Jag lovade ett litet inlägg om en skådespelerska jag beundrar: Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon, född Tomalin 4 oktober 1946 i New York City, är en amerikansk oscarbelönad skådespelare.
Sarandon var gift med skådespelaren Chris Sarandon och är sedan 1988 sambo med skådespelaren Tim Robbins som hon har två söner med (Jack Robbins född 1989 och Miles Robbins född 1992), Hon har även en dotter (Eva Amurri född 1985) från sin förhållande med Franco Amurri. Tillsammans med Robbins har hon uttalat sig i många politiska frågor från ett liberalt vänsterperspektiv. Hon har bland annat verkat mot Irakkriget och dödsstraffet i USA.
Hon oscarbelönades 1995 för sin roll i filmen Dead Man Walking. Hon har varit nominerad fyra gånger dessförinnan.

Det var lite fakta om denna kvinna hämtat från Wikipedia.se.

Själv såg jag henne första gångerna i Häxorna i Eastwick och Bull Durham. Om du, mot förmodan, inte sett dem än så gör det snarast.

Jag vill också vara så vacker när jag är 63 år.

Direkt efter samtalet i fredags så for jag fort ner till hamnen. Dom andra i familjen åkte i förväg medan jag skulle komma ombord på samma båt. När jag var hemma för att hämta min medicin och biljett så hade jag endast 7 minuter på mig att ta mig till hamnen och komma ombord på båten. Dom höll på att stänga när jag kom dit men dom i receptionen frågade om jag fick komma med och det fick jag. Så snällt. Barnen grät för att dom trodde jag skulle missa båten helt. Men hade jag gjort det så hade jag ju bara tagit den sista båten över.

Åkte till Uppsala på fredag eftermiddag och där hittade jag en sminkväska för 249 kronor. Det var 16st ögonfärger, två nagellack, två läppstift, fyra lipcloss och en radda med penslar och borstar. Billigt tyckte jag men det märktes nog att det var såna som inte gått åt förut och att det var ett billigt märke för det är inte alls samma kvalité som det jag testat tidigare. Men jag har i alla fall lite fler saker som jag kan använda.

På lördagen for vi till Norrtälje för att kolla på lite kameror. Jag hade inte riktigt bestämt mig för vilken sort jag skulle köpa. Antingen en systemkamera eller en kompaktkamera. Under rundvandringen så trodde jag mig att jag valt rätt. Det lutade starkt åt systemkamerorna men senare på kvällen när vi kollade upp dessa och lite andra kameror så fastnade jag på den som jag redan beställt. En Nikon s620 rosa blev det. Den hade massor med funktioner som jag är ute efter och att jag gillar Nikons meny.

Nu idag så åkte vi hem till vårt kära hem. Ett hem som man kan känna sig trygg i även om jag är mörkrädd och rädd för att det skall komma någon inbrottstjuv eller mördare.

Op-ed by Roberto Lovato

As I watched the sad eyes of Lou Dobbs last night while he bade an abrupt farewell to his long career at CNN, I shed the tears that he apparently couldn’t. I cried in part because, regardless of the Basta Dobbs campaign’s — and my own — constitutional differences with his brand of anti-immigrant, anti-Latino propaganda disguised as news, one couldn’t help but be moved by the fast and fiery demise of a media titan. It really was sad to watch the aging Dobbs go out without the slow grace and good will that characterized Walter Cronkite’s departure in a previous media era.

Yet, while slightly moved by Dobbs’ personal drama, I cried primarily because, as a member, relative and friend of the groups most vilified by Dobbs for so many years — Latinos and immigrants — I was inspired by the power of the movement to oust him, a movement that these same groups and their allies led. In the words of many a jubilant Twitterer and Facebook friend celebrating Dobbs’transition as a victory,”Si Se Pudo” (Yes We Could).

At one level, Dobbs’ departure was influenced by internal dynamics at CNN, a network in need of rapid changes required by the economic, political and demographic shifts transforming media. But at another level, the victory over Dobbs shows that our community is mobilized like never before. It reflects how we have taken important strides since the immigrants rights marches of 2006, and are now using the latest technology and organizing tactics to make our voices heard. Lou Dobbs led us to march with our feet — and with our fingers.

