A Love Letter to the Crown
The Light Within
Are chocolate bunnies and the Virgin Mary related?
Hello my goddess!
Happy Easter!
(OK, I realize that Easter is over in just a couple of hours but I really wanted to take some photos this morning before sending this letter out to you!)
Did you celebrate Easter with baskets of painted eggs and chocolate Easter Bunnies?
I didn’t.
My Easter this year in Spain was sadly Chocolate Bunnyless.
Painted eggs? Not a single one in sight.
(Not that I don’t like chocolate. Nor do I have anything personal against bunnies. Nor eggs, for that matter.)
What did I do?
I walked up the big hill to the tiny pueblo to watch the Semana Santa* processions.
Thursday night at midnight there was a procession.
Friday morning at noon there was a procession.
Friday night at midnight there was a procession.
Saturday?
Nothing. Nada. No parades.
(Jesus finally got to take a day off from all this exhausting parading around. Must have been those labor unions. Finally allowing Jesus a day off! It was a rough night for him on Thursday, lugging that heavy cross for miles on end without stop. By Friday he was in great pain. Good thing he got that one day of rest in between. Maybe Jesus even got a chance to hang out at the beach like all the other young adults his age around here during Spring Break.)
Sunday. (Today!) Jesus was out there in the procession again at noon. This time he had finally risen from the dead and got to parade around standing up.
(Note to my American friends: When I use the word “parade”, you might have images of floats and beauty queens waving left and right.
These holy week processions have nothing to do with that.)
If you are confused, let’s back up and allow me to add some background info here.
Spain is traditionally a Catholic country.
The religious holidays (Easter, in this case) are serious stuff.
Statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary are taken out of the church during Holy Week and paraded all around the tiny village streets for all to see. This is done all over Spain, not just in my crazy little town. You also have the option to watch the processions live on TV if you prefer not to venture beyond the living room sofa.
In our tiny town, you actually get to walk together with the entire procession, not just hang out on the sidelines like a lame bystander. Marching next to statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary while having processional music blasting in your ears is incredibly moving. The music is often quite somber and eerie. I never fail to get a huge lump in my throat every year while marching along with the statues and the musicians.
Right. So with all this parading around, I had an A-HA moment this week.
Aren’t the Virgin Mary and the great Mother goddess related?
Huh?
(Have I gone bonkers? Perhaps…)
So here’s the theory:
The Virgin Mary is really just a transformation of the Great Earth Goddess.
I started thinking about the similarities between the Virgin Mary and the ancient Mother Goddess.
Statues of the The Great Earth Goddess were found about 24,000 – 22,000 BC.
(Did you just read that? Twenty four THOUSAND! That was not a typo.)
The great mother goddess was worshiped for years and years and years and years.
And years and years and years before that. (Can you even imagine 24,000 years? I certainly can’t.)
And one fine day in very recent history, Christianity comes along and tries to banish worship of the great earth goddess. Actually, Christianity was not able to stamp out the veneration of the great mother goddess. I’m supposing that the great ancient goddess morphed into the Virgin Mary.
Basically a classic case of “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
Don’t you think?
I’ve actually been to these procession many times over the course of about 10 years but only this morning did it occur to me that the MOTHER of Christ is truly important, alongside Jesus. The Virgin Mary is in every single procession along with Jesus. Yet isn’t Easter supposed to be all about Jesus and how he died for our sins? Jesus is definitely the protagonist here yet there is not a single Catholic church in the world (that I know of!) where the Virgin Mary isn’t displayed as prominently as her son. All this also got me to wondering, “What ever happened to the father of Christ?” The last time Joseph is seen, Jesus is 12 years old. Most people seem to agree that Joseph probably died sometime after that, even if there is not direct mention of his death. Funny how Joseph is almost non-existent beyond the Bethlehem scene during Christmas, whereas the Virgin Mary, the mother figure, is so prominent in Christian rites, traditions, and the arts. She is a secondary figure, yep, ’tis true, yet no one can deny her omnipresence. Doesn’t it only make sense that she would have morphed from the Great Earth Goddess of ancient times?
*Semana Santa literally means “Holy Week”. In other latitudes, it’s known as Easter or Spring Break
Here are the photos from this morning. Enjoy!
