A Season to Honor Everyone’s Mother : Beliefs: Goddess worshipers incorporate the ancient nature religion of Wicca into their modern lives.

Mother’s Day is not just a day to honor one’s mother.

“On Mother’s Day, we honor the greatest mother, Mother Earth. And to take it further back--to the very beginning--we’re acknowledging that all life comes through the Mother Goddess,” Kisma Stepanich said.

Stepanich is a co-founder of Women Spirit Rising of Costa Mesa, one of many Southern California groups that have discovered a new spirituality based upon primeval concepts of motherhood.

Every day, a growing number of people--doctors, artists, lawyers, teachers, even the couple next door--embrace the Earth Goddess (who is called Gaia) and integrate the ancient nature religion of Wicca into their modern lives.

Wicca commonly refers to witchcraft. But the word witch originally was another name for “the wise one,” and “witchcraft” was the “craft of the wise.” Due to centuries of widespread misconceptions, contemporary witches prefer to use the term craft in place of witchcraft and to be called Wiccans, Pagans or Neo-Pagans.

Whatever the name, the new goddess worshipers meet in monthly or quarterly “circles.” They celebrate the phases of the moon and observe seasonal festivals that have Old World names like Candlemas, Beltane and Lammas.

These celebrations reflect seasonal changes on Earth and the planting, growing and harvesting of crops. Wiccans recognize these changes in the very cycle of human existence: birth, life and death. In their eyes, motherhood and Mother Earth are inextricably connected.

Women Spirit Rising, for example, incorporates aspects of many Earth religions into their beliefs ranging from Old European to American Indian. Adherents view the Earth as a reflection of the Triple Goddess, a deity ancient civilizations saw as having three faces corresponding to earthly seasons: Spring (The Maiden), Summer (The Mother) and Autumn/Winter (The Crone).

It’s not coincidental that our American Mother’s Day has its roots in a centuries-old English Pagan tradition called English Mothering Day. On this day, children of all ages took cakes to their mothers and received their blessings.

From the arrival of spring (the Vernal Equinox) to the first day of summer (Summer Solstice), Wiccans, Pagans and Neo-Pagans are scheduling plenty of celebrations--and spiritual Mother’s Day options--for those who’d like to try something different this year. They include:

* Saturday-Sunday: Kellyn Seanachie’s traditional Celtic Wiccan group, The Covenant of the Hidden Children, is staging a Beltane celebration from noon Saturday through noon Sunday in the rustic setting of Monrovia Canyon Park.

The feast of Beltane is described in Ly Warren-Clarke’s book, “The Way of the Goddess,” as “the rite of the Goddess in her aspect as Mother of all Living . . . the Festival of Spring.”

The highlight of the celebration will be a daylong reenactment of an ancient Celtic fertility rite on Saturday. For the rite, a man and woman from the group have been chosen to personify the Goddess and her consort in the guise of “Spring Maiden” and “Young King.” The drama will unfold throughout the day and culminate in their “marriage,” which, according to ancient myth, stimulates the Earth’s fertility.

The Spring Maiden and the Young King also will preside over the Maypole (a well-known ancient fertility symbol), and visitors will be invited to grab a ribbon and join the merriment of a Maypole Dance.

Seanachie describes the weekend as a time to enjoy the restful forest setting. For information, call Seanachie, (818) 795-7940.

* Sunday: Women Spirit Rising of Costa Mesa will honor Mother’s Day and the tradition of the Earth Goddess Gaia during “The Craft of Motherhood,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Garden of the Goddess, 204 1/2 E. Broadway, Costa Mesa.

The event, which will celebrate motherhood through song, dance and ritual, is open to all women, who are encouraged to bring their mothers or a friend who is a mother.

In the Garden of the Goddess, an altar will hold symbols of motherhood, including images of the Madonna and Child, baby shoes, and earthen pots with flowers representing Mother Earth giving birth through the soil.

At last year’s ceremony, spokeswoman Stepanich said, many daughters brought symbolic tokens to present to their mothers as part of the ritual. Flowers, crystals, cowrie shells (an ancient symbol of woman), and personal items were offered in honor of their relationships.

For reservations, call (714) 837-8222. Admission: $10.

* Sunday: Tim Rutt, an articulate and knowledgeable spokesman on Neo-Paganism, will discuss the growing appeal of Paganism and Goddess worship during “Paganism: The Fivefold Path,” at 11 a.m. on Mother’s Day at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Laguna Beach. Call (714) 497-4568.

* Tuesday: The Covenant of the Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) will host Pagan Night at the Movies featuring a free screening of the 1988 French film “Sorceress” at 8 p.m. at Throop Unitarian Universalist Church, 300 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena.

“The Sorceress” depicts the true account of a 14th-Century peasant midwife who was persecuted and tried as a witch by a papal emissary.

Covenant co-coordinator Tim Rutt will lead a discussion of the film and its religious and historical context. For information, call Throop Unitarian Universalist Church, (818) 795-8625.

* May 20: Goddess Circle, a monthly discussion of women’s religions and deities, will be held at 4 p.m. at the Metaphysical Fellowship Church, 10591 Flower St., Stanton. Call (714) 821-8934. Admission: $10.

* June 8: To honor the moon in its mother phase, the Full Moon Circle of Women Spirit Rising of Costa Mesa will present a Full Moon Ritual at sundown at Newport Beach. The circle will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Newport Beach Lifeguard Station No. 74.

The ritual offers Southern Californians an opportunity to share in a 40,000-year-old tradition--a celebration of nature as the original Pagans might have done under a full moon. At last month’s ceremony, participants linked arms in a circle and recited the Eastern Indian “I Am” chant to invoke the elements: “Air I am, Fire I am, Earth and Spirit I am.”

The public is invited to join the chanting, songs and dances. For information, call (714) 837-8222.

* June 23: The City of Santa Barbara will host the annual Summer Solstice Parade, a nondenominational, nonpolitical event that celebrates the longest day of the year.

The free parade of performance artists, musicians and human-powered floats will wind from State Street to Alameda Park, beginning at noon. The public is invited. Call (805) 965-3396.

* June 23: Madre Grande Monastery, a spiritual community aligned with the Gaia movement, will recognize the Summer Solstice in a daylong celebration in the foothills above San Diego.

Featured events include a Whole Life Expo, herb walks and more. Call (619) 468-3810.

* June 24: The Divine Circle of the Sacred Grove will observe the Summer Solstice from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Highlights will include a traditional sweat lodge, an ancient purification rite practiced by American Indians. Call (714) 355-7591.