Goddesses-Flora

Inspired by the Goddesses calendar -paintings by Susan Seddon Boulet

March Goddess Flora

-The Roman goddess of flowers, gardens and spring. Flora emobides the beauty and riotous abundance of nature. She is associated not only with the flowering plants but also with the bloom of youth and its pleasures. Her festival , the floralia, held annually in late April and early May, probably gave rise to the maypole dance and the distribution of may baskets of flowers. This 6 day celebration came to be denoucnced as a Licentious orgy. Notwithstanding, Flora proudly bears the title Lady of Pleasure, reminding us of the joys of sensual indulgence, youth and spring return.

One of the fairies in the Sleeping Beauty (1959 film) is named Flora after this goddess.

At her christening, the good fairies Flora (dressed in red/pink), Fauna (in green), and Merryweather (in blue) arrive to bless her. Flora gives her the gift of beauty while Fauna gives her the gift of song.

In AC Tarot deck, the Empress #=III ( Venus/Daleth) can be seen holding the flower lotus. She is seated in the tradition posture symbolizing alchemical salt. she is seen wearing the belt of the zodiac along with her Venus birds, the pelican of self surrender and the heraldic white eagle of salt.

Flora was said to have provided Juno with a magic flower that would allow Her to conceive with no help from a man; from this virgin-birth Mars was born.

{Mars (Ares) raped a young priestess, whose name was Rhea Silvia. As a result, Rhea Silvia became pregnant with twin sons, Romulus and Remus; the founders of the city of Rome. March is also name after mars.}

Statue of Juno in the Vatican, from Roscher's Ausführliches Lexikon der Griechischen und Römischen Mythologie, 1890.

Juno & Isis

Venus/Ishtar/Dianna/Rhianna/Isis are variations of the same Goddess

Royal blood can be traced back thousand of years to ancient Sumer/Babylon and to the great Anunnaki God Anu. Known as the Lord of the Sky, Anu's family line is well documented on both clay tablets and cylinder seals, dating back to 4000 BC. This important record lists his queenly consorts as his two sisters Antu, Lady of the Sky and Ki, the Earth Mother. Kassite Kings of Mesopotamia called her the Lady of the Fire-stone, granting her the name Barat-Anna. -Red Ice

The festival of Floralia is still celebrated from April 28th through May 1st, and has a correlation with the May Day festivals of pagans everywhere. It is a fertility rite associated with both sisters.

Flora for the birth of the flowers and Fauna for the birth of animals.
Roman mythology, Tellus, Goddess of the Earth had the two daughters, and they had small temples for bringing flowers and small animals for honoring their contribution to the plants and animals that made up the food stores for the people of Rome. (Tellus is closely associated with the Greek Goddess Ceres and has her own festival held from January 24-26 to set out offerings that the frozen ground would once again yield food for the coming year.)

Flora is also identified with the Greek Goddess Chloris (See where we get the name "Chlorophyll"? The naturally occurring chemical that causes plants to grow green.)

Fauna is associated with the Greek mother earth Gaia Goddess and had temples built in her honor as early as 268 BCE, or Before Common Era, which is a term largely used by pagans and neopagans everywhere who choose to use it rather than B.C., or "Before Christ". The Goddess Fauna has her own festival which is called Fordicidia and is traditionally held on April 15th, when cows are just getting ready to bear their calves.

A very simple way for today's practitioners of the mother earth faith is to celebrate Imbolc on February 2nd (The Roman Catholic Church changed it to "Groundhog Day" when they were trying to convert pagans to Christianity. It was thought that if they were allowed to keep some of their holidays and simply twist them slightly it would make the conversion easier) to observe that the winter was ending, and to celebrate both Flora and Fauna along with other fertility Goddesses on May Day, May 1st every year as a symbol and hope that the coming months would bring fertility and prosperity. Flora, Roman Goddess of flowers, is honored during these celebrations with the wearing of a crown of flowers in the hair; while Fauna is honored with the letting loose of rabbits (Hmmm Easter bunnies?)

Greek mythology has many stories about figures named Chloris ("Khloris" or χλωρις, from "Khloros" or χλωρος, meaning "greenish-yellow," "pale green," "pale," "pallid" or "fresh").

Chloris (Nymph) mythological entities in human form usually female

They were typically associated with a particular location or landform. Others were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally Artemis. Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis; the prophetic Apollo; the reveller and god of wine, Dionysus; and rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes.

The symbolic marriage of a nymph and a patriarch, often the eponym of a people, is repeated endlessly in Greek origin myths; their union lent authority to the archaic king and his line. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymph

Royal Blood, Holy Blood, Fairy Blood: the meaning and legacy of Sangreal!

Certain royal families, in the Celtic world, were said to carry the fairy blood, that is to say, the fate or destiny of the royal bloodline, while the elf princesses of romance and history were often called 'elf-maidens'. Certain royal families were said to carry the fairy blood, and it was their responsibility to safeguard the royal blood, but not only for their family but for mankind itself. Elf-maidens were the guardians of the earth, starlight and forest. It's for this reason that the elves have been called the 'Shining Ones", because they led the way.

A nymph doubles as an Elf or a Fairy: They can range from water, sea, air, wood flowers ...etc
Definitions of nymph on the Web - always of much beauty.

Nymph Fairy Tinkerbell

Chloris (Meliboea) one of Niobe and Amphion's fourteen children (the Niobids)

Juno birth made popular by Ellen Page, in Diablo Cody Juno, 2007.

Juno is also an award given in Canada

Presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies.