I wanted to post last night but there was so much else to do after saying farewell to guests who had been with us for several days. All those tasks I’d delayed needed attention after their departure as they did again this morning; I’ve dealt with many of them – at least there is some order amongst the chaos and a new week looms.

New week, new moon – as of last night. Chinese New Year – the year of the water snake. I had an idea it was new moon last evening and I looked out in my garden up to the skies and later on out my bedroom  balcony to see if I could spot it. But no, the clouds were obscuring the sky.

I would have liked to have greeted it.

Lawrence, my next door neighbour, phoned me early this morning to thank me for the flowers I’d delivered to their family a day or so ago for their Chinese New Year. He truly believes that this is the year of meaningful change and it was good to catch his up-beat mood.

Later on this afternoon I was able to get onto my Facebook page and it was good and inspiring to see all the Chinese New Year greetings wishing all prosperity and health; as well as to see the greetings and pictures in Chinese, the script smooth and sensuous, fluid and flowing. It is also the Tibetan New year and for Tibetans, also the year of the water snake. Both ‘philosophies’ or ‘religions’ offer all good things to all people so it was uplifting to read all about this from various people who posted on my FB and to see the snake in pictorial and lovely form.

To my amazement there was mention of Lilith’s rising. The initial one I saw was forwarded to me by my FB friend Porsha. There were very angry comments about Lilith.  Porsha knows that I have written about Lilith; she was showing her support to me in that she mentioned my book in her support for Lilith and in her response to the previous angry  comments –

The other FB mention on Lilith arrived on my page a short while later –

I have taken the liberty of excerpting the FB article below and can only say that Stephanie who posted it will be happy about this. I plan to let her know –

“Goddess of the Day – Eve/Lilith – New Moon in Aquarius – Sunday, February 10, 2013 – The Year of the Snake begins –Happy New Year again and welcome to the Year of the Snake. I can’t help but think this will be a good year for goddess energy to rise in each of us.

Eve is a misunderstood goddess who has her roots back in the ancient goddesses of life-death-rebirth like Ishtar, Inanna, Isis and even Kali. She and Lilith may have been one and the same before the Christian patriarchy got a hold of the story and split the sexual Lilith part from “innocent” Eve, who they said was made from the rib of Adam and after being tempted by the snake caused the fall of man by eating the apple. 

The snake, symbol of the goddess, coiled around the Tree of Life, tempted her all right. Its message was: “Hey, do you want to dither here in the Garden of Eden all of your days or do you want to take a bite out of life and find meaning? I can’t promise you a rose garden, but I can promise it will get a lot more interesting. Like me, you will experience transformation. What do you say, Sister: the same old thing day after day or an interesting life?”

I’m with Eve. I’m going to take a bite every time”.

(Thank you for this post on my FB Stephanie)
Well, I was amazed. This is significant. Which is why I feel compelled to write this blog.
Truly, I am not making a synchronistic connection but maybe it means something – or not – that Pope Benedict XV1 today offered his resignation due to his ‘old age’; he is, after all, 85 years old. He is the first pontiff to resign in 600 years. His statement on his resignation was heartfelt and I admire him for it, spoken with kindness and scrupulous honesty. It is his time to rest – and for a new Pope to be elected.
So, these are interesting times – and I for one wish Pope Benedict XV1 very well in his retirement and for the new Pope (of whom there are several contenders) to oversee or rule the Vatican with kindness and compassion.
May he hear the voice of women; hearken and be heartened – May he facilitate non-threatening creative feminine energy to arise in its inimitable and wondrous way ..
Happy New Moon and Happy New Year to all!
I have this picture hanging in my study … a print that I picked up from the British Museum some years ago. I have just looked at it anew.
Photo: Goddess of the Day - Eve/Lilith - New Moon in Aquarius - Sunday, February 10, 2013 - The Year of the Snake begins</p> <p>Happy New Year again and welcome to the Year of the Snake. I can't help but think this will be a good year for goddess energy to rise in each of us.</p> <p>Eve is a misunderstood goddess who has her roots back in the ancient goddesses of life-death-rebirth like Ishtar, Inanna, Isis and even Kali. She and Lilith may have been one and the same before the Christian patriarchy got a hold of the story and split the sexual Lilith part from "innocent" Eve, who they said was made from the rib of Adam and after being tempted by the snake caused the fall of man by eating the apple. </p> <p>The snake, symbol of the goddess, coiled around the Tree of Life, tempted her all right. Its message was: "Hey, do you want to dither here in the Garden of Eden all of your days or do you want to take a bite out of life and find meaning? I can't promise you a rose garden, but I can promise it will get a lot more interesting. Like me, you will experience transformation. What do you say, Sister: the same old thing day after day or an interesting life?"</p> <p>I'm with Eve. I'm going to take a bite every time.</p> <p>Lilith by John Collier