In their search for the right frame for the story, many have commented that ours was a struggle against the kind of hatred promoted by Dobbs and his many guests. But for those working daily to defeat Dobbs, the guiding force of our movement was not hate but love — the love that we show ourselves when, in the face of daily attacks, we stand up and say “Basta,” “Enough.“

More than the media or technology or organizing capabilities of Presente.org, Drop Dobbs, DemocraciaUSA, NDN, America’s Voice, NALACC or any other organization, the will of the many to push the powerful few has again reminded us of the centrality of spirituality to social change. I cried mostly because I saw in Dobbs’ departure some of the same intense desire for change that made many of us cry at the election of Barack Obama.

Dobbs himself said it best when, during his farewell, he linked his rapid departure to how “strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us.” I was touched by these same winds during my travels throughout the country, where I met some of the more than 100,000 people who signed our Basta Dobbs petition. I heard it from the septuagenarian Tejano who, from his hospital bed had a family member text message to tell me, “I’m getting ready to leave the hospital and will be ready to help you get Dobbs out soon.” I saw it in the youthful optimism of the troop of Latina Girl Scouts from south Georgia, who said they wanted to go to Atlanta to protest CNN’s headquarters. And I felt it among the tens of thousands of non-Latinos who responded quickly to our call to demand Dobbs’ removal. Taken together, these people and others are the embodiment of the “strong winds of change” that buffeted Dobbs and CNN.

While on the surface, the anti-Dobbs movement appears as a recent development, its roots go as far back as the beginning of Dobbs attacks on immigrants. Many of the grassroots groups and bloggers allied with our campaign as well as national groups like the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Media Matters have a long and distinguished history of challenging and checking Dobbs. Without their efforts, there would be no movement.

But for me, the most moving, poetic aspect of the entire Dobbs drama is that it begins and ends with immigrants, including undocumented immigrants. In this sense, the victory reinvigorates the important work of immigration reform. Hopefully Republicans and Democrats are taking note of the power of immigrants and the immigrant rights movement that mobilized to defeat Dobbs. But that’s for tomorrow. For now, let us commemorate this historic event by saying along with immigrants, “Justicia Poetica.”

Roberto Lovato, Co-founder

As a women’s spirituality group, Stellaluna works with Goddess in all her many glorious facets.  As our patron, all of us feel a deep connection with Hecate, a goddess who has many layers.  Hecate is maiden, mother, and crone, but she is also a guide and guardian, not to mention Queen of the Witches and magic.  However, we all have Goddesses that speak to us, but the only way to discover those Goddesses is through working with different ones.

Once a month, we have a full moon ritual with a Goddess we choose, sometimes as a group, or sometimes the woman running the ritual picks out the Goddess.  We have worked with Hecate, Bast, Isis, Arianrhod, Pele, Sekhmet, Kali, Blodewuedd, Quan Yin, Athena, Innana, Shapash, Cerridwen, and many, many more.  Of course, since I am the one writing this missive, the Goddesses that I like or that stick out in my memory are the ones I listed.  I imagine the other women would have different Goddesses that spring to mind.

Sometimes, one of our members has something going on in their life that we decide to focus on for a ritual – oftentimes, our lives overlap and multiple people experience the same kind of thing.  There was one month where a couple of us felt that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.  It wasn’t anything more than just a run of bad luck, so we designated Fortuna as our goddess of the month to turn our luck around.  Other times, we see something in nature that draws our attention, such as seeing the same type of animal over and over and over again.  I had a two month period where I saw bats everywhere.  In those cases, we try to find a goddess who corresponds with the animal in question.

One of the things I like about Stellaluna’s rituals is much of the ritual is about connecting with the goddess we have chosen.  Often there are meditations where we meet and greet the goddess.  Connecting with the goddess in this manner provides quite a bit of information, as we then share the experiences of our meditation with each other.  When first working with a goddess, the interaction in mediation is pretty fun as many of us have similar interactions – such as Blodeweudd being very brusque and to the point, what I call a Stop Wasting My Time With Bullshit and Pleasantries Goddess – and these interactions help us get a clearer picture of who she is, what her energies are like and how to deal with her in the future.

Other times there are stories or myths told about the goddess.  Deconstructing myths is an important part of any form of ritual or worship, as there are lessons to be learned from the stories of the goddesses.  Stellaluna’s lack of dogma (we have a witch, a Wiccan, and a Hoodoo practitioner among our ranks) helps us to keep an open mind when talking about the myths of various goddesses.

