Issue No. 154, Samhain
2014
Published Quarterly Since 1976
“Three Danaan Revelations” by Olivia Robertson
Aset Shemsu – Retinue of Isis
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Oracle and Reflections on the Fellowship of Isis - Samhain 2014
ORACLE OF THE GODDESS DANA
By
Olivia Robertson
Panthea,
Initations and Festivals of the Goddess
Ritual
no. 3.
Porta
Mystica. The Soul Enters New Spheres
Priestess: (Invocation) Beautiful Dana, bring to us a glimpse of
wonder beyond the known! However satisfied we are with our existence on earth,
sometimes a longing comes upon us for a light through a mysterious passage.
Oracle: I am the Voice that calls you from afar,
I am the blackbird that sings in the morning, and lures you back from wandering
from the trodden path, I am the gleam of sunshine that speckles the hilly
grove, and casts fitful shadows upon the wild flowers of the heath. It is the
incense from My raiment that brings with it the scent of hyacinths and
bluebells and wild lilies. When you seek Me without My calling you, I am not to
be found. Yet I may manifest unexpectedly, in the heedless moment, as you put a
foot into a fast flowing stream, or climb to pick red apples. My sigh is in the
breeze that so tenderly moves your light hair, and I am the wild swan that with
its mate flies high over the treetops beyond the river.
Yet also am I the darkness that enshrouds
familiar forms, and makes sinister the commonplace things of day. Through the
half-opened door am I sensed, and in the creaking of a gate leading into the
wilderness: and I am heard in the hooting of the owl. I dignify with My moon-beams
the ugly town: but I am also the shadow of the earth that falls upon Her in Her
obscurity.
For it is in My mystery that lies My
enchantment. To live perpetually in the daylight, boxed in a room, a house, a
tamed garden and town is to lose your birthright of ever increasing adventure
into knowledge and love and glory! And that may only come to you when you
recover the adventurous spirit of the questing child, the curiosity of the cat,
the courage of the wild beast. I am no Inspirer of coward souls! My wisdom and
joy is gained through a generous acceptance of new understanding. Come with Me
and I will show you the abyss, and you will befriend the dwellers in the hollow
hills who are also My dear children! I will dance with you in the Many-Coloured
Land of Youth, and study with you in the Solar Halls of Learning.
But when you raise your eyes to the star,
I shall lift you aloft with Me to celestial realms, and with wings outspread
you shall be transformed into shining swans! Yet within you always shall be your
past, and from that you shall gain sustenance for your future growth into
conscious Immortality.
We are nearing the anniversary of Olivia's passing, and this will be our first Samhain season without her. As a retrospective, this announcement written by Olivia Robertson in October 2009, followed by an article written by Olivia and the late Deena Hartray Butta of FOI Chicago in 2010, is featured in this issue of Isian News.
FOI Foundation Union Triad
By
FOI Co-Founder Olivia Robertson
October 9, 2009
October 9, 2009
As the Goddess Isis inspired the ArchPriesthood Union, so the
Goddess Dana and the Goddess Tara have inspired the foundation of the ArchDruid
Union of the Druid Clan of Dana and the Grand Commander Union of the Noble
Order of Tara. This triad brings into harmony the Priesthood, the Mysteries and
Philosophy, and Environmental Activity. The inspired guidance came through Rt.
Rev. Olivia Robertson at Isis Oasis, USA. The three Unions form a triad of
equal importance, they are on the same level, share the same format and same
scope of work. All three Foundation Unions are protected by the Wings of Isis,
inspired by the Holy Grael of Dana and strengthened by the Sacred Mounds of
Tara.
Olivia Robertson as oracle in Chicago, touching hands with Deena Butta
FOI
Triad Structure: Contemplation
by Olivia Robertson and Deena Hartray Butta
Isis-Seshat Journal, #28, 2010
More About the FOI Triads
by Olivia Robertson and Deena Hartray Butta
Isis-Seshat Journal, #28, 2010
More About the FOI Triads
Structure has meaning. And lingering over cups of Earl Grey tea with Lady Olivia can open doorways into many things.
