Category: divine feminine
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Mid-Winter In Sicily Is Marked By The Feast of Sant’Agata
I’m thinking back to last year’s Feast of Sant’Agata. What an amazing few days it was with Don Toothaker and our Hunt’s Photo Photography in Sicily adventure! We were right in the middle of the action in Catania for the mid-winter feast. But not only – – we started in Palermo and traveled through Sicily…
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Sicily’s Santa Lucia Lights The Darkness
Santa Lucia, the protectress of light, eyes, and grain, is a guide for us during these darkest days of the year. Darkness signifies more than just the absence of light. It challenges us to turn inwards and perhaps examine our shadows. This time of year, when the sun sets so early in the day, it…
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That Hand Door Knocker
The handdoor knocker you’ve seen all over Italy and the Mediterranean is ancient and symbolic.
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Themes of Women’s Worlds in Sicily
Traveling with mostly women, I decided to focus on a subject that warms my heart, that of Santa Lucia. We started with seeing the Caravaggio, painted in 1608, that recreates the moments surrounding her martyrdom. One of the things that has recently come into focus for me about this painting is the two women grieving.…
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Wishing You Joy For Christmas
Merry Christmas! Buon Natale! May you feel the joy of the light of the universe within you. (Nativity scene from the mid-12th Century “Martorana Church,” Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio in Palermo)
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Persephone, Sicily, And The Solstice
Happy Solstice! Today is a day to recognize the stillness of the earth, when in the northern hemisphere, we have the day with the most darkness and the shortest amount of light. Recall the story of Persephone, who for Sicilians, even today, is an important divine spirit. Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, is sitting…
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Ex-Votos in Sicily for Santa Lucia
At the sanctuary devoted to Santa Lucia in Siracusa, pilgrims offer ex-votos shaped like eyes. Ex-votos are iconographic body parts or other symbols that are offered to a divinity or spirit guide as gratitude for healing or grace received. The eyes and heart pictured here represent ailments of the eyes (Need some insight or help…
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Day 12 of 16 Days of Sicily | Festivals with Fervor
Whether it’s in recognition of an abundance of ricotta or the success of the year’s artichoke harvest or a city’s patron saint, Sicilians celebrate with fervor! For example, during these first days of February (3, 4, and 5), in Catania, “cristiani” celebrate their patroness Sant’Agata with one of the world’s most potent religious festivals. Agata…
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The Mystery Of Eyes On A Plate
You can easily identify Santa Lucia because she holds eyes on a plate. In my last post I mentioned that she denied her promised dowery and hand in marriage to a young pagan man during a period in the early 4th century when Christianity was illegal. Well, she wanted to devote herself to Jesus, and…