What did YOU do today? Eat too many bunnies? Do you think the Great Goddess and the Virgin Mary are related? What about chocolate bunnies and goddesses? Please share your bunny story in the comments below!
Let’s share the sunlight, OK?
Hello my lovely goddess!
The sun is streaming through my window today
and I am reminded how grateful I am to be living in such a sunny warm place!
I realize that not all of you are so lucky, at least not as far as weather goes.
Never mind, spring will come to your part of the world (sooner or later…)
Even though the sun mostly shines in southern Spain,
life does have its moments of darkness around here.
I was quite abruptly reminded of the reason I choose “Hello My Goddess” as the name of my lifestyle brand.
Yesterday Mr. Ex Hubbie stopped by my studio unannounced.
He decided that last night was the moment to blame me for being distant to him.
And to blame me for treating him poorly.
And to blame me for taking advantage of him.
And to raise his voice.
And. And. And.
“Walk away!”, I hear you telling me. “Don’t listen to him!”
Easier said than done.
He was standing in the doorway. I was finishing up sewing a pair of linen trousers
for a woman in Oslo, Norway when Mr. Ex arrived.
(He did knock first before opening the door, I grant him that.)
He knows that I am alone while in the studio. He knows that my studio
has only one door and one tiny window. When he started to raise his voice
more than was comfortable for me, I grabbed the broom out of a corner
and started to sweep.
Trying to get rid of dirt?
Sweeping out the bad vibes?
hmmmmm, perhaps….
Why am I telling you this???
Because I want to tell you again and again and again
the reason why I choose the name Hello My Goddess.
I thought it awfully corny to choose the word “goddess”
when it came to me during an A-HA moment about 4 years ago.
Yet I couldn’t deny it. “Goddess” was the only word that so succinctly
summed up the two words WOMAN & POWER.
And I was in search of some badly needed power.
We women need to stand up for one another.
Support one another. Cheer each other on. Hold each other.
Hug each other. Yell out “Bravo!” at the top of our lungs when we succeed.
Give consoling words when when we are feeling down. Help each other.
Stand tall. Take sh** from nobody.
And show our power.
Our loving goddess power.
After Mr. Ex’s departure, I went up to my bedroom,
sat down on my favorite cushion, turned off the lights, and breathed.
After 10 minutes, my heart was not beating so rapidly. I was grateful it was over,
grateful to be divorced, grateful to be able to talk about this openly.
I am incredibly grateful that I learned a heck of a lot since 1980
when I first met and fell in love with this particular man.
Yet after all these years, he is still able to induce fear in me,
if only for a minute.
I just wanted to tell you something, no matter how awkwardly feminist and corny it sounds.
It doesn’t matter how tall you are, how short you are, how young, how old, how whatever.
You are beautiful and you are wonderful just the way you are.
The sun may or may not be shining right this very minute
in your geographical location, yet please remember that the sun is always in your heart and in your soul.
My goddess, remember that YOU are a goddess!
(I tell you this because I also need to remind myself, too.)
Changing topics, and onto much lighter things,
I wanted to let you know that I shall be re-vamping my
HelloMyGoddess lifestyle website during the next few months.
In the meantime, I’ve placed many of my creations into my etsy shop.
Please come and browse around my etsy HelloMyGoddess shop HERE.
While you are still on this page, please share your insights in the comment section below.
Do you feel trodden on by a boss, by a close family member, by a neighbor?
Vent it out!
(Remember you can keep your comment anonymous if that feels better for you).
How do you deal with the situation?
We are here to listen and support one another.
Love and (sun)light,
Indre
Goddess is just a word
Any goddesses in the house?
Ever notice how you buy a red car and you then see that EVERYONE has a red car?
Or you are pregnant and all of a sudden every other woman you see has a belly bump?
After I decided to use the word GODDESS as part of my internet identity, I started to notice Goddesses all around me.
How could I resist the temptation to click/write/meet/connect to other virtual Goddesses?
I ran into the word Goddess on Kickstarter quite by chance recently.
Here’s what it was:
It turned out to be two women traveling the US, filming and interviewing women from all walks of life.
In their words, The Goddess Project is a “feature-length documentary made by two girls who traveled 10,000 miles across America,
interviewing incredible everyday women about their paths to self-discovery.”
