Saturday, November 9, 2013

Mary, mother of us all

With a cup of coffee beside me, I want to write about my little trip with my eldest daughter to a Christmas fair. Yes, here in the Netherlands they too start sooner and sooner with those fairs. It used the be custom to wait after the departure of Sinterklaas at December 5 but the commerce has a strong foothold here too.
We did enjoy ourselves very much and we managed to pick up some nice things out of the thousands of  items that were  displayed at this fair. It was overwhelming! The most precious thing that I've bought for myself is a little statue of Mary. There were lots of the same Mary’s on the shelf but as soon as I’d picked up mine she felt very special to me. Now she has a place in my room and I've lit her a tea light



For me Mary is an aspect of the Goddess: She is the compassionate mother.  She is strongly connected to Isis. They both bore a son( Jesus and Horus) as a virgin at December 25. I have been raised with the stories of the bible and so when Yule/Christmas time arrives I cannot shed my upbringing and I do celebrate the birth of a savior with the story of Mary and Jesus instead of Isis and Horus. So I am very happy to have a statue of Mother Mary
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16 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 9, 2013 at 4:36 PM

    I also revere Mary, in both her aspects as Mary Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, who some suppose to be the lover or even wife of Jesus. I have a Mary statue, which your post inspires me to put out beside Isis on my altar right now. :) Love your new treasure!

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    1. EllenNovember 9, 2013 at 4:40 PM

      Now we have both a Mary and an Isis statue How cool is that :)

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  2. thesycamoretreeNovember 9, 2013 at 4:57 PM

    Oh she is lovely, and her expression looks so kind and inviting!

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    1. EllenNovember 9, 2013 at 5:02 PM

      Yes her eyes were so much more kind than the eyes of the others Mary's. That was the reason I choose her, for the rest they were all the same :)

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  3. AnonymousNovember 9, 2013 at 5:20 PM

    She's lovely! What a beautiful statue!

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  4. Las Magas November 10, 2013 at 9:51 PM

    Nice post Ellen! and beautiful statue of Virgin Mary! The gesture of her hands seems to say: "Come to me I give to all of you my love and protection" :) Muchas Estrellas!!!!!!

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  5. EllenNovember 10, 2013 at 10:23 PM

    Thank you! I do like her inviting posture :)

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  6. Hedge WyldeNovember 11, 2013 at 4:01 AM

    Although I don't identify with her in any way because of my non-religious upbringing I do hear you on the Christmas thing. It's strange how it is thought that if you are Pagan you should only celebrate Yule (even though for us in Aust it's in June) but I love Christmas, I was raised with Christmas and I enjoy the whole festive season of it, even though I don't celebrate the religious aspect of it.

    The statue is lovely, very calming and inviting.

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    1. EllenNovember 11, 2013 at 9:36 AM

      You can't deny how you're raised. Although it is strange to celebrate Christmas in summer, I think it would feel even more strange if you'd celebrate midsummer on you own with everybody decorating for christmas around you :D

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  7. Olivia PetersNovember 11, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    I love the Christmas story, and it's definitely one of my favorite holidays! Mary looks very happy perched there with her light :) Growing up my mother had an entire wall in the kitchen covered with different images of Mary. She also valued the Goddess in Mary, which affirmed her as a woman, when she felt somewhat alienated as a female in the Catholic church.

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    1. EllenNovember 11, 2013 at 9:37 PM

      I think Mary has given very many women strength and endurance through the ages.
      I am not a Catholic but I feel a strong connection to her. :)

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  8. Neopagan PriestessNovember 13, 2013 at 12:44 PM

    I struggle with Mary, though I acknowledge her as an aspect of the Goddess. I just have so many negative associations to the Christian doctrines… Still, we each worship in the way that feels comfortable to us, so I'm glad you found such a lovely version for your altar :)

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    1. EllenNovember 13, 2013 at 2:14 PM

      Thanks Kerry.
      That is the difference between us I think. I have never been pushed into a religious tradition. so for instance I feel absolutely free to connect Mary to Isis if that suits me for now

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    2. Neopagan PriestessNovember 17, 2013 at 9:53 PM

      I was never pushed into Christianity, Ellen, but just witnessed it from the outside. Some of my cousins said they felt they had to do their confirmation, as otherwise it might be held against them when they applied for a job! :o I like your idea of connecting Mary and Isis, it makes a lot of sense. I just couldn't have a Mary statue personally, at least not now :)

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    3. EllenNovember 17, 2013 at 10:31 PM

      It is so great everybody is free to choose an image of the Goddess they can connect to. She doesn't mind what She's called :D

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