As for choosing goddesses, there are a lot of good resources out there.  I usually prefer books to the internet for much of my religious study, but there are definite sites out there that can help pick a goddess to work with.  However, I use 365 Goddesses by Patricia Telesco as a starting point.  She has a goddess listed for every single date in the calendar, and a little bit about them and how to celebrate them.  This is a good place to look for a goddess that you are not familiar with, as many learning experiences come from the unfamiliar.   I recently purchased another book that is a tremendous and wonderful resource called Goddess Guide.  This book has correspondences, for example, if you want to work on dreams in the next ritual, you can look up “dreams” and find a listing of goddesses.

Again, like with the Telesco book, this is a jumping off point, not the beginning and the end.  In order to effectively work with any goddess, you should spend time researching her.  After all, you are going to be calling this goddess to circle so you should know who you are calling, and how to do it, not to mention you need to know what type of system you should use to honor the goddess.  Is cakes and ale enough of an offering or should you find something specific?  Should you leave an offering in your backyard or at a crossroads?  Does this goddess complement the work you are doing or is she antithetical to the work you wish to accomplish?  Etc., etc.  Point being, picking a goddess from a book with a blurb is great as long as you perform additional research.

I know that one book I am not terribly impressed with is The Witches Goddess.  When I was but a newb, this book was a great way to introduce goddesses and archetypes.  However, their descriptions of goddesses are facile and topical at best, and can be inaccurate at worst.  For example, they describe Bast as being “an orgiastic goddess” of pleasure.  If you were to call on Bast with only this description, you would be unpleasantly surprised as she is also a fierce guardian and can be very demanding, albeit in a good way.  This book does talk of archetypes and other things, but the information in the goddess index really shouldn’t be trusted – however, any book that gives you two sentences on any goddess cannot be the only source you check prior to ritual as massive amounts of information will be missing.

For example, we once worked with Oya during a ritual where we visited a cemetery to collect some graveyard dirt and honor the dead.  Not having a hoodoo practitioner with us at the time, we researched the best way to connect with Oya.  With Oya, you ask permission to enter the graveyard and it is preferable to have red wine and 9 copper pennies (and copper pennies are not the new pennies they make now, for copper you have to have pennies from 1982 or earlier, otherwise you are dealing with zinc pennies with a copper coating – not a good offering) with you as an offering.  You then wait for a sign to enter the graveyard.  When taking the graveyard dirt, you leave nine silver dimes as not only a thanks to the honored dead, but also to sever any connection.   You also thank Oya profusely after leaving the graveyard.

Working with goddesses is rewarding, fun, and educational – the should be a School House Rock devoted to it.  I think that if you work with the goddesses from a certain point of view, you can actually learn quite a lot about yourself and the goddess and even human experience.  Being open to study and new names that you are unfamiliar with is a bonus.  The very first goddess we worked with in Stellaluna was Istustaya – a goddess none of us had ever heard of before.  It was a phenomenal experience.

Då jag inte längre har min pappa kvar i livet och kan varken ringa eller köpa honom strumpor, tofflor, skjortor, slipsar och annat klassiskt man brukar överösa sin kära pappa med…..så får vi fira vår alldeles egna pappa här hemma.

Grattis Staffan – världens bästa pappa!!!!

Barnen uppskattar hans engagemang (delaktighet), stöd och villkorslösa  kärlek. Jag tycker att han är en fantastisk pappa och manlig förebild för mina barn! Tack för att du finns…..

Bast 'Pork Pie' SNEAK PEAK

Here is a SNEAK PEAK at Bast’s upcoming release called ‘Pork Pie’, this is going to be released through PaperMonster in NYC.I have no specific details yet, but it looks about 18 x 24 inches and seems to have some hand finished elements. These will be available some time on Thursday October 29th.

