Earth Day is one which we should fill with gratitude for Mother Gaia, all deities of nature and harvest. They house us, nurture us, love us and tend to us as their own children. But now, I would like to shift our focus to Great Mother Demeter and our church statue of her.

Unfortunately, Mother Demeter had fallen off the deity altar table and broken in a few places. As a priestess, I had felt an intense amount of guilt and grief for Mother since she had fallen in the season of death, her time of mourning. In brief, Great Mother is in a state of mourning and depression six months out of the year from Samhain to Ostara due to her daughter, Persephone, being in the underworld. Mother Demeter grieves the loss of her child, bringing forth the season of death through the fall and winter.

Great Mother being one of our church’s patronesses, my beloved job is to tend to her during her state of grief as well as celebrating her in her joyous moments in the season of light. This is the reason I had felt so guilty. I felt I had failed in my duties. At that point, I reached out to the Arch Priest of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church International, Lord Dusty Dionne, for guidance as to what I should do. He told me that these things tend to happen, and what he does is talk to the deity of the statue. He guided me on repair since statues are the deities in thought form. The statues are one of the many ways deities see, hear and connect with us. Lord Dusty suggested you let them know you are fixing them.

This sparked an idea: Repairing Great Mother in the style of “Kintsugi.” If you are not familiar with this, it is a Japanese traditional art done by filling broken pieces with gold and mending them together. Its philosophy is that beauty is found in imperfections, and imperfections are something to celebrate rather than mourn.

I found this fitting to the story of Great Mother Demeter. For a while, while mending her and filling her cracks at the altar table, I spoke to her as if she was my own mother. I found myself telling her how beautiful and strong she is, which is also something I had told my mother about her struggles and hardships in life. The same can be said about anyone currently in a time of hardship.

I want you to know through your tears and pain, I see beauty, strength, compassion and love. I see someone who has gone through so much and still comes out with a light that illuminates everyone you meet. You matter, and you always will matter. Your feelings, opinions and voice are valid in every way. In the moment you are broken and down, you are never alone and your cracks are filled with gold to show you just how amazing you are. Your cracks and scars add to your beauty. They tell stories of triumphs and courage which show how you overcame obstacles weighing heavily on you.

Remember, you are never truly broken, you are beautiful and cherished by those around you.

Goddess bless.

Raven Ebonywing serves as the Microsoft Teams events coordinator for Aquarian Tabernacle Church International. She is a second-year student at Woolston-Steen Theological Seminary and student of Lady Belladonna Laveau. She also serves as the high priestess in the WISE tradition of Creation’s Grimoire Church of Wicca in Bentonville and is a member of the Benton County Interfaith Alliance. Email her at CreationsGrimoire@gmail.com.