An Antlered Advent - Call for Art Contributions

Many women find themselves mysteriously drawn to the figure of an antlered woman. In our Antlered Advent series several inspiring women to explore this shadowy figure as well as the deep magic of the Winter Solstice.

Ingrid Kincaid author of The Runes Revealed

The Antlered, Female Reindeer-The Mother In The Norse Creation Story

Jane Brideson - Artist

Mother of the Herd

Jude Lally - Artist, writer and storyteller

The Old Antlered One - Ancestral Mother of Scotland Plus Otherworldly Journey ‘She Who Runs With the Herds’

Pegi Eyers author of Ancient Spirit Rising

Winter Solstice Lights Up the Land: Ley Lines of Heart and Home

Louise Hewett Author of the Pictish Spirit series

The Hearth of the Antlered Mother

Showcase of art contributions

Glenys Livingstone author of PaGaian Cosmology

Cosmogenesis Dance for Winter Solstice Ceremony

Images of your art in any medium exploring:

• The essence/spirit of the Winter Solstice

• Exploring the Antlered Mother

• Elen of the Ways

• Ritual/ceremony at this time of year.

• How does this sacred ‘hearth’ space exist for you?

• What is sacred within this season for you?

• Folklore/magic

  
  Contribution submission details:

• Submission deadline Saturday 1st December

• One or two images in a jpg format

• email judelally (at) gmail.com with email header - Antlered Advent Art Contribution.

• Please include a few sentences introducing your piece and its relevance to an Antlered Advent.

• Short one sentence bio with up to 2 links

Click to join our ‘Sisterhood of the Antlers’ Facebook group

Pre-Orders for Antlered Dolls for the Winter Season

I am excited to say I am heading home in December to walk the land this mid-Winter. I shall give offerings of only the best whisky to the great crone, listen to what stories the bones of the Great Antlered One might tell. Home for me is in the lands of Clutha, under the wing of Talieasker, the calls of Cee-al, the fires of Brighid and a place where the great bear now only walks in spirit.

If you’d like your own antlered women doll I’m currently taking orders through until the 16th November. The current making time is 3-4 weeks with all orders being shipped by the Friday 14th December.

If you need to get in touch with any questions please use the contact page by clicking here

Click on the image to view in the shop

The Antlered Mother

Stories of an antlered mother come from the northern hemisphere. As some of these cultures moved south and away from living with reindeer that mother figure changed shape to deep and cow - who were often dressed with antlers - as it is only the female reindeer who wears antlers. Other cultures hold the doe as a mother figure.

This doll is the keeper of the mysteries of all that which we have lost and yet some of that ancient wisdom remains in threads of songs which swim in our blood and ancestral knowledge which is knitted into our bones. That ancestral knowledge can be sparked and ignited which we can see in many women who connect to the figure of antlered females and Goddesses. These images speak directly to an ancestral longing.

This doll honors that connection and recognizes that the longing we hold - acknowledges what is missing in us which we see in her. She mirrors the values we may wish t reclaim, the mysteries, the ancestral wisdom and what we have lost touch with.

Click on the image to view her in the shop

Clan of the Antlered Women

This doll is a symbol of an ancient lineage of women who honor the old antlered one. A lineage which stretches back to women who followed great herds of reindeer. These are the women who wore antlered headdresses, and to the beat of their drums moved between the worlds and ran with the herds. Her drum wears the symbol of her lineage of women who wear antlers. 

Click on the image to view in the shop

She Who Runs With the Herds

She comes from a time of ice, a time when great herds of reindeer crossed from mainland Europe across the land to Britain.

She comes from a long line of priestesses who followed the herds and her descendants can still follow the ancestral tracks between the worlds hundreds of years since the reindeer died out.

She Who Runs With the Herds holds that ancestral knowledge, the guardian to the mysteries of the antlered kin - she is the female leading the herd, the priestess leading her people.

The doll pictured above and below to view her in the shop

She Who Whispers to the Deer

These dolls are inspired by a long line of priestesses who protect the deer herds. They are the ones who sing charms so the deer become invisible to hunters. It is said that the original priestesses were shapeshifters and in an action of dressing as a deer in deer skins could magically change shape and bound away over the bracken filled hills to hide in the great oak forests. 

