Earth Day and Gaia/Ge

Earth, who is mother of all, shall I sing on her noble foundation;
Eldest is she and she feeds every thing that exists in the world, all
those that inhabit the glorious surface of earth and the deep sea,
Plus those that fly in air―they are fed, every one, from your bounty!

~ Homeric Hymn XXX “To Earth, Mother of All” (Daryl Hine, ed.)

Earth Day happens this Wednesday (22 April 2009). While there are many things we should remain aware of―rising carbon dioxide and methane levels in our atmosphere, overfishing, a human population too large for the world to support―consider taking a moment or two of your time on Wednesday to honor Ge (Gaia), the goddess who is the fertile Earth upon whom all of us live and depend. I know that I will be making libations to Ge come Wednesday.

“But what is Ge's significance to the faith? Don't we have the twelve/thirteen Olympian Gods to whom we sacrifice?” Interesting question. Ge is a goddess to whom we can make oaths, as shown by a fragment from Solon: “I will have as my best witness the mighty mother of the Olympian gods, dark Ge” (Gaia Witness of Oaths, Theoi.com). Frequently, people swear oaths to many deities at once, and Ge finds frequent inclusion. Ge is also associated with oracular powers and the dead.

“Okay,” you say. ”I think I can get the hang of this whole Ge-worship thing. What should I do?” Sacrifice. Make offerings. Libate (choe, not sponde). To Ge one may sacrifice dark-colored animals because she is a Chthonic deity. Perhaps pumpernickel bread would suffice in modern times as a bloodless replacement. The Orphic Hymn to the Earth recommends offering powdered frankincense. Realistically, considering the budgetary constraints brought on by the current economic situation, anything dark―black votive candles and coffee included―could be made into an offering provided that the worshipper is sincere. You could even consider offering Theobroma.

I hope that this gives you enough to consider if and when you decide to give a few minutes of your time to Ge on Wednesday. “We're not an Earth-based religion,” a few still say, “and honoring Ge makes us look like Neopagans!”―tough. Ge is a Goddess, so even if we claim to be more deity-centric than many modern pagan or polytheistic faiths, you cannot refuse to honor her. Remember again the Homeric hymn: “He is happy whom you in your humor / willingly honor, for everything then will be his in abundance” (HHXXX, ln. 7-8).

Besides, guys, Ge can make sickles. And we all know what happens when you go up against that.