[Lithograph from the original oil painting by Hawaiian artist Herb Kawainui Kane]
Burning Times
In the cool of the evening they used to gather
'Neath the stars in the meadow, circle round an old oak tree
At the times appointed by the seasons of the earth
And the phases of the moon.
In the centre often stood a woman, equal with the others and respected for her worth one of the many they call the witches.
The healers and the teachers of the wisdom of the earth.
And the people grew in the knowledge she gave them
Come to heal their bodies and to make their spirits whole.
Hear them chanting, healing incantations, calling for the wise one celebrating in dance and song
There were those who came to power through domination
They were bonded in their worship of a dead man on a cross.
They sought control of the common people
By demanding allegiance through the church of Rome.
And the pope declared the inquisition
It was a war against the women whose powers they feared.
In this Haulacaust against the Nature People nine million European women died.
But the tale is told though by the hundreds holding together chose their deaths in the sea while chanting the praises of the
Mother Goddess
A refusal of betrayal, women were dieing to be free.
The earth is a witch, and the men still burn her!
Stripping her down with their mining and the Poisons Of Their Wars.
Still to us the earth is a healer, a teacher, a mother,
A weaver of the Web of Life that keeps us all alive.
She gives us the vision to see through the chaos
She gives us the courage, it is our will to survive.
- Authour unknown
Here I am at Stonehenge before they put up the barriers.