One day last October, (2009) Lady Olivia immersed herself in a contemplation of the FOI Triads. Here is what she wrote about the Triads last Autumn in issue #24 of Isis Seshat Journal, titled "The Triad of Isis":
“What we in the Fellowship of Isis believe in, is the ethical reality of the Goddess Faith. We have a Triad of centres which embody the 3 primal Ethics listed in the Manifesto - Love, Beauty and Truth. These are shown forth through the Priesthood, The Druid Clan of Dana, and the Order of Tara."
This Autumn, she thought some more about this, and we had some conversations about the Triads; and this article, which builds on ideas from last year, is the result. From this structure, which is based on the FOI values of love, beauty and truth, here are some understandings and insights about the roles and purpose of the societies comprising the Triad.
LOVE
Isis
ArchPriest/ess Union
AU
College of Isis
The Priesthood
Healing
Service
Guidance
Divine Communion
Goodness
Compassion For All
Etc.
BEAUTY
Dana
ArchDruid/ess Union
ADU
Druid Clan of Dana
Druidry
Arts
Psychic Ability
Psychic Development
Spiritual Vision
Creativity
Sacred Arts & Science
Etc.
TRUTH
Tara
Grand Commander Union
GCU
Noble Order of Tara
The Protectors
Action
Environmental Activism
Labor
Integrity
Moral Courage
Active Service for the Earth
Etc.
The ArchPriest/ess Union embodies the principle of Love. Its acronym, AU, is the symbol for the chemical element Gold. The priests, priestesses, hierophants, ArchPriests, and ArchPriestesses comprise the College of Isis, which is dedicated to serving members of the Fellowship of Isis, and providing caring and guidance of different kinds. The service offered by FOI priests and priestesses is characterized by devotion: to their matron goddess, to a social or spiritual cause or ideal, and to their fellow beings on this planet. They offer their hearts to others; and this can take the form of teaching and guidance. The service of hierophants additionally takes the form of structured studies offered by their lyceums, which is based on FOI liturgies and other writings. As hierophants, they "show the way," guided by the ways of their matron goddess. ArchPriest/esses serve everyone: priests, priestesses, hierophants, and general members. They have been described as being the overall custodians of FOI, who put the wellbeing of FOI above all else. All these kinds of service reflect the Love of the Goddess. The person attracted to the College of Isis is someone who is a teacher, healer, or other kind of helper. They offer their hearts in service to Goddess and mortal alike.
The ArchDruid/ess Union embodies the principle of Beauty. The Druid Clan of Dana and its Groves are dedicated to the development of psychic abilities. This kind of inner knowing is related to the kind of knowing that expresses itself through the arts. Traditionally, bards spoke poetically in order to give voice to their deity. Plato had more respect for this kind of art that does not involve manual effort. But in ages succeeding Plato, and in the FOI Groves, all the arts are understood as a vehicle for oracular communications from deity. Whether by words, images, movement, or the physical arrangement and manipulation of surroundings, inspired and intuitive expressions come through the Druid from the Goddess. Beauty is the harmony and balance found in nature throughout the cosmos, and the ArchDruid/ess Union gives expression to that Beauty on many levels. The person who is attracted to the Druid Clan of Dana might be someone who is a seer, a poet, or another kind of artist. They offer their minds and intellects to the Goddess in her service.
The Grand Commander Union embodies the principle of Truth. The Noble Order of Tara and its Priories are dedicated to nature in an active, energetic way. The knights, dames, and commanders of the Noble Order of Tara actively work on behalf of the goddess as expressed through the natural environment. They are her knights and ladies, they carry out her missions and directives, and go on her quests. They "walk their talk." Words can be misleading but our bodies never lie. The person attracted to the Noble Order of Tara might prefer action to speech, and wants to offer physical labor work for a cause. They offer their strength and energy to the Goddess in her service.