Click on the image above to view her in the shop

Ancestral Bundles - Honoring the Ancestral Mothers

Ancestral Bundles

Ancestral bundles are seasonal tools which tie in with honoring the Ancestral Mothers. This Cailleach bundle honors the great crone who ushers in the dark of the year at Autumn Equinox and throughout the dark months she weaves her ancient ritual which is striking down all life so it returns to its roots.

Each Cailleach inspired Ancestral Bundle is different and contains a mix of the following:

1. A mini needle felted Cailleach doll 

2. A set of mini cauldron earrings

3. A little bottle of water from the Stream that runs by the Shrine of the Cailleach in Scotland 

4. 2 Cailleach cards (blank inside) from the selection show

5. A piece of mookaite rock

6. A set of 13 Moon finger prayer beads

Click on the image to view this Ancestral Bundle in the shop

Click on the photo to view this Ancestral Bundle in the shop

Cailleach Prayer Beads - click photo to view in the shop

Cailleach Prayer Beads - with Wolf

These prayer beads are inspired by the great pre-Celtic crone, the Cailleach. The Cailleach ushers in the dark of the year at the Autumn Equinox. The dark of the lava beads represents the dark of the year. Lava stone is a stone of transformation and rebirth - a central quality of the Cailleach. The howlite section of beads (white beads) is a reminder to us to work on those things that need transforming in our life. 

Click here to view in the shop 

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Click on the photo to view these prayer beads in the shop

This prayer bead set is inspired by Samhain a time-honored festival to honor our ancestors. Howlite is a stone which resembles bleaches bones and represents the long-departed dead of our lineage. The small section of red carnelian beads represents us as the living ancestor - the carrier of the blood of our lineage. The vibrant red is a reminder that it is our turn to be alive and while the decisions we make in life impact our lineage we are not alone as we can ask the ancients for their wisdom. 

All the beads are made from howlite a stone which holds the medicine to connect us to previous lives. The stone reminds us that we are the future ancestors and what we do today has repercussions for our lineage when we become ancestors. This special set reminds us that we are the living ancestors and that we can tap into the wealth of wisdom of our lineage which connects us to our blood ancestors - those we knew of in life and our bone ancestors - those ancient ancestors whom we didn't know.

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An Invitation to the Temple of the Ancestral Mothers

This morning I stepped from bed, dressed and walked out onto the land.It was still misty and three dark sentinel shadows watched me. The turkeys must be abut four feet tall and yet they seem to be shapeshifters, turning into thin old women, wrapped in a dark cape of feathers.

Although the sun has risen it hasn’t yet reached the crest of the hill and so the morning still seems shrouded in that magical threshold. I slip some horse chestnuts, which are lying in abundance, their spiky casings littering the ground, into my pocket.

I step into the labyrinth, to walk this mornings ritual of moving from the light to the dark of the year. In my mind I think of my favorite places of home - for although I am here part of me is also atop Carman Hill awaiting dawn. That is the place where this old crone, the Cailleach, has always spoken to me.

The Descent

I walk the labyrinth, prayer beads in hand. These are a bear set - for she was the first figure to lead us into the descent of the year. The next three beads are circular solid feeling silver beads - the invitation to come to the temple - where ever you are in the world. Wither you live in the wilds, or 17th floor of a high rise - each sister can enter the temple.

The Temple

As each women brings her passion, her unique skills and creativity we rebuild the ancient shrines and temples once dedicated to the Ancestral Mothers. When we sit by our altar or sit in circle, when we care our neighbors and our community. When speak up for those who don’t have a voice, when we act for animals and the land - when we speak out against what is wrong.

Each woman plays her part – some carry fire, kindled from ancient fires and so tend to the hearth and the candles. Other women have carried the ancient songs, some are called to roles such as guardian or gatekeeper and some remember the ancient script which they paint on banners. Others create glorious altars, some step into the role of priestess, some are keepers of the drum, others dancer of the rattles, some are called to tell the old stories and together we create ritual and ceremony and dance between the worlds to ask the most ancient grandmothers for their insight and wisdom.

