#2 Goddess Connection ~ Athene, Aurora, Baby Yaga, Bast, Baubo

 Re-connect with the Goddess… The Spiritual Feminist

• Athene

Her Story:

Athene is the Greek goddess of wisdom, considered the “Wise Warrior”, able to temper the fighting spirit with balance, a sense of purpose, and ethics. She was not born from a mother’s womb, but it’s said instead that she was fully formed from the head of Zeus and came into being wearing battle armor.

Why do so many of the goddesses encompass the spirit of a warrior? Why? Athena reminds us that not all battles are won with brawn, but by intelligence, patience, quiet fortitude, and perseverance. However, do not underestimate her.

“We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”, says Athena.

And the best implication here: We can do this.

Where does your strength come from? What is it that runs through your veins that is reminiscent of your ancestors? Within each of us lay a personal lineage rich in history, culture, and tradition. Who am I? Who am I– really? For many of us, these answers will come easy; but for others, it will require an effort to seek and search out, through mists of time perhaps, the answer to such a simple question…Who am I?

Sometimes knowing where you came from is just as important as knowing where you’re headed.

Embracing the Goddess:

Immersed as we are in feminine physical bodies, tied as we are to our fathers, their names, and their reputations; we can become as warriors when the inclination and the need arise. Call on Athene when you wish to delve into your personal history, when you wish to study and search out your forebears. Call upon Athene when it’s raw bold energy that’s needed, when delicacy is put on the back burner, and you need to kick some ass, whether figuratively or literally.

Athene’s Correspondences:

• Herbs: cloves, allspice, holly, wormwood, ginger

• Animal: owl

• Color: red, orange

• Day: Tuesday

• Element: Fire

• Feminine Face: Maiden

• Symbols: olive tree

• Aurora

Her Story:

Aurora is the Roman goddess of dawn, and as the dawn brings us a fresh new day, so Aurora brings us light and renewal. It’s said that Aurora holds the power to open the gates of heaven, thus allowing her brother, the Sun, to travel across the sky. Her children are the four winds and the constellations, reaffirming Aurora’s connection to the heavens. This goddess grants rejuvenation. She also possesses the wonderful power to wash away our deeds and misfortunes, granting us a clean slate on which fresh beginnings can be made.

I will honor Aurora by calling on her children, the four winds, knowing that her energy comes with them:

• North Wind: bring with you a breath of fresh air in the form of common sense, a quiet will, the ability to stand steadfast in the face of calamity. Connect me to the physcial realm, to the element of Earth, that I may experience it’s joy and appreciate its beauty.

• East Wind: bring with you a breath of fresh air in the form of intelligence, curiosity, a willingness to learn new things, the chance for a new beginning, and the miracle of transformation. Connect me to the mental realm, the element of Air, that my mind may grow and expand, that I continue to learn throughout my life, that I will be ripe with new ideas and amazing revelations.

• South Wind: bring with you a breath of fresh air to banish those things in life that are halting my progress, to throw light on the darkness of deception, to renew vitality and vigor. Connect me to the element of Fire to fan the flames of passion in my life: passion for a cause, passion for my lover, passion for life.

• West Wind: bring with you a breath of fresh air to heal body, mind, and spirit; to cleanse my soul and clear my space; to make fertile anything in my life that will benefit from fertility; to make heard that inner voice which guides me. Connect me to the element of Water to bring me dreams: prophetic dreams, dreams to bring messages from the dead, dreams to enlighten me through my spirit guides.

Embracing the Goddess:

We all have regrets in life. Aurora allows us to find relief from these regrets, setting the energy right, allowing us to move forward with our lives, to try again, to make amends, to move on. Remember: a new dawn means a new day, which means a second chance.

Aurora’s Correspondences:

• Herbs: fennel, lavender, marjoram, eye bright

• Animal: bird, butterfly

• Color: yellow, blue

• Planet: Mercury

• Day: Wednesday

• Element: Air

• Symbol: feathers, aurora borealis

• Baba Yaga

Her Story:

Baba Yaga is a Russian goddess, an ancient witch and “Mistress of Magick”. She dwells in the forests, so it’s said, and for those brave enough to tread through the woods, or those brave enough to invoke this hag goddess, she will answer one question that you put to her.

Baba Yaga highlights the shadow side of life, all of those dark places conventional society says we should avoid; yet in truth, all those places we must investigate and explore in order to learn our life lessons and to grow and mature as women. This goddess controls time and the four elements. She is the “Keeper of Wisdom”, and she controls the spirits.

Imagine being able to ask the Divine one question and receive an answer. What would your question be? What is it you seek from the answer?