Acronyms also have meaning; and Lady Olivia enjoys discovering their hidden meanings. The names of the deities to whom the branches of the FOI Triads are dedicated, are Isis, Dana, and Tara. The name of Isis can be made into the acronym ISIS, which might stand for Isis Social Immune System. The name Dana is close to the acronym DNA. The name Tara can stand for Truth, Awareness, Recognition, and Action. The acronym for the Fellowship of Isis, FOI, is the same as the French word foi, which means faith. What all of this might communicate can be summarized as Faith and Well Being Through Loving, Knowing, and Being Our True Selves."
Deena Butta and Olivia Robertson preparing for ritual
The FOI as a Spherical Organization
By Rt. Rev. Michael A. Starsheen
Lyceum of Isis of the Stars
Dunsmuir, California
In her book “The System Made
Me Do It”, Dr. Susan M. Osborne categorizes organizations into five basic
structures: Pyramid, Arrow, Web, Mosaic, and Sphere. Each type has its
strengths and weaknesses, and its reason for existence.
A Pyramid organization is
the familiar hierarchy, with few people at the top and larger and larger groups
below; all interactions are primarily contract-based. Most major companies in
our current world are based on the Pyramid model.
An Arrow organization is
more market-driven, with each activity evaluated as to how it forwards the
bottom line and market share. Companies that primarily deal in sales or in
e-business tend to follow the Arrow model.
A Web organization is
information-driven; the most important purpose is the exchange of data between
loosely connected members. An example of a Web would be a computer interest
group where members gather to exchange data on the latest technology.
A Mosaic is a
community-oriented organization that draws people together in a bonded community
to forward the interests of the members. Most traditional churches are modeled
on the Mosaic form, with a strong sense of boundaries between members and
non-members.
A Spherical organization is
similar to a Mosaic, with its shared values and beliefs, but it behaves more
like a living organism. In particular, a Spherical organization tends to be
very flexible, held together by worldwide partnerships that transcend political
boundaries. They encourage their members to remember their sense of connection
with all living creatures. Each member looks upon the center as the source of
all life, and asks not “What are we going to do?” but “How can we make the
world a better place.” Connections and networking between members is the main
method of working out issues and problems, and of finding new solutions.
Tolerance is encouraged, and exclusion is discouraged.
When one examines the
Fellowship of Isis manifesto, we see “that this sense of spherical connection”
is what we are all about. For example, we were founded to promote “a closer
communion between the Goddess and each member, both singly and as part of a
larger group.” This identifies the Goddess, in her many faces and names, as the
center from which we derive our purpose. We venerate all Goddesses as the
Feminine Face of the Divine, manifestations of a deeper truth.
The Fellowship is completely
democratic and respects the freedom of conscience of each member, with members
free to resign or rejoin at any time. This demolishes the sense of boundaries,
of limits to what each member can do or be. Indeed, the Fellowship maintains
religious toleration and is “open to all of every religion, tradition, and
race.”
Unlike most other forms of
organization in our society, the Fellowship promotes toleration and helps us to
learn to value the insights that may be gained by others on different paths
than our own. Even more important, the Fellowship “reveres all manifestations
of Life … Nature is revered and conserved.” This is an essential element of a
Spherical organization, that it treasures and interacts with the Earth and its
creatures, believing them to be just as important as any human member.
Each member is an important
part of the whole, and has insights to contribute. Loss of any one is a loss of
the whole. Where there is disrespect, or internal politics, we need to step
back and ask ourselves if this is really what we want to do. Our Manifesto is
the tenet of belief that we agree to share when we join, and such actions do
not accord with its spirit.
