Feast of Mary Magdalene

 

 

A sacred tradition among followers of Eastern Christianity says that Mary Magdalene was bringing cooked eggs to share with the other women at the tomb of Jesus, and the eggs in her basket miraculously turned brilliant red when she saw the risen Christ.

In honor of Venus going retrograde on this special feast day honoring Lady Wisdom made flesh, I offer a meditation. This is a meditation I use for Spring Equinox, but we can use it to help clear out the old self-worth/self-love energy in your astral body so that new possibilities can fill you during this Venus retrograde in Leo.  

Sit and relax and close your eyes.

 

     1. Ground and Center.

2.     In front of you is a spiral staircase going down into the Earth. Slowly walk down the spiral staircase, sinking deeper into mediation to the count of 10.  At the bottom, you see a door.  Open it and walk through.   You find yourself in front of a silvery, misty lake.  You can make out trees along its edges, shimmering darkly. The air is a silvery mist.

3.     Undress and step into the waters.  Swim out until you are cradled in the mists and waters.   Now lay back and float.  Breathe.   After a while, you can no longer tell if you are suspended in water or mist.  Relax.   

4.     Take 3 deep breaths and open your crown chakra.  Your next breath draws in the watery mists through the top of your head.  The silver mist settles around your crown chakra.  As you gently breathe into your crown, name the belief that connects you to your highest ideals.   Thank it for sustaining you – and let it go – let it dissolve into the mist.

5.     Now take a deep breath and exhale it through your 3^rd eye.  Let the silver mist descend to your 3^rd eye and encircle it.  Breathe into your 3^rd eye and see what story you imaginally live in – optimistic/pessimistic/spiritual/etc.  Thank it for guiding you – and let it go – let it dissolve in the mist.

6.     Now take another breath and exhale through your throat chakra.  Let the mist fill your throat and let it speak your truth (silently or aloud).  Then thank it for defending you and let it go – let it dissolve in the mist.

7.     Your next breath goes through your heart.  Open it wide.  Let what and who you love fill your heart.  Thank them for giving you comfort.  And let them, too, go into the mists.

8.     Rest in your heart.  With each breath feel the empty chakras above your heart.  They now only contain the stardust of creation, matter in its dormant stage, waiting for the spark of life.  Let the stardust fill these higher chakras.  Rest in the silence.  Breathe.

9.     Now breathe into your solar plexis.  Let the silvery mist descend to your center of self-identity, your ego.  Who are you?  See yourself reflected in the mists, both the reality and the ideal.  Thank your ego for taking care of things, and let it go, let your identity dissolve in the mist.  What does it feel like?  (Ride the fear, breathe in the unknown.) You are Free!

10.   Let your breath fill your abdomen and feel your sacral chakra expand and contract with each breath.  Let the silver mist descend into your belly and let it take on the shape of your feelings, your hurts, and your yearnings.  Thank these desires for energizing your life.  Now let them go flowing back into the mists.

11.  And now feel your breath at your root chakra, down in the place of engendering and birth.  How are you rooted to your life?  What makes you feel solid and secure?  Feel your connection to the Earth, bless it and let it go.  Yes, even this, let go into the mists.

12.  Pull the silence, the emptiness, the original matter of creation down through your body.  Let it fill you as you wait for re-birth. 

 13.  Breathe.   Now stand up in the water which is mist and sink your ‘empty’ awareness down into the fires at the center of the Earth.  Pull Earth’s hot, raging fires up your spine.  Now lift your awareness through the top of your head and feel the pulsing energy of the stars.  This is a cool, subtle fire.  Pull Heaven’s eternal fires down your spine.  Let the fires meet and flow through you until they blend into Aphrodite's golden light in your heart.  Breathe in and out, just feeling the energies.

14.  The golden light glows brightly then condenses into a snake of golden light which crawls down your spine and out your root chakra.  It coils around a red egg that is floating in the watery mist.  The egg is the Goddess’ gift, her sacred temenos of life.  The golden snake flows over to the egg and circles around it.   It glows golden and crimson with new life, new possibilities. 

15.  Now the golden snake of light sinks into the red egg of life.  It is done!  Give thanks. Your new life is fertilized!

16.  Now take up the red egg and imagine placing it on your crown chakra.  Let an image come to you.  This is what you are ready to believe in this year.   

17.  Place the red egg on your 3^rd eye.  What do you see, feel, think?  This is your new story.

18.  Take the egg and place it on your throat chakra.  Listen for your new truth to arise.

19.  Hold the red egg in front of your heart.  Let those you love be with you, and let something new to love be born amongst you.  This is your heart’s desire.

20.  Take the egg and put it on your solar plexis.  What new thing do you know about yourself?  How would you name yourself now?  This is your new identity.

