Ix Chel in my Window

Ix Chel, Mayan Goddess by Katherine Skaggs

Goddess of the Moon!  Ix Chel,
translucent and ever-changing weaver woman,
creator, destroyer, healer,
Lady Rainbow,
sleek jaguar of stealth and grace,
how you awaken me each morning!
Long before the sun’s rise, now in early Spring,
you are there, Ix Chel, in my window,
sparkling bright mystery upon my sleepy eyelids.
I pull the blankets up to my eyes, and give gratitude,
oh most lovely Woman of the Isle of Women!
Before the day begins, you awaken me tenderly,
fresh from dreams, half asleep.
“Remember me!  I pass here each night,
I touch your forehead with my luminous beauty,
I bless you, I reach for you,
I am Ix Chel, your sister,
gracing you once more
with my lightest spark of transformation
and truth.  I only ask
that you receive me gladly.”

Annelinde Metzner
March 21, 2014

Read about Ix Chel's role in healing among the Maya at the wonderful website of Dr. Rosita Arvigo.  Mayan women in ancient times were required to make a pilgrimage in honor of Ix Chel (pronounced Ee-shell) to Cozumel, her sacred island, twice in a lifetime, at first menarche and at menopause.  Healing arts and midwifery were taught there.  The Spanish referred to the island as "that infamous place of idolatry."

Ix Chel by Susan Seddon Boulet

Ix Chel from the Dresden Codex

Ix Chel at Isla Mujeres

Mayan women praising Ix Chel (photo by Michael and Jennifer Lewis)

Humus

Forsythia in March

It’s March, unpredictable March.
Still bundled in our woolens,
the temperature plummets to freezing.
But today, here beside the bold creek,
the earth is burgeoning, bursting,
redolent with the rich smell of humus.
Dear Mother, our Gaia,
what will You give us this time, this year?
The earth seems to be expanding,
a yeast bread under my feet,
pregnant with possibility,
full of the unknown.
Anything can come of this!
Inhale deeply, and wait,
for She has much hidden in Her store.

Annelinde Metzner
March 15, 2013

Quince in March

Rhododendron, Nature's thermometers, beginning to open

Singing at St. John's

Southside Cemetery   Photo by Patty Levesque

The Elder Choir sang the old songs, the treasured phrases,
the melodies sung and sung again, familiar as old shoes,
the elders in small rows filling in the harmony with ease,
opening hearts and letting song arise.
“How did you feel when you come out the wilderness?”
Each offers the song most beloved,
and Deacon Love at last is begged
to come forward with his favorite, “Travelin’ Shoes.”
He rises, ninety-two years old, with a little help from his wife,
sets his muscles ready,
and grins at the audience: “It’s OK to dance in church.”
His travelin’ shoes take off, up and down the aisle,
as amazed at himself as we are of him,
with his arms spread wide, ready to fly,
one more day on this Earth, singing, praising,
one more day of dancing.
And all at once, the elders from beyond,
from the hills and woods of mottled headstones nearby,
from out of the briars of the Asheville Colored Cemetery,
from the glorious heavens, they come with their starry crowns.
“No more weepin’ and a-wailin’.”
They sing with us too, the ancient ones,
those buried as slaves, in pain and hard labor,
they sing with us in glory.
“Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world,
troubles of the world, troubles of the world...”

all of us going home to be with God.

Annelinde Metzner
March 6, 2014




Recently a wonderful singing was organized by Cathy Riley and Olivia Metz at St. John "A" Baptist Church in Asheville, adjacent to the historic Southside Cemetery.  The moving old spirituals of the Elder Choir graced us with their power and beauty.   Here is a sound sample from the day:

Gravestones    photo by Patty Levesque

St. John "A" Baptist Church   photo by Marilyn Ferikes

Photo by Marilyn Ferikes