Ix Chel and Anahita: A Collection
Written by Cindy Rinne
Artwork: Anahita by Isaac Ben Aharon
Ix Chel
Jaguar crone chases the sun
Her lover disappears beneath
Tides she controls
Long ago, they wove medicine
All bodies of water into existence
Scorpion, Turtle, Snake constellations
Cenote their favorite as they rested
Above gateway to underworld
Alux lured him
Afraid constant rays
Brittled jungle leaves
Into thunder spirit portal
Illusion of winds
Rumbled wisdom
Electrifying shifts
Creatrix now separated
Light and dark cycles
First Mother remembers
His fiery touch
Four Stars
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe,
to match your nature with Nature. —Joseph Campbell
Squirrels are missing, dandelions growing on Empyrean with deep taproots, and Owl’s determination to reveal Wolf-people’s secret creates anxiety in Anahita’s mind. She consults Crux to ask the four stars to point her towards answers. The Southern Cross gives her the following instructions:
1. Plant your feet evenly onto Earth, breathe, and realign your body, mind, and spirit.
2. Remember to have the energy of a child. Look at situations through innocent eyes.
3. Sacrifice your fear and doubt so you can find guidance in dreams.
4. Gather in a pine needle basket acorn, seed, and feather for insight.
5. Wolf asks you to listen in solitude and find the path for others.
6. Bear wants you to quiet your mind. Your goals will be revealed.
7. Horse desires power used wisely in compassion and caring for others.
Anahita brings the basket and sits alone on a volcanic boulder. A dream resonates. She discovers squirrels are afraid to return home because of snakes, dandelions bring life to a planet besides Earth, and bitter Owl has forgotten how to play.
Anahita’s Lament
Yellow birds releasing from my body –
Time to let go.
Three young women gather round candles.
I hear them chant in the glow:
The moths are fainting.
The moths are collapsing.
The moths are keeling.
Yellow birds singing from my body –
Do not fear.
I paint navy and cerulean blue squares on a handkerchief.
Edges not clear.
Yellow birds stinging from my body –
This is an interior freedom.
I embroider a dandelion in a wooden hoop.
The initial “A” comes undone.
Yellow birds stringing from my body –
Only night perseveres.
Under Blood Moon
Nature goes fallow
raven Morrigan flies by during
morning prayers requires boldness
I let go nourish the dark
Black sand leeches from inside me
settles in sea depths
Bioluminescent anglerfish
jagged teeth devours my anxious
thoughts I am weak and depleted
embrace the angry monster
Sparks sear down my spine
accept day and night of self
Frankincense and myrrh needle
my skin body first home
lunar wisdom remembers
how to heal deep breath gravity
