As the climate changes and the stress of extreme climate events begin to change our world, perhaps we will be pushed, willing or not, into greater reverence for the planet on which we live.
In the mythology of Ceres/Demeter, in her heartbreak over the loss of her daughter to the Underworld she caused the crops to fail, spreading starvation and devastation throughout the world of humans. I have always felt that the elevation of Ceres to planet status was a wakeup call to alert us to the need for respect for the Earth and the nourishment she provides which sustains us, and without which we become destitute.
It is not too late, and perhaps this beautiful prayer from Starhawk can help us to embody and share the love of the Earth and the many blessings that she provides. ❤️
We give thanks for all those who are moved, in their lives, to heal and protect the earth, in small ways and in large. Blessings on the composters, the gardeners, the breeders of worms and mushrooms, the soil-builders, those who cleanse the waters and purify the air, all those who clean up the messes others have made. Blessings on those who defend trees and who plant trees, who guard the forests and who renew the forests. Blessings on those who learn to heal the grasslands and renew the streams, on those who prevent erosion, who restore the salmon and the fisheries, who guard the healing herbs and who know the lore of the wild plants. Blessings on those who heal the cities and bring them alive again with excitement and creativity and love. Gratitude and blessings to all who stand against greed, who risk themselves, to those who have bled and been wounded, and to those who have given their lives in service of the earth.
May all the healers of the earth find their own healing. May they be fueled by passionate love for the earth. May they know their fear but not be stopped by fear. May they feel their anger and yet not be ruled by rage. May they honor their grief but not be paralyzed by sorrow. May they transform fear, rage, and grief into compassion and the inspiration to act in service of what they love. May they find the help, the resources, the courage, the luck, the strength, the love, the health, the joy that they need to do the work. May they be in the right place, at the right time, in the right way. May they bring alive a great awakening, open a listening ear to hear the earth’s voice, transform imbalance to balance, hate and greed to love. Blessed be the healers of the earth.
—Starhawk, The Earth Path
Special prayers are offered today for the people of Pakistan and all of the other refugees of climate disasters.
Thank you for this. It is a revelation that Ceres has been designated a planet. And the synchronicity of the Starhawk’s prayer and your email is powerful. Given the beating planet earth has taken over these last few centuries. IT MUST STOP.
Before I saw your piece I had been researching the properties of Narcissus and Daffodils – the flowers that Kouri/ Persephone was picking when Hades/Pluto abducted her to take her to his world. These flowers were used in the brew Kyleon – for the initiates in the Elysinian Mysteries – in which most Athenians participated. And the properties have everything to do with the mass awakening of consciousness in all the participants. Something I never fully understood. Planet earth is sacred and a healer! The image above is wonderful.
Thank you, Lynn. This was just what I needed.