The Empress is the symbol of the Great Mother, and the Great Mother is the Earth. It’s her body. The rivers, lakes and oceans are her blood, the mountains are her bones, the rolling hills are her breasts, belly, and buttocks, and the wind is her breath. Every pagan knows this. But knowing something intellectually is not the same as knowing it with all your senses. I learned this lesson several years ago in Enna, Sicily as I stood on The Rocca di Cerere (Rock of Ceres) and looked out over a checkerboard of miles and miles of newly planted wheat fields. It was the Mediterranean growing season. Persephone had returned from the underworld and Demeter’s love and joy were pouring out of the earth. Magic swirled up out of that rock and tap-danced through my body. I felt like a flash drive that was plugged into the Mother Computer, downloading file after file of nourishing knowledge that would take years to assimilate. The town… Read More »