Together we support women and girls both in our community and around the world as we move towards a partnership culture which existed for far longer than our current dominator system has.

While each of us takes our own path and yet we walk together on a path forged by our foremothers - some remembering, some rekindling and practicing their wisdom. It is the path of Ancestral Mothers which roots us to the spiritual bedrock of the planet as we rebuild a new world out of the collapsing ruins of capitalism and patriarchy.

So dear sister, how will you visit the Temple today? Maybe you will set aside time for a small gesture of ritual into this great change the old Crone has ushered in. Maybe you’ll sit in the garden, or the park. Maybe you can only take 5 minutes and breathe out and breathe in that tangible change in the air.

The Great Mystery

The next bead my fingers reach as I walk the labyrinth is the mystery bead. The mystery bead on this set is a star cut moonstone - with iridescent t flashes which I like to think represent the wonderful synchronicities that we find presenting themselves. To honor the stories we live by and honor them with heart, hands and soul.

I reach the centre of the labyrinth and now my fingers reach the circle of beads in the prayer bead set. This is the sacred circle, the centre. I sit in the centre by a great ion cauldron, filled with rain water. As I peer in I am transported to the Isle of Eigg (the isle of the Big Women - where I take women on retreat each year). There is a tradition there to look into the well to your reflection and to see who is peering over your shoulder. This morning as I peer into the pool of dark water it is the Turkey in her tall and slender shape - the shapeshifter, Taliesker. Beside me is a vibrant green rosemary plant - she invites me to inhale her scent. Rosemary is she who helps us remember and her magic this morning is to remind us that things weren’t always this way. The Paths of the Ancestral Mothers originate in a time before patriarchy, a time of partnership - a time not of power over but of a power shared. A time when our lives were entwined with the Ancestral Mothers.

It is this sacred centre in whatever it is that you are doing that brings you to the Temple.

Beautiful footage of dawn at Cairn T, Ireland

A Gesture of Ritual

My age long ritual at this moment is to offer a gesture of ritual to Bear who will eventually hibernate. A small green doll is placed into the cauldron along with Bear. The doll is the green vitality of the earth that slowly each plant and tree takes that vitality back down into their roots. Their is a part of each of us in that small green doll. The Bear is an ancient memory of the Goddess Brighid, who has been recognized in this most ancient of mother figures.

So what might be your gesture of ritual to mark this great transition? How might you begin to prepare for the coming dark?

Maybe you might plan to set aside ten minutes each day to sit by your altar? Maybe you need to fill a basket with art materials and paper. Maybe you’ll get a new notebook or treat yourself to an inspiring journal. Maybe you’ll commit to spending time with Her each morning on the porch over a cup of coffee. Maybe you’ll invite some dear friends to gather once or twice a month in sacred circle.

It is the old crone, the one rooted in a primordial age, who ushers in the dark of the year. As the sun rises at Loughcrew it shines directly into the chamber of Cairn T and illuminates the ancient symbols etched onto the wall.In my mind I think of the long tradition of honoring this ancient old one for it is she who tucks up the tender green, keeping it safe over the winter.

Autumn Equinox at Cairn T, Sliabh na Cailleach, the Mountains of the Hag. Loughcrew, Ireland

She is a destroyer this ancient old woman and yet she is much misunderstood. She strikes down life over winter and brings frost, snow and freezing rain for things must die down and lie fallow in order for the rebirth to take place. This is the ways things have always been.

As we move from the light of the year to the dark the invitation stands to use your own language of ritual in art or dance, song or silence to mark this sacred passage…

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Path of the Ancestral Mothers - Year One, the Wheel of the Year

Maybe you’d like to join me in a journey around the year honoring of the Ancestral Mothers of Scotland? We’ll meet warriors and women who honored the way of bear, women who honored great whales of the ocean and seals. Women who ran with herds of reindeer, ancient Goddesses and age-old crones. We’ll mark each holy day in ritual with art and story, community and journeying between the worlds.

Also in October we will be relaunching our annual ‘Introduction to the Cailleach’ online course.

Click below to join our circle mailing list and receive an invitation to walk the path of the Ancestral Mothers (which launches in October)…

Also click on the Etsy logo below and check out our collection of prayer beads.