Using the correspondences listed below, set up an altar to honor and to invoke Baba Yaga. Write your question on a slip of paper and offer it to her, knowing that you will receive an answer.

Allow Baba Yaga to connect with the Crone in you…She’s there, you know, no matter what your age; she’s there, waiting in the shadows to dispense wisdom, to celebrate life’s lessons, to lead the way on this incredible journey called Life.

Embracing the Goddess:

Modern society avoids the Crone, often viewing her as ugly and frightening. She is anything but. The Crone aspect of the goddess is rich with wisdom that can only come from experience and maturity. She is beautiful when depicted as the hag, every line and wrinkle a story. She is a teacher and mentor to young women and women in the midst of motherhood and life. The Crone is the shadow side of the goddess that we need to embrace. She does not represent the end of our journey; she represents completion and accomplishment.

Baba Yaga’s Correspondences:

• Herbs: absinthe, mugwort, skullcap, sage

• Animal: raven

• Color: black

• Planet: Moon (the waning crescent)

• Day: all seven

• Element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water

• Feminine Face: Crone

• Symbol: mortar & pestle

• Bast

Her Story:

Bast is the Egyptian cat goddess known as the “Mother of Cats”. She’s often depicted as a graceful woman with the head of a cat. She’s also known as the “Goddess of the Ointment Jar”, the creator of perfumes and oils, and it’s definitely her energy which will aide you in the preparation of such, including magical oils.

This is another Egyptian goddess credited with being a guardian of the household, a protectress of women and children. Bast’s energies are also connected to the moon and sunrise; anointing (of course, the oils); health and prosperity; love, fertility, sensuality; and music.

Cats: The Magical Creature Behind the Goddess

In the first place, they usually come to you, you don’t acquire them; and if you happen to, they may disappear quickly, quietly, and mysteriously; leaving hardly a trace that allows you to remember they were ever there.

They return like actions for like actions, like emotions for like emotions. If you are cruel, they will return this action in kind, with the grasp of a jaw, or the swiping rake of a claw. If you are gentle, so shall they be, calmly and matter-of-factly washing your hand or your cheek as they would one of their own kind, showing in their own way their acceptance of you– in spite of your human condition. O’ joy, you are considered worthy!

Human outbursts are generally met with two reactions, either a quick departure which wreaks of not only fear but severe disapproval, or an intense stare of disdain, which wreaks of superiority and quiet wisdom. They refuse to remain in the company of one who would wish them ill. They refuse to remain in the company of one who offends their senses. They are what they are, and they do as they do, and in the process they cross paths with the human race and our wearisome state of being. They know, they figured us out long ago.

Embracing the Goddess:

My household is a household filled with cats and cat energies. The essence of Bast is called upon here for a variety of magic: for protection, both for our cats and for the humans who inhabit this house, as well as during the preparation of magical oils. There is a mystery to this animal that wreaks of old magic and ancient ways. Embrace the wisdom you see in the eyes of a cat, knowing that this goddess is close by.

Bast’s Correspondences:

• Herbs: catnip, mint, allspice, dragon’s blood

• Animal: cat

• Color: red, orange

• Planet: Mars

• Day: Tuesday (cat magic)

• Element: Water, Fire

• Feminine Face: Maiden

• Symbol: sistrum

• Baubo

Her Story:

Baubo is the Greek goddess of laughter and music. She has the ability to release inhibitions, to unleash the bawdy side within us all, to sexually liberate the most stuffed of stuffed shirts. Baubo is the spirit of laughter and merriment. She offers us the wonderful liberation that is freedom from judgment. In Demeter’s time of sorrow, when her daughter Persephone was abducted, Baubo attempted to lift Demeter’s sadness and depression with music, so the myth goes.

Freedom from judgment: some people have no idea how constrictive, how oppressive, how debilitating this can be, to be judged by other people, to be held up to someone else’s yardstick of success or propriety.

Invoke Baubo to break the chains that bind. Invoke Baubo to rediscover your own worth, your own potential. Invoke Baubo to discover your inner strength, your inner wisdom, your personal power and magic.

So many people throughout my life have told me who I am, what I must do, what I can’t do, what I have to complete, and what I will never be able to accomplish…and then I met the Goddess.

Embracing the Goddess:

When dark and gloomy surroundings, circumstances, or people are weighing you down, invoke Baubo to lighten the tone, to release pent up energies. This is the goddess who will help you let down your hair and loosen up; but be careful with her energy. Ask yourself just how loose you want to get.

Baubo’s Correspondences:

• Herbs: eyebright, star anise, slippery elm

• Animal: gooney birds

• Color: yellow

• Planet: Mercury

• Day: Wednesday

• Element: Air

• Feminine Face: Maiden

• Symbol: tambourine