When I first came home to Paganism, I studied goddesses, searching for the one I could most relate to, one who could best help me heal and grow.

Being of Irish descent, I focused on Celtic Goddesses, and found Rhiannon. Rhiannon had her baby taken from her while she was still recovering from birth, and was falsely accused of eating her baby. As punishment, she was forced to carry visitors on her back and tell them her “crime,” for seven years, until her son turned up alive and she was exonerated.

I was drawn to her because she suffered unjustly, and as a survivor of child abuse, I understood what it was like to suffer long punishments for crimes I didn’t commit. Metaphysical sources said working with her would help me develop patience and forgiveness, and so it did.

Fast-forward to 2018, and there are thousands of mothers and fathers having their children ripped from their arms for the crime of seeking asylum in a country taken over by white supremacists.

Rhiannon has not been the goddess my heart has been screaming to. I’ve frequently envisioned Kali beheading racists left and right. The racists in positions of power taunting these parents that they will never see their kids again, the racists excusing this evil with ignorant arguments, the liar in chief being his hateful self...the stories I've read, the videos I've watched with tears streaming down my cheeks...two months now of these horrific human rights violations, on top of so many other heartbreaking and enraging events and situations in the last few years, have overloaded my empathy to the point of burn-out too many times.

 This rage, this despair, it poisons me.  It drains my energy and joy, leaving me irritable, depressed, short-tempered with my sweet kids.  It affects my husband, my family, my friends, and all the people I could be supporting, encouraging, empowering.

This is not what I came here to do.

Now I'm ready to call on Rhiannon to remind me that forgiveness is a gift to myself, a releasing of judgmental thoughts that frees up my energy for problem-solving and helpful action rather than burning it all up in impotent rage.  Rhiannon reminds me that there are helpers, that I'm not the only one who cares, there are millions of us, and we have the power to make our voices heard.

How?  By speaking up, and encouraging and inspiring out friends to speak up too.  We can make our voices heard on social media, by calling our representatives, by showing up to our voting booths, and by voting with our dollars.

We can volunteer where possible, share links like this one to get word out to others who can help in ways we may not be able:

7 Real Ways To Help Reunite Immigrant Families

We can donate to organizations dedicated to helping reunite these families, like this one:

RAICES Family Reunification Fund

We can stand between white supremacists and their intended victims whenever the opportunity presents itself.  We can take care of our neighbors.  And of course take care of ourselves so we have a full well from which to pour!