The Storm Hags

I’ve been seeing hags in the sky - some riding geese, some riding some swans. First, let me explain I practice neldoracht (reading by the clouds). I could say I’ve been doing this for 40 odd years as some of my earliest memories come from being in a pram sitting out in the garden and watching the sky faces peering down.

These hags started two nights ago when I saw a hag who was clearly riding a great goose! Before, me and the dogs got home I saw hag after hag face appearing and morphing in the clouds. Same thing the next day - a hag riding a goose or a swan and then a triple gathering of crones wearing great witches hats!

Spelling Witch by Jean-Baptiste Monge

Click on image for his website

In Scotland the Cailleach is known as the storm hag. While the Cailleach presence can be felt throughout the entire year she is most active as she ushers in the Autumn Equinox and is the dark crone of the winter. When winter begins to wain, Scotland often experiences the end of winter storms

Storm hags emerging from the wool

As hurricane Florence approaches the outer banks of North Carolina (I’m 250 miles inland in the mountains) I’m creating the storm hags, they are emerging from the wool - as they did in the sky emerging from white fluffy clouds.

Habitrot

One of the hags spins - an ancient motif of the wool as the cosmic potential and as it’s twisted and woven the yarn becomes the fate of our lives. The hag who is extending the invitation is Habitrot - a Scottish figure who has oversized lips - all the better to wet her wool as she transforms the raw wool, through her drop spindle into yarn.

She has two sisters - one with an oversized thumb, all the better to draft out the wool, while the other sister has a club foot all the better to use the pedal of the spinning wheel with. This trio are related to the Nordic Norns, the Fates.

Collage as divination

I made this collage a week ago, before Florence had started to call in her winds.

As Florence approaches I’ll take Habetrot’s invitation to spin, like the storm hags circling above and the great eye of the Cailleach watching from the centre of the storm…

The Last of the Scottish Orca’s

It’s been an emotional journey following the lives of Tahlequah, her calf, and her pod in their heartfelt grief ritual. Killer whales are one of the most widely distributed species, although many of the individual pods are severely threatened. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a nonprofit group which maintains the ‘“Red List”  a global list of endangered and threatened wildlife. While they haven’t put killer whales on the list many individual pods of orca are facing widespread and localized threats to their survival.

Before I introduce the Scottish orca pod to you I had to share this recording (made by the Whalemuseaum.org) of Tahlequah and her pod communicating. This was recorded on the 29th July, 5 days after Tahlequah’s calf had died. Click on the whale to listen to them.

The top photo isn’t Puget Sound but an orca swimming off the coast of Eigg in Scotland. This is where I run my Ancestral Mothers of Scotland retreat each year. Just a few months ago the same pod was spotted in the River Clyde!

  Ritual and ceremony inspiring connection and activism - click to view prayer beads in                              the shop

The Home Range of the West Coast                       Community

The West Coast Community

Britain occasionally has visits from transient Orcas who travel down to Northern Scotland in pursuit of their prey. Many of these visitors are from the Icelandic population of Orcas. Transient Orcas can be spotted from Shetland, Orkney, and Caithness where they are regularly seen. Scotland however, has its own resident pod of 8 Orcas that are regularly seen around the Hebrides, where it is commonly referred to as the West Coast Community. These animals are sighted year round, throughout the inner and outer Hebrides, particularly around the Small Isles and the Isle of Skye. These resident Orcas never mix with the transients from the North.

Research from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and North Carolina State University carried out a study, published in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology which discovered that the main difference between the transient pod and the residential pods is their diet. Residents eat fish, whereas transients hunt and eat marine mammals, including seals and porpoises. In the 40 years that these animals have been studied, scientists have never seen a resident eat a mammal and never seen a transient eat a fish.

Each of the Scottish resident Orcas can be identified by their unique markings, and have been given names: John Coe, Floppy Fin, Nicola, Moon, Comet, Moneypenny, Aquarius, Puffin, and Occasus.

