The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
On a night of the full moon, sit down in a quiet spot, preferably somewhere where you can see the full moon.
Take some deep breaths and relax. Gaze upon or visualize the full moon while you let go of anger, stress, anxiety and distractions.
Then, close your eyes. Go to your safe place. It is night here, but the night is illuminated by a full moon shining brightly in the sky. The moonlight touches you, and in response, you feel delicate, luminescent wings grow, strong enough to carry you easily. Stretch your wings experimentally.
Now, with some strong beats of your wings, raise yourself into the air. Feel the resistance of the air, against your wings, the air that is rushing around you as you fly into the sky, into the direction of the full moon. There is an updraft that carries you higher... and higher... effortlessly higher and higher...
You look ahead and see the bright, full moon in front of you, huge, and growing even bigger and bigger as you approach it, until you can no longer see it in its entirety. You can see a structure, round like the full moon itself, and you fly into that direction...
It is a building, a temple of white marble, the same color as the white moon itself, built into a dome. You land to one side of it and fold your wings. Follow the wall until you see an opening into the temple. You can see it easily because a warm, golden light comes from the inside. You step through the opening, into a temple. Here, there are statues and pictures on the wall, and they are interspersed with living things: plants, from tiny cacti to huge trees, populated with birds and other animals. Somewhere you see a mother hare giving birth to a small litter of baby hares. The artwork shows similar scenes of giving birth, of nurturing animals and women, of abundance and fertility in general. You wander around, investigating...
You seem to have made it to the middle of the dome. There, you behold a woman sitting beside a fireplace, breastfeeding a baby. She looks up at you and smiles. “Come over”, she invites you, pointing at a chair. You follow the invitation. She keeps silent, so you simply enjoy the atmosphere of the temple: the sounds of birds, the crackling of the fire, and the suckling babe. The animals here are not sky, they pass directly by the place where you re sitting.
Finally, the baby is satisfied. The Goddess turns her attention towards you and speaks:
“I am the mother who cares
for the life of the earth.
Without me, no corn would spring forth,
no animal would get pregnant,
no mother would be able to feed her child.
I am the one who takes on the job,
who cares for others,
who nurtures the world.
I grant you this: shelter in harsh times,
and always a friendly ear to listen.
I charge you this: grant shelter in bad times
help nurture the world with love and compassion.”
Talk to her about the things that aggrieve you. She will listen, and might have some advise.
...
Finally, you thank the Goddess and take your leave. You walk through the temple once more and step outside. Look into the sky. There, in the distance, you can see the earth, blue, green and beautiful. Stretch your wings again and rise into the sky. Fly back, home to your safe place. There is a feeling that is gently leading you into the right direction, a pulling, like a homing instinct. You follow it, flying back, and finally, you return to your safe place. As you land, you feel your wings dissolving.
Return to your body. Take a few deep breaths to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1, open your eyes. Welcome back.
Note: Again, write down what you experienced, especially what you remember about your conversation with the Goddess. Also remember that advise can only help you if you take it.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Mother
The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
The mother obviously corresponds to the woman during pregnancy and after childbirth, as long as she looks after her children. This can be quite literally, but it can also be metaphorically, a person taking on responsibility, creating projects, caring for the execution, organising things etc. The mother is the woman with attachments, with dependants and responsibilities, and she nurtures others, cares for them. It is through the mother that the earth, the world is fertile, that new things, new ideas spring forth.
A mythological example is Demeter, who despairs when her daughter Persephone is taken from her, and wanders the world searching for her. The moon correspondence is the full moon, so we will travel there this week.
The mother obviously corresponds to the woman during pregnancy and after childbirth, as long as she looks after her children. This can be quite literally, but it can also be metaphorically, a person taking on responsibility, creating projects, caring for the execution, organising things etc. The mother is the woman with attachments, with dependants and responsibilities, and she nurtures others, cares for them. It is through the mother that the earth, the world is fertile, that new things, new ideas spring forth.
A mythological example is Demeter, who despairs when her daughter Persephone is taken from her, and wanders the world searching for her. The moon correspondence is the full moon, so we will travel there this week.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Pathworking: The Maiden
The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
On a night of the waxing moon (like this week), choose a quiet spot. It would be best if you could look at the waxing moon. If not, take a look at it before you sit down, or visualize the crescent.
Take some deep breaths and relax. Gaze upon or visualize the moon while you let go of anger, stress and distractions.
Then, close your eyes. Go to your safe place. It is night there, and there is a waxing moon in the sky. (If your safe place is closed, like a building or a cave, go to a window or an entrance to see it.)
The moonlight touches you, and in response, you feel delicate, luminescent wings grow, strong enough to carry you easily. Stretch your wings experimentally.
Now, with some strong beats of your new wings, raise yourself into the air. Feel the resistance of air against your wings, the wind rushing around you, as you fly into the sky. There is an updraft that carries you higher... and higher... effortless, higher...
You look ahead and see the crescent moon in front of you, huge, and growing ever bigger and bigger as you approach it, until you can no longer see it in its entirety. You can see a structure, built in the shape of the crescent moon, and you fly into that direction. ...
