Mokosha — great Goddess, mother of mercy, consort of the god of wealth, Veles, brother Perun. The life-giving [god] Dazhbog-sun, highly respects the great mother of the earth for her fertility, for her tireless love of work, and her skill. From times immemorial, the goddess of the sun – the goddess-washerwoman, who spins on the earth spindle the endless thread of the life of the soul of a wise plower-farmer. The eternal virgin of ancient times absorbed into immortality from the paradisiacal Tree of Life a golden, life-giving dew, the sowing grain of wheat, abundant fruits of the guelder rose, ripe red apples, tender petals of the rose … Moкosha protects all of these, so that the life of the plowman, which arose in the earliest days, will never be extinguished. From those long-ago times, the goddess Mokosha taught the plowman to plow the land, to sow the field, to grow the bread — the primary food of the people.
Torn Asunder
I wasn’t sure if “annihilation” was the word I needed at the end, so I checked its meaning. In addition to the common meaning, there’s this:
Physics.
Also called pair annihilation. the process in which a particle and antiparticle unite, annihilate each other, and produce one or more photons.
The Slavic Moons and Meditations
Slavic Moon Calendar. So excited to find this blog.
You will have to correlate this to a moon calendar of the year you are working with, but starting with the first New Moon after the Spring Equinox, roughly:
March Moon – Brezeň – The Birch Moon – The first new moon after the Spring Equinox. This is the time of transition from winter into the warmth of spring, a hopeful time of eternal renewal. The birch is sacred to the Young Goddess of Spring in her various forms of Lada, Jarilla, Vesna, and also Devana. The birch is used as a protective talisman as well as a cleansing “broom” in the sauna. It is sometimes connected to the concept of the World Tree that connects the Underworld, the Physical World and the Spirit World. We can see in the Russian euphemism used when someone was dying, “they are going to the birches.” This is a good time to reevaluate…
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Eternal Entirety’s Longest Bridge
Four
furious
fabulous
fantastical
years I am astir.
Awakened by wonder.
Blown, cleaved, shattered asunder.
Creeping. Crawling. Leaping. Soaring.
Traversing, in dazed bewilderment,
Eternal Entirety’s longest bridge.
Beams break. Decks collapse beneath my feet.
Dumped. Swung in circles. I retreat.
No place to hide in transit.
Flailed. Flayed. Foresaken.
Impetus for Life
pulses, surges
purifies
pushes
on.
Elusive Dream
Cars. Lawnmowers. Jets.
Unmelodic, disharmonious machines
disrupt my poem.
Persistent, distressing noises
destroy my peace.
If I listen with my eyes,
immerse myself in still waters,
equilibrium is restored,
For a moment,
desire to drown.
Sister Wisdom Found
Weaving together the stories of Diana Morgan, a low-rung Oxford scholar, and Myrina, founder of the Amazons, Lost Sisterhood is a tale of adventure, ancient secrets, love, and wisdom. I loved the book and marked several quotes. Today, I’m sharing a few favorites for Writers’ Quote Wednesday.
So now you know why I think all talk of borders and colors and nationalities is absurd. People try to pin you down on a map and paint you a certain color to make everything simple. But the world is far from simple, and intelligent human beings don’t like to be pinned down and painted by some hand in the sky, whether it belongs to a god, a priest, or a politician.
Anne Fortier grew up in Denmark, but immigrated to the United States in 2002. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of Ideas and co-produced the Emmy-winning documentary Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia (2005). Her first novel in English, JULIET (2010), was published in over 30 countries and became a New York Times bestseller.
Only kings are put in writing, you know. Kings and heroes. The rest of us are but fading echoes in the valley of eternity.
Here, we chop wood to keep warm. If you think that’s amateurish, all I can say to you is this: You are more vulnerable than you think.
My contribution for #WQW
Shelfies are the new Selfies
I recently discovered that shelfies are a thing. Some definitions say that a shelfie is a picture of your bookshelf. A recent Mashable article described them as a photo of yourself with your bookshelf — book spines legible.
Shelfies must be the best trend ever. Tweet me your shelfie? @weavinggold Or, share a link to your Goodreads favorites page in the comments. I’d love to take a peak at your bookshelf. #RevealYourself
Some of my favorites live on my Kindle.
For all the Frimes
As a writer, I harbor a small hope that my words will live forever, touching future generations. With the superabundance of books, blogs, tweets, and quips in existence, my dream seems unlikely. While others will take charge (or not) of my legacy, I can keep alive the words of my favorite authors.
Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 – September 18, 1951) was an artist, art critic, poet, author, and humorist. He is best known as a writer of nonsense verse and the author of the still in-print Goops stories, books about manners, for kids.
The Goops they lick their fingers,
And the Goops they lick their knives,
They spill their broth on the tablecloth –
Oh, they lead disgusting lives!
He coined the term blurb and wrote his own dictionary.
Some excellent and useful words:
alibosh – glaringly obvious falsehood or exaggeration
drillig – a tiresome lingerer, one who talks too long
flooijab – an apparent compliment with a concealed sting
huzzlecoo – an intimate talk; a confidential colloquy
kipe – to inspect critically; to appraise pragmatically
cow’cat – a person whose main function is to occupy space
frime – an educated heart; one who deserves the right thing
I discovered Gelett Burgess through A Little Sister of Destiny, a book published in 1906 that I found in an antique store a century later. (Just discovered that it’s been republished this year. Highly recommended!) I loved it so much that I started a modern-day retelling of Miss Million’s tale. I hope to complete it one day.
Ruffle Some Feathers: Shine
You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.
– Madeleine L’Engle
Madeleine L’Engle is best known for a Wrinkle in Time and other YA books which featured strong girl protagonists and characters that today would be defined with labels or diagnoses. She also wrote novels for adults. I love almost everything L’Engle wrote, but particularly, her four-book autobiographical series called The Crosswick Journals, about her time balancing her creative, family, and community life.
Every so often I need out—away from all these people I love most in the world—in order to regain a sense of proportion.
– Madeleine L’Engle in A Circle of Quiet
Madeleine’s gentle spirit shines throughout her writing, so I was delighted to discover the quote I chose for this Writer’s Quote Wednesday.
Marianne Williamson’s best known quote elaborates on the sentiment.
I am remembering to SHINE. It’s the right thing to do.
#Writer’sQuoteWednesday & #BeWow
After I posted, the following came across my feed:
12 Fantastic Facts About ‘A Wrinkle in Time’
6. MEG MURRY WAS ONE OF SCIENCE FICTION’S FIRST GREAT FEMALE PROTAGONISTS…
… and that scared publishers even more. L’Engle believed that the relatively uncommon choice of a young heroine contributed to her struggles getting the book in stores.
Nevertheless, the author stood by her heroine and consistently promoted acceptance of one’s unique traits and personality. When A Wrinkle in Time won the 1963 Newbury Award, L’Engle used her acceptance speech to decry forces working for the standardization of mankind, or, as she so eloquently put it, “making muffins of us, muffins like every other muffin in the muffin tin.” L’Engle’s commitment to individualism contributed to the very future of science fiction. . .
Weaving Gold 