The body of Lulu, one of the West Coast Community orca pod who washed up on the Hebridean Isle of Tiree

‘Possibly one of the most contaminated individuals in the world’

Last year, the body of a female orca was found on the shores of the Isle of Tiree, Scotland. Her name was Lulu and she was one of the West Coast Community pod members. She died after becoming ensnared in fishing nets yet after analysis it was found that her body produced surprising results, as Rebecca Morelle reports for the BBC reported, her body was found to contain one of the highest concentrations of pollutants ever recorded in a marine mammal.

The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme and the University of Aberdeen conducted an in-depth investigation of Lulu’s corpse and found that analysis of her blubber revealed a PCB concentrate 100 times higher than the accepted toxicity threshold for marine mammals. High PCB levels are linked to poor health, impaired immune function, increased susceptibility to cancers and infertility. The investigation revealed that Lulu was at least 20 years old but apparently never reproduced, despite being much older than the average age for maturity in killer whales. Brownlow called Lulu’s apparent infertility an ominous warning and said it is “increasingly likely that this small group will eventually go extinct.”

Scotland has known orca’s around the Hebridean isles for thousands of years. Some of the earliest people to these islands might well have swan with these great creatures in their hand-built boats as they came to spend the summer gathering and hunting. This Samhain I am launching an Ancestral Mothers of Scotland online Wheel of the Year course which will cover an ancient Scottish wise woman, Cee-al, who has a unique connection with the creatures of the Hebridean seas!

       Click on the image for the                   documentary trailer

The Fate of Captive Orca’s

There are currently a total of 60 orcas held in captivity (27 wild-captured plus 33 captive-born) in at least 14 marine parks in 8 different countries. I remember campaigning in the early 1990’s when I lived in Brighton, on the south coast of England to free Missie a dolphin who I think had been in captivity for around 20 years (I was the same age). With great campaigns all over the country, the majority of these businesses shut down and closed their doors forever. Missie, the dolphin from Brighton was released back into the wild in the Caribbean (with several other UK dolphins).

A great short film created by the International Marine Animal project discussing Sea world’s lies of happy and healthy captive orcas and the real alternative of returning them to a sea sanctuary.

Organizations to support

The Whale Museum: promoting stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education & research. You can support their work in various ways including adopting a killer whale! 

Links and source articles

PCBs: Why Are Banned Chemicals Still Hurting the Environment Today?

Baby Orca Death Could be Linked to Salmon Farm Virus

Dead orca found with extremely high levels of PCBs

Killer whales seen in river Clyde

U.K. Killer Whale Contained Staggering Levels of Toxic Chemical

Killer Whales Hunt in ‘Stealth Mode’ 

Touched by the Wing of Talieasker

The Ancestral Mothers of Scotland Wheel of the Year 

The Ancestral Mothers Wheel of the Year

We are approaching the threshold between Lughnasadgh and Autumn Equinox. Summer has felt endless, a groundhog day repeating itself over and over. For me, summer started with long lingering Scottish twilights and progressed to Appalachian nights full crickets and cicada lullabies draped in a clinging humidity with a constant thread of spiders webs.

Yet I can feel the threshold approach, whispering change. It’s ushered in by the wing tips of an age-old figure, Talieasker. She’s been with me most of my life, and no doubt made herself know to others before me.  She was there when my teenage self raged with anger with a desperate longing for something modern life no longer holds, even although then I didn’t know what that was.  She and I danced in my need for catharsis, an outlet to hold the screaming in reaction to what we are doing to the world.

                             My crow shadow

I am descended from a long line of wise women – for I too am a shapeshifter, a mythmaker, a woman who has always had one ear to the ground and a foot in the other world. Sometimes my shadow shows my other self, sometimes crow sometimes the shadow of a bear, I am She Who Wears Antlers.

This morning she appeared, the green woman curled up as if returning to the womb. It is the call of nature herself announcing the coming change, for change is the only constant. Galaxies swirl, new stars are born, birds hear the call to migrate, spotted fish at the bottom of dark lochs swim in certain patterns and the repetitive cycle of birth, life and death repeats.

So with the sign of this curled up woman it will be soon to mark this point of the wheel in an ancient ritual I was taught – a small green doll (I don’t know her name or her story), only that she must return to the earth, marking the beginning of the dark of the year, crossing that threshold from light into dark.

