Tejas

   As the New Apostolic Reformation angles to target each of the states individually in their spiritual campaign, it occurs to me that we can learn something important from them. Each of those states, after all, is a fairly distinct landmass, with individual topography, features and mythology. Which, to us as Pagans, should indicate it has its own spirit. Usually thinking of your home state in spiritual terms is avoided, because the concept of statehood ties in with the overculture so much, however, the necessaries for a build your own worship kit are right there in your state's individual nature.
  Conveniently, I live in a state with a long standing attitude of individuality and quasi-fanatic culture already. Texas, while possessing many distinct geographical regions, is a territory that could never be confused with any other. The land is harsh and unforgiving at times, but beautiful for that very reason.  What might the spiritual connection with Texas look like?
  Well, to start with, moving away from the modern pronunciation, we find Tejas, one of the area's original names. Tejas is an appellation that diverse group of indigenous peoples here, composed mostly of Caddo, used to refer to themselves, which became the Old Spanish name for the territory. Not so coincidentally, Tejas is the Sanskrit term for fire and brightness, the dominion of the Hindu god Agni. So we can see that a strong characteristic of the goddess Tejas would be fire, heat and fierceness.
  Anyone who has walked outside in a Texan August will tell you that this much is obvious. Strings of days in the triple digits are common, along with frequent drought. Most of the state turns a pale, golden brown as the vegetation dies off and the sun reigns supreme for a solid five months.
  What else could we find in our Texan culture to associate with Goddess worship? Most obviously, our flag features a great white five-pointed star, our state being known as "The Lone Star State". A Pentacle in disguise perhaps? It's interesting, as you look as these things, how clear it becomes that mysticism hasn't really left the culture at all, but is hiding in plain sight.  Another example is the sacred flower of Tejas, the yellow rose. This particular blossom is praised in an infamous song, "The Yellow Rose of Texas", and could very well be considered another name for the goddess of our particular plot of earth. So from those to pieces of folklore, we can extrapolate that Tejas would almost certainly be a solitary warrior goddess, while simultaneously being a patroness of beauty and potentially harmonizing with our Solar Plexus chakra, one of the most fiery charkras. You can see, she shares qualities from many different traditional goddesses, such as Venus, Diana and Brigid.
  Why is it important to connect with the deified spirit of the land you live on? Well, first and foremost, it makes deity far more accessible. While I dearly love the Greco-Roman pantheon, their qualities and correspondences are difficult to envision as I walk around the hill country of central Texas. Second, it allows you to take part in the creation of your own worship. Last but not least, in these times when we are all struggling so desperately for identity, it offers us a personalized approach to working with the Otherworld, and it creates a resilient solidarity between yourself and the persona of the place where you live. So go out, meditate, commune with your land and figure out how it wants to be respected. You'll both be glad you did.