In the new millennium, we
are challenged to grow beyond the selfish personal and the need to rank
ourselves over one another. Many of us have learned to change what we have been
taught by our society and to work together to find harmonious solutions. To
grow within, the members of the Fellowship need to begin dialoging and
examining ways to live and respect each other as equals. From this base we can
then help our cultures and our world to become more respectful of its members
and the Earth we share. Let us use the Spherical model we have developed so
well over the last thirty-eight years to help ourselves and others learn better
ways to live with the Earth.
Thank you for these wise words, Michael Starsheen.
The Hawthorne Fairy Tree, photo sent by Minette Quick
From Minette
Quick
Samhain
Reflections
Just as a
Multitude of Forms
Quicken and appear in time
And like the spiral grow
According to
Their own unique design
So the cycle
Of the breath begins
Upon an urgent impulse from within,
And so continues ‘til its work is done
And spirit calls an end
To this short chapter
Of Eternity
Upon this earth
That it may merge once more
With the Divine!
At
Samhain we must finally surrender those last fair vestiges of summer into
winter. The great creative thrust has died right down - and life returns to
rest, until it’s time again to throw up shoots and grow anew in fresh green
verdure, perfect for each passing season. There is no shame in life’s
decay, though ‘man proud man’ - too like the rose - ‘holds in perfection but a
little moment.’ It is the natural order and even lives life of great and potent
effect are not immune, except upon the inner planes of being, of which we can
say no more.
“Watch
and wait” is the imperative for now – rest, doze, sleep and wake. The
globe turns and returns – the spirals reverse from north to south, and each
enjoys its summer and winter in rotation. The Sun gives balance and light
according as the planet presents her inclined face upon her spinning
path. The Sun shines constantly upon our ever varying levels of
perception, regardless of the atmospheric interventions of the weather here on
Earth.
It
is we who change and fluctuate according to the play we set ourselves to act
within. Our interactions spin an endless drama, which we enshrine within our
personal beliefs, honed to our satisfaction, be they even painfully created pearls.
And “thereby hangs a tale” or two, as we all know!
What
if we could turn for comfort to an overarching and more merciful script, to
release us from our fears of ultimate despair? Might we not choose
it? The choices that we make through life need not become a tragic waste
of infinite potential, if we but choose to be and live the freer and far better
ways which our Great Mother’s pathways offer us.
Minette and Olivia, photo courtesy of Logic Reality
Dated
2nd November – Samhain 2013
The
original version of this reflection was written shortly before Olivia’s passing
on 14th November 2013. On coming across
it again this Summer 2014, I decided to edit it with the first few lines in the
form of a poem which I lovingly dedicate to her memory.
Announcements
Olivia Robertson, Kasey Conder and
deTraci Regula, 2006
The
Parliament of World's Religions, Salt Lake City, Utah
The Council for the Parliament of World's Religions has announced
Salt Lake City, Utah as the location of their conference in 2015.
Kasey Conder of the Fellowship of Isis in Utah, of Salt Lake City
will be coordinating the participation of the Fellowship of Isis with the
Parliament of World's Religions.
Kasey has lived in Salt Lake City for several years. He heads a
very active Fellowship of Isis group through his Lyceum of Isis Utah. He
received a charter from FOI Co-Founder Olivia Robertson to create a central
website for the Fellowship of Isis. In 2011 he hosted Olivia for several days
in Salt Lake City for an FOI Event he titled IsisFest.
The dates have been announced: October 15 - October 19
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
For more information please contact Kasey Conder at:
Google
Mobile Number & Voicemail: 801.382.7054
Website:
http://www.isisofutah.org
Received August 21, 2014
Notice to
all FOI Sites
It is now 9 months since Olivia's passing, time which seems to have flown by as we deal with her loss. A time, also, when we come to truly understand the vast legacy she left behind, a legacy which continues to inspire and enliven us all on our vocational paths! In 2016 the Fellowship of Isis will celebrate its 40th anniversary, a profound vision of love, community and spiritual devotion to the Divine Feminine which Olivia and Lawrence created at the Vernal Equinox in 1976. As the Fellowship grows, with possibly as many as 30,000 members, we come to realise the expansiveness of that vision! The huge quantity of work that Olivia and Lawrence put into the FOI, is only now being realised as we take up the mantle and we thank the Gods for the gift that they both gave to us!