Pay attention to this approaching threshold, maybe the swish of a dark wing might brush against you, look to the greenery, the sky, the stars and know that change will come – whatever your situation. Maybe you’d like to join me in a journey around the year honoring of the Ancestral Mothers – warriors and women who honored the way of bear, of great whales of the ocean, seals, of reindeer, Goddesses, and age-old crones. Join me in a tradition of marking these festivals in ritual with art and story, community and journeying between the worlds.

Registration for our Ancestral Mothers of Scotland Wheel of the Year course will open in September with the course launching in October

Tahlequah

Tahlequah

Most folks by now have heard the story of Tahlequah, the young orca whale whose calf only lived a very short time after birth before she died. She was last spotted was spotted two days ago which marks her grief ritual of 17 days long of carrying her dead calf.

You'd need a stone heart not to be moved by this and her story and grief speaks deeply to me. It speaks to the woman who keens, the woman who honors the need for death rituals, our human need for ritual and ceremony. It also speaks to me as a Human Ecologist, the activist who know it is us humans who have created this chain of environmental events which has accumulated to cause the starving condition of this pod and their poor birth rate.

It's been interesting to see the reaction of people to this story from animal communicators, to those who believe she is sending a message to humanity and to those criticizing these anthropomorphic interpretations. We are empathic creatures, extending our empathy to other creatures in trying to understand is a good thing, however, not recognizing the signals and blindingly overriding them is not so good a thing. This article invites you into a deep magic, to swim with Tahlequah, you're also invited to share your art and join us in our Facegroup group to share the art and tomorrow I'll post on practical ways to help.

A Dark Moon Invitation

Tonight is a dark moon and if you have clear skies you might see some meteors from the Perseid meteor shower. The dark moon is also an ancient tradition of setting intentions. Not some new age wish or a fancy car or big new house but a time to consider your work in the world. A time to consider the steps you next need to take which are aligned to your soul's purpose, your true work in this world - work that creates a creative action against this crippling grip of patriarchy. The mess we are in today is a natural progression of a death culture which has no regard for the endless supplies of resources it needs to feed the ugly, hungry monster of capitalism.

So this dark moon I invite you to sit by your altar, sit out under the meteor shower and allow yourself to feel. Swim in the waters with Tahlequah, feel the weight of her pain, her grief. Feel the collective pain of the pod and allow yourself to swim through the cool water currents. Swim with her, help her keep her calf afloat - we know she must be exhausted as well as starving - body and soul crushed by her grief. Her's is a beautiful grief ritual, it allows her to feel her pain and connect to our own pain - to that part of yourself that feels the destruction of habitat, the degradation of river systems, seas and oceans and the stories of so many animals, insects, wingeds and wild ones who are suffering.

Keen for her, let go of the grief that you are used to carrying yet shoved it somewhere as your never ready to deal with it. Cry, sing, chant, tone for her - use your voice as much as your body. Play wild music, dance your feelings, sweat your prayers to her.

Be gentle with yourself, hold your heart for this is heartbreaking work. use your own language of a simple gesture of ritual or ceremony it can be as simple as breathing with Tahlequah, it can be as simple as imagine holding her calf with her. The deep trough of grief she expresses show the deep love she has for this small one who has moved on to the otherworld.

Be gentle with yourself. You might want to lie down with some soothing music, move your body as if you are swimming through the deep, dark waters. Send her strength, understanding, and love, whisper to her. Be gentle with yourself once you've finished your ritual. This is real stuff - record your impressions of being with her - write, drawn, paint. Collage your feelings, make this matter!

All feelings and interpretations of this mother whale's grief are relevant yet they are lost if we don't take action in helping the plight of the entire pod. They are starving due to the lack of salmon and yet they face other stresses such as pollution such as the level of PCB's found in the salmon, the noise and the sheer volume of marine traffic in the Puget Sound. Tomorrow's post will outline those who are working to help this pod of Orca's and have been doing so. We can help support those doing this work otherwise we simply turn our head away from Tahlequah.

Feel free to share your evenings ritual, or join us in the Sisterhood of the Antlers facebook group - click on the logo below