Bright Mother

Creativity. Nurturing. Productivity. Intimacy. Sheltering.

She is the Bright Mother of us all and knows that life – all life – is a miracle. The Bright Mother is constantly amazed at its perfection-in-imperfection. She rejoices in its being, sorrows for its growing pains, and exults in its successes. This great lady is both Earth Mother and the full, bright Moon, pregnant with the future of all growing things. She feeds us and provides us with air, water, and shelter in an amazing, complex world. She sees to it that we are challenged enough to grow but not so much as to be overwhelmed. If we want more challenges than she provides, we have to give them to ourselves.

The Bright Mother is the guardian of family life, and she creates and holds a nurturing environment for us all She is the garden where vegetables, fruits, and herbs grow. Thus, she sees and holds the mysteries in ordinary processes of daily life – the bees making honey, the cream turning to butter, the birth of the baby and its growth, the blossom turning to fruit, and the wheat ripening. This lady has loving patience for natural processes, however slow.

Her commitment to us is for life – her eternal life, not our ephemeral in-the-flesh lives. She is present in all of our deep and committed relationships, facilitating nurturing, loving, creativity, and giving. She fosters within us the kind of security that gives us the inner stability we need to explore and adventure out in the world and within our own psyches. She reminds us that there are times when we must put others first because their need is so great, but that in doing so, we must not lose sight of our own needs and nurturing.

One on-line group member sees her keeping an eye on things, making sure that we all do what we need to do. To another she says, “You know me by the joy in your heart and the help in your head. You can have it all – all you have to do is ask.” For a third the key word about her is “able – able to carry, care, nurture, and enjoy.”

One last thing. People tend to project their own experiences with mother and mothering on her. Sometimes this helps us to see her with more clarity, but often it creates muddle. Not all mothers are good and wise. The Bright Mother is.

Each time we perform a compassionate act of nurturing, we become more like the Bright Mother, learning unconditional giving.

Note:

This is from Brian Froud’s Faery Card Oracle, so technically not a Goddess or actual Faery Spirit. However, the Gods  and the Spirit realm speak to us with many different voices, and come to us in many different forms.

The Reading:

When the Bright Mother is present in a reading, she speaks of a time of fertility, creativity, and nurturing of ourselves or of others. She might indicate marriage or the birth of a child or a deepening of any kind of a relationship. She also speaks of giving one’s all to life, not holding back. She is like a cornucopia, pouring forth abundance. This may be a time to put the needs of others first, taking care of yourself later. Patience may be needed for the process being discussed.

Consider what you have. Acknowledge the people and things in your life – good, bad, and indifferent. This consideration is not to judge, approve, or reject, but merely to recognize what is present in your life. These are your present fulfillments, the things you have created for yourself, drawing upon the power of Unity and the Singers (or not, as the case may be). Once you have looked clearly at what is present in your life, you may want to ask yourself what you want to change.