Pacifica
Second of "Goddesses Surround Us"

Aphrodite in Greece, Kwan Yin in Asia, Yemaya in Brazil, all are ancient Goddesses of the Oceans.  By honoring these Goddesses, the ancient societies understood the energies of the Oceans and how they sustain life – within the waters and on their shores.  “Pacifica” was created in their honor, too. 

Pacifica’s headdress contains many freshwater pearls, a variety of shells, old coral, quartz, Swarovski crystals and a jade dolphin for Kwan Yin to ride.

 Siku
Fifth of "Goddesses Surround Us"

To the Ancient People in the land of the frozen Arctic, Goddess was the ocean, alive with life-sustaining riches.  Goddess Sedna, lived at the bottom of the Artic Ocean and was responsible for the Beluga whales, the seals, the drifting ice floes and the winter storms.  

Siku (pronounced “Shi-ku”) is the Inuit term for “ice”.   She was inspired by the colors of the Yukon Territories, the colors of the ice, the water, the air and the frozen land. 

She has her own ice floes of quartz crystals, fluorite crystals and ocean shells.  Her crown consists of many Swarovski crystals.

Cascade
Sixth of "Goddesses Surround Us"

Mt. Shasta, in the Cascade Mountain Range, has an energy all her own.  Living at her feet, with my window facing her, I found this to be true.  My favorite time of the day was sunset, when she turns such a rosy pink and purple. 

A very wise person told me that we all strive to get to the mountaintop, we just have our own paths to take.  I think if more people understood this concept, we would not only have more tolerance in this world, we would find more acceptance, too.

"Cascade" represents the many paths we take in life, to reach Her beauty and wisdom that resides at the top of the mountain, our own personal enlightenment.  Orange aventurine and purple amethyst stones surround Her shining face.

 Grace
Seventh of "Goddesses Surround Us"

It seems that labyrinths are a bit of a mystery.  There is great debate about which ancient culture created the first one…was it the Minoans on Crete, where Goddess Ariadne showed people the way with her silver moon thread, or was it the Egyptians who built one “near the place called the City of Crocodiles”.  

What has withstood all time is how healing it can be to navigate through a Labyrinth.  They have taken many forms throughout history – simple circular paths lined with rock, complex patterns with tall hedgerows as their walls and miniatures carved into pillars and walls in churches for your finger to follow. 

St. Augustine, a fourth-century theologian once proclaimed “Solvitur ambulando”, or “It is solved by walking.”  This is being proven still today, with the popularity of labyrinths returning to our culture.  Many are being built and walked in hospitals, public parks and once again, churches. 

Grace is named in honor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, my hometown.  They have built two labyrinths – one inside the church and one in the front courtyard, allowing the opportunity for people to walk the labyrinth and experience their healing powers at any time.

Grace’s labyrinth is reminiscent of the ancient ones, using lapis lazuli stones as her outline.  Her colors were chosen to represent the blue and white Greek flag as well as the blue hues of Mediterranean sea.  The spiral on her head represents the original form of labyrinths.   Two Greek keys encompass a moon of mother of pearl. 

If you come across a labyrinth, I hope that you take the time to walk through and see for yourself how calming and healing the experience truly is. 

 Harveste'
Eighth of "Goddesses Surround Us"

As the Wheel of the Year turns to Autumn, people all over the world celebrate their Goddess of the Harvest.  In Russia, the Slavic Goddess Baba Yaga, whose autumnal death in the cornfield lead to a new birth in Spring, Chang-O, the Chinese Queen of the Moon who brings families together to celebrate and honor the sweetness of life with moon cakes and Annapurna, the generous Goddess of the Hindus who helps create food to nourish the world. 

Autumn has always been my favorite season.  Between the warm colors of the leaves, the slant of the sunlight on what’s left on my flower garden, the cooler temperatures, the gusty winds that sneak up on you – I don’t know which I like better or maybe it’s the combination of all of them that makes me feel “at home”.

Harvesté (rhymes with Namesté) captures all of these aspects of Autumn.  She tells us when the blustery winds arrive, cozy up in our favorite blanket, marvel in the rich colors of apricot, rust and yellow outside our window, and take stock of how our Spring and Summer have rewarded us.  Gather those books we didn’t have time to read because we were tending to our tomato plants.  Autumn is here ~ it’s time to  be grateful, to celebrate, to reflect and prepare for our Winter’s introspection.