Gooseberries and Goddesses

Today I am giving great thanks to Pomona, the Roman Goddess of abundance, associated with fruits, orchards and gardens. She is a wood nymph, and also a guardian of homes and special places.

Her work was her life— and she courted, but preferred to remain single so that she could dedicate herself to her work with the trees. She was eventually tricked into marriage by Vertumnus who was disguised as an old woman.

Pomona’s dedication to working with trees and plants left her little time for herself. Because of this, she is the archetypal mother, as all archetypal mothers place their nurture above all other things. Because of her association with abundance, Pomona is also a fertility Goddess. Her symbol is the pruning knife and the apple.

These homegrown gooseberries are my way of taking time for myself (as Pomona struggled to!) away from my life’s work as a volunteering mother. Whilst picking, topping and tailing them I took time for myself to engage in my ongoing Ho’oponopono practice and to contemplate on the Goddess, and the growth and nurture of the Goddess Temple myself and my friends are working to build. This extends to the growth of ou gardens, our children and whatever else we choose! The gooseberries are now being crystal charged, and will be given reiki energy before being made into jam, which will be shares on Sunday at the Goddess Temple.

As a side note, I have also popped some bread in the oven. Baking and cooking are wonderful times to tune in and ritualise honouring of the

Goddess, thanking the Earth for helping things grow and showing us how to use them for nutrition, medicine and enjoyment.

I urge you to take time for yourselves this week and dedicate yourself to something with the persistence of Pomona, seeing the fruits of abundance it can create and then harvesting them over the next season! ❤️❤️