When I was Catholic, I felt (as many Catholic girls and women do) a strong connection to the Virgin Mary. A bit of the Goddess in a male-centric religion, I suppose. Today I have no quarrel with the Virgin, except that her submissive and docile nature is used as a sort of redemption arc for Woman-as-Eve. As Eve seems to me to be just as worthy as celebration, being the first human Seeker of Knowledge in her mythology/story/set of archetypes*, I have rewritten the prayer Hail, Holy Queen! to be relevant to Mother Eve. A personal reclaiming of a figure who is certainly a part of me, but whom I was unsure of how to relate to for many years. A reclaiming of knowledge, and the quest for knowledge, and the ability to make choices.
Hail, Nature’s Queen!
Mother of Knowledge,
Our heart, our apple, our hope -
To thee do we sing,
Brave, windswept children of Earth,
To thee do we lift up our voices.
Dancing and breathing in this garden of life.
Turn then, O First Seeker,
Thine eyes of wonder toward us.
And in this, our Journey,
Guide us ever unto the Fruit of thy Tree, Knowledge,
Ever curious, Ever thinking,
O wise Mother Eve!
Blessed Be.
*with the possible exception of Lilith, depending on which version of the myth-system you prefer. Probably more on Lilith later.
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