A few weeks ago I wrote about AI, and how we should try things before we run them down. This time I want to talk about something much older.
I have always walked a pagan path, ever since I was a young girl. I didn't understand it then — I just knew I felt different in nature, that the woods and the fields spoke to me
when people didn't. It was only when I was 30 that I began to understand and to work properly with the Gods and Goddesses who were already around me.
These are the main ones I walk with. 💚
*Cernunnos — The Horned One*
He was one of the first to step forward clearly. Lord of the wild places, of the woods and animals and our old Devon lanes. When I am in the garden with my hands in the soil, or watching the tractors in the fields, he reminds me to keep my feet on the earth. Gentle, but not soft. Wild, but protective.
*Macha — My Fierce Queen*
One of the Morrigan — Goddess of strength, horses, sovereignty and standing your ground. As a woman who has lived alone, who has had to be strong when my body hurts and life is hard, she is the one who says "stand tall, girl." Not always comfortable, but always honest.
*The All-Father — Odin*
More recently I have been drawn to the All-Father. The wanderer, the seeker of wisdom who gave an eye for knowledge. As someone who is always curious — about AI, about life, about everything — I feel kinship with him. He is who I talk to when I can't sleep at 1am and my mind is full of questions.
*Freya*
Freya came like a breath of fresh air. Love, beauty, cats, magic, and a warrior too. She reminds me you can love pretty things — like a dune-coloured X-Trail and a thatched cottage — and still be fierce and independent. She is joy.
*Hecate — Keeper of Keys*
I have worked with Hecate many times at the crossroads of my life. When I have had to make big decisions, when I have been in-between. She holds the torch when it is dark and says "I will not walk it for you, but I will light the way."
I don't worship them as statues on a shelf. I walk with them, like good neighbours down the lane. Sometimes we chat a lot, sometimes not. But they have always been there — since that little girl who didn't understand, to the woman I am now.
If you have never tried it, don't knock it. Just like AI. Go outside, put your hands in the soil, and listen. 💚