40 Comments on – synchronicity – 3 – new moon rising – Lilith & Eve –

  1. I love the picture you have too. I was only commenting that there has been so little news about the new Pope, and I am happy to call sychronicity that Pope Benedict resigned when he did.
    It also appears your wish for a kind and compassionate pope has also come true. I read that Pope Francis was “invoking the folk wisdom of his grandmother,” during his first sermon. A pleasure to meet you and read your interesting post. I look forward to more while I participate in April’s A-Z challenge.

    • How lovely for you to make the time to comment thank you Ida! Yes, it’s been great to see the Pope and seeing on TV his recent meeting with ex Pope Benedict the other day. Thank you for the lovely snippet that he will be “invoking the folk wisdom of his grandmother” – that is so special!
      I look forward to further meets on the A-Z! Hope it’s going well for you! I am on ‘C’ – trying to get a few in.
      A Blessed Easter and Pesach to you.

  2. Thx for this Susan! The entire book, not just the Lilith parts but all of it are such a great point of view. I plan on gifting it to several friends this Yule season, so mayhap they can work more towards thinking on the empowerment of women, and the empowerment of any and everyone’s ideals and thoughts. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your book, and as a water snake (this is my year, born in 1977!) I hope to bring to fruition good change thru fearless efforts with my writing. Brightest Blessings, hon!

    • Hi Porsha,
      how absolutely great to have you stop by thank you! For your comments thank you … for your sweet encouragement thank you and you keep on trucking o water snake one and you WILL bring good change through your writing.
      All blessings to you …

  4. The picture you show above is interestingly very similar to a dream image I experienced early this morning–a dream that woke me far earlier than I cared to awaken and I never could go back to sleep. In my dream the serpent’s victim was a male soldier. I knew the snake to be lethally venomous and it was large like the one pictured. As the snake bit the soldier on the neck I expected the soldier to die, but he did not. Instead he killed the snake. It was a somewhat scary, yet hopeful dream. This just struck me when I saw the image you included.

    Lee

    • Thank you for stopping by Arlee! Perhaps a bit of synchronicity in operation there. The snake which can kill or cure. All of what you say is interesting – the victim, a male soldier (a warrior?), bitten in the neck. Usually the person in the dream who is the same sex as the dreamer, indicates the dreamer’s shadow which, by getting to know the unknown within, leads us to greater wholeness.
      Thank you again for stopping by.
      Susan.

  5. I forgot to mention…I too am participating in the April A to Z challenge. So we’ll see/read each other in the blog hop, yes?

  6. Hi Susan, I have to comment here to say that every time I visit your words I leave feeling as though I have learned something new. Your passion for Lilith is so refreshing and your curve balls right on! Have a wonderful weekend and get your blog name on your avatar!
    I think you are more Eve than Lilith but find the ‘bad’ side too hard to resist at times (or is that me? 😉

    • Hello Lesley and thank you so much for your comment! It is so great to get feedback as you know. A very dear friend of mine emailed the other day and said she never comments as the blogs are way too academic for her and go straight over her head. Huh? She is a writer herself.

      You too have a wonderful weekend, painting, writing, musing.

      Wish I knew what you mean – get your blog name on you avatar?

      Thank you again!!

  8. Thank you so much Patricia! As always, a thoughtful and encouraging response.

    I hadn’t thought of the Pope resigning on account of his having filled his purpose. Or, I hadn’t put it so succinctly as you have. How true this is and again thank you for pointing this out.

    There comes a time when change is called for, when new clothes need to be worn, or new attitudes upheld, or a wider, more encompassing world-view embraced and this is true for all of us.

    May we all embrace change – hopefully and positively – for the betterment of all.

  9. Hi,

    Although I don’t agree with the theory about Lilith, I wholeheartedly believe that this year is a year of change. Events will take place, which will affect our lives, and people who have been longing for breakthrough in their lives and their endeavors will experience a massive surge forward. I believe many will wonder how they got there.
    Thus, your series on synchronicity has struck again and hit the mark.