As part of the upcoming celebrations, we, at the Foundation Centre on the borders of counties Carlow and Wexford, felt that it would be wonderful to have a very clear sense of the extent of the membership and the Iseums, Lyceums, Priories and Groves and other groups in existence. We have discussed the possiblity of creating a world map with markings showing the location of all groups being run throughout the world. There is so much marvelous work being done throughout the Fellowship that it would be a lovely thing to honour it!
To that end, we are asking all Iseums, Lyceums, Priories and Groves, and other groups within the Fellowship, to renew contact with the Foundation Centre so that we do not, in error, leave anyone out! Perhaps you could also explain a little about the groups you run so that the members of the Fellowship come to know more about you.
We would ask that groups contact us by Samhain 2015 (October 31st) so that we can begin to create the map and have it ready in time for the anniversary itself.
Looking forward to hearing from you all!
With the blessings of Isis,
The Circle of Brigid
It is now 9 months since Olivia's passing, time which seems to have flown by as we deal with her loss. A time, also, when we come to truly understand the vast legacy she left behind, a legacy which continues to inspire and enliven us all on our vocational paths! In 2016 the Fellowship of Isis will celebrate its 40th anniversary, a profound vision of love, community and spiritual devotion to the Divine Feminine which Olivia and Lawrence created at the Vernal Equinox in 1976. As the Fellowship grows, with possibly as many as 30,000 members, we come to realise the expansiveness of that vision! The huge quantity of work that Olivia and Lawrence put into the FOI, is only now being realised as we take up the mantle and we thank the Gods for the gift that they both gave to us!
As part of the upcoming celebrations, we, at the Foundation Centre on the borders of counties Carlow and Wexford, felt that it would be wonderful to have a very clear sense of the extent of the membership and the Iseums, Lyceums, Priories and Groves and other groups in existence. We have discussed the possiblity of creating a world map with markings showing the location of all groups being run throughout the world. There is so much marvelous work being done throughout the Fellowship that it would be a lovely thing to honour it!
To that end, we are asking all Iseums, Lyceums, Priories and Groves, and other groups within the Fellowship, to renew contact with the Foundation Centre so that we do not, in error, leave anyone out! Perhaps you could also explain a little about the groups you run so that the members of the Fellowship come to know more about you.
We would ask that groups contact us by Samhain 2015 (October 31st) so that we can begin to create the map and have it ready in time for the anniversary itself.
Looking forward to hearing from you all!
With the blessings of Isis,
The Circle of Brigid
New Coursework for the Noble Order of Tara: An Introduction
Introduction to A New
Course for the Noble Order of Tara
By Sheila Broun, NOT
http://goddessstudycentre.co.uk
© 2013
In November 2012 Olivia
Robertson invited me to go to Avebury with her for the day. Later, we travelled
on to Lacock, and over tea Olivia was suddenly inspired to ask me to write a
Coursebook for the Noble Order of Tara, and wrote the following message, asking
me to email it to Caroline Wise.
My Dear Caroline
I am so delighted that Sheila Broun is producing a
book (Coursebook for Level 1 & 2) for N.O.Tara. I recommend that each
chapter be recorded on your website with British illustrations. I feel this is the work of Elen, what we both are looking for – including
Yeats, AE & Co in Spirit.
Love,
Olivia
I am an artist, poet, and priestess of the British Goddess Sulis with the Fellowship of Isis. For many years previous to joining the Fellowship I had been immersed in Taoism and the Chinese Arts, Women’s Mysteries, and experiential work in Nature, creating my own meditations and rituals, and working with the Elements – experiencing different qualities of rain, wind, earth and light – around the seasons and wheel of the year, and communing with the trees of the forest.