21.  Nestle the egg against your belly.   Feel what’s energizing within you.  What excites you, intrigues you, pleases you?  This is your motivation, the engine that drives you.

22.  Tuck the red egg down in your root chakra.  Feel the vibrations.  Look to see how the upper chakras are glowing, pulsing, dancing with light.  Let an image arise of what grounds you in this life.  Why are you here – what holds you?  This is your purpose.

23.  Now hold your egg and turn around 3 x’s.  In front of you is a wooden door.  Look at it – does it have images on it.  This is the doorway to inner realms.  Go through it and turn and close it until you return next time.  There is a spiral staircase in front of you.  Slow walk back up to the count of 10 to 1, becoming more aware of your surroundings until you reach 1 when you can open your eyes.

 Venus comes close to Earth now and shines her light upon us before she disappears into the rays of the Sun.  This is her Crone stage. She calls us to remember the lessons of love, which are the lessons of life. When she takes her Sun bath on August 13th, when she kisses the Sun, she will renew her virginity.  She become the Maiden, who is the Morning Star.

 

 

 

The Return of the Goddess: Why the Goddess is returning at this time.

 

Wise Women Salon: Spring 2022

The Return of the Goddess:

How the Goddess is Returning to Re-Birth Our World

 

A Five Week Online Immersion in Our Feminine Wisdom

5 Sunday’s from March 6 – April 10, 2022

10 am Pacific/1pm Eastern

 

To sign up for the class go to:

https://cathypagano.com/classes 

 

 

As every parent knows, it takes a long, hard labor to bring forth new life. And as every mother knows, when transition starts, there’s no let up until our baby is born.

The last few years have been hard on the world. But necessary for a global spiritual awakening. It seems to me that our world is going through such a labor in hopes of a blessed birth of new life. I feel we might even be in transition, because the pressure won’t stop. At this point in labor, once we’re opened all the way, we’re instructed to push! Push! Push the baby out into the world.

We might be at different stages of giving birth to our new story, but all of us can use some instructions on how to work with this spiritual labor we’re all participating in. Just as lamaze classes about labor can give mothers & fathers tools to deal with the pain and fear, exhaustion and sometimes hopelessness of physical labor, it never hurts to have some wisdom to help us handle this trauma and immense spiritual birth happening within ourselves and in the world.

The truth is, we need Wisdom to deal with what’s going on in our world. Since we all have a connection to Wisdom within us, it makes sense to find out how to access it. The world needs our Wisdom. As our society goes through major upheavels on all levels, women have a chance to shape what comes next. And our choices must be wise for our children’s children’s sake.

So why not learn how to access Wisdom and embody it?

I believe that women must help create the new vision for the future. The Dalai Lama said that “Western Women will change the world.” But first western women have to leave behind patriarchal beliefs and rules and reclaim our own wholeness, which means we have to re-discover our innate gifts and talents that patriarchy has tried to stamp out for over 4,000 years. I believe these past few years have given us an opening to begin to do this.

Learning to listen to Wisdom means to:

1. Leave behind our patriarchal mindset.  Modern women are 'father's daughters' -- daughters of the patriarchy.  We must leave the Father's House and find our understanding of life and our own way of doing things.

2. Free our feminine imagination.

3. Name and understand Earth’s natural laws and the nature of our body's wisdom. We can attune ourselves to Mother Earth's creative genius.

4. Know our spiritual values and what archetypal path we are called to walk.

5. Awaken to our Soul's longing.

We can learn this wisdom working with the stories and images of the ancient Goddesses to understand our own inner experiences. Through learning to use the feminine imagination, we can re-discover our ancient talents and power. The British occultist Dion Fortune said that all women can embody the Goddess because She shows us our natural abilities.

And what are some of those innate abilities that were lost to us during patriarchy? The Archetypal Feminine symbolizes:

the origin of life, all phases of cosmic life, uniting all the elements, both the celestial and earthy; the Queen of Heaven, Mother of God, Opener of the Way; the keeper of the keys of fertility and the gates of birth, death and re-birth. As the Moon Goddess she is perpertual renewal, the measure of time, the weaver of fate. As Queen of Heaven, she is archetypal wholeness, the mother of all wisdom, self-mastery and redemption through illumination and transformation.

Women are the birthers, healers, nurturers, leaders, lovers of the world. Because we know how to change. It is said of the Goddess, “She changes everything She touches, and every thing She touches changes.” If we change, so does the world.

Human beings learn best through stories and symbolic images. If you want to discover why the Great Goddess is returning to world now, and how we can embody her gifts in this time of need, please join me for this introductory course to begin to reclaim your ancient heritage.

