The posts include: artwork, biblical passage, apocrypha passages if any, extra info, and The Short Sorrow's prayer.

1st Sorrow: Simeon's Prophecy

2nd Sorrow: Flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents

3rd Sorrow: Losing Jesus in the Temple

4th Sorrow: Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary

5th Sorrow: Mary Stands at the Foot of The Cross

6th Sorrow: Jesus is Taken Down From The Cross

7th Sorrow: Jesus is Buried

Protoevangelium of James — Link | Link

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas — Link | Link

Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew — Link | Link

Gospel of the Nativity of Mary — Link | Link

Arabic Gospel of the Infancy — Link | Link | Link

The History of Joseph the Carpenter — Link | Link

The Questions of Bartholomew — Link

Book of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, by Bartholomew the Apostle — Link (Not a Translation, I cannot find one)

Three or Four Days After Passover

How many days depends on how you calculate the Biblical verses

[Art: The Infant Jesus Found in the Temple by Philippe de Champaigne, 1663.]

The Third Sorrow is when Joseph and Mary travel after Passover, unwittingly leaving Jesus behind in Jerusalem. A parent losing their child would cause intense panic and Joseph and Mary lose their son for multiple days.

"Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."Luke 2:41-52 NIV

This Sorrow is very straight forward as Mary herself says she is anxious. To a young Jesus this seems to be a non-issue, because he is (in Christian belief) God incarnate, thus of course he would be in his temple to teach, he tells his parents. Mary in verse 51 seems to be coming to the conclusion more fully just how important Jesus is as she 'treasured it in her heart.'

As for dating, there is debate about timing. If they leave the day following Passover, realize he is gone, then search for three days, that would mean the date is four days after Passover. However, if the verse about searching for three days includes the day where they are oblivious to having lost him then it is only three days after Passover. As a personal opinion if they are searching for three days it would not include the day they did not know he was missing. Thus the event is the fourth day after Passover.

Losing Jesus in the Temple in the Apocrypha

And when he was twelve years old his parents went according to the custom unto Jerusalem to the feast of the passover with their company: and after the passover they returned to go unto their house. And as they returned the child Jesus went back to Jerusalem; but his parents supposed that he was in their company. And when they had gone a day's journey, they sought him among their kinsfolk, and when they found him not, they were troubled, and returned again to the city seeking him. And after the third day they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors and hearing and asking them questions. And all men paid heed to him and marvelled how that being a young child he put to silence the elders and teachers of the people, expounding the heads of the law and the parables of the prophets. And his mother Mary came near and said unto him: Child, wherefore hast thou so done unto us? behold we have sought thee sorrowing. And Jesus said unto them: Why seek ye me? know ye not that I must be in my Father's house? But the scribes and Pharisees said: Art thou the mother of this child? and she said: I am. And they said unto her: Blessed art thou among women because God hath blessed the fruit of thy womb. For such glory and such excellence and wisdom we have neither seen nor heard at any time. And Jesus arose and followed his mother and was subject unto his parents: but his mother kept in mind all that came to pass. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and grace. Unto him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. — Infancy Gospel of Thomas Chapter 19

.▪️.

And when He was twelve years old, they took Him to Jerusalem to the feast. And when the feast was finished, they indeed returned; but the Lord Jesus remained in the temple among the teachers and elders and learned men of the sons of Israel, to whom He put various questions upon the sciences, and gave answers in His turn. [...] While they were speaking to each other of these and other things, the Lady Mary came, after having gone about seeking Him for three days along with Joseph. She therefore, seeing Him sitting among the teachers asking them questions, and answering in His turn, said to Him: My son, why have you treated us thus? Behold, your father and I have sought you with great trouble. But He said: Why do you seek me? Do you not know that I ought to occupy myself in my Father's house? But they did not understand the words that He spoke to them. Then those teachers asked Mary whether He were her son; and when she signified that He was, they said: Blessed are you, O Mary, who hast brought forth such a son. And returning with them to Nazareth, He obeyed them in all things. And His mother kept all these words of His in her heart. And the Lord Jesus advanced in stature, and in wisdom, and in favour with God and man. — Arabic Gospel of the Infancy, part of 50, and 53.

