28 Hestia/Jan. 22

Sunnadi/Sunday

O, Madria Theia, Jana of Illumination, Joy and Benevolence, be with us. May the Pure Stream of Your Virtues flow within me, in this world and in all the worlds to come.

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Bits and Pieces III is a bit belated. In it, we will make a couple of brief announcements; post about our conclusion as to whether or not we might consider ourselves to be monotheistic and ending with the long-awaited article on the spiritual symbolism of historical fashion by our Sorella Shoshana.

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Lady of Light Chantry

First, I would like to inform readers that of one of our sister blogs, Lady of the Light Chantry, deamatronablog.wordpress.com/blog, has been quiet lately due to computer issues. Hopefully, ArchMatrona Georgia, of the Lucienne Tradition, will be able to resuming posting in the near future. Thank you.

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Brighid/Candlemas/Full Bright Moon

Today is the last day of the holy month of Hestia. It is incredible how fast time has been flying these last few years. Everyone talks about it, even the young. Tomorrow is the first day of Brighe, which means, Exalted or Bright One. It is the last month of the Sacred Winter Season. The major feast day of Brighe is Candlemas on Brighe 11/Feb. 2, which, wonderfully enough, occurs on the night of the Full Bright Moon!!!!!!

More to come on this sacred feast day.

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The Question of Trinitarianism and Monotheism.

Please note that we are speaking of the Janite and Lucienne views, only. A few weeks ago, a vitally important conversation was taking place within the greater community as to whether or not Trinitarians may consider themselves to be monotheistic. I came to the conclusion that we certainly cannot consider ourselves to be monotheistic in the same sense that Jews and Muslims are monotheistic. My conclusion, at the time, was that strict monotheists believe in One God/One Person while we believe in One Godhead/Multiple Persons.

We then, privately, examined the question as to whether or not we might be panentheistic. My problems with the consideration of panentheism is that it would easily lend itself to misconception if we tried to apply it to the Deanic religion. But, those reasons are too lengthy for a Bits and Pieces article.

ArchMatrona Georgia E. B. Cobb put it this way:

For Deanics, this River goes on to form the Seven Streams of Power and Virtue. And so, though the traditional shamrock and the original apple tree analogies are fine ways of explaining Trinitarian doctrine, for Deanics, the idea of the River that is One and Three and Seven might better blend with our thealogical style.

For those who follow a Blended Path, simply picture the River of the Divine Feminine and the River of the Divine Masculine as Twin Rivers flowing from the One Fountainhead/ Source of All Life.

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From guest authoress, Sorella Shoshana, we have another article on The Spiritual Symbolism of Historical Fashion:

Throughout my time studying and recreating historical fashion, I have noticed that many periods have the option of 3, 5, or 7 layers underneath the layer we can see.

3 can represent Dea as Mother, Daughter, and Dark Mother.
5 can reprent the 5 points of the star (https://deanic.com/the-five-symbols-of-our-faith/)
7 can represent the seven Janyait (https://deanic.com/the-seven-great-geniae/who-are-the-seven-great-geniae/)

The fact that these layers are unseen can represent Dea behind all things. She is the unseen presence everywhere!

In this article, I will be discussing a few of the time periods I am most familiar with and have recreated.

Rennaissance:

During the rennaissance era, an option for under garments could’ve included 3 items: the chemise, the kirtle, and the farthingale. The chemise is the garment closest to the skin and typically made of linen. It was used to protect the other garments from bodily oils. The kirtle was a boned under dress and a pre-cursor to the corset. The farthingale was the cone shaped hoop skirt that was worn inspired by boned Spanish skirts. These would be the minimum one would need as the basis to the look above.

18th Century:

Underneath the 18th century look, the bare minimum one would need is similar to the rennaissance era. We have the chemise. But, by this era, stays have come into being. These are basically a corset without the front hook and eye busk. Towards the end of the previous period covered, stays came into being by eliminating the skirt part of the kirtle. Panniers, or basket hoops are next. These can basically be thought of as having a basket on each hip tied to the waist.
Regency:

The regency era had a simpler look. But, it still had layers underneath the clothing. This can be the chemise, a softer corded stays and a petticoat. The fabrics by this period were very thin and one may have wanted that petticoat to maintain modesty.

Mid-Victorian:

Next, we move into the Victorian era. This is the styles of the mid-Victorian period. Here, we have the chemise again, along with an actual corset with the metal hook and eye front closure called a busk. Drawers, the hoop skirt, and 2-3 petticoats were worn. Sometimes, one may have been worn underneath the hoop skirt to protect one’s modesty if the wind caught the hoop skirt underneath. Corset covers also may have been worn to protect from the corset being seen through thin materials. Contrary to popular belief, corsets can be a comfortable support garment and hoop skirts are not difficult to wear. They are quite flexible. One may also note that on skirts with ruffles like the pink one above, the ruffles also frequently appeared in sets of 3, 5, or 7.

1950s:

I wear mid-century styles quite regularly. Its an easy style to incoorperate into daily wear. There were many different items worn underneath many different styled clothes during this period. I have spoken to a few women who lived during this period and more than once I have been told about the desire to wear 3 petticoats underneath their full dresses and skirts. girdles were also frequently worn, along with the merry widow corset and other under garments very similar to our own modern variety.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief look into the many layers underneath historical fashions and how they can have spiritual symbolism just simply by the amount that can be worn.

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Thank you, Sorella Shoshana.

Eternal is the Life of the Empress, the Fountainhead of the All.

Eternal is the Light of the High Queen, the Font of the All.

Eternal is the Love of the Queen, the Fountain of the All.

Blessed is She.

~

ArchMadria Candra Sophia

1. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/emanate
2. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/emanation
3. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emanation
4. http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/emanation?s=t