Check it out HERE

POW is an independent, artist-run facility dedicated to supporting fresh talent and making art you can actually afford.
POW HOMEPAGE

BAST

PENNY

VHILS

More fun with Don Cherry and members of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft class. After proclaiming the aforementioned Duchene as the Calder Trophy winner in his second Coach’s Corner of the year, the Canadian icon declared Nazem Kadri, the Toronto Maple Leafs top pick, 7th overall was playing for the wrong team. Cherry blasted the Maple Leafs for returning Kadri to junior, calling the London, ON. native Toronto’s best player. But is that the best place for him?( Slam! Sports)

Cute story to hit NHL.com last night about the budding relationship between top prospect Matt Duchene and (the invisible) Ryan O’Reilly. While it’s not up there with Hillary Duff and Mike Comrie or Mike Fisher and Carrie Underwood, the two 18-year-old rookies are living in a hotel together and have forged a relationship based on similar circumstances. (NHL)

Plymouth Whalers standout and top-10 2010 NHL Entry Draft prospect Tyler Seguin almost skipped out on the OHL. As Sun Media correspondent Doug Graham reports, Seguin almost followed in his father Paul’s footsteps and went to the NCAA, where he shared a room with future NHLer and Montreal Canadiens headache John LeClair at the University of Vermont. In fact, the OHL was a last minute decision for the Brampton, ON. native. Not a bad choice so far. (Slam! Sports)

Speaking of 2010 NHL Entry Draft prospects, both Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler wont have far to travel to the 2010 Top Prospects game, which was awarded to the town of Windsor. Hall and Fowler, of course, play for the local Spitfires. (CHL)

Undrafted centre Jason Bast of the Moose Jaw Warriors has been named the CHL’s Player of the Week after recording seven goals and 12 points in four games, while going plus-7. 16-year-old netminder Christopher Gibson was named the CHL Goaltender of the Week as well, recording a 1.00 goals against and .972 save percentage in two wins. Gibson, a native of Finland, is eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. (CHL)

The Egyptians were the first people to “domesticate” cats. Perhaps taking their cue from their pets, they very early venerated cats as divine. Cats were, however, working animals that controlled vermin and poisonous creatures that violated the principle of stability that the Egyptians so valued. From the earliest records of the Old Kingdom we find the goddess Mafdet portrayed as a cat. Her name translates to “swift runner” and she was protector of Pharaoh, and thus of all Egypt. She was also associated with justice, a role reprised by Puss-in-Boots in Shrek 2. The hearts of evildoers were ripped out by Mafdet and brought, like a dead bird or mouse, to the Pharaoh.

Mafdet? (Don't give your kitty knives!)

Mafdet’s fame declined with the rise of Bast, or Bastet. Bast (“devourer”) was also an early goddess, associated with the sun, and like Mafdet, she was a fierce protector. Her cult was centered in Bubastis, a city named for her. The guardian of Lower Egypt, she kept the kingdom safe from cobras, scorpions, and presumably hair-balls. Unlike the gentle kitties of today, she was also represented as a lion, a goddess of war.

Bast, all grown up

Bast’s fortunes faded with the rise of Sekhmet, the warrior goddess of Upper Egypt. With a name translating to “powerful,” Sekhmet was yet a third feline protector. She was also a lion-shaped goddess whose breath created the desert. (I have worked for human beings who could justifiably make that same claim.) Like Bast, she wore the sun on her head and became Egypt’s version of the violent goddess. Ancient peoples all feared the raging goddess, no matter what name or shape she took. Perhaps they always expected bad behavior from men, so when female deities got in on the act it was all the more powerful.

Sekmet with the breath that sank a thousand ships

Where does evolution go from there? Is it merely coincidence that the Ashera Cat is part African Serval (as was perhaps the original Mafdet) and that it is being billed as the royal cat? I think not! Cats have a long pedigree with the divine, and from what I’ve been reading, Ceiling Cat has a very wide following. Evolution of the Egyptian cat, it seems, takes us from the Old Kingdom right up to Lolcats.

Though he’s no longer in the league (smooth move comrade), Nikolai Zherdev is still making an impact on both the NHL and the team that brought him there. Puck-rakers is reporting that young rookie Nikita Filatov had a lengthy meeting at centre ice with Ken Hitchcock following practice at the morning skate in Calgary today. Both player and coach confirmed Zherdev had been discussed as it pertained to the development of Columbus’ newest rookie sensation. Filatov has seen his icetime decrease as of late, though Hitchcock is stressing quality minutes, not quantity with their former first rounder. (Puck-rakers)

Shout out to Tyler Myers of the Buffalo Sabres and his sudden growth spurt. Weeks ago he was listed at six-foot-seven, 205-pounds. He’s now listed at six-foot-eight, 222-pounds. Here’s hoping his coordination catches up to him quickly. (Buffalo Sabres)

