early to exercise really helps.
Grocery shopping has changed and I have sourced a place that does fruit and vegetable boxes on a weekly basis plus a cheese box on a monthly basis.
A year ago DH was having problems with his appetite and I ended up getting meals from a firm that does mini meals as well as single portion meals. I have ordered some of these again as a back up.
Figuring out where to get the things we need has been a challenge but I have a well stocked freezer and store cupboard. No delivery slots in the supermarket makes life interesting.
Helping my neighbour who lives alone and has no internet access and has health issues means he has food as well. I have been sharing our vegetable box with him as we often have more than we can use in a week.
Like DH he is in the High Risk category but not the Highest meaning we don't get any help with deliveries so we help each other.
This weekend I am making out neighbour and us an apple pie.
Making time for relaxation is important and lessens the stress. I have been gardening, colouring, knitting and I am learning a new skill, knitting socks toe up using magic loop.
Music and my audio books help as I can do chores and have something fun to listen to.
We limit the news to once a day as it gets depressing, we need updates and can see what is going happening online as well.
Staying in contact with friends and what family we have is different as we use emails more and the phone.
Life has changed but we manage to adjust as we find new ways to do things. Thank goodness we have the internet it has made life a lot easier than it would have been without it.
Victoria2021: So I am still learning how to "hold my world together" in this world of chaos.
I was an early covid prepper (started to get very concerned around Feb new Moon during Chinese NY & Wuhan'rs going home across China (both my mom & I were born around the beginning of Feb, so I usually note the astro placements and holidays especially—also am a total Aquarius (eagle eyed ‘big picture’ (& my ex-boss when I was paid staff for Hillary used to say I ‘saw around corners’, but he was a very earthy Taurus, so my insights were a very different perspective than his, lol)). I felt like such a *Cassandra* in Feb. that no one else saw that this was coming (I celebrated my best local friend’s birthday with her on Feb 29 against my better judgment (which I only did because she’d been sick and needed major cheering up: she’s as a blind divorced mom, who’d just moved into low-income housing & was feeling especially buffeted by circumstance; I let it spill out how I thought schools would close for the year (calendar) and etc.).
I even joined a newly formed Covid prepper group for a fortnight (most of them were very right wing, & 1 even flashed a swastika, so I left, but had learned some good prep ideas. Another very Aquarian thing: (over?)/thinking (our phrase is “I know” which bugs the Hel outta my Pisces sister)). I’m also very Aquarian techy, worked for a major IT co. and taught at a U. computer center cutting edge lab, & am a re-spinning web dev, so online all the time. Am Gemini rising, so other part of me is my Leo moon. Have also several Capricorn placements, more earthy, and love to garden (pre-Corona, I was going to experiment with the idea of a floral micro-farm this year, to buy land next year); also studied environmental geology, so I love me some crystals and rocks; Really vibe purple amethyst, clear quartz, labradorite, amber and tiger’s eye, lavender lilac, violets and pansies, iris, sunflowers, citrus, ginger, mint, basil, all flowers and crystals in general & nag champa.
March, when everyone else started freaking out, we were basically all set, & my attention turned to my ~18 yo cat familiar Sam—he suddenly went to the end of his end stage renal failure, and I was nursing him for weeks, as his condition just got worse and worse, until his time came to be put down on the March superMoon, the Piscean sister’s bday, who’s also in IT, and is an essential worker for a nunnery retirement home. I actually thought it should have happened a couple days sooner, but my antichoice, non-pet person mom had an issue with it, until she realized and accepted how ill he was, & he’d been so sweet and strong and stoic, so they weren’t very cognizant of his spiraling down; the other night, I came across one of his teeth in my bed from the last night he slept there. Then I struggled with digging his grave for a week (previously I’d cremated my other 2 cats) partly because I chose an awkward spot, & the weather; I stayed up all night writing liturgy, focusing on Bastet, Freya, Mokosh, also Sekhmet, Hel, Rhiannon and of course Hekate. I buried him on Friday the 13th, after I’d knitted him a shroud from a fav tie-dyed Goddess tree t-shirt I’d turned into yarn this past winter. We greeted the sun together for the last time, and I took pictures as a memento mori of him with first gems that I’ll turn into a necklace, probably on this upcoming new moon, and then in dried flower petals, as I performed a long rite, burning a whole package of Airs of Ancient Times incense, from dawn to noon.
