Sunday, June 21, 2020

Reclaiming Lilith




As I am.  As it is.  As it should, would, could be, let it be.
In her splendor, as the longest day of the year resides upon Mother Earth, the Maiden in us becomes more emotionally mature and we become more aware of what love and beauty is.  We are at the pinnacle of our beauty during this time, thankfully, for Lilith enters our lives and passion awakens in Mother Earth, and in us.    Mother Earth growers her greenest, just now, and so do we.  Lilith brings the fire within and sends us on a dedicated search for those spiritual things we so desire.

When Lilith comes, she brings her Goddess friends with her.  Each has passionate energy, love energy, and creative energy.  Aphrodite, Belladona and Aconite dance with her and wakens deeper inspiration, more wildness, more sense of freedom, even ecstasy will be forms of passion within us.  Those who can sing, will sing.  Those who can dance, will dance.  Those who write, will write.  Burning fire in us stirs.  We will be more daring, bolder, braver during this time.  Lilith was/is both monster and Mother and she had all the symbolic feminine moods, to the max,  While we seek the abandon of our passions, we can be most feminine power we ever were.  In this, we must be careful and keep focused on positive ways of all our passions.  

It is whispered, in Jewish culture, that Lilith she was the first woman offered to Adam and she refused.  She was too focused on her passion at being created and wanted more power than the subservient Eve that followed.  Apparently, if one reads Genesis, there implies two stories, two creations, and Lilith appears in the first creation.  Many stories of her darkness are part of her story because Patriarchy deemed her evil, bride of the devil because she was so powerfully feminine, so authentic, so unwilling to abandon her truths for Patriarchy.  They reduced her stories to ones of demonic status because she would not fall into the realm of Patriarchy, as it was in ancient times when men truly feared creative powers of the feminine and sought to banish and belittle that feminine power ( that fear that still resides in ways that males tend to still belittle and degrade women today).  Submissiveness and adherence to ancient early monotheistic religion that men were creating.  Lilith became the serpent, the symbol of what happens to women who demand equality and who disobey men.  It is said that Eve was the reason for expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Lilith was the reason for the temptation that came over Eve.  Many negative things were blamed on Lilith from that time on.  Lilith became the causality of Patriarchy. Yet, she survives in us in so many ways.

Lilith is symbolized by the owl who cannot be silenced in darkness.  She is all of us who may have been subjugated, humiliated and derided by any form of Patriarchy.  Men fear that part of us, and, yes, rightly so.  Patriarchy has, in every way, attempted to isolated and erase our feminine powers and energies through turning our passion into our duty to them:  rape, ‘be silent, be abused, be bullied, be manipulated through drugs and surgeries, be made small and unimportant, to be ‘not enough’, to surrender to Patriarchy or else.  But, no matter what form our feminine energy and passions take, we are still here and still battling; still attempting to reclaim our authentic selves.  Mother Nature reclaims herself and summer comes with all her wild blossom passion. 
Now is the month to reclaim all that was snuffed in us.  It is time to celebrate, to gather in feminine circles, to dance and since and eat and be love at it most abandoned. Draw inspiration from Mother Nature; wear your colors and your ribbons and channel your energy into reclaiming that pure abandon in us all.  

Happy summer Solstice to us all.  Remember to seek magic and beauty and love for and within self.

©Carol Desjarlais 6.21.20

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Passing On The Way



Following The Way just happens, in my case. This Sunday, there will be the opening of the Bundle, I am connected too.  There will be ceremony and there will be face painting.  I cannot be there, but I will honor the prayers said at that opening.  This bundle has been passed down generation after generation and goes back as far as memory in the family.  I am connected to The Bear through another bundle and that connection was mind-blowing, to say the least.  The Wolf is my Path; the Bear is my Medicine.  

I painted this painting for my twelve year old granddaughter, to remind her of the story I have told her about the bear and my connection and this is to remind her to walk with the blessing that comes through me.

It is painted on a wood emblem-shape, done in inks.


I, often, pick up something I can re-purpose.  A bit of sanding gets the original quote and painting off.

 I chose to work with my inks, that I love.
 Before I used the ink, I used gesso to prime the wood. then I used turquoise ink with the gesso to do the background base color. 

 I blocked in the spirit bear and drew the girl and her bear in ink.
 I, then used ink to swirl and blot for the background, then mixed the same ink colors from my palette,







. 
©Carol Desjarlais 6.20.20

Friday, June 19, 2020

HONORING THE WOLF



I have had a rough few months, health-wise.  Two weeks ago, I went to the home of the Medicine Man who passed away in April, to sit with my sister, and let her speak and grieve.  We have been special relationship for forty years, they saved my life once, and have blessed me in myriads of ways.  I did not go with the intention to receive gifts and teachings, but when I went down to their daughter's room, suddenly, at one room, his presence was strong and I caught his essence for a few mometns.  When I came back to my sister, I told her and she said, "of course, he blessed you every night in his prayers."

In those few moments, I got answers to medicine I needed to use , for protection against great negativity I have been experiencing.  I am gathering it as soon as I can get my energy back.
While many do not understand Medicine, it is because they have not had the opportunity to sit at a Medicine person's side, in ceremony, and with a pure intent of a learner.  Our connection has always been very strong.

Once I took my younger birth brother to meet this powerful family.  He was blown away when he saw the bright hawk eyes of spiritual knowing and teachings that took place in that short time we had to visit.  He came away with a knowledge, even more, that there was something 'to it".  He had never met such a spiritually strong Medicine Man and he came away changed.

As I prepare to turn 73, I know I must begin serious walk on my journey, being present, following the ways of the Wolf.  The wolf has been with me since I was adopted by a family who lived next to the Kanai and I was drawn into the stories at the knee of another beautiful Medicine Person. Somehow, I knew the ways from my earliest childhood where I ran from my mother and crawled up on on the knees of a grandmother that was there in the cafe.  Mother often told me that story as she always wondered since the nurse who handed me over to her, from the train, whispered to her that I was a child of color.  I might add, I was adopted by a family with Woolf as their surname.  My adoptive father had a wolf as a pet and there are pictures of a younger step sibling with that wolf.  Throughout my life, I have had many experiences with wolves and the associations and teachings of the wolf.

I am going to try to maintain my true walk.  It is time to let the grief go and walk in joy.

 I am sure I was always walking with the Wolf.  I must remember this.

©Carol Desjarlais 6.19.20