The Pipeline Show co-host and Future Considerations contributor Guy Flaming is blogging about on ‘Coming Down the Pipe’ in regards to the top young defensemen in the league in his regular Tuesday Top-5 column.  No love for Future Considerations’ favourite Karl Alzner of the Washington Capitals…just yet. (Coming Down the Pipe)

For those that want reaffirmation that Taylor Hall would be the first overall selection in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft if it were held today, the Windsor Spitfires standout was given the top billing again today by OHL Prospects’ early season Top-30. Sure, it contains only OHL players, but Hall is still edging out Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers and teammate Cam Fowler. (OHL Prospects)

Seguin must’ve seen the rankings and got upset, so much so that he had to go out and be named Boston Pizza OHL Player of the Week. Seguin, ranked 6th on Future Considerations’ October Draft Rankings, notched three goals and seven points in three games played. No word on whether or not he and the Whalers get a pizza party. (OHL)

Not to be outdone, Moose Jaw Warriors forward Jason Bast recorded seven goals and 12 points in four games to earn his club a pizza party. (WHL)

Question. Do Randy Cameron of the Moncton Wildcats and Christopher Gibson of Chicoutimi get both their cell phones paid for after winning Telus Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week respectively? (QMJHL)

Brett Connolly of the Prince George Cougars gets some love from Adam Kimelman of NHL.com as the top prospect available out of the Western Hockey League for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. For those with the memory of an elephant, it was Connolly who was named both WHL and CHL rookie of the year last season and became the first WHL rookie since Patrick Marleau to score 30 goals as a 16-year-old rookie. (NHL)

Classical writings and art portray Rhea (identified with the Anatolian Kybele, thus forming Rhea-Kybele) as accompanied by, or as riding, lions. To understand exactly why this is—why Rhea-Kybele is so intimately connected with lions—one must look first to the Classical mythologies, and then to the symbolism of the lion.

Rhea-Kybele, as the mother of the gods Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus, carries titles such as Mêtêr Theôn (mother of the gods), Mêtêr Megalê (great mother) and Mêtêr Isodromê (fast-paced mother). In myth, she is the wife (or ex-wife) of Kronos, the Titane god of destructive time; according to writers such as Hesiod, Pindar and Apollodorus, Kronos took to devouring each of their children, due to a prophecy that he would be overthrown by one of his children. Naturally, Rhea hated this and so when Zeus was born, she hid him away in the mountains, and appointed warrior daimones (spirits) to guard him. These daimones are known by multiple names—they are named the Kouretes of Krete, the Korybantes of Phrygia, the Gigantes of Arkadia, the Daktyloi of Troad or the Kabeiroi of Samothrake—but are, according to Strabo (in Geography, 10.3.7), the same group of spirits. These warrior daimones (which I will, for the sake of ease, name as the Kouretes) guarded the infant Zeus as he aged. According to Oppian, Kronos discovered Zeus when he was a child, and turned Zeus’ guards into lions: ‘And when the son of Ouranos beheld the lusty young child he transformed the first glorious guardians of Zeus and in vengeance made the Kouretes wild beasts. And since by the devising of the god Kronos exchanged their human shape and put upon them the form of Lions, thenceforth by the boon of Zeus they greatly lord it over the wild beasts which dwell upon the hills.’ (Oppian, Cynegetica 3.7.)

The second account of how Rhea-Kybele became so linked with lions is in the myth of Hippomenes, as described by Ovid. According to this, Aphrodite aided the hero Hippomenes in his race for the hand of Atalantê; however when Hippomenes won, he failed to give Aphrodite her dues, and she, incensed, drove Hippomenes and Atalantê to the temple of the Mater Deum (the Mêtêr Theôn; Rhea-Kybele). When they arrived, Aphrodite roused desire within them, and, they ‘entered here and with forbidden sin defiled the sanctuary’ of the Mater Deum. As punishment, Rhea-Kybele changed them into lions: ‘Therefore their necks, so smooth before, she clothed with tawny manes, their fingers curved to claws; their arms were changed to legs; their chests swelled with new weight; with tails they swept the sandy ground; and in their eyes cruel anger blazed and growls they gave for speech. Their marriage-bed is now a woodland lair, and feared by men, but by the goddess tamed, they champ – two lions – the bits of Cybele.’ (Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.681.)