It was the last day of school for the neighbor kids; recently I heard their mom complaining outside about not being clear about the lesson plan for them; reminded me of another sister, who’s a teacher in a low-income school, and now frets that she hadn’t realized school would be closed for the year, yet rejected my pronouncements that it would happen, when I told her so on March 1, when we went to visit her, against my better judgment. (Though I thought it might be the last time for awhile that my folks would see her daughter, their youngest grandchild (& they have only 2 grandkids, & the other’s 20 years older), and even my mom was on board by then realizing it was a calculated risk. The granddaughter had had a 103F fever that wouldn’t go down in Feb. I was convinced that all the younger outer-lying units of family, who all had major ‘flus’ of one sort or another were lower level covid cases; or maybe it was just the flu that knocked them all down strongly for weeks. Her cat also just died, last week, & another sister's dog had to be put down in Feb. Power of 3. I was an early digital organizer of PPE handmade masks for healthcare workers, with a Dr. I met on twitter, and a collective. I LOVE those animal-oriented masks. Apparently my sister's nuns, (all elders) who are basically all locked in their rooms are also now sewing their hearts out, making masks for their hospital. Some were hitting the bottle pretty hard on St. Patty's when they were newly locked in.
My spiritual self-care includes doing more yoga, and seed-starting, though it’s been extra cold out so not much time in the garden lately, but have been doing some kitchen witchery; also doing various art projects (I included a stop at Michael’s at the end of my late Feb. prep!), mostly painting altered objects, also Zen-drawing and lots of knitting. In the morning and whenever I can, I try to remember to fluff my aura and spin my chakras; an ex attended a permaculture course with Starhawk, and the first thing they did daily was fluff their own and each other’s auras. And to breathe...I *am* an air sign! Be well, women-Goddesses.
This goddess is primarily a caregiver and protector. As a healthcare worker, I have physically separated myself from my children and my parents for several weeks (months?) to protect them from the virus that I may be exposed to.
Some things that I use to calm myself are essential oils (lavender, cedar wood, frankincense, sweet orange) and guided meditation. I am also focusing on things that are grounding right now - the color red, tiger's eye, an elephant figurine, earth/nature.
My personal sacred things are the color purple, lilacs (flower and scent), vanilla and lavender scents, giant pandas and manatees, and the lotus symbol.
AMYLFA: I've been sewing reusable, adjustable face masks for folks in the area that take care of animals. A number of people I know are sewing masks for hospital personnel and health care workers. I have chosen to focus on helping to protect the health of the wonderful, dedicated, unsung heroes who take care of animals both wild and domestic. So far, I have donated masks to the local veterinary hospital, the Humane Society pet shelter, folks who volunteer at wildlife refuges, dog groomers, etc. I want these people to stay healthy so they can keep caring for the animals who need their help. I've been using fabric with animal-themed patterns to make the masks, which delights the folks that I give them to.
SparkNB: Hi everyone...I *LOVE* this idea. So interesting to read about all our different niches and practices. I'd left spark for the past month, because, unlike “the news” which one or another of us in my household (I live with my octo folks to help them) have on almost all the time, me the most, I was finding the push back on spark disheartening, distancing & sometimes ornery (like in the CommFeed) & grumbly; which really surprised me, but then didn’t, when I considered the majority demographic I’d seen on Spark this year. But being away from Spark, and with everything in crisis out in the world, I slowly drifted off plan, so gingerly dipped my toe back here this week, & people seem to 'get it' now.
I was an early covid prepper (started to get very concerned around Feb new Moon during Chinese NY & Wuhan'rs going home across China (both my mom & I were born around the beginning of Feb, so I usually note the astro placements and holidays especially—also am a total Aquarius (eagle eyed ‘big picture’ (& my ex-boss when I was paid staff for Hillary used to say I ‘saw around corners’, but he was a very earthy Taurus, so my insights were a very different perspective than his, lol)). I felt like such a *Cassandra* in Feb. that no one else saw that this was coming (I celebrated my best local friend’s birthday with her on Feb 29 against my better judgment (which I only did because she’d been sick and needed major cheering up: she’s as a blind divorced mom, who’d just moved into low-income housing & was feeling especially buffeted by circumstance; I let it spill out how I thought schools would close for the year (calendar) and etc.).