Each 2-hour class will comprise of lectures, stories, astrology and a meditative journey. After, we’ll have time for questions.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Class One: A New Beginning: Leaving the Father’s House – The Archetypal New Feminine

Did you realize that you’re a Father’s Daughter – a good daughter of the patriarchy? If you want to access your feminine Wisdom, you need to leave the Father’s House. We’ll look at the archetypal pattern that can set you free.

March 13, 2022

Class Two: The Moon – Reclaiming Our Creative Imagination

Imagination is more important than knowledge, said Albert Einstein. So today we take a deep dive into how to connect with our imagination.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Class Three: The Earth – Womb of our Becoming

Today is Spring Equinox. We’ll talk about Sovereignty. We need to give sovereignty to our bodies and to the Earth. Stay tuned for an Equinox surprise.

Sunday, March 27, 2022 Break

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Class Four: The Stars – Our Cosmic Connection

The trip through the zodiac and how the different archetypes call us to the Heroine’s journey

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Class Five: The Solar Feminine – Aphrodite: Embodied Love & Wisdom

We’ll tie it all together through a discussion of the powers of the Goddess of Love, Sex and Wisdom, who initiates our Soul’s awakening.

Recommended Reading:

1. My book, Wisdom’s Daughters: How Women Can Change the World explores the Goddess and her many forms through her Wisdom aspect as The Woman clothed with the Sun, standing on the Moon, crowned with Stars, giving birth to the Savior.

2. Two esoteric novels by Dion Fortune which give you a magical understanding of the energies of the feminine and the masculine.

The Sea Priestess

Moon Magic

3. Christine Downing’s book Goddesses as she writes about her personal experience with different Greek goddesses.

4. Maureen Murdock’s The Heroine’s Journey Describing the feminine journey to wholeness.

The cost for the workshop is $333.00.

Because the Goddess works in 3s.

All sessions will be recorded. 

 For more information and to sign up for this class, go to:

 

https://cathypagano.com/classes 

Scheherazade's Tales to the Harem: Aphrodite, Initiator of Souls.

Today Venus 'kissed' the Sun, joining it to begin a new cycle of transformation.  When she appears on June 9th as the new Morning Star, we will begin a new phase of incarnating the Divine Feminine.

So today I tell the ancient myth of Psyche & Eros, a tale that shows us how to awaken our souls through love and desire.


 

Scheherazade's Tales to the Harem: Aphrodite, Goddess of Sexuality

Today's episode of Scheherazade's Tales to the Harem explores Aphrodite's role as Goddess of Sexuality.

 

Scheherazade's Tales to the Harem: Venus, Goddess of Beauty

Today's episode speaks to the power of Beauty in our lives.  America especially needs a lesson in beauty, since we seem to cover the land with our ugly strip shopping malls and our untamed need to ravish the Earth of her beauty.

Scheherazade's Tales to the Harem: Aphrodite/Venus as Creator Goddess

During this Venus retrograde in Gemini, I'm going to tell stories every Friday -- Venus' Day -- about who she is and what energies she evokes in us.

Here's the first video -- not great technologically since I couldn't get the slide show to work, but it's the first.

I forgot to mention the photo of Aphrodite is by Kersten Zettmar.

Venus Retrograde: Discovering a New Feminine Ideal

Venus Retrograde: May 13-14 to June 24-25, 2020

Listening with the Heart

Aphrodite's Bath

All archetypal images transform over time, although the basic archetype stays the same. When it is no longer relevant, the archetypal image becomes a stereotype, which in turn needs to die so the archetype can be reborn in a new image. This is true of all archetypal energies – they want to be continually moving and transforming.

When planets retrograde, it indicates a time to stop and take a breath and reconsider what we're doing. Retrograde planets give us the opportunity to re-think, re-do, re-novate, re-consider, re-structure and re-view what's been happening. With all the retrogrades this week, we are heading into the real season of transformation. Our isolation was just the setup.

While Saturn and Jupiter speak more to our collective life, Venus is subjective and personal, especially for women. So while we'll talk about the collective energies of Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn challenging Venus retrograde, let's concentrate on Venus first.

Venus goes retrograde when her orbit brings her between the Earth and the Sun. She is closest to us as well as being an Evening Star. Once she disappears into the glare of the Sun, she will emerge about 5 days later as a Morning Star. 9 months later, Venus will slip behind the Sun (furthest away from Earth) and become an Evening Star.

Evening Star Venus

The Morning Star energizes a new feminine experience while the Evening Star gathers the wisdom she has gleaned from the Morning Star and dispenses it to us. Other astrologers say that her Morning Star phase is the Warrior while her Evening Star phase is the Lover. The alternating rhythm is one of extroversion/out-breath and introversion/in-breath.