These accounts, though, are somewhat contradictory. In the first, the metamorphosised Kouretes are placed at Rhea-Kybele’s side as a blessing and honour; in the second, lions are her attendants as a warning and a curse. In order to decide which account best fits, one must look to Rhea-Kybele’s relationship to the lion, and, also, to the way that the Ancient Greeks viewed the lion – the symbolism of the lion.

Firstly, The Homeric Hymn 14 to the Mother of the Gods describes how the Mêtêr Theôn is ‘well-pleased with the sound of rattles and of timbrels, with the voice of flutes and the outcry of wolves and bright-eyes lions.’ Secondly, according to Valerius Flaccus, Rhea-Kybele was furious when Cyzicus killed one of her lions and hung its head to shame her: ‘Cyzicus upon his swift horse . . . with his javelin he slew a lion that was wont to bear its mistress through the cities of Phrygia and was now returning to the bridle. And now (Madman!) hath he hung from his doorposts the mane and the head of his victim, a spoil to bring sorrow to himself and shame upon the goddess. But she, nursing her great rage, beholds from the cymbal-clashing mountain the ship with its border of kingly shields,  and devises against the hero deaths and horrors unheard of.’ (Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 3.20.) Thirdly, Nonnus describes how Rhea-Kybele’s home contains her lions, and how they are fed ambrosia – the food of the gods – by her castrated son and lover, Attis: ‘he entered the divine precinct selfbuilt of Rheia, mother of mighty sons. He freed his ravening lions from the yokestraps, and haltered them at the manger which he filled with ambrosial fodder.’ (Nonnus, Dionysiaca 25.310.)

The above sources do not indicate a hatred of Rhea-Kybele for lions; they, in fact, indicate quite the opposite. She is ‘well-pleased’ with her lions; the slaughter of them causes her ‘great rage’; and her own lover cares for them and feeds them ‘ambrosial fodder’, thus granting them immortality. This all suggests that Rhea-Kybele’s lions are not kept around her as a warning or curse; but as a blessing, as an honour to those who so protected her son, Zeus. In order to confirm—or deny—this suggestion, one should look to how, exactly, the people of the ancient cultures of the time viewed the lion.

Ancient Egyptians sometimes portrayed their pharaohs as sphinxes, thus identifying them with lions. Therefore sphinxes (and lions) were identified with power, rule and protection – interestingly, this is echoed in Rhea-Kybele’s turret crown (as identified by both Ovid and Propertius), which emphasises her nature as a warrior goddess concerned with protection of the city. The Egyptians associated two of their goddesses, Bast and Sekhmet (both originally identified as having the head of a lioness), and the god Maahes, son of either Bast or Sekhmet, with lions. Bast is the Egyptian god of pleasure, festivity, cats, ferocity, perfumes, vermin and the destruction thereof, women, mothers and motherhood and protection; Sekhmet of warriors, hunters, protection, women, motherhood, bloodlust, menstruation, death, disease and deserts; and Maahes of war, weather, knives, hunting, strength, power and protection of matrilineality. It can therefore be assumed that the Egyptians identified lions with such things as power, war, hunting, protection, women, disease and death.

Ancient Greeks “borrowed” the sphinx from the Egyptians in their own Sphinx, one of the Theres, who presided over matters such as destruction, bad luck, riddles, strangulation and the death of young men. The Sphinx is often said to have been sent by one of the gods—usually Hera (as identified by Apollodorus, The Library 3.5.8)—as a punishment to the people of Thebes, and as thus would have connection to Hera’s domain: women, marriage, weather, the heavens, motherhood, etc. This forms an interesting parallel to the Nemean Lion (said by some, such as Hesiod, to be the brother of the Sphinx), whom Hera ‘trained up and settled among the hills of Nemeia, to be a plague to mankind’ (Hesiod, Theogony 327ff). Bacchylides (Fragment 9), Callimachus (Aetia Fragments 55 and 108) and Aelian (On Animals 12.7) also describe Hera as having nurtured or sent the Nemean Lion. Due to their links to Hera (and, sometimes, to each-other), both the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion can be said to be associated with women, wrath, war, death, destruction, revenge, mothers, motherhood, marriage, the (night) sky, and so on. One must also consider Rhea-Kybele’s nature and influence; she is considered a goddess of women, marriage, childbirth (and mothers and motherhood), fertility, sexuality, madness, destruction, protection, and so on.

