Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds

It's that time of year when light is celebrated in some form or fashion. Today's feature is put aside in honour of tradition. The tradition honoured is that of neo-paganism Hence, the post from two years ago:

The Immaculate Conception (Feast Day: December 8^th) is one more nod of Holy Mother Roman Church in the direction of Goddess Worship. Non-Catholics and Catholics alike tend to believe that it has to do with Jesus Christ rather than his Mother but that is not the case.

 

Mary, the Gate of Heaven was according to dogma in the Roman Apostolic Tradition conceived without the taint of original sin, that very human burden passed on to the other children of Eve. It is no accident that mariologists and other theologians refer to her as the New Eve. She is by virtue of her motherhood and the absence of sin as called Co-Redemptrix which doesn’t make her a stage door mother precisely but does place her very close to the divine level like her son and his Father.  The religious concept of the Goddess giving birth to the God in a cyclical ritual that parallels the seasonal changes did not originate with Xtianity but it was Xtianity that put a different spin on it.

 

 

The Immaculate Conception, however, is not the Virgin Birth it is Mother Mary’s actual conception without the taint of Mother Eve’s sin. It is a common scriptural tale of the barren womb suddenly becoming fertile; in this case it is Saint Anne’s womb.

 

 

‘Tis noteworthy that Mary’s Conception Feast is celebrated in close proximity to the Feast of Saint Lucy, December 13^{th ,} a Goddess revered in such disparate places as Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.

 

 

Lucina, the Goddess of Childbirth was incorporated into the Roman Martyrology as Saint Lucy the Virgin whose eyes were plucked out before her martyrdom. Coincidentally there was a statue of the mother Goddess Juno whose eyes had been made of rubies and were stolen right out of their sockets.

 

 

Digression, as interesting as it is does take this narrative away from its focus – coming into the light which is what a good Goddess of Childbirth helps us do, eyes or no.

 

 

Many, if not all, of the world’s major religions base liturgies, rituals and celebrations on the natural progression of life and the Seasons: December in the Northern Hemisphere, it is well noted is the darkest time of year and it is the time when humanity yearns for yet celebrates light at one and the same time.

 

 

The mythology and rituals associated with Lucina (Lucy) vary from place to place but always involve light. Without delving into the concept of the Solstice and the shortest day of the year which occurs in about a week, suffice it to say that Lucina as a Midwife of sorts and a Mother will shed light on the Human Mystery which is one of the many things spirituality does.

 

 

We are reborn on a regular basis and Lucina’s influence leads us in the direction of self-realization no matter what stage of life we find ourselves.

   

 

The more we see ourselves the more we evolve. It is Lucina who sheds light on our “higher” selves.

"Saint Lucy"            Digital Print, Thomas Wynn 2001
Fleckenstein Gallery

   

 

 

 

This year her feast takes place appropriately on the new moon as Lucy leads toward the light and Th Crone gives way to The Maiden.