[Art: Joseph and Mary Found Jesus in the Temple by John Lawson]

"I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried thy troubled heart at the loss of thy precious son. Dear Mother, by thy heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of knowledge." — Prayer of the Third Sorrow, Short Version

🗡️Notes

• The Seven Sorrows — Link

• Shorter version of the 7 Sorrows Prayers— Link

Many pagan & witch spaces online have a constant disdain for Christianity thus I could not wrap my head around them using such an important point of Jesus' & Mary's life as one of their festivals/'sabbats'.... then, after writing a bunch of stuff, I stumbled onto the answer on Wikipedia's Wheel of The Year page, which has citations for its claims:

Margaret Murray (very early 20th century scholar) in her now discredited witch-cult hypothesis said that the Scottish "witch" Issobell Smyth in 1661 confessed to attending meetings for witches on the cross quarter days included Candlemas. Robert Graves (oh how I loathe you ehem I mean: poet folklorist), mentioned that Candlemas was part of the 8 ancient British agricultural festivals. And Doreen Valiente ("The Mother of Wicca") included Candlemas in her list of Greater Sabbat Fire Festivals, while also listing "Gaelic counterparts," in this case Imbolc.

Sigh.

Early (read: 19th-20th century) paganism and witchcraft, or scholarly work about it, really was just: put every claim regardless of accuracy from any culture in this jar, shake it up real good, see what pops out from the mix, then pretend its historically attested to and traditional despite any and all evidence.

Also whatever Wikipedia writer wrote this, I appreciate your sassiness ... even if it was unintentional:

Due to early Wicca's influence on modern paganism and the syncretic adoption of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic motifs, the most commonly used English festival names for the Wheel of the Year tend to be the Celtic ones introduced by Gardner and the mostly Germanic-derived names introduced by Kelly, regardless whether the celebrations are based on those cultures.

February 2nd, Candlemas

[Art: A Light to the Gentiles by Greg Olson 1986]

Candlemas celebrates The Purification of The Virgin Mary and the Presentation of Jesus at The Temple, in accordance with Jewish law outlined in Exodus and Leviticus (Luke 2:22-24).

As they were doing this, an old man Simeon approached the couple and after exalting the baby Jesus. God had promised that before his death he would see the savior. He spoke a prophecy to Mary:

"And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." John 2:34-35 NIV

While Simeon's prophecy that has negative connotations (e.g many will fall) he is mentioned in the apocrypha.

Simeon in the Apocrypha

"Ten days after, they took Him to Jerusalem; and on the fortieth day after His birth they carried Him into the temple, and set Him before the Lord, and offered sacrifices for Him, according to the command-meet of the law of Moses, which is: Every male that openeth the womb shall be called the holy of God. Then old Simeon saw Him shining like a pillar of light, when the Lady Mary, His virgin mother, rejoicing over Him, was carrying Him in her arms. And angels, praising Him, stood round Him in a circle, like life guards standing by a king. Simeon therefore went up in haste to the Lady Mary, and, with hands stretched out before her, said to the Lord Christ: Now, O my Lord, let Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy compassion, which Thou hast prepared for the salvation of all peoples, a light to all nations, and glory to Thy people Israel." — The Arabic Gospel of the Infancy 5-6

.▪️.

And they were afraid, and went out and reported to the people that Zacharias [father of Joseph] had been murdered. And all the tribes of the people heard, and mourned, and lamented for him three days and three nights. And after the three days, the priests consulted as to whom they should put in his place; and the lot fell upon Simeon. For it was he who had been warned by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he should see the Christ in the flesh. — The Protoevangelium of James 24

Candlemas celebrates Jesus as the Light of the World thus a happy celebration, on par with his birth, Christmas.