I even joined a newly formed Covid prepper group for a fortnight (most of them were very right wing, & 1 even flashed a swastika, so I left, but had learned some good prep ideas. Another very Aquarian thing: (over?)/thinking (our phrase is “I know” which bugs the Hel outta my Pisces sister)). I’m also very Aquarian techy, worked for a major IT co. and taught at a U. computer center cutting edge lab, & am a re-spinning web dev, so online all the time. Am Gemini rising, so other part of me is my Leo moon. Have also several Capricorn placements, more earthy, and love to garden (pre-Corona, I was going to experiment with the idea of a floral micro-farm this year, to buy land next year); also studied environmental geology, so I love me some crystals and rocks; Really vibe purple amethyst, clear quartz, labradorite, amber and tiger’s eye, lavender lilac, violets and pansies, iris, sunflowers, citrus, ginger, mint, basil, all flowers and crystals in general & nag champa.
March, when everyone else started freaking out, we were basically all set, & my attention turned to my ~18 yo cat familiar Sam—he suddenly went to the end of his end stage renal failure, and I was nursing him for weeks, as his condition just got worse and worse, until his time came to be put down on the March superMoon, the Piscean sister’s bday, who’s also in IT, and is an essential worker for a nunnery retirement home. I actually thought it should have happened a couple days sooner, but my antichoice, non-pet person mom had an issue with it, until she realized and accepted how ill he was, & he’d been so sweet and strong and stoic, so they weren’t very cognizant of his spiraling down; the other night, I came across one of his teeth in my bed from the last night he slept there. Then I struggled with digging his grave for a week (previously I’d cremated my other 2 cats) partly because I chose an awkward spot, & the weather; I stayed up all night writing liturgy, focusing on Bastet, Freya, Mokosh, also Sekhmet, Hel, Rhiannon and of course Hekate. I buried him on Friday the 13th, after I’d knitted him a shroud from a fav tie-dyed Goddess tree t-shirt I’d turned into yarn this past winter. We greeted the sun together for the last time, and I took pictures as a memento mori of him with first gems that I’ll turn into a necklace, probably on this upcoming new moon, and then in dried flower petals, as I performed a long rite, burning a whole package of Airs of Ancient Times incense, from dawn to noon.
It was the last day of school for the neighbor kids; recently I heard their mom complaining outside about not being clear about the lesson plan for them; reminded me of another sister, who’s a teacher in a low-income school, and now frets that she hadn’t realized school would be closed for the year, yet rejected my pronouncements that it would happen, when I told her so on March 1, when we went to visit her, against my better judgment. (Though I thought it might be the last time for awhile that my folks would see her daughter, their youngest grandchild (& they have only 2 grandkids, & the other’s 20 years older), and even my mom was on board by then realizing it was a calculated risk. The granddaughter had had a 103F fever that wouldn’t go down in Feb. I was convinced that all the younger outer-lying units of family, who all had major ‘flus’ of one sort or another were lower level covid cases; or maybe it was just the flu that knocked them all down strongly for weeks. Her cat also just died, last week, & another sister's dog had to be put down in Feb. Power of 3. I was an early digital organizer of PPE handmade masks for healthcare workers, with a Dr. I met on twitter, and a collective. I LOVE those animal-oriented masks. Apparently my sister's nuns, (all elders) who are basically all locked in their rooms are also now sewing their hearts out, making masks for their hospital. Some were hitting the bottle pretty hard on St. Patty's when they were newly locked in.
My spiritual self-care includes doing more yoga, and seed-starting, though it’s been extra cold out so not much time in the garden lately, but have been doing some kitchen witchery; also doing various art projects (I included a stop at Michael’s at the end of my late Feb. prep!), mostly painting altered objects, also Zen-drawing and lots of knitting. In the morning and whenever I can, I try to remember to fluff my aura and spin my chakras; an ex attended a permaculture course with Starhawk, and the first thing they did daily was fluff their own and each other’s auras. And to breathe...I *am* an air sign! Be well, women-Goddesses.