    The change in the Vatican is a sign of renewal, and like you, I admire the Pope for his courage to step up and realize that his purpose is fulfilled. I don’t think it has to deal so much with his getting older but with his own purpose of life being complete. It is good when a person realizes his job is finished, and also has the courage to move on. So few people have this courage. Instead they keep doing the same thing over and over again, and using your Lilith as a counter example, they refuse to bite out of the apple as Lilith did. Thus, they bind themselves to a life of boredom and doing the same thing over and over again.

    Your series on synchronicity is vast and can be blended in and extended to every area of our lives. Again you have written an excellent article and you have combined today’s events with the New Year as well as past theory with Lilith within the synchronicity of life. That the Eastern countries simultaneously testify to changes occurring in 2013 syncs side by side with the expectations of the Christian world for 2013.

    Great article, Lady. Keep up the tremendous work.

    Ciao,
    Pat

  10. Hi! I’m one of the Ambassadors for this year’s A-Z Challenge, and I see you’re signed up to participate. Looking forward to seeing what you write in April! 🙂

  11. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is magnificent blog. A great read. I’ll certainly be back.

  12. I have a theory on the evolution of snake iconography. Ancient Near Eastern belief systems saw the snake as a symbol of healing and renewal – resurrection if you will – due to its ability to shed its skin. Snake cults were usually associated with women priestesses (refer the Minoan statuettes of women with snakes curling up their arms). The patriarchal ancient Greeks also recognised the healing aspect of the snake symbol – refer the temples of Asclepius and the caduceus (which is still used by the medical profession as a symbol of medical knowledge).

    As far back as the 8th BC and earlier, snakes were protective animal associated with certain Ancient Near Eastern deities refer the Marduk, patron deity of Babylon and his little dragon or mushussu/hissing snake.

    The garden of Eden iconography points to the anxiety of a new religion faced with the popular adherence to the old polytheistic religions. A patriarchal society needed to break the religious power base of pagan women priestesses – hence the re-engineering of snakes and women as wayward and evil. A clever way of denigrating the old in favour of the new. Bear in mind that this notion emerged centuries after Christ – early Christianity was quite comfortable with women playing a major role in the church.

    Ancient pre-Christian cultures tended to link snakes and dragons together – I suspect this might explain the iconography of St George and the Dragon. Ancient religion, symbolised by the dragon, tempts the woman back to her pagan belief systems – and must be “saved” by patriarchal Christian hero (St George).

    Mary Magdalene is another fascinating tale of re-engineering – she never existed. The notion of the pentitent prostitute was cobbled together in the West from three other accounts of women by church fathers of the 6th century AD. The Magdalene provided a excellent role model for women – sullied cooking pot become sacred chalice through ceaseless prayer and plenty of self-flagellation.

    • Thank you so much Annie for your comment. I loved your historical accounts. I always learn something from the comments that people leave.

      Yes, the serpent symbol is a powerful one indeed. It sheds its skin and is born anew which we as women and men do, to a certain extent, as we grow from infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, and old age .. all stages that require transformation. How we handle those stages is another matter.

      In yoga the serpent resides at the base of the spine coiled upon itself in a ring; through certain breathing exercises the serpent uncoils itself upwards, releasing energy through the chakras until the crown chakra experiences nirvana and wholeness (brief it may be).

      Aesculapius, the ancient Roman god of healing, is symbolised by two serpents, representing the poles of sickness and healing entwined about his staff. Hippocrates (460BC) the father of Western medicine, is represented to this day as a healer carrying a staff, around which is wound the serpent. Hermes, the winged messenger and trickster has two entwined serpents, symbolising good and evil, health and sickness. The staff is rigid, straight and unyielding related therefore to the masculine, whereas the serpent coiled around it is yielding and flexible and representative of the feminine principle. This image brings to mind illustrates the union of the opposites ..

      The serpent saved the Buddha from Mara and her Furies as he was about to reach enlightenment while sitting under the Bo tree – the cobra, King of Serpents, offered the Buddha its hood for protection.

      Even today medical scripts and the ties that doctors wear upon graduating, show the staff around which is wound the serpent –

      The serpent – which can kill – and cure.

      So interesting about Mary Magdalene and the re-engineering of her as a symbol of purity and chasteness! I will look further into this at some stage.

      Thanks again Annie.

  13. I was born in the Year of the Snake. Synchronicity here? I finished reading your Lilith book in preparation, I believe, Susan, even though I did not know that his new year was to be the Year of the Snake — my year, hopefully.

