Nerthus

Nicanthiel Hrafnhild, Boar, Birch and Bog from www.gullinburstipress.com

Painting from http://www.jok-design.de/

I have lately been reading about the Norse goddess Nerthus, of the Vanir pantheon. Goddess of fertility and the earth but also peace. She represents something of a Gaia figure, I think. Does anyone else know anything about her? I love the painting of her above - it exudes such calm and quiet strength. I have just ordered Boar, Birch & Bog - Prayers to Nerthus by Nicanthiel Hrafnhild. Looks really interesting. I am so enjoying this spiritual path I'm on right now - whole worlds are opening up.

Enjoy your weekend.

The Great Cosmic Mother

Image from www.monicasjoo.com/

I am reading The Great Cosmic Mother - Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth by Monica Sjöö and Barbara Mohr and it, along with a couple of other books on similar themes, are really changing the way I look at the world. Mostly this is fantastic but sometimes it can be a little disconcerting when one's compass completely shifts! Nevermind - it's worth it. The extent of the silencing of the female voice in spirituality has shocked me as has the extent to which we by and large accept this silencing. I am still reading this wonderful book so I might comment a bit more extensively soon. Has anyone else read it?

Yesterday I discovered Monica Sjöö's website (www.monicasjoo.com/) which displays her amazing art as well as looking at her life and ideas. Above is one of her drawings, "Cathedral Event". Sadly Monica died at the comparatively young age of 66. You might be interested to read about her fascinating life in this obituary from the Guardian -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2005/sep/23/guardianobituaries.artsobituaries1