However, this was also the first moment Mary learned of the sorrows she would have to endure for her Son and for her God. That, in time, a sword will pierce her heart.

[Art: Our Lady of Sorrows possibly by Carlo Dossic 18th century]

"I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in the affliction of thy tender heart at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon. Dear Mother, by thy heart so afflicted, obtain for me the virtue of humility [and lend me your inner strength]." — Prayer of the First Sorrow, Short Version.

🗡️Notes:

• The Seven Sorrows — Link

•Shorter version of the 7 Sorrows Prayers link, my edits in brackets.

• Full story is Luke 2:22-40 — Link. I use NIV.

This is not complete, there are always more to be discovered or unlearned. But heres the polytheon I'm working with right now. This will be in several posts. This one has the high gods and might feel the most christian, but hopefully in a very distinct way. Next will be the most controversial one, the four draconic powers and the names I know them by.

Gender of these is somewhat malleable, I think they show different sides as needed, but give the ones I have here a try. They are specifically formulated to both be easy to fit in our cultural understanding while challenging our normative gender systems.

I'll also write more about philosophy in another post, the taoism I studied that grounded me in dual aspect monism, which corresponds with number/set theory that inspires the understanding of cosmogenesis, the druidic philosophies that correspond with that and affect the interpretation. The polycentrism of some modern polytheists that reflects my history studying hinduisms relationship between monism and polytheism. But for now a few pokedex style entries.

The 4 Holy (One)s

First a note on the name Sophia. Some gnostics refer to three Sophias, a dark mother, a bright mother and a daughter. Some russian orthodox theologians talk about an uncreated Sophia who is the unitive essence of God from which the trinity emerges, and her reflection the firstly created being Sophia the Theotokos. I think these are harmonizable, however in this system I will primarily use the name Sophia for the daughter figure. More on this in a future post.

0. The Triune God. The One Awareness. The initial creative powers. More ground of being than a being. A distant father figure, similar to Janus in Religio Romana they are important part of ritual life, but not as present as later deities. God of sovereignty, the state and the social body, justice, the 3 dimensions of space, liminality, eternity, and the 3 fundamental forces that may be unified in a GUT. Prince-consort of the Universal God. Usually invoked under Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Lord's Prayer is his prime invocation.

Some may see the three that follow as the visible reflections of the three in one, but they're also distinctly more than that. Paradox weaves through all discussions of the divine.

1. The Universal God(dess). The One Thing. The first being, in whom all things were made. The Immaculate Conception of the Cosmos. For the sake of whom the Way, birthed the Triune God to manifest the Way in Her. God of love, the lunar current, Magic, Connection, the fourth dimension which is Time and the fourth fundamental force which is Gravity. Similar to Grandmother spider, Isis, Diana, Venus, Ishtar and birthed in English culture as the continuation of Frig. Usually invoked by the name of Mary and her many titles. The rosary, and the hail Mary are her prime devotions. Sacred icons include roses, spiders, the sea, and the moon.

The Divine Twins that come next are inseparable, literally. Anything you look at had aspects of each, but some lean more one than the other, at least from a human perspective.

2. The Cosmic Christ. The One Life. The Greenman. Everything that is, the son of God. The "substance" aspect of the dual-aspect One Thing. The effeminate son of the mother, who in turn births all of us. Birthed as continuation of Dionysus-Osiris and brought to England, but also likely merged with other celtic deities. God of the telluric current, the patron of the rising ape in humankind. God of the individual, of all-things primal, natural, the unconcious, the earth, vegetation, fermentation, decay, etc. Sacred icons include mushrooms, ferns, beetles, the forest, vines, and wine.

3. Holy Sophia. The One Mind. In everything, the "mind" aspect of the dual-aspect One Thing. The masculine daughter of the mother birthed from her head. Birthed in English culture as continuation of Sulis-Minerva. Also related to Brigid, Thoth, Apollo and other similar deities. God of the solar current, patron of the falling angel in humankind, arts, wisdom, math, civilization, all-things structured and created, healing, prophecy, and learning. Sacred icons include honeybees, owls, geothermal activity, the olive tree, cedar, and the Sun.