    Thank you, Susan. I love this synchronicity thread and value of the importance of holding up that mirror, of taking a closer look at life and its meaning, rather than running off to a cave somewhere. That seems somehow selfish to me. Thank you for thinking and sharing.

    • Carol, thank you so much for your comment! How great that you are now aware that this is your year! The synchronistic serpent-snake … may she skillfully slip and slide into our consciousness. Now is not the time to run ‘off to a cave somewhere’ – unless the cave (Plato’s?) makes us aware of the shadows and what is outside of the shadows – and may we wake up and embrace change. May this be a great year for you!

  14. Great 2 blogs on synchronicity Suzy. I feel too, something stirring, changing. Or perhaps I am hoping there is and will be. Something keeps looping re the terrible rape and murder case that happened here in Bredasdorp. I keep fervently wishing that this will bring about a change. That this has to be the defining moment when some significant legislation will be passed….something to change the current status quo (a rape every 4 mins) . And then I remembered as I read Synchronicity 3, that the modern day Lilith would be, among other things, a strong voice against rape and violence to girls and women. And there she is rising in the text of your blog……yes, I think change is afoot.

    • Didi, how lovely to hear from you thank you! Thank you for commenting and for saying about now is the time for Lilith’s voice to emerge. Imagine a ‘collective Lilith’ saying enough already! No longer!
      Yes, I also wish and I wonder sometimes whether in vain .. hoping against hope .. but there IS something in the air .. the ‘looping’ as you call it and the attention (only) now on this. Perhaps this ‘loop’ will be the agent. Let’s hope wish and pray that this is so and may we guided to each doing our part to bring change about.

  15. Yes, Susan, your posting is quite thought provoking. The water snake is the year of change as well as my birthday’s numerology meaning this year. Change is critical to me for a number of issues. However, more importantly, the world is changing. There are many issues here in the U.S. that need change, and I believe will change… hopefully for the best. Lilith may be prominent this year.

    Maybe that is the synchronicity… your writing about Lilith and now this being the year of change… timely subjects. Thank you.

    • Hello Gwynn and thanks so much for commenting! How wonderful that your birthday numerology is the water snake – not only for you as you say but for the world; and we hope that here in South Africa many changes will take place – not least the appalling rape crisis that we are facing and women many times being too afraid to report it. HUGE changes will have to be effected and we are all hoping that major changes in attitudes towards women abuse inter alia will actually come about. Action is required on many fronts, not only in this rape scourge but in many areas.
      May necessary changes in the US also happen Gwynn. The time is NOW for women’s voices to be heard and action taken.
      Thank you again.

  18. It seems quite a few are talking about this being the year of great change. I have certainly noticed an ‘intensity’ to the year, and a drive to move forwards in many people that wasn’t there last year. I put it down to the fact that the underlying global subconcious was that 2012 was the year the world ended, but now in 2013 we’ve realised that isn’t true and are finding a different ‘truth’. What do you think?

    • Thanks for commenting Linda! A lovely reminder from you that the ‘drive to move forwards’ seems to be there – and that last year was not in fact the end of the world. I think something is afoot in the global unconsciousness and the time for change is now. So much is not well in the State of Denmark – Mother Nature is crying out for consciousness; the ordinary person is saying enough already; women’s energy – feminine energy – is rising which will surely be to the benefit of all. A fear of mine is that as this creative energy rises, much will be done to tamp it down in order to remain stuck in the status quo. A collision of sorts perhaps. Perhaps not ..

    • Thank you Robert. I have only NOW found your response and I am sorry I am replying only now. I’m glad too that I found the time to post – the comments have been so rewarding.
      Cheers and prosperity to you!

  20. Wonderful, thought-provoking post, Susan. You know — and this is something of a tangent, but all roads connect eventually — L. M. Montgomery wrote a trilogy about a young wriiter-in-the-making called EMILY OF NEW MOON, don’t you? Emily is a very intuitive at times psychic heroine, more Lilith than Eve. Just something to think about…..

    • Thank you TJ! No, I don’t know LM Montgomery’s book “Emily of New Moon” but I like the title (and will seek it out) and no doubt there is some synchronicity there in your mentioning this …

      More Lilith than Eve … mmmm … something to think about. An interesting thought for us maybe individually to consider – I wonder on what pole I would fall … though they are both contained in each other? I can be VERRRRY Lilith …

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