Linking together the views of the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, one can presume that these ancient cultures viewed lions as being connected to women, disease, death, hunting, war, power, destruction, mothers, motherhood, childbirth, fertility, protection of cities, madness and protection of women. Because of this, and the manner in which the above-mentioned sources (concerning Rhea-Kybele’s relationship to the lion) portray Rhea-Kybele’s apparent affection for lions, the suggestion that lions are at her side as an honour, rather than a warning, seems more concrete.

Because of all this, one can further understand the nature of Rhea-Kybele. Her links to motherhood, women, fertility, protection, war, death and destruction become even more pronounced; and as such, the links between lions and these matters becomes more solid. In conclusion, then, Rhea-Kybele, when accompanied by her mountain-roaming lions, gains further prestige and connections as an incredibly powerful goddess. Her lions remind onlookers of the benefits of her favour, and of her love for warriors, women and the fertile wilderness – even with their humanity destroyed, her Kouretes linger at her sides, loving and protecting her with everything they have.

Read Write Prompt #12: Dressing Up Your Poetry

For Bast.
Attempted in the Villanelle form.

I love
The way that silk kisses my skin;
The thousand feathers of a dove.

Alone, trapped in my rosy cove,
I dance in skirts - I spin;
I love.

The smallest of children’s gloves,
Patterned; the size of a pin.
The thousand feathers of a dove.

In the bustling streets, I do not shove.
I dance; I swallow scalding gin;
I love.

I am the sunlight streaming down from above,
I laugh, I fuck, I devour sin;
The thousand feathers of a dove.

I glow softly from the inside; I surround myself in golden love;
I am the collective: the yang and the yin.
I love
The thousand feathers of a dove

Read Write Prompt #1: In A Sentence.
American Sentences – one sentence, 17 syllables, direct observation.

Anubis
Wolf-boy, coyote smile - are you here to take me away from this hell?

Aphrodite
Love: glorious in the summer sun, framed by white and caramel-smiles.

Ares
Blood runs through shallow graves; water doesn’t stop, tears always fall; he smiles.

Bast
Picture perfect, perfumed air; red and gold; sex, energy, desire.

Eos
Flip a page, start again; fresh day, fresh smile, fresh love; there’s nothing better.

Eris
Spinning, laughing, mad girl, wild child; stop pointing that bloody gun at me.

Eros
Silver threads, connect the dots; fire your arrow, watch the cities burn.

Hedone
Skins itch, veins burn; croon to the air as the black doves take flight everywhere.

Helios
Flash-fire, wild boy; did you know that your soft lips are as gold as your skin?

Hera
Spread your feathers, beautiful birds; dance for your queen – she watches you now.

Hermes
Skimming over clouds, planning mischief; is there anything more perfect?

Lyssa
Spit flies, dribbles down; chain-check, too-tight; muscles burn, fire starts - she screams.

Peitho
Her lips are painted with need; the flush of longing streams over her skin.

Psykhe
Love: catch it in your hands, dandelion clock, before it blows away.

Rhea-Kybele
The earth is yours: she rumbles, pulses and thrums beneath you, smiling queen.

Selene
The moon does not care for you; she laughs at your ideas of romance.

The lovely Ellen Dugan, author known as The Garden Witch photo by Micki Mueller

Prolific Neo-Pagan author, gardener, Priestess, mom and wife Ellen Dugan graciously took time out recently from her busy schedule to answer Siren Says’s questions and tell us about her writing.

SS blog: In a nutshell (pun intended) what do you like the best about Autumn, the Autumn Sabbats and Harvest Time?

ED:  The colors, the scents, and the enchanting feel in the air. It’s a season of change and abundance. The Fall is my favorite time of the year!

SS blog: Can you describe how you best like to celebrate this time of year?

The Element of Air photo by Kristina Hathaway

ED: In quiet and profound ways. The family goes apple picking, I add fall flowers and spring bulbs into the garden… I decorate the mantle in the living room with seasonal items. I always cook a big meal to celebrate the day with my family.

SS blog: What was your first published book and what drove you to write it?

