Dionysus

“Dionysus” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth.

Starlight Capricorn: December 21 ~ January 20

“Starlight Capricorn” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Capricorns are resourceful, dependent and stable individuals with calm, hardworking natures. Unfortunately, they are often accused of being far too serious or humorless. In truth, however, they are merely methodical traditionalists with an unyielding view of the world and of their place in it.

Yemaya

“Yemaya", "Yemaya Divina", and "Yemaya Olokun" are now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Yemaya is an Orisha, originally of the Yoruba religion, who has become prominent in many Afro-American and Latin religions. Africans brought Yemaya and a host of other deities, and energy forces in nature with them when they were brought to the shores of the Americas as captives. Yemaya is the mother of all living things, as well as the owner of all waters. She is the vast ocean, the essence of motherhood, a protector of children, and a goddess of magic and witches. In Cuban Santeria, she has been syncretized with Our Lady of Regla.

Yemaya Divina was created as a homage to the pure, clear and clean waters of the world. She represents the healing, loving, and nurturing side of the great ocean goddess.

Yemaya Olokun can be found in the deepest parts of the ocean. With her vast wisdom, and at times rather violent nature, this aspect of Yemaya can often be very overpowering.

The Virgin Mary

“The Virgin Mary” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Mary, usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary and occasionally Madonna, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus Christ. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam, which means Our Lady Mary. The New Testament describes her as a virgin, and Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already the betrothed wife of Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of Jewish marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. Roman Catholics believe that Mary was conceived and born without the stain of Original Sin, thereby making her sinless, eternally perfect, divine and immaculate from all forms of evil.

La Virgen de Guadalupe

“La Virgen de Guadalupe” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

According to official Catholic accounts of the Guadalupan apparitions, during a walk from his home village to Mexico City early on the morning of December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw a vision of a young girl of fifteen to sixteen, surrounded by light. This event occurred on the slopes of the Hill of Tepeyac. Speaking in the local language of Nahuatl, the Lady asked for a church to be built at that site in her honor. From her words, Juan Diego recognized her as the Virgin Mary. When he told his story to the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the bishop asked him to return and ask the lady for a miraculous sign to prove her claim. The Virgin then asked Juan Diego to gather some flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill, even though it was winter when no flowers bloomed. There, he found Castilian roses,which were of the Bishop's native home, but not indigenous to Tepeyac. He gathered them, and the Virgin herself re-arranged them in his tilma, or peasant's cloak. When Juan Diego presented the roses to Zumárraga, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously appeared imprinted on the cloth of Diego's tilma.

La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre

“La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, also known as Our Lady of Charity, is the patroness of Cuba. Her story began around 1608, when two brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos, along with their slave, Juan Moreno, set out to the Bay of Nipe for salt. Salt was needed for the preservation of the meat at the Barajagua slaughter house, which supplied the inhabitants and workers of Santiago del Prado, now known as El Cobre. While out in the bay, a terrible storm arose, rocking their tiny boat violently with its waves. The three men prayed desperately to the Virgin Mary for her protection and deliverance. The skies suddenly cleared as if in response, and the great storm was gone. In the distance, the men saw a strange object floating in the water. They rowed towards it as the now gentle waves began to bring it closer. At first they mistook it for a bird, but it was, in actuality, a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus and a golden cross in her hand. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying, "Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad" or "I am the Virgin of Charity." The statue was dressed in real cloth, had real hair and the skin tone of a multi-ethnic woman. Much to their surprise, the statue had remained completely dry while afloat in the water.

Venus & Eros

“Venus & Eros” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Venus was a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths. Venus was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each.

Eros was the son of Aphrodite and Ares, the Greek god of war. To the Ancient Greeks, Eros was the primordial god of sexual love and beauty, and was worshiped as a fertility deity. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire"), who was also known as Amor ("love").

St. Uriel

“St. Uriel” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Archangel Uriel is known as the angel of wisdom. He shines the light of God’s truth into the darkness of confusion. People often ask for Uriel’s help in learning new information, resolving conflicts, and letting go of destructive emotions such as anxiety or anger.

St. Raphael

“St. Raphael” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Archangel Raphael is both a sage and a seer who grants healing (physically and emotionally) through the giving and receiving of love. He is said to encourage people to communicate and share their inner wisdom and promote healing with thoughts, words and creative action.

St. Michael

“St. Michael” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

"...there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back." ~ The Book of Revelation (12:7-9)

St. Michael is an archangel whose gentle influence is present throughout several religions and spiritual practices. He is often seen as both a great military force and a healer. For many, he has become a symbol not just of strength and protection, but of humility as well.

St. Gabriel

“St. Gabriel” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

St. Gabriel is the archangel who is sometimes regarded as the angel of death, the prince of fire and thunder as well as, more frequently, one of God's chief messengers. He is also called the chief of the four favored angels, and the spirit of truth.

Sekhmet

“Sekhmet” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was originally the warrior goddess of Upper Egypt, and the protector of the pharaohs. It was said that her breath created the desert. She is depicted as a mighty lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. When Lower Egypt was conquered by Upper Egypt, Sekhmet was seen as the more powerful of the two warrior goddesses, the other, Bast, have been the protector of Lower Egypt. It was Sekhmet who would eventually be seen as the Avenger of Wrongs, and the Scarlet Lady.

A Pair of Wicked Ladies

“A Wicked Lady” is now available over at my #CafePress Shop: (http://www.cafepress.com/azodnem/9865183) 

The Wicked Witch of the West poses the biggest threat to Dorothy Gale, because she covets the magical pair of slippers which previously belonged to her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, and are now being worn by the hapless orphan from Kansas.

The Wicked Witch of the West is the one witch in all of Oz whom the Wizard of Oz fears after the Wicked Witch of the East is destroyed. Years earlier (prior to the start of Baum’s novel), the Wicked Witch of the West seized control of Winkie Country in the western part of Oz with the help of her Winged Monkeys. The Wizard has never dared to venture there since, considering himself quite vulnerable to her power.

Oz Fact: Baum’s Oz books, never once mentioned the Wicked Witch of the West’s skin color being green.

“A Wicked Sister” is now available over at my #CafePress Shop: (http://www.cafepress.com/azodnem/9907689) 

Oz Fact: The Wicked Witch of the East was a cruel sorceress who conquered and tyrannized Munchkin Country, making its poor citizens slave for her night and day. On the upside, she did have great taste in shoes.

Quan Yin

“Quan Yin” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

Quan Yin is one of the most universally beloved of deities in the Buddhist tradition. She is the embodiment of compassionate loving kindness. As the Bodhisattva of Compassion, she hears the cries of all beings. As a true Enlightened One, Quan Yin has vowed to remain in the earthly realms, and not enter the heavenly worlds until all other living things have completed their own journey of enlightenment, and thus become liberated from the pain-filled cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Pan

“Pan” is now available over at my #Society6 Shop: (https://society6.com/thecubanwitch) #sharemysociety6

In Greek religion and mythology, Pan is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr and is often associated with sexuality.