In 2011 I was drawn to the Noble Order of Tara by the key text chosen by Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, from Yeats, about The Journey of Red Hanrahan on Samhain Night. This text drew me like a magnet. In every other description I have read of the Hallows, they are in the hands of male figures who use them for war, and I have discovered that war, and normalising the model of war, is central to our alienation, and our current environmental issues.
I sent Olivia my first draft for Level 1, and at Spring Equinox 2013 she wrote to me:
My Dear Sheila,
CONGRATULATIONS ! It is a terrific Course with the 4
Elements. And I love the masks. i suggest you send a copy of your mask photos
plus an introduction to the Course for Isian News - Rt
Rev Linda Iles, DCD, www.fellowshipofisis.central.....We’ll meet in
August. My fingers are FROZEN – so cold. Lots of warm love and appreciation –
tell Linda you are my friend – we did a Rite at Avebury!
Lots of Love & Blessings of Brigid,
Olivia.
Sadly we never met in
August, and Olivia passed over the day I sent her the final manuscript on 14th
November 2013. Now, a year later, Linda has suggested that I post exerpts in
Isian News.
TARA
By Sheila
Broun, NOT
http://goddessstudycentre.co.uk
© 2013
Tara is a very
ancient Goddess, and appears in cultures all over the world, not only in India,
and Tibet, but in Russia, Mongolia, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and
South America. ‘The oldest reference to Tara, perhaps, is found in an ancient
saga of Finland, thought to be five thousand years old. It mentions a group
known as Tar, The Women of Wisdom. The frame drum is also known as Tar, and as The Old Woman
Who Never Dies.Tara also shares many attributes with Xi Wang Mu in China, who resides in the Tien Shan mountains, and ‘controls the cosmic forces: time and space, and the pivotal Great Dipper (Ursa Major) constellation. She ordains life and death, disease and healing, and determines the life spans of all living beings’. The oldest reference to Xi Wang Mu is an oracle bone inscription from the Shang dynasty, thirty-three centuries ago.’ She is one of several Mu divinities or ‘Mothers’.
The word Tara literally means ‘star’ and Patricia Monaghan describes Her as ‘the Star Goddess who is a manifestation of Time (Kali, Kailleach); and is also the Goddess of self mastery and mysticism; in Her Maiden form a Goddess of Compassion and a Celestial Boat Woman, ferrying Her people across from the world of delusion to that of knowledge’. The Pole Star, the brightest of seven stars in Ursa Minor, was known as Druva-Tara – the immovable star, and is still used for navigation.
The connection of Xi Wang Mu to Ursa Major (Big Dipper) and its seven stars was central to Chinese culture. She is also a cosmic weaver who creates and maintains the universe. ‘People exchanged sheng tokens as gifts on stellar holidays, especially the Double Seven festival in which women’s weaving figured prominently. It was celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month, at the seventh hour, when Xi Wangmu descended among humans….and cosmic energies were in perfect balance’.
Another meaning of ‘Tara’ is ‘the pupil of the eye’ , suggesting that She watches over those who navigate life. ‘The Book of The Centre says that Xi Wangmu is present in the right eye’. Tara’s name in Tibetan is Dölma, which means "She Who Saves. "In Hinduism Tara is known as the ‘rescuer’, and She is the second of the Ten Mahavidyas, or ‘Great Wisdom Goddesses’.
There are
many similarities between Tara and Kali in India, and many mantras include them
both as one. However, Tara is differentiated by her blue, rather than black,
skin. She also wears a tiger skin skirt, which links Her again to Xi Wang Mu
who is depicted as a Tigress. ‘As early as 2400BC, Indus Valley seals depict
tiger-women and women dancing with tigers….Yu bronzes of the early Shang
dynasty show a tigress clasping children in her paws – possibly a clan
ancestress, or a shamanic initiator’.