Element of Earth photo by Jenna Mahina

ED: Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up was my first book. I wrote the book because I never found the exact kind of down-to-earth magickal book that I wanted to read so I decided, why not write one myself?

SS blog: What inspired you to write Autumn Equinox: The Enchantment of Mabon?

ED: I was approached by Llewellyn when I turned in the proposal for my fourth book, Cottage Witchery; Natural Magick for Hearth and Home. After they decided to contract it I was asked if I would be interested in writing one of the Sabbats books. I said yes, and ended up having 2 books contracted on the same day!

Pumpkins - Symbol of Fall photo by Elizabeth Crandall Whittom

SS blog: What can you tell us about your latest book, coming out in October – Book of Witchery: Spells, Charms & Correspondences for Every Day of the Week?

ED: Here is the book description for Book of Witchery: “Witchery isn’t limited to the Sabbats and to the occasional full moon; magick happens every day. In this treasury of enchantments, spells and witchery, popular author Ellen Dugan presents her personal grimoire of magick essentials to keep you happily conjuring seven days a week! Formerly available as 7 Days of Magic, new and advanced material has more than doubled the witchy wisdom within these pages, yet it still fits into a busy Witch’s schedule. As you learn daily magickal correspondences and themes, you’ll build a solid foundation of knowledge and open up amazing possibilities for highly effective spellwork and witchery each and every day.”

SS blog: What are your plans to celebrate its publication?

ED: I have several author events scheduled from October 2009 through April 2010. To see my tour schedule please visit my website (www.ellendugan.com) and click on the “Tours” tab.

SS blog: How are your online classes being received? Do you have any more in the works?

ED: The online classes are really popular and have been very well received. At the moment I am offering three separate classes:

The Autumn Sabbats (Seasonal stand alone class available through November 3^rd)

The Elements of Witchcraft (Witchery Class I)

Advanced Natural Magick (Witchery Class II)

Yes, I do have another class in the works for the winter months. I’ll put that up after the Autumn Sabbats Class comes down. For more information or to sign up for a class please visit my website and click on the “Online Classes” page.  Or sign up for my newsletter through my Café Press store.

The Element of Water, photo by Kristina Hathaway

SS blog: Your books seem to gracefully run the gamut from beginners to those well-versed in magic. Was that intentional, and/or does it reflect your own journey?

ED: It still shocks me to be working on my twelfth book. I never expected to write so many. In answer to your question, I think it’s a little of both. I was either compelled to write on the topic or it was pitched to me by Llewellyn. For example, Autumn Equinox, Herb Magic for Beginners and How to Enchant a Man were all pitched to me by Llewellyn and they seemed like fun so I ran with it.

SS blog: What do your readers say? Do you have many non-Wiccan readers?

ED: Yes, actually I’m the Crossover Kid. Many of my titles have successfully crossed over to mainstream markets. I do have many readers who are not Witches or Pagan.  I meet more every time I do an author event. The response to all of the books has been overwhelmingly positive.

SS blog: Can you share with us any upcoming projects or other books you want to write?

ED: At the moment I am working on my twelfth book for Llewellyn. It was just recently contracted and will be released in early 2011. I never announce the working title or the topic of the book until after it is finished and safely turned into the publishing company.

The Element of Fire (with Bast statue)

SS blog: Ellen, can you leave us with any witchy words of wisdom?

ED: May your harvest season be an enchanting one, blessed with abundance of the Autumn Equinox and the mysterious magick of the season. Hurray Autumn is here! The Season of the Witch has begun!

Blessed be, Ellen Dugan

Ellen can be vsited via Facebook, Myspace, her wbsite and her online store:

Ellen’s website: www.ellendugan.com

Ellen’s online store: www.cafepress.com/ellendugan

Myspace www.myspace.com/ellendugan

Word press blog: http://ellendugan.wordpress.com

I love Ellen’s blog and website, as well as her presence on MySpace with all the lovely garden and plant photos. I hope you surf on over to see what I’m talking about – this is a magical worker who really knows her way around plants, animals and the natural world. Eleen’s always encouraging people to get outdoors, get their hands in the dirt, plant some flowers and herbs, to learn about the natural world and experience its never ending magic. May your Autumn be full of outdoor magic!

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Basteina likes long walks in the beach, tango night, plasma chip cookie dough, sugar coated smilodons, late night with Desmodus rotundus and all kinds of cats!