Author Archives

Mary Gelfand is an ordained Interfaith Minister and a Wiccan High Priestess. A former board president of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS), she is an experienced teacher of Cakes for the Queen of Heaven—adult education program focused on feminist thealogy and the Great Goddess. Mary lived in the southern part of the US for most of her life, until the chaotic year of 2005 which swept in major personal changes. She now lives on 2.7 acres in Maine, with her husband, 4 cats, and many wild creatures. Her spiritual life is rooted in the cycles and seasons of the natural world which are so abundantly visible in New England. She reads and teaches about feminist theology, the Great Goddess, mythology, mysticism, patriarchy, and the mysteries of Tarot. As a fiber artist, she enjoys weaving tapestry and knitting gifts for strangers and friends.

• Unsung Heroines: Pamela Coleman Smith by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on November 16, 2022 • ( 6 )

  

  If you’ve ever had a Tarot reading or played with reading cards yourself, you’re probably familiar with the work of Pamela Coleman Smith, illustrator of the great-grandmother of all contemporary Tarot decks—The Rider Waite Smith Deck. First published in 1909, the… Read More ›

• Mabon and the Warbler by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on October 7, 2022 • ( 4 )

  

  Small, perfect, magnificent!  The creature lay in Mark’s hand, unmoving.  Stunned or dead—we couldn’t tell.  Some birds recover from impact with our sliding glass door and some do not.  This was a hard hit—I could hear it from another room—and… Read More ›

• Visions of the Great Mother by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on August 17, 2022 • ( 20 )

  

  During late summer a few years ago I had a vision.  I know it was summer because it was hurricane season and there were several active storms in the Atlantic & Caribbean.  Since I grew up in Florida and lived… Read More ›

• Scars Of The Body by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on March 18, 2022 • ( 10 )

  Despite the distances involved, throughout my adulthood, I regularly visited my parents.  As their home was small, I often found myself seated at the kitchen table with my mother while my father watched TV in the adjacent living room. During… Read More ›

• The Return of the Exile by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on September 18, 2021 • ( 4 )

  

  A few years ago I encountered a Norwegian folktale titled “Prince Lindworm.” This tale was completely new to me and aspects of it have lingered as I contemplate the future of my country.   In “Prince Lindworm,” a childless Queen… Read More ›

• The Crafting the Wisdom Loom By Mary F. Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on November 6, 2020 • ( 19 )

  

  Over 20 years ago, I randomly came across the following passage from Sonnet X by Edna St. Vincent Millay: Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour, Rains from the sky a meteoric shower Of facts . . . they… Read More ›

• Lessons From Birch & Mother Earth—Grace, Resilience, and Rebirth by Mary Gelfand

  By Mary Gelfand on July 29, 2020 • ( 16 )

  

  When I moved to Maine from New Orleans 15 years ago, I was delighted to discover how many birch trees were on the property where I lived with my new partner.  Previously I had had little contact with these beautiful… Read More ›