Vision Questing as Raven Persephone

Channeling Persephone: A Vision Quest "Help me Persephone. I am exhausted with the business of selling."

And so Persephone becomes a Raven and we race through the Underworld, me on her back, until we come to an old woman wearing rags and feathers by the name of Gemma. She has very long fingers and a cloak which she wraps around me. I am listening, though I am weary and can barely stand. She taps me three times with a silver coin and I become one with the Divine and nothing else matters.

I am the Triple Goddess and I see a link with my art. "See something you like, make me an offer," but my rational mind says, "You have tried this and it didn't work," so I hop back on Raven Persephone and back we go through the Underworld; ancestors on all sides, and I'd like to stop and chat and I think, "these visions are stories that I could illustrate, but...I don't like to illustrate." And again my hopes are dashed.

On we go, faster and faster until all is a blur. I hold on tight. Then suddenly She is gone and I am floating, weightless, not really moving. And I feel nothing and my mind is blank. I hear my phone ring but I ignore it; it's the world calling again, but no one is home although I am getting hungry.

I can feel my hair growing and growing, down, down, down to the Earth and I have no fear. Nothing can reach me up here (or down there?) And I call out for Persephone yet again. But I am Persephone and Demeter is not here and I weep for my Mother who is so far away and she weeps for me. We are alone, each in our own worlds, but there is no time for weeping. There is work to do.

Interested in reading the pre-patriarchal Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone? Click here.

Creative Soul Readings  can be purchased here.

Info about the artwork above: Kathy Crabbe, Raven Persephone, 2013, mixed media on paper, 5 x 8”.

Entering the Light

And again I face my Persephone Painting (the big one) and decide to create a smaller version before going any further (a linoblock print is next). And again I pull a Norse Rune to help me connect with Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld.

Channeling Persephone ~ A Ghostly Tale

Persephone: "Meet me in the Circle" (there are ghosts everywhere), but we go deeper and deeper into the center, which is blood-red.

Persephone hands me a sphere also colored blood-red. "Drink, drink," she says and so I do and the sphere empties of colour and glows clear. "Now, you are one of us. You can see/hear/feel everything down here."

She puts a paintbrush in my hand and I'm back in the cave, as before, waiting to be guided to what I need to do. Persephone helps me stay focused on my purpose and not get distracted.

Me: (I realize this is how I like to work). A sunflower lights my way and I hold it with one hand and ask the dark spirits what to draw.

Dark Spirits: Go on.

Persephone: Your way is lit, your eyes shine through mine. March on, march on, march on.

Me: I see endless trails of white leading to souls; unhappy, trapped.

Persephone: Be with them, reassure them, show them the light - the source. Hold up your sphere. The sunflowers light your way.

And then, like a vacuum cleaner, or a moth to a flame, the soul's eyes open and they are sucked up and into the light by force of their will and their desire to be One with Source.

Me: What am I?

Persephone: You are the witness.

If you are interested in purchasing a Persephone Reading or an Ancestor Reading please click here.

Spotlight on Divine Feminine Moon Muser Jen M.

Divine Moon Muser, Jen M. took part in my online eCourse Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul recently and had these comments to share:

This course has been the first real shake-up of my inner spiritual eye.

A few months ago I decided to set up a giveaway on my website and in my promotion of the contest, I came across a posting in the Etsy Forums about a new online course called Awaken Your Divine Feminine Soul. It was a timely arrival, as it fell right along the lines of what I needed right now: self-discovery involving creative juices and perhaps even some spiritual development. There’s that whole  Biopsychosocialspiritual framework that we learned about in Social Worker School  and one that I am trying to infuse in my life. It’s something that I feel I have been neglecting, especially in relation to the spiritual side of things.  I joined up for this moon musing course with the hopes that it could help guide me in my continued exploration. As an artist, I sometimes run into blocks mostly formed by my own expectations and lack of time.

Awaken the Divine Feminine helped me by giving me more of a focus and also some tools with which to move forward in my world, artistically, spiritually and as a more in-tune woman.  I now have an interest in Yoga and not just the physical aspects, but the inherent spiritual and mental aspects of the practice. I also have a faery guided meditation that I listen to sometimes at night to help me ease into the sleeping world.  I'm  hoping that what I've learned from this course will continue to steer my creativity wherever it may need to go.

In the meantime, my Etsy Shop is where my  creative objects end up looking for a new, loving home.

An Interview with Jen

Tell us about your craft and/or the items in your shop. Much like my real life, I seem to be unable to focus on one thing for very long. Right now I make crocheted scarves, beachglass necklaces, button necklaces, and I have a few totebags left over from the summer. I'd love to narrow down my practice a bit, but I don't seem to be able to. Next journey: I am taking a sabbatical from producing items, as I am moving to England and want to spend some time making creative things just for me.

What is your favourite material to work with? I have a really hard time narrowing anything down. I started out making purses, so I have an affinity for fabric, but I would have to say that what I love most right now is beach glass. The thrill of the hunt is fantastic!

More Student Spotlights can be found here.

To learn more about this Divine Feminine eCourse please click on the link!

