I haven't been feeling well for a couple of days....feverish.  Forgetting what day it was, etc..  then my 7yo reminded me last night that it was the full moon.  And this morning she woke up, looked up into the dark sky and said, "Mama, look!  It's still there!".  I might draw down tonight.... though I'm one of those freaks that enjoys the full full moon, not the day after full moon.  lol.  Well, at leat my babies noticed the moon. {ducks}

What shall we do for Imbolc with the kids this year? Hmmm.  I plan on blessing seeds and of course lighting the candles.  But, I don't think my seeds will arrive on time (mail order).  We didn't collect many seeds in the fall from our own crops- maybe some flowers.  I'll find them.  I will attempt, AGAIN, to grow patchoulli from seed and seedlings.  It's never worked in the past, and I've tried about 5 different methods of growing- but I am determined.

I can't wait to smell the sweet soil soaked with spring rain, again.

I remember reading, a long time ago, that there was a Goddess named Dana.  Dana is my given name (birth name, christian name).  I hated it growing up, but then I grew to like it.  I even used my "real" name as my "magical" name for years.  It just felt some completely "right".  My parents had planned on naming me Jenna.  But my mom's best friend had a daughter the week before I was born, and she named her Jenna.  My mother was so upset - she "knew" I was a girl.  My father suggested the name "Rachel" ("a good Bible name"), but my mom felt that it just didn't fit.  She said the name "Dana" came to her the night before my birth in a dream, and it was perfect in case I was a boy as well.  So I was named "Dana Rachelle".

Anyway, I came apon this article about the Goddess Dana:

The Goddess Dana;The Great Mother;Mother Earth;Danu;Danann.

The most ancient God on Celtic record.Evidence of this most ancient Celtic God is found in the Irish Lebor Gabala,date to about 1000 C.E.. Dana is the mother of the Tuatha De Danann,who later dwindled to the Daoine Sidhe,the Sidhe-folk of Ireland.She was praised as the mother of the Gods, who is beyond all other Gods of this world.

The Name Dana means wisdom,or teacher, as in the English word don, or giving, as in the root of the word donate. Well,lest look first at the Tuatha De Danann,this name means "Children of Dana".Today,the Irish people, through their veneration for the good St.Bridget, render homage to the divine mother of the people who bear her name Dana--who are the ever-living invisible Faery-People of modern Ireland.

The Recorded mythology and literature of ancient Ireland have, very faithfully, perserved a clear picture of the Tuatha De Danann, and their Goddess Dana.Danu is recorded as being the Mother of the Dananns. Her name is usually associated with the Danube.There is also some speculation that in Proto-Celtic periods, the name Danu had been connected with the River Don, in Russia. Don is the Welsh goddess who is equivalent to the Irish Dana, and it seems likely tat she was an immigrant from Ireland, for the children of Don correspond Closely in character and Functions to the Children of Dana. Don is also connected with the River Don in Scotland.

There is a Possible link between the name Dana/Danu, the name Dione,as goddess name in Greece, and the goddess name, Diana, as known by the Romans.A major theme linked to the goddess of the Celtic Pantheon is the association to a particular body of water, usually a river,but at times a spring, lake, or the ocean.

The Divine Ancestress of the Celtic Boii tribe was known as Boann, and linked with the River Boyne in Ireland. Sequanna, a goddess of France, became linked with the River Shannon of Ireland.Linking their goddesses with various bodies of water in turn appears to have linked the Celtic reverence for the goddess as The Great Mare, for the white breakers of the ocean were described in Irish legend as the white mane of the Morrigan's head.

If we ponder how the sea and horse draw a parallel in the Celts' mind, we may see a connection in the double use of the word mare. It means sea in Latin and Russian, and is the root of the english word marine. At the same time it was used to designate a female horse. Both meanings of mare may have been derived from the same initial INdo-European source word, possibly the Sanskirt mah meaning mighty. This word may also be the foundation of the goddess names: Morrigan and Morgan--the roots gan, gin, and gen meaning birth, as in genesis and begin.

This interesting connection between the two words may suggest that the origin of the Pantheon was not in Ireland itself, but came from across the sea, and that the symbol of the first God, Dana, may very well have been that of a horse.

As an aspect of the Irish goddess worth noting is their wonderful and magickal ability to shape-change,not only as creatures, but also switching from an ugly Hag-state to that of a beautiful woman. The Morrigan becomes and eel, a wolf, a heifer, a raven, and serveral other diverse images of a mortal woman. Macha and the Cailleach Bera take the form of horses, and the Badb takes the form of Royston crows, and also alternating between Hag-state and a young woman.

In addition to these powers, there is the martial prowess of Celtic Goddesses, who often acted as ambassadors in battles and rivalries between the Celtic tribes, sitting in on peace councils when disputes were discussed.

There is the less documented image of the goddess among the Celts as the figure of the Goddess of Victory, as well as the mother of some of the gods, such as Tailltiu, the step-mother of Lugh, and the goddesses of healing, poetry, and fate.

Breifly summarizing this, I would like to go back over what I stated earlier.That the Goddess Dana,as well as the other major Celtic goddesses that I listed, were all linked together in some way,and also linked to a body of water.They also had magickal abilities allowing them to transform theirselves into images suitable to their needs at the time.

Nevermind- FOUND SOME.  Thanks Morwenna!!!!

I cannot find seeds/seedlings/trees anywhere but the UK.  Does anyone know of an online/catalog source within the US?  I have a few other friends who have looked with no luck as well. :(

When I was younger, I was very rigid about my rituals, etc... I wanted everything to be perfect, and literally by the book.  I was also very drawn towards the "fantasy" feel of paganism, the whole mystique.  As I grew, mostly when maidenhood crossed into motherhood, the "show" of my beliefs became more subtle.  I didn't wear my black clothes *all* the time, I didn't *have* to be sure everyone could see my pentacle necklace, I didn't *need* to be different.  I realised that I could be that plain jane girl and still be wiccan.  I didn't care who knew (rather who did NOT know).  I didn't need to make a statement.  I didn't need to stand out.  Rather, I began to have my own style- which most of us go through in our 20s (bless us all....lol).  And it wasn't about them, or what they thought of me ("them" being anyone) - it was more of an acceptance of the fact that I am a human being, just like everyone else.  What mattered was deep inside of course. 

I guess what brings this up for me was that I was visiting other discussion boards/etc. and I came across many teens who were very fixated on *feeling/looking* magical.  It was all about a look, and magical power.  I never thought I'd be considered old fashioned- wow- but here I am I guess.

For me, personally, it is not about power.  I aim to humble myself in this world.  For me it's about healing (Earth, ourselves, each other), compassion, respect and honor.  And gratitude.  I could never find a coven that fit me, and part of this was because I have such a problem with power trips, or envy, etc..  I am still searching for that group of people who are really focused on the well-being of others, on truth, honor, on patience, and an open mind.  Not to try and be something different, but to just be ourselves...