There was no question about donating to that project! Holli and Sara were fortunate to get their idea fully funded.
Because of my teeny donation, here’s what I got in the mail from them the other day:
Take a look at Holli’s and Sara’s project.
I think you’ll like it!
Imagine you are a Greek goddess….
Imagine you are a Greek goddess….
…..or perhaps a Pre-Rafaelite beauty…
…are you ready?
Sit back…click the turquoise magic link below…and enjoy!
The making of a magical lyre
Are you as enchanted as I am????
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
*The painting is The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse, 1888
Necklace for a Goddess
Just some eye candy today.
Necklaces made by Indre (that’s moi!)
Some have been sold, others are still waiting to be joined with their rightful owners.
Discover the reason YOU are a goddess
Why exactly “Hello My Goddess” ?
A very long time ago, in a place far from here,
a little viking princess fell in love with her knight in shining armor.
The princess did 53 cartwheels out of sheer excitement
when the wedding was announced.
Ten years was a long time to be boy-knight-friend & girl-princess-friend.
The couple decided it was about time to populate the world
with miniature versions of themselves.
Marriage was logically the next step in their fairy tale world.
At long last, that special aisle-walking day came…….
………..and went.
The little viking princess bride moved in with her striking shiny knight and they lived happily ever.
Never.
Mr. Knight yelled and yelled and yelled.
Mrs. Princess cried and cried and cried.
A baby was born. A prince!
The baby prince didn’t yell.
But, boy, did he cry!
And so, the princess cried along with him.
Baby # 2 came along. A little princess!
And so the original princess lost her place of honor
and was relegated to the role of chimney sweeper. And diaper changer.
And 3 a.m. night-shift nurse. And music-class-gymnastics-team-after-school-activities-chauffeur.
And cleaning lady. And smelly socks washer…..
[You get the picture.]
The chimney-sweeper-former-princess was overwhelmed.
Two precious babies and oh my, how they cried!
She hugged them daily and noticed that it helped her own crying go away.
Yet with all that embracing, one big question obsessed her daily:
“Why did Mr. Knight yell at me so much? ”
“Is it something I SAID? ”, she wondered.
So she stopped talking.
After all, he DID tell her that she said stupid things.
“Is it the way I laugh? ”, she wondered.
After all, he DID say that she had an obnoxious laugh.
So she stopped laughing.
“Is it the way I dress? ” she wondered.
After all, he DID say that those shoes didn’t match that dress and how ever did he expect him to go out with her if she was going to wear that.
So she stopped dressing.
(NO, she did NOT go naked! Mr. Knight often called her “fat ass” and “cow”, interspersed with “clumsy” and “klutz”. So Mrs. Chimney-Sweeper-No-Longer-Princess tried to dress in a way that would play down her adorable bubble butt. )
Mrs. Kitchen-Mopper-No-Longer-Princess came to the conclusion that she was, oh, so weak because she didn’t know how to deal with so much yelling.
After all, Mr. Shining Armor DID constantly say,
“You are too sensitive!
The problem is that you need to hear things delivered on a silver platter! Well, have I got news for you. You are just a spoiled brat and you don’t even realize it!”
Mrs. No-Longer-Princess fell into a depression.
That lasted for quite some time.
But as with all fairy tales, this one has a happy ending.
One fine day, the ex-princess WOKE UP.
“A-HA! I’ve found it!
Here is the answer to the question that has been obsessing me all these years!”
It was right there in front of her.
Staring her squarely from the computer screen:
“You’ve always had the power.
It’s just that you gave it away.”
HUH? Was that REALLY it?
Yep. That was it.
*******
Power Realization # 1:
“It’s not ME! It’s HIM! HE is the one with the problems. He thinks that he can blame me for everything that is wrong in his world.”
Power Realization # 2:
“I am NOT weak!
Hell, no, I am one of the strongest woman alive to have tolerated so may years of anger!”
Power Realization # 3:
“I CAN make it on my own!
At the very least, I will NOT end up begging in the gutter as Mr. Soon-To-Be-Ex-Knight has often threatened me!”
Power Realization # 4:
“I AM a goddess!
I’ve been strong, and beautiful, and powerful all along! It’s just that those qualities were buried so deep that I didn’t even know it.”