As you can see, the heavens are always declaring the need for transformation, and this month we'll be experiencing it both personally through Venus and collectively through the Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter retrogrades. The Saturn, Pluto and Jupiter retrogrades will be a time to re-focus on societal issues like power dynamics, social structures, work and opportunity. Through our Venus retrograde, we can work to decide what social structures are valuable to us and which are not. 

Aphrodite & the 9 Muses 

Venus rules the arts and those are suffering under this global shut-down, just when we need them more than ever. Artists everywhere are shut off from the places where they can share their work. This is another issue that Venus in Gemini wants to re-consider.

The planet Venus was always important to the ancient astronomers because of it's consistent orbit around the Sun but especially because it makes a perfect 5-pointed star (a pentagram) every 8 years. This pentagram geometric pattern Venus makes in the heavens evokes feelings of harmony, beauty, love and peace. It is also associated with the 'golden mean' of the Fibonacci Series as Venus moves from a Morning Star to an Evening Star then back to a Morning Star.

Arielle Guttman has written a book on this cycle called Venus Star Rising where she describes the Venus cycle.  In our present cycle, Venus changes from Morning to Evening to Morning Star in these 5 signs beginning with this Gemini (MS), Capricorn (ES), Leo (MS), Aries (ES), Scorpio (MS) then back to Gemini as an Evening Star in 2024.

Venus crossing the face of the Sun

Every 130 years or so, Venus aligns twice in 8 years on the same plane as the Earth and Sun and we see her passing over the face of the Sun, This happened in 2004 and 2012, both in the sign of Gemini, and to me it indicates that we are heading into a new connection with the Divine Feminine, one that wants us to be knowledgeable and wise, socially responsible, confident in our self-expression and creativity, courageous with pioneering new visions and possibilities, and capable of transformation and deep change.

The New Feminine for our times. Open to deep listening and learning, open to courteous conversations using both the left and right brains, open to all possibilities until the one which is our truth comes to live in us.

Mercury will be in Gemini for part of this Venus retrograde cycle, from May 11^th to May 28^th, when Venus disappears into the rays of the Sun before emerging in the morning sky on June 11^th. This can help us communicate the values that Venus is re-considering. Is going back to 'normal' the best thing for Mother Earth and for our health? Is money more important than Love? Do we want partnership relationships rather than hierarchical ones? Can we create a world that embraces the feminine values of love, harmony, equality, peace and community rather than our present society based on war, greed, rampant consumerism, environmental destruction and inequality?

Venus has been traveling through Gemini since April 3, 2020 and will finally go into Cancer on August 7, 2020 – a 4 month stay rather than her usual 4 weeks visit. So what can we learn about the value of love, beauty, wisdom, sexuality and the arts during her stay in Gemini?

Gemini is the sign of the Twins. In Greek mythology, it's about Castor and Pollux. One twin was mortal while the other was immortal. To me this symbolizes the need to balance our intuitive immortal brain with our rational mortal brain, since our right brain picks up our relationship with Mother Earth and life, while our left brain develops separately in each of us.

Mercury is the ruler of Gemini and is considered the Messenger God. So we can say that Gemini is about communicating and delivering messages. With Venus in Gemini, the hope is that we can do it kindly with wit and style, when people are so radically separated by their beliefs, and learn to have conversations with an open mind.

This is the energy of the lunar nodes now being in Gemini-Sagittarius: we need to step away from our limiting beliefs (Sagittarius) and be open-minded about information (Gemini) so we can embrace new beliefs (Sagittarius) that will bring harmony and peace to a fearful society.

This is also a time to look at our relationships. The old patriarchal form of relationship was a patriarchal dominator model – meaning that men had some right of ownership over his wife and children. We say not anymore, but that's not true for so many women around the world.

Gemini is so androgynous that it can help us imagine all sorts of relationships that are partnership based. This is a great time to examine our unconscious behavior regarding our partnerships and our 'obligations' to them.

Dana Gerhardt, a great astrologer, has a 40 day meditation to do during this retrograde.  You can check it out here.

I've decided that during this Venus retrograde cycle, I want to look at the ancient stories of Venus/Aphrodite/Astarte/Isis/Inanna. The Stories of the Archetypal pattern of the divine feminine. The 40 day journey of Venus in the underworld is a quest to reclaim all those parts of the feminine that have been repressed, disregarded and controlled. 

Botticelli's Venus

 

I'll be telling stories about Venus/Aphrodite online every Friday, Venus' own day, through July, which I hope you'll tune into.  I'll be posting them on FaceBook and on this Wisdom blog:

http://ladywisdomchronicles.blogspot.com/

Venus symbolizes the power of connection. With all the social distancing, we still need to stay connected, otherwise we lose the most important part of our humanity. So find new ways to express your love, your hopes and your ideals.

Blessings on us all!

Cathy