Celebrating the Autumn Equinox 2024

As we celebrate the Harvest season, we invite you to sink into gratitude for

the abundance in our lives. We are harvesting the seeds that we planted at

the Spring Equinox and nourished through the spring and summer. Now is

the time to reap what we have sown, both literally and metaphorically.

Selu

Selu is the Cherokee (Tsalagi language) name for the Corn Mother who is

worshiped by nearly all First Nation tribes. She is called by many names but

almost all translate to "Corn Mother," "Corn Maiden," or "Corn Woman."

Selu is the Goddess of the Harvest, but also wisdom, magic, hunting and

several other domains. She was often the most honored "Mother" Goddess

among many tribes.

The Aztec tribe called her Chicomecoatl and She was their Goddess of Corn

and of all Fertility. It’s said that the corn blessing rite was led by many

Priestesses each carrying seven ears of corn wrapped in fancy cloth on

their backs, wearing special make-up and dresses decorated with feathers.

At the setting of the sun the Priestesses threw colored corn into the crowds,

symbolizing the Corn Goddess blessing the tribe with fertility for the coming

harvest season.

"Corn Mother" mask by Artist Lauren Raine

Artist Lauren Raine delves deep into worldwide mythology and illustrates it in her series “Masks of the Goddess”. She says: “By exploring myth in contemporary ways we activate ancient taproots that can sustain us into the future. Art process can mean many things, and for me art making is most often also a spiritual practice."