Today's Oracle 7th April 2020

Bear (Fierce Femininity)

The wild bear of the forest is the expression of motherly devotion and loyalty to family and kin. In times of provocation and danger, the mother bear protects and defends her young without regard to her own safety. Her actions are swift and unselfish.

Invoking the Quality of Selfless Actions.

The wild bear of the forest is intimately linked with the Celtic goddess Artio, her very name meaning bear. Artio, the bear goddess to the Gaulish Celts, appears fiercely protective in the manner of a mother bear defending her young. She guards the bears from danger and guards humans from the bears. Accordingly, Artio personifies divine watchfulness and protection for both the human and animal realms. In human affairs, her motherly and bearlike protection brings a sense of safety, ease, and well-being.

Artio was the bear goddess of the Celts of Switzerland and the Moselle Valley during the Roman-Celtic period. While retaining the calm and tranquil bearing of the mother goddess and characteristically bearing fruit for her supplicants, Artio was nonetheless a fierce protectress. She had something of a double identity, as she was both the guardian of the bears and wild creatures of the forest, and the guardian of the sacred hunt.

Like a mother bear defending her young, Artio watched over animals and humans alike. Fiercely loyal, she was venerated by the Celts for the protection she provided against the wild forces of nature and, by extension, against enemies. Hunters and warriors propitiated her interventions. When enraged she was aggressive and dominant. Raging like a mother bear protecting her young in times of danger, the Celts felt safer under her sway.

Artio's fierce qualities resemble the "Mother Terrible" aspect of the goddesses of Old Europe from the Balkans discussed by Marija Gimbatas (6500-3500 B.C. ). Artio's supernatural character may be a remnant from a time when goddesses were revered as the primal forces of nature, presiding over life, regeneration, and death. While Celtic mythology abounds in stories of fiery goddesses and queens, archaeological evidence for Artio (or other ferociously dominant goddesses) is scarce. A small bronze statue found near Berne, Switzerland, depicts a regal Artio bearing fruit before the full figure of a bear, who appears to be greeting her. Between them is intimate identification, as though they are matched in strength and ferocity and equally divine.

IF YOU ARE DRAWN TO THIS ORACLE, this may be an ideal time to develop the fierce, feminine qualities of readiness and responsibility for others into your character. Not only does the mother bear protect her own young, but she personifies selfless, courageous acts on behalf of others. She acts immediately and powerfully in service to others to protect and preserve in times of danger and distress. Her actions bring peace and tranquillity to life. Everyone benefits from her watchful attention and protection.

Being watchful and safeguarding the rightful needs of family, kin, and community are beneficial and necessary qualities in human life. Men and women are called on to intervene and mediate when the rights of others are unjustly violated or circumscribed. Trust your immediate and selfless response to situations when others are in need or danger. There is no reason to hold back and think about it. Act.