‘Tara can be distinguished visually from Kali primarily via her implements. Four armed, she carries a sword, a severed head or skull cup, a lotus and scissors. Kali never holds a lotus or a pair of scissors’. This links her to the third Fate, one of the Cosmic Weavers, who cuts the thread of life at death.
In Tibetan Buddhism ‘Tara holds a blue lotus in her right hand ... in the teaching mudra. The blue lotus is a night-blooming flower, and so Tara protects at the time of greatest fear, during both literal darkness and while we are in the darkness of ignorance.
It is said
that Tara Ma's footprints are preserved in the smashan. Ish-tar also has
footprints, four times human size, in
the rock outside Her temple, as does the Kailleach in Scotland. In
Scandanavia, Givinarhol, the troll
woman/giantess' cave, belonged to an old woman who left her footprints in the
rock near the lake.
Tara appears in the British Isles and Ireland as the Crone or Kailleach, like Xi Wang Mu. ‘To the north of the ring forts on the Hill of Tara in Ireland is a small Neolithic passage tomb known as Dumha na nGiall (The Mound of The Hostages) which was constructed around 3,400 BCE . It has a short passage which is aligned with sunrise at Samhain and Imbolc, when a 13’ long sunbeam enters the Mound.
In the Scottish Highlands the Kailleach‘ is an elemental power of winter, the cold, wind, and tempests. She comes into power as the days shorten and the sun courses low in the skies. She carries a slachdan (wand of power) with which she shapes the land and controls the weather. In the Skye folk-tale “Finlay the Changeling” she strikes the ground with it, making the earth harden with frost. Wherever the Cailleach throws her slachdan nothing grows.....In early spring the Cailleach hurls her slachdan into the root of the holly and gorse, plants symbolic of winter and sacred to her…she metamorphoses into a gray boulder that exudes moisture’.
‘Her face was blue-black of the lustre of coal
And her bone-tufted tooth was like red rust.
In her head was one pool-like eye,
Swifter than a star in a winter sky.’
And her bone-tufted tooth was like red rust.
In her head was one pool-like eye,
Swifter than a star in a winter sky.’
Max Dashu
notes that the Kailleach is ‘a deity who is both transcendent and immanent. She
is connected with rivers, lakes, wells, marshes, the sea and storms; with
rocks, mountains, boulders, megalithic temples and standing stones; and with
cattle, swine, goats, sheep, wolves, bird, fish, trees, and plants’. The figure
of Crone known as Black Annis in Leicestershire is described as having a blue
face by the poet Milton. She is also seen in the form of a Black Panther.
Mountain
springs were sanctuaries of the Scottish Cailleach. She was said to visit them
to renew her strength, or to perform rites bringing on passage of the
seasons. Her incredible longevity came
from the water of life....The Scots often spoke of beur cailleachan in
the plural, as powerful beings living in lochs and among rushes. A certain tall lakeside reed was called “the
distaff of the Bera wives’ again linking the Kailleach to the Cosmic Weavers or
Fates.
The Kailleach shapes the landscape, hurling rocks from Her Apron to create mountains – which are still named for Her. As a builder She is similar to the Egyptian Seshat, in later times known as Mistress of The House of Architects. Seshat also wears a leopard skin, and is connected with Ursa Major, wearing a seven pointed star on Her headdress. Seshat is a very ancient Goddess and was often referred to as “The Original One”, who measures time and space. She is also referred to as ‘Lady of Writings in the House of Life’. ‘Seshat comes to us from the very beginning of Egyptian culture as one of a group of sky deities who were ousted by the solar religion of Ra’.