Balancing Dark and Light

I see spring colors coming out in my work, new greens, bud pinks. Everything feels so peppy, but I need some edge so I turn on music by Massive Attack ~ "Mezzanine".

I am balancing dark and light all the time. Be wary, Lightworkers, for we too are of the dark, the compost, the fertile, fetid, furious realms, of Persephone, of Hades, of Pluto, "cause ya can't have one without the other" (try singing this last line!)

It's the tension between light and dark where art grows. As I paint, I'm aware of painting to stay open, flexible, not letting the piece settle, formulate, coagulate in any 'one way', but to allow freedom to reign. That way I can turn everything upside down (literally) more easily.

Today is windy and my thoughts are blowing away, my feelings searching for a place to land. My to-do list is a mile long, but none of that matters now, just the process,the painting, the music, the passion and back to work I go...

Grainne Mhaol is coming across the ocean, With armed soldiers as protection, Neither French nor Spanish but Irish, And they will scatter the invader.

My greatest wish would be to see, Even if I died within a week of seeing it, Grainne Mhaol and her mighty warriors, Proclaiming banishment to the invader.

From the song "Oro, Se Do Bheatha 'Bhaile" by Sinead O'Connor

In process - acrylic, charcoal and pastel on masonite - 48" x 48"

Musical Ambiance: Sinead O'Connor ~ Sean-Nos Nua, Sinead Lohan ~ No Mermaid, Bjork ~ Vespertine, Massive Attack ~ Mezzanine.

Your Favorite Goddess - Part 2

I asked my Facebook Fan page members to write and tell me all about their favorite Goddesses in order to win an Astrology Goddess 14 page report and this is what they told me!

Jo Settle Sprouse (Asheville, NC):

I was originally called by Brigid, who knew I would accept her first on my pagan path. But I have grown closer to the river and sea goddesses as I have studied and practiced. At this time, I feel kin to Senua, as she was recently rediscovered in 2002, and is said to be a river goddess with healing and wisdom gifts. When I read about her rediscovery I felt drawn to her, as she has not been revered in years, and I am on an new-old path that my family has not walked in generations. I feel that her coming out again and my rediscovering this ancient path are linked spiritually.

Shannon Emigh New York, NY):

I've always liked Persephone, Greek goddess of the Underworld, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Her tale is deliciously tragic, as she was abducted by Hades and whisked away to the Underworld to be its queen, while Demeter was left to grieve for her lost daughter. When Demeter discovered what had become of Persephone, she sunk into isolation, leaving the Earth to wither without its goddess of the harvest. Knowing that this couldn't endure, Zeus forced Hades to release Persephone, but before she left the Underworld, Hades gifted her with a pomegranate. When she ate of the fruit, it bound her to the Underworld for a third of the year for eternity. This myth is a very creative explanation for the different seasons. While Persephone is with Hades in the Underworld, nature begins to wilt entering into Fall and then Winter, and while she is back on Earth with her mother, nature is renewed entering into Spring and then Summer.

Heather Davis:

That's a hard one as I have many goddesses that I love, but if I had to make a decision I would have to pick Blodeuwedd, a welsh virgin Goddess of Spring. Her totemic form is an owl, the bird of wisdom and lunar mysteries.

One of the many Goddesses I honor is the Welsh Goddess Cerridwen, who was a shape-shifting goddess of prophetic powers, enchantment and divination. Her cauldron is a powerful symbol of transforming magic, and of the lessons learned through change and experience, as well as divine creative inspiration.

Dana Weekley (Trenton/Princeton, NJ):

Favorite Goddess - Dana - "Even though Dana is an Irish goddess, her name also has a depth of meaning in Sanskrit as well. Her name, as well as the name Pali in Sanskrit, means generosity and giving. The sub-context of this meaning is not only in giving, but in the joy someone receives when they give or donate without expecting anything in return, and seeing the recipients' happiness and delighting in it. It's funny how this description of this name from a totally different culture than that of the Irish conveys exactly what Dana represents in Ireland, an all caring Mother who loves to give to those who ask."

Susan Manning:

I am drawn to the Virgin of Guadalupe who some may not think of as a goddess but more of a patron saint for our area. She is known to appear to the innocents and to children but she is someone whom I turn to when I need help or am struggling with an issue. Qwan Yin is another goddess who hears the cries of the world and uses her many arms and eyes to pour her mercy down onto the world. Finally, I think of Lakshmi who is a goddess of abundance, when I feel lacking in any way. All three goddesses are represented in my room because they give me comfort.

Lola Fisher:

Goddess Qwan Yin, goddess of compassion brings me peace with waves of tears. Sometimes my own personal fears/tears other times fears/tears of earth, which brings me to the awareness of ONE, we are all ONE. With that comes peace.

Mary Miller (Columbus, OH):

Goddess I am honoring today: CIANNAIT. She is a Celtic-Gailic Goddess of water, inspiration, dreams and creativity. I chose her today because I find myself being drawn to water. This aspiration is to invite coolness, to calm the fires of Mars and allow my receptivity to come into view. Ciannait also can encourage communication between lovers and dreamers creating a balance between action and relaxation, something we all need. I sometimes forget this, hence why I am calling upon her today!