Holy Week, Christian Tradition

Eastern Christianity & Western Christianity Holy Week usually do not align as the former uses the Julian Calendar and the latter uses the Gregorian Calendar.

[Art: unknown]

The 4th Sorrow of Mary is meeting her son as he carrys his cross to the place he will be crucified. It is not directly depicted in the Gospels. Instead the verse given:

"A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed! 'Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’Luke 23:27-30 NIV

That final sentence about mountains is a reference to Hosea 10:8 in which God will punish the Israelites for sinning by worshiping the idol Beth Aven.

The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Like many places in the New Testament the authors (well Jesus' supposed words in this case) are harkening back to a prophecy.

Jesus is forced to carry his cross to Calvary or Golgotha the hill where he will be crucified. Only The Gospel of Luke mentions the crowd following him.

While the canonical Gospel only mentions "woman" it is assumed that this would include his own mother. It is the 4th station of the cross. In 1991 Pope John Paul II replaced the stations with ones that follow the bible. Removing him meeting his mother and replaces it with the 9th station "Jesus meeting the women of Jerusalem". The Church of the Philippines also removed this station and replaced it with an 8th station of "Jesus meeting the women of Jerusalem." As far as I'm aware the original are still the most common.

I cannot find any reference in Christian Apocrypha

[Art: Unknown]

"I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful in the consternation of thy heart at meeting Jesus as he carried His Cross. Dear Mother, by thy heart so troubled, obtain for me the virtue of [steadfastness] and the gift of fortitude" — Prayer of the Forth Sorrow, Short Version.

🗡️Notes

• The Seven Sorrows — Link

• Shorter version of the 7 Sorrows Prayers my edits are in brackets — Link

• Divider by @/firefly-graphics — Link

I knew the Flight Into Egypt is connected to Christmas so I started researching. Apparently the Flight Into Egypt is celebrated on different dates in different denominations:

Coptic (Egyptian) Church celebrates it on June 1

Old Roman Catholic Missal puts it at Feb 17

Eastern Orthodox & Eastern Catholics on Dec 26

Maronite Catholics on Dec 29 and the return on Dec 30

Christmas

Celebrating (or I suppose mourning) their escape into Egypt the day after Jesus birth or even week or month, means we must ignore Luke's nativity. Matthew and Luke tell different Christmas stories.

Matthew's Nativity Story: They lived in Bethlehem. Jesus was born during the rule of King Herod. Joseph got the birth announcement from an unnamed angel in his dreams. Jesus was born in a house in Bethlehem. The Magi saw a star and visited Jesus. It does not mention the circumcision at all. The family flees to Egypt.

Luke's Nativity Story: They lived in Nazareth and traveled to Bethlehem due to a Roman census. Jesus was born after the death of King Herod. Mary got the birth announcement from the angel Gabriel. Jesus was born in a stable/manger in Bethlehem. The shepherds are visited by an angel who tells them to go see Jesus. Jesus was circumcised as a child. Jesus is presented at the temple.

Reconciling The Date

So in Matthew the Magi (wise men) first visit Herod, then visit Jesus in the house, give him gifts, and then head home via a different route to avoid telling Herod where the child is. An angel tells Joseph to flee because Herod wants the infant dead. So they flee to Egypt and do not return until Herod dies. If we take into consideration Luke's story, that Jesus is presented at the temple and Mary purified 40 days after birth, this means the flight could not have taken place directly after Jesus' birth. It had to happen after the presentation.

Herod kills all the infants under age 2 near Bethlehem (Massacre of The Innocent Matthew 2:16) and he only does so after he realizes the Magi would not return to tell him where Jesus was. So I suppose the Flight into Egypt could take place anywhere from Jesus being 41 days old and 2 years old. According to the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew Chapter 16:

And when the second year was past, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, bringing great gifts. And they made strict inquiry of the Jews, saying: Where is the king who has been born to you? For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.