Connecting the Pagan Community through News, Voice and Fellowship
Autumn Goddesses
Autumn Goddesses
Autumn heralds Samhain the Sabbat that welcomes the end of summer and the final harvest that ushers in the “dark half of the year.” Boundaries between the spiritual and physical world break down allowing interaction with the Otherworld. When the veil between the world is the thinnest Goddesses of this final Autumnal harvest will weave their way into our lives with their mysterious Magick. The weather begins to shift stirring within us the desire to change, and embrace the Hermit’s persona. We must go inward in meditation and learn to become our own teachers thus expanding our psychic and intuitive abilities.
The Greek Goddess Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, will now descend into the Underworld to join her husband Hades and become the Queen of the Dead. Cerridwen the Celtic Goddess, will stir her cauldron flame to bring us rebirth, knowledge, and transition. Hecate, Greek Goddess of the Crossroads and Queen of the Witches will lead us on the darkest nights through the Spiritual and Underworld realms. Finally, we have Morrigan the Celtic Crow Goddess of Samhain Sovereignty. Her sacred duality is that of death and rebirth. These are the Goddesses of Autumn who help us transition into the dark months of Winter so that new life can be born again in the Spring.
One of the most prevalent symbols of Autumn besides the ever-familiar pumpkin is the apple. Because apples are ready for harvest at the end of summer and finish by late Autumn, they are a large part of many seasonal festivities. Cut an apple in half (horizontally) and see the 5-pointed symbol. Oh! the succulently seductive apple that tempted Eve in the Garden is also the fruit of the most everyday pie…the apple. Delicious and common place and seen on many happy family dinner tables.
Pomona is the ancient Roman Goddess who nurtures the cultivation and growth of apple and other fruit trees. Like many Roman Goddesses who have an actual Greek complement, Pomona does not, though she is often compared to the Demeter. Pomona’s spirit dwells in our Autumn gardens and orchards inspiring a cornucopia of delicious harvested abundance.
Carve candle lite big turnips and pumpkins called jack-o-lanterns to outline your sacred Samhain circles. Dance wildly around your cauldron blazes to build the sacred cone of power. And at the crescendo raise your arms to send your energy out into the cosmos. Then let your hands touch the ground to send positive energy into the earth. Indulge your sweet tooth with candy corn and candy apples. Bless the nighttime Samhain sky and call forth your ancestors. Embrace this most magickal season as we await the Wintry months soon to come.
Lady is an author, teacher, Sacred Dancer, and a Third Degree Gardnerian High Priestess; Third Degree Cabot Witch within the Cabot Hermetic Temple; and a Priestess of Selket (also Lilith and Hecate) within the Fellowship of Isis where she was also honored with an Adepthood in Sacred Healing Dance. Lady is the High Priestess of Sacred Moon Coven, ATC and the Iseum of the Graceful Goddess, member of the Crossroads Lyceum and an Ordained Clergy within the Temple of Nine Wells, ATC, in Salem, MA. She is also a legally licensed Pagan Clergy/Counselor, a member of the Maine Pagan Clergy Association and a sponsor of the Doreen Valiente Foundation. She teaches “Introduction to Egyptian Mythology,” “Sacred Sites of the Ancient Temple Priestesses” and “The History of Gardnerian Wicca” at Woolston Steen Theological Seminary. She has also taught Wicca 101, and Modern Wicca classes and as a professional psychic and medium Lady has taught “Psychic Mediumship Workshops”. As an adjunct teacher at York Community College in Maine she recently taught a class “Learning about Wicca.” In July 2019 Lady was the Guest Speaker at the New England Holistic and Metaphysical Festival.
Her book “The First Sisters: Lilith and Eve” was published by John Hunt Publishing under their Pagan Portal/Moon Books imprint. “The First Sisters: Lilith and Eve" is a gateway to a provocative awakening. "It was said in the beginning, in a garden called Eden, that woman was created at the same time as man, and not from his rib. Lilith, the first female, created equal to stand as a partner. But she proved to be a person so troublesome that she vanishes from her rightful place in civilization’s mythological legends in place of Eve, the first wife. With her younger sister Eve’s story heralding the future of all womankind, Lilith and her story stands alone as a testament to the Sacred Feminine and man’s fear of the mysteries that lie within her".
Her book "The Temple Priestesses of Antiquity" also published by John Hunt Publishing tells the story of the Oracles and Sibyls, Seers, Psychics, Sacred Dancers, and Healers of ancient civilizations. They were empowered women who enthralled those who sought their advice and served the Goddess they revered. Tales about ancient Priestesses and the Sacred Temples where they lived, prayed, and worked thousands of years ago, have fascinated archaeologists and historians for decades. Living in complex temple structures above ground and in underground cavernous tunnels, they shared vows of chastity and lived a dutiful and respected life. The Temple Priestesses of Antiquity is a story of these women, some well-known and others forgotten to the centuries.
Her newest book is entitled: "The Fallen Women of Mythology: Goddesses, Saints and Sinners" published by John Hunt Publishing now called (Collective Ink) is scheduled for publication in early 2024. “These are the stories of the hidden gems of the ancient world and I want to awaken their voices.” “For within every account of a "fallen" woman whether Divine or human, there is another very fascinating side to their story.” “Myths have their origin in truth.”
Lady is also the author of "If Mermaids Could Dance" original faerie tales about Witches, Goddess, and Faeries and "A Witch's Journal" both under the pseudonym of Lady Lilith) and both published by Spilled Candy Publications. She has had numerous articles published on Sacred Dance, The Goddess, Witchcraft and Ancient Mythologies for magazines and periodicals including: Circle Network Magazine, Arcanum Magazine, Isis Seshat Journal, The Mirror of ISIS, The Isian News, Watkins Mind Body Spirit Magazine, the Cabot Hermetic Temple Newsletter, Witchvox and Panegyria to name a few.
She is a professionally trained ballerina and Isadora Duncan dancer and modern dance teacher and currently choreographer and dancer with the Temple of Nine Wells Dancers. And as founder, choreographer, and principal dancer for “The Undines Dance Company” Lady and her company performed throughout the Northeast. She has also taught “Sacred Dance” and “Dancing with the Goddess” workshops.
In addition to performing traditional dance, Lady has choreographed sacred temple dance for great Sabbats and Full Moon Rituals. She has been a member of the Sacred Dance Guild since 1995.