Power Realization # 5:
“Not only am I a goddess
but ALL women are goddesses!”
Power Realization # 6:
“Many Goddesses-In-Hiding do not know their true power.
I know how horrible this feels.
I really want to help them someday!”
Power Realization # 7:
“Yes! I CAN do it!!!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And so, the idea of Goddess was born.
I’m starting this new e-commerce adventure
because I want to help all the goddesses out there:
By employing down-on-their-luck goddesses.
By donating to organizations that help goddesses.
By selling artisan goddesses’ lovely creations.
I want to help ALL these lovely goddesses make a living
while infusing YOUR life with meaningful and beautiful objects.
And, in case you have any doubts, yes, that little viking princess was me.
In my new life, I blab A LOT!
And I laugh A LOT!
And I dress any old darn way I feel like it!
And I rarely dust the house, nor mop the floor anymore……..
Too many other beautiful things to do!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Why are YOU a goddess???
Just because.
YOU ARE.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Why the “my” in Hello My Goddess?
Have you ever noticed that when you really love someone you address them with the possessive word “my”?
Who hasn’t ever uttered words like these while talking to a loved one:
“How is my cut little doggy-woggy today? Want to go out for a walk?”
Why the “hello” in Hello My Goddess?
“Hello” is a symbol of recognition. I acknowledge your presence.
Everyone needs to be acknowledged.
Everyone needs love.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hello My Goddess!
I welcome you to my world.
Which is also YOUR world.
Which is really OUR WORLD!
Would you like to join our power revolution?
Did you like this story?
Or , rather, did you NOT like the beginning of this story?
Share it with your friends!
WHAT kind of abuse have you suffered in your life AND what have you learned as a result?
LET US KNOW (if you’re not shy) in the comments below.
By sharing, we can help support each other and regain our power!
[BTW, my ex really DID call me “viking” and “princess” almost daily while dating.
I didn’t just make that up. Neither did I make up the rest of the fairy tale.
It’s just that I found it less painful to tell my story in 3rd person.
It has been a rather daunting experience to put this in black and white and hit the Publish button.]
How did you feel when your dream came true?
Hello my goddess!
I decided it was about time I told you the real reason why I start my letters with “Hello my goddess!” yet as I am writing this I am surrounded by pins and needles and cutting shears and bits of linen…
…………so the last thing on my mind right now is to recount the saga of why I decided to name my new shop Hello My Goddess.
You see, the day after tomorrow I present my summer collection of linen clothes in a fashion show. YIKES! Did I say I was nervous? Well, I wasn’t…. yesterday. Today…oh, you better believe it, I AM!
Gosh, I am still in the process of sewing oodles and oodles of tiny little triangular bits of linen onto a sweet little bustier top.
Let’s pray it turns out OK as it’ll be part of the grand finale when the bride comes bustling down the runway!
Just when she is out there in all her crowning glory, all twirling about in a majestic linen cape and this (hopefully!) incredible bustier, the announcer will call out my name so that I go out and wave to the public.
“Hello My Goddess!”, I’ll shout down to the on-lookers! (No, not really! But I’ll be thinking of you, my dear friends, those of you who are supporting me from the side-lines and unable to come!)
Ever since I was a prepubescent preteen, I’d been fantasizing about designing for a fashion show……and, whaddya know, only about 4 decades later, this Friday, June 6th, will be the 3rd time I get to fulfill that dream. Yay!
Have you ever wanted to be an actress ….and finally landing the leading role in The Ice Queen?
Have you ever dreamed of playing the lead guitar in a rock & roll band….and just landed 5 gigs to play live in London?
Have you ever dreamed of going to Europe …and all of a sudden you find yourself with a croissant and a café au lait, in a cute little patisserie around the corner from Notre Dame?
Have you ever fantasized about living in a clean house…and all of a sudden your teen volunteers to vacuum the living room? (I wish! Dream on, girl!)
Yes, Dorothy, believe it or not, dreams (sometimes) really DO come true!
How did you feel when your dream came true? I am curious to know!
Everyone else is, too!
Please share your story down below in the comments 😉
And see you next time…
…with the true meaning of Hello My Goddess !
Right now I really gotta hurry on back to my ol’ faithful Singer and get this bridal outfit finished!