Mother Earth, Award, and a Happy Friday to All

Wishing you all a happy Friday morning.  The weekend is finally upon us.  Would you believe that it was snowing when I came to work?  Yet, the temperature is supposed to climb to 50 this afternoon.  Very, very strange weather, indeed.  But, doesn't the old saying go that "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  Funny, I never remember finding that to be true.

 

I received the above award from Dede at Brightest Blessings Wiccans.  Thank you, Dede for thinking of me.  It is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others, so I am feeling so honored.  

The rules for accepting this award are:

(1) Place the Award on your blog or within your post.

(2) Pass the Award on to 12 Sunny Bloggers.

(3) Link to the nominees in your post.

(4) Let them know they received this Award by commenting on their blog and

(5) Share the love and link to the person from whom you recieved this award.  

I follow so many blogs and it so hard to chose, but here goes:

Wendy at Changes With Seasons

Vicki at All My Yesterdays 

Faerwillow at Serendipity 

Debra at She Who Seeks 

Ra at Sagittiferously Yours 

Sobeit at In the Mists of Avalon

Witch by Nature and Bitch by Choice at Antics of a Tameran Witch 

Bogaman's Blog

I could go on and on and list everyone that I follow for you all offer me inspiration and comfort, but time is running short and I did want to post the next stone on the Medicine wheel.

  The Earth Mother stone is the next stone placed on the Medicine Wheel.  She is placed next to the stone which will be placed for Father Sun, just East of due South.  Hopefully, the diagram I gave the other day is big enough for all to see.  If not, please let me know, and I will find another.

This is the place on the Medicine Wheel that teaches us about the nurturing female energy that is within not only us, but also within the Earth Herself. She represents the love and new beginnings that the Earth gives Her children.  Our beautiful Mother Earth gives birth to, nurtures, and sustains us all. It is where we can find solace when we are feeling sadness or anguish about the conditions of our planet. 

The animal totem for Mother Earth is the tortoise.  They are a long lived Earth being, but sadly have now become an endangered species; most of them today can be found in the Galapagos Islands. This animal has the lumbering grace, the patience, and the endurance of the Mother Earth Herself. Native American tales credit a giant tortoise with providing a safe place for humans to live after the Great Flood. 

 

The Plant totem for the Mother Earth are what the Native Americans call "The Three Sisters"--Corn, Beans, and Squash.  When these three vegetables are grown together, they actually help each other.  Beans twine around and up the cornstalk...each supporting the other.  And, the large leaves of the squash will shade the ground keeping in the moisture for all three.  Interesting, isn't it?  And, each plant extracts different elements from the soil.  After harvest, turn the remains of these plants back into the Earth so that the soil does not become depleted of necessary nutrients.

Meditating on the "Three Sisters" can teach us how to live in harmony with each other and to return something to our Earth Mother in return from all that we have taken from Her.  The "Three Sisters" may also be sued in ceremonies as offerings or in medicine bags.