The structure is a building, a temple of white marble, the same white colour as the moon. You land in the middle of the courtyard framed by the crescent. There is an open entrance in front of you, and you fold your wings and walk towards it. The courtyard is filled with statues, and you can see that all of them show something in a state of growing: children playing, young animals, spring plants, just opening their buds.
You enter the temple. It is illuminated carefully and smells slightly of roses. There are mosaics inlaid in the floor and the walls, and more statues. Here, a lot of them show a young woman, dancing joyfully, playing with children, teasing and flirting with young men.
You walk around the temple , watching the stories unfold in the pictures.
Then, you hear the voice of a young woman: “Welcome, my guest.”
You turn towards the voice and see a woman that might have been the model for most of the pictures and statues. She smiles at you, and you greet her.
She grows a bit more serious and speaks:
“I am the bud that opens. I am
the unfolding leaf, all things that grow.
I am the maiden, free, untamed.
My life full of passion, of joy.
I walk my own way, I do what I will,
And I lend my support to the young and the wild.
I grant you a look into the mosaic
Your hearts deepest desire will be revealed.
I charge you a deed out in the world
Give your help to the young, bring joy to their life.”
Gravely, she steps aside and points at a rather small mosaic that was hidden behind her. Study the mosaic carefully. What does it show? Look at the picture, the scene displayed, the little details, everything. Distantly, you hear that she starts humming and moves away and around the temple. ...
Finally, you move away from the picture. It is time to leave now. Take your leave of the Goddess, and step outside. Look into the sky. There, in the distance, you can see the earth, partially illuminated by the sun and beautiful. Stretch you wings once again and rise into the air. Fly back, back home to your safe place. There is a feeling that is gently leading you into the right direction, a pulling, like a homing instinct. You follow it, crossing the distance again, and finally return to your safe place. As you land, your wings softly dissolve.
Return to your body. Take a few breath to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1. Open your eyes. Welcome back.
Note: Once again: Take pen and paper and write down what you remember about the journey immediately!
On a night of the waxing moon (like this week), choose a quiet spot. It would be best if you could look at the waxing moon. If not, take a look at it before you sit down, or visualize the crescent.
Take some deep breaths and relax. Gaze upon or visualize the moon while you let go of anger, stress and distractions.
Then, close your eyes. Go to your safe place. It is night there, and there is a waxing moon in the sky. (If your safe place is closed, like a building or a cave, go to a window or an entrance to see it.)
The moonlight touches you, and in response, you feel delicate, luminescent wings grow, strong enough to carry you easily. Stretch your wings experimentally.
Now, with some strong beats of your new wings, raise yourself into the air. Feel the resistance of air against your wings, the wind rushing around you, as you fly into the sky. There is an updraft that carries you higher... and higher... effortless, higher...
You look ahead and see the crescent moon in front of you, huge, and growing ever bigger and bigger as you approach it, until you can no longer see it in its entirety. You can see a structure, built in the shape of the crescent moon, and you fly into that direction. ...
The structure is a building, a temple of white marble, the same white colour as the moon. You land in the middle of the courtyard framed by the crescent. There is an open entrance in front of you, and you fold your wings and walk towards it. The courtyard is filled with statues, and you can see that all of them show something in a state of growing: children playing, young animals, spring plants, just opening their buds.
You enter the temple. It is illuminated carefully and smells slightly of roses. There are mosaics inlaid in the floor and the walls, and more statues. Here, a lot of them show a young woman, dancing joyfully, playing with children, teasing and flirting with young men.
You walk around the temple , watching the stories unfold in the pictures.
Then, you hear the voice of a young woman: “Welcome, my guest.”
You turn towards the voice and see a woman that might have been the model for most of the pictures and statues. She smiles at you, and you greet her.
She grows a bit more serious and speaks:
“I am the bud that opens. I am
the unfolding leaf, all things that grow.
I am the maiden, free, untamed.
My life full of passion, of joy.
I walk my own way, I do what I will,
And I lend my support to the young and the wild.
I grant you a look into the mosaic
Your hearts deepest desire will be revealed.
I charge you a deed out in the world
Give your help to the young, bring joy to their life.”
Gravely, she steps aside and points at a rather small mosaic that was hidden behind her. Study the mosaic carefully. What does it show? Look at the picture, the scene displayed, the little details, everything. Distantly, you hear that she starts humming and moves away and around the temple. ...
Finally, you move away from the picture. It is time to leave now. Take your leave of the Goddess, and step outside. Look into the sky. There, in the distance, you can see the earth, partially illuminated by the sun and beautiful. Stretch you wings once again and rise into the air. Fly back, back home to your safe place. There is a feeling that is gently leading you into the right direction, a pulling, like a homing instinct. You follow it, crossing the distance again, and finally return to your safe place. As you land, your wings softly dissolve.
Return to your body. Take a few breath to return and readjust. Count from 10 to 1. Open your eyes. Welcome back.
Note: Once again: Take pen and paper and write down what you remember about the journey immediately!
