Happy International Women’s Day

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image from Montessori site here. I really like the image.

Today, perhaps take a moment to thank the living women who inspire you, and honor those who are now ancestors. I honor Ask, Embla, and the first named Holy Power in our cosmology: Auðumla. I honor first my Disir, and the mighty tribal Mothers of my lines — Lithuanian, Swiss, German, Scots-Irish, Huguenot French. I honor my mothers: my adopted mom, Fuensanta Arismendi Plaza (sancta), and my biological mother, Mary Ann Hanna Dabravalskas. I honor my grandmothers: Linnie Shoff Hanna and Ursula Blazis Dabravalskas. I honor my great grandmother’s: Edna Baldwin Armiger, Lucinda Heffner Schoff, Anna Aviza and Eva Dabravalskas. I honor my great-great grandmothers: the Lithuanian great great grandmothers whose names I do not yet know and Catherine Runkle Heffner and Mary Jane Adams, Jane Newhouse Baldwin and Elizabeth Johnson, and I honor my great great great grandmothers: my Lithuanian ones whose names I do not yet know and Elizabeth Oberlander Runkle, Harriet Frazer, Jemima Yokum and all the preceding generations in my line, all the mothers and all the women who endured. 

I honor those dancers who inspired me and guided me in my first career, who have a place on my ancestor shrine now: Marie Salle, Marie Camargo, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Essler, Fanny Cerrito, Anna Pavlova, Olga Spessivtseva, Maria Tallchief, and more. I don’t mean to omit anyone, but I so rarely parse them out by gender! I give thanks to those writers who have given me comfort, especially Jane Austen, whose work I turned to when I learned my mother was dead. I know I’ve forgotten names that I would like to have here. I’m sure I have forgotten names amongst the living below but you are not forgotten in my heart.

I honor those living women who are fighting in the Ukraine and those who are not on the battlefield but who are fighting to sustain their families. Slava Ukraini. Always.

I honor those living women who inspire me, my teachers and  in academia, especially Christine H. and Sarit KG, and Sue P. I honor my closest friends,  Mary Ann, who always inspires me in my art and encourages me in my work (and who, though not a spirit worker herself is damned fine ground crew), Wyrd Dottir, whom I’ve known since she was in college and who always challenges and supports me in my work, and Tove, assistant, devout Freyja’s woman, and my sister-in-law. 

I honor so many of you, my readers, who have inspired me.  And…there are too many female friends and readers to count. Know that I hold you in my mind and heart on this day. ^_^

Finally, I honor my students, past and present: I pray daily that you have what you need to be courageous, that your thought-worlds ever be large, and that you find your joy and follow it. You inspire me, and teach me every bit as much as I teach you, and I thank you (this is true of my students regardless of their gender, but today is women’s day).

May you all be surrounded by love and gratitude today, by friendship, happiness, goodness and blessings. 

I also remember those Goddesses Who have shaped and formed me: Sekhmet, Sigyn, Frigga, Freya, Oshun, Sif, Idunna, Ostara, Skadhi, Pudicitia, Pomona, Pietas, Eir and so many more, with deepest devotion and gratitude. Tonight will be a night of offerings and thanks. 

This card is available here. This shop is just lovely and sells many prayer cards and other types of devotional art. I highly recommend it.