Shrine to Water
Create
a shrine somewhere in the west side of your room/house, where you can meditate
on the different qualities of water; the activities you are engaged in to bring
you into a more connected relationship with
this element; and a growing awareness of the vastness it encompasses. As you
continue to work with the element of water your shrine will develop in a way
that is personal to you.
tides
|
torrential
|
tranquility
|
ice
|
blood
|
|
flowing
|
gentle
|
eroding
|
hail
|
running
|
|
healing
|
refreshing
|
freezing
|
flow
|
splashing
|
|
life
source
|
N
snow
|
soaking
|
|||
neap
tide
high
waves
|
|||||
high
tide
|
|||||
wells
|
W
sea
|
C
dew
|
E
spring
|
swimming
|
|
skrying
|
moon
|
||||
drinking
|
oceans
|
||||
always
changing
|
Grave
of
sailors
|
||||
diving
|
S
river
|
drowning
|
|||
fluid
|
flooding
|
||||
rain
|
culverts
|
||||
purifying
|
whirlpools
|
||||
ponds
|
reflecting
|
emotions
|
fog
|
marshes
|
|
rain
clouds
|
mist
|
waterfalls
|
deep
water
|
puddles
|
|
flux
|
tears
|
hydration
|
drizzle
|
RIVERS
Get to know
your local river. Find out it’s source and visit it. Maybe create a journey and
walk parts or all of it. How does the energy of the river change along its
length? Note how the river changes
throughout the seasons. What plants and creatures live in it, on it, or on its
banks? What trees grow beside it? Where
are the bridges over it? Is it polluted
or is it clear? Find out the whereabouts
of your local waterways group and research the history of the river. Maybe you
can volunteer to help look after it.
CAULDRON – PLEASURE
What is the Cauldron, what
does it hold? How many cauldrons are there and what is their purpose? In the
British and Irish traditions ‘there is a cauldron of the harvest & garnered
fruits of the earth; there is a cauldron of death & rebirth; there is a
cauldron containing the stored seeds to be planted for the next and future
year’s crops; there is a cauldron containing carefully gathered and boiled
essence of trees, plants and herbs, such that it produces remarkable mystical knowledge and inspiration’ 1
Water
The Cauldron is a vessel, and is commonly linked to the element of water. Study water in all its forms. Water has been found to have memory. Work with mists, seas, springs, rain, dew, ice, snow, rivers, waterfalls. Know water as an indestructible element, but one which constantly changes form, which is in your blood, your urine, your spittle, which evaporates on the air and is ancient, yet ever new.
Kerridwen– life, wisdom, inspiration – these attributes she boiled in Her cauldron for a year and a day. Finally She was able to distill three precious drops of the Grace of Inspiration (the Awen) for Her Son. His inspired poetry spoke of the Cauldron, from which proceeded the Word.
Morgen – mor/sea gen/born. Sea Goddess and Queen of Avalon, the Isle of the Dead.
Mannannan– God of the Sea, particularly linked to the Isle of Man.
Silina – Moon aspect of Sulis, who rules the tides and cold springs.
Nimue – the Lady of The Lake. She lives surrounded by beautiful immortal maidens in an island realm where there is neither winter nor pain nor death.
The Maidens of the Wells – offered sustenance to the weary traveller.
From you experiences, how do you understand ‘pleasure’ to be the designated property of the Cauldron?
1, KaledonNaddair. Keltic Folk & Faerie Tales.
WEST
THE CAULDRON OF PLEASURE
THE DARK WOMAN OF KNOWLEDGE
A gift
That can
only be freely given
From a
generous source.
I am the
gift of the Cauldron
Which
emerges
From the
depth of the Lake
And the
mists of time
In the
keeping
Of the Dark
Woman of Knowledge
Who is the
Voice of The Land.
I bring
Pleasure and Healing
And teach
you to love yourself
So you can
love all life.
Sheila
Broun © 2013
Please note: The coursework will be available on Sheila's website in about two weeks.
http://goddessstudycentre.co.uk
© Sheila Broun, 2013
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