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Mother's Day
honoring the vibration of motherly love

Way back, in 1907, Anna Jarvis proposed setting aside a day for children to pay tribute to their mothers who had crossed over to the other side of the veil. Every year for 7 years, Anna tried her best to influence others, especially the government, to make a national holiday to honor mothers. Finally, in 1914, Woodrow Wilson, (remember him?), declared the second Sunday in May "Mother's Day".  Mr. Wilson urged all Americans to set this day aside for expressing their love and devotion for the mothers of our country.  Of course this quickly turned into a commercial holiday, as all such days do. A holiday that was intended to inspire simple gestures of love honoring mothers is now a day set aside for feeling guilty if you don't buy your mother a gift or take her out to dinner. We will be bombarded with commercials pretty soon telling us what to buy for "Mother". (By the way, Mother's Day is on May 9^th this year.)

WAY before Anna Jarvis started campaigning for Mother's Day the English celebrated and remembered their mothers on "Mothering Sunday". Mothering Sunday fell on the 4^th Sunday in Lent. Even Lenten fasts could be broken for this day! This tradition started when servants were given the 4^th Sunday of Lent off to visit their mothers. It was traditional at that time for them to take their mother a spice cake. Later on, children, not just servants, took their mother what was called a "Simnel Cake" on Mothering Sunday. I'll give you that recipe below. It is delectable and suitable for sharing with Mother Earth and the winged ones!

Much of the Mother's Day tradition has completely died out. Commercialism has reduced this beautiful day to cards, flowers, and dinner out. Somehow a greeting card and dinner out does not feel like a gift offering or a symbol for the vibrational energy of motherly love. Now flowers -- THOSE we can work with. Flowers are offerings to us from our Mother Earth.

You know me. I am a traditionalist. Because my mother is no longer living and I don't have a mother-in-law to dote over, I will bake and share my Simnel Cake with Mother Earth by sprinkling crumbs from the cake onto the ground outside. I have also created an altar to symbolize and enhance feminine energy and will share that with you below. Mother's Day is about honoring the feminine energy so prevalent this time of year. Even our ancient ancestors honored the feminine energy we call "springtime" by having festivals honoring a particular goddess. My Greek ancestors, for instance, honored the goddess Rhea.

It was Rhea who gave birth to the Olympian gods. In art, Rhea is depicted as a large, stately woman surrounded by animals who adored her as well as small, subservient male figures. In general, Rhea was thought of as the goddess of the living earth and the "original" mother as far as the Olympians were concerned.

Meanwhile back in the present moment, I believe that more than anything, your mother will appreciate something personal and meaningful from you. This is a day to honor your mother who is actually a symbol for the feminine vibrational quality of the Earth Mother in human form. You can do this even if your mother is no longer on this side of the veil. Mother's Day is the perfect time to honor the feminine vibration. Remember to include the Earth Mother in your ceremonies and rituals.

Simnel Cake

1-1/2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup currants
1/4 cup candied fruit peel ground fine in a food processor (if, like me, you or your mother dislikes candied fruit, you can use grated orange peel instead of the candied fruit)
8oz almond paste

Garnish

Confectioners' sugar
Edible flowers 

(You can find edible flowers at your Farmer's Market and in grocery stores. Be careful if you pick your own flowers, not all flowers are edible. Plus, some flowers may have been treated with pest killing chemicals and are not fit for consumption.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift flour with salt and separate into 3 parts, blending each portion into the egg/butter/sugar mixture thoroughly. Fold in currants and candied fruit and mix lightly. Pour 1/2 the batter into a greased 8-10 inch round cake pan (square will do, round is better for symbolic reasons).

Roll out 1/2 the almond paste into a circle between 2 pieces of waxed paper. Remove the top sheet of paper and place the exposed side of the almond paste directly onto the cake batter, peel off the other piece of paper.

Add remaining batter to the pan. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Roll out remaining almond paste into another circle. Place on top of the baked cake and return to the oven for 10 minutes. (Remember to take the waxed paper off like you did before!)

Let the cake cool for at least 1/2 hour. You can remove the cake from the pan or just leave it in. Sprinkle the top with the confectioners' sugar and decorate with the fresh flowers around the edges of the cake. If you transfer the cake onto a cake plate, place some of the flowers around the cake on the plate.

This cake is not only special because you make it "from scratch". It is beautiful to look at. You won't find a cake like this in any of the stores and, you might even be only one of a handful of people who actually do this for their mother. How special is that?

MOTHER'S DAY ALTAR    

For this altar you will need:

Fresh flowers in water

Rose Quartz

Pink candles

Mother of Pearl

One Feather

Symbols of the divine feminine such as a statue or figurine of one of the goddesses that symbolizes motherly love for you (such as Kuan Yin, goddess of compassion)

As with all altars, it is important to have the four elements of fire, water, earth, and air represented for balance and to strength your connection to the earth. It also honors our spiritual life force, the four quadrants of our human aspects; mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. On this particular altar, fire is represented by fire from the candles, water is represented by the water in the vase of flowers, earth is represented by the rose quartz and the flowers, and air is represented by a feather. The feather on my altar is also representative of my Native American ancestors. My great grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee. You may want to include a symbol that is meaningful to you that represents your ancestors on your altar as well.

Mother of Pearl is an excellent symbol for signifying the power of the moon and sea. Actually, pearls have been used on altars for thousands of years. They represent infinite compassion, protection, and spiritual attunement. Mother of Pearl is also associated with the feminine energy of the sea.

Arranging your altar objects in groups of three is symbolic in itself. The number three symbolizes body, mind, and spirit and represents expression and sensitivity. Colors are equally important. I used a lot of pink on this altar to bring in the vibration of love and compassion. Pink is a soft color and even feels soft if you are able to feel vibrational energies.

You can dedicate your altar with a small ceremony. Your dedication ceremony invokes energy into your altar so that it radiates out into your living space.

First cleanse your altar by burning some sage on it or by waving a smoldering smudge stick over and around your altar. (Make sure you have an abalone shell or something to catch the burning embers as you do this.) Once your altar has been cleansed, sit and focus on what your altar represents to you. Visualize loving outcomes to any stressful situations you may be enduring at this time. Listen and be open to any messages you receive. Finally, give thanks, in a way that is appropriate for you, for your mother and/or for Mother Earth.

May the God Force that dwells in all things bring blessings to you and to your mother. May love, abundance, and peace fill your home all ways.

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