Celebrating the Great Mother

A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children

By (Author) Cait Johnson
By (Author) Maura D. Shaw
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  • Pages: 248
  • Book Size: 8 x 8
  • ISBN-13: 9780892815500
  • Imprint: Destiny Books
  • On Sale Date: June 1, 1995
  • Format: Paperback Book
  • Illustrations: 35 b&w illustrations
Celebrating the Great Mother is a handbook to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and counselors create meaningful spiritual experiences to inspire children of all ages. The ideas and activities collected here show how to bring children into rituals that celebrate seasonal cycles and reclaim the spiritual roots of today's modern holidays.

Healing through Sound

Adults have a wide array of books to help explore earth-based spirituality. But what if they want to include their children? Here is a handbook to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and counselors create meaningful spiritual experiences that will inspire children of all ages. The ideas, suggestions, and activities collected here show how to bring children into rituals that celebrate seasonal cycles and help reclaim the spiritual roots of today's modern holidays. With surprisingly little effort, earth-centered activities and rituals can be incorporated into simple daily routines.

Part 1, “Handbook for Earth-Connected Parenting,” gives techniques for developing a child's inner wisdom and sense of the sacred: dream journals, visualization, Tarot play, talismans, and interactions with the natural world

Part 2 is a guide to the specific seasonal festivals, and offers a comprehensive collection of practical and enjoyable ways to celebrate the sacred days of our ancestors. Make a bean rune divination system, gather smudge sticks, grow grass pots, assemble a “dream pillow,” create altars the authors offer easy-to-follow suggestions.

Includes suggested reading and resource sections for locating additional information and materials for creative projects.

Celebrating the Great Mother
A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children

Foreword
Preface
Part I Earth Connected Parenting
1. Ancient Festivals: A Sense of Coming Home
2. Exploring the Seasons: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air
3. Discovering the Goddess
4. Nature's Sacred World
5. Dreams: messages from Underground
6. Your Child's Inner Wisdom
7. Self-empowerment in a Pouch: Making and Using Talismans
8. The Magical Inner Journey
9. The Healing Child
10. The Family Altar
11. Using this Book
12. Final Word: The Wild Child
Part II The Festivals
Autumn
Mabon: Autumn Equinox, September 20-23
Mabon Activities
Samhain: Day of the Dead, October 31
Samhain Activities
Winter
Yule: Winter Solstice, December 20-23
Yule Activities
Imbolc: Stirring of the Seeds, February 2
Spring
Ostara: Spring Equinox, March 20-23
Ostara Activities
Beltane: Flowering, May 1
Beltane Activities
Summer
Litha: Summer Solstice, June 20-23
Lughnasad: First Harvest, August 1
Lughnasad Activities
Correspondences
Gathering Lists
Suggested Reading
Resources
Index

Cait Johnson is an artist and writer who teaches workshops on the Tarot, dream work, and ritual-making. She is the author of Tarot for Every Day: Ideas and Activities for Bringing Tarot Wisdom into Your Daily Life. She lives in the Hudson Valley of New York. Maura D. Shaw, a writer and editor, teaches workshops on creative writing and the Tarot. She is the author of Owl's Journey: Four Centuries of an American County, and co-author (with Sydna A. Byrne) of Foods from Mother Earth: A Basic Cookbook for Young Vegetarians (and Anybody Else). She lives in Wappingers Falls, New York. Cait Johnson and Maura Shaw are also the co-authors of Tarot Games: 45 Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together, published by Harper San Francisco.
"Deeply satisfying to read--the real joy is making the celebration/renewal of life real in our own lives and with the children who will bring us a new world."
Brooke Medicine Eagle

"The ideas, suggestions, and activities collected here bring children into rituals that celebrate seasonal cycles and help reclaim the spiritual roots of today's modern holidays."
Feminist Bookstore News

"For those who have devoted themselves to reawakening Earth Goddess worship, this book will be like coming home, bringing together a multitude of ideas on living with honor, insight and great love. For those who've shied away from earth centered ritual and worship, this book is a map which provides a route of safety through unknown territory.Celebrating the Great Mother is a well-written book with hauntingly beautiful artwork and lovely illustrations throughout, which takes one on a journey of honoring the earth, our families, and our relations with all beings. A journey well worth taking."
Karin Kaplowitz, Talking Leaves

"This is a handbook for those of us--regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs--who want to share our love of the earth with our children, who know how important this is for the future of our planet, and who use some ideas on how to do it."
The Wellspring Guide

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