Brodie LeBlanc says, “I’d personally like to know if there are particular deities (and which ones) you are connected with.”
All right, I’m not gonna hold back. The first deity who comes to mind for me is Baubo.
I first “met” Baubo within the pages of Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.
For me, Baubo is the goddess of the belly laugh, of bawdy jokes, and of feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Estes illustrates her beautifully in this way. I recommend that book for anyone who loves folklore, as well as anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of their wild side, regardless of gender.
Baubo’s origins are murky. Any girl’s story suffers from gossip and hearsay, especially when her story lasts a long time. Baubo’s story is one of the oldest. She may be the first Sacred Fool that we have. We think that she predates the Greek myths entirely. She makes her own appearance in them, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, saving Demeter from her own grief with a little bit of bawdy honesty. She also appears in the Egyptian pantheon, in the story of Isis and Osiris, again as a fearless, honest, and strong balm for grief- she lifts her skirt and makes Isis laugh again. The same thing happens in the story of Amaterasu and Uzume. 🙂