Maiden
The threefold Goddess: Meditations on Maiden, Mother, Crone and Hag
When I talked about the moon, I talked about the three faces of the Goddess: maiden, mother and crone.
The maiden roughly corresponds to the age of a woman between childhood and childbirth – without taking both parts overly literal. She is the virgin, the woman without attachments, without dependants, who has the freedom to do as she wills without having to take others into consideration. The maiden Goddess values her freedom, defends it and puts it to good use.
A mythological example is the huntress Artemis. She hunts on her own, or with her maidens. Woe betide any man that dares to invade her privacy. On the other hand, she gifts the results of her hunt to the people who would go hungry throughout the winter otherwise.
(It should be noted that the threefold Goddess of maiden, mother and crone is a relatively modern concept that cannot be found per se in ancient mythology. Ancient Goddesses might or might not fit into the scheme, but the concept itself was not usual. Additionally, the correspondence of the three forms of the Goddess to different ages or phases of life does not mean that we can turn towards one of these forms only, depending on our own age. On the contrary, we all need the freedom of spirit of the maiden, the nurturing abilities of the mother, the wisdom of the crone.)
The moon correspondence of the maiden is the waxing moon, and in this week's meditation, we are going to meet Her by travelling to the crescent moon.
When I talked about the moon, I talked about the three faces of the Goddess: maiden, mother and crone.
The maiden roughly corresponds to the age of a woman between childhood and childbirth – without taking both parts overly literal. She is the virgin, the woman without attachments, without dependants, who has the freedom to do as she wills without having to take others into consideration. The maiden Goddess values her freedom, defends it and puts it to good use.
A mythological example is the huntress Artemis. She hunts on her own, or with her maidens. Woe betide any man that dares to invade her privacy. On the other hand, she gifts the results of her hunt to the people who would go hungry throughout the winter otherwise.
(It should be noted that the threefold Goddess of maiden, mother and crone is a relatively modern concept that cannot be found per se in ancient mythology. Ancient Goddesses might or might not fit into the scheme, but the concept itself was not usual. Additionally, the correspondence of the three forms of the Goddess to different ages or phases of life does not mean that we can turn towards one of these forms only, depending on our own age. On the contrary, we all need the freedom of spirit of the maiden, the nurturing abilities of the mother, the wisdom of the crone.)
The moon correspondence of the maiden is the waxing moon, and in this week's meditation, we are going to meet Her by travelling to the crescent moon.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Feast
In the Charge of the Goddess it says “and you shall sing, dance, feast, [...] all in my praise, for mine [...] is joy on earth”. I suggest we do just that!
A traditional part of Wiccan ritual is “cakes and wine”. Depending on your tradition and persoanl preference, the drink may be wine, mostly red wine, juice, mead or any other beverage. The food is most often cookies, or a cake, but may be anything else. During the ritual, food and drink are blessed by the God and the Goddess and shared. The most obvious meaning of this part of the rite is “communion”: sharing in a small feast, eating and drinking with everyone present (and with the Gods), thus building a sense of community. Obviously, this part of the ritual is also a way of explicitly receiving the blessings of the Gods. Additionally, it is a reminder of the cycle of life and death.
If life is hectic and there is not enough time, it is quite common – and perfectly all right – to simply go and buy a bottle of wine and a box of cookies. However, if you have the time, try my recipe for ritual cookies. Most of the ingredients are quite mundane, but the most important part is mindfulness and love.
Recipe ritual cookies
For the dough:
500 g flour
250 g sugar
250 g butter
4 egg yolks
zest of one lemon
For the icing:
juice of one lemon
confectioner's sugar
For preparation, make sure you have all the ingredients and enough time. If you want to choose an appropriate music – either quiet and relaxing or suited to the season. Begin with a short meditation to relax, to let go of everyday stress and anger, and a short prayer or call to the Gods.
Then, weigh all of the ingredients for the dough into a bowl and knead it into a smooth dough. Of course, you can do that with a food processor, but this time I suggest you do it with your hands. Reflect upon each of the ingredients: Where does it come from? Is it grain, dairy product? What steps have been necessary to get it into the form in which you are using it? Meditate on the abundance of nature that nourishes us.
Once the dough is ready, place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Use that time to prepare anything else you need: space, rolling pine, cutting form, baking sheet. Then, go back to meditation. Meditate on what the cookies are going to be used for, and what that rite means. What layers or meaning are there to the rite? In the end, ask the Gods to bless you as you prepare the cookies, and to bless the products of your hands.
Then, preheat the oven to 180°C (corresponds to 360F). Take a part of the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it to a thickness of approximately 3-5 mm. Take your cutting form and cut out individual cookies. Use symbolic forms, such as moons, if possible, but if not, just use what you have or use a knife to cut triangles or squares. Place the cookies on the baking sheet and bake them for approximately eight minutes. Be careful with the time: They are ready when they are golden, do not let them get too brown. The actual time may depend on your oven.
In that way, bake all of the dough into cookies and let them cool. Always be mindful of the purpose for which you prepare them, and of the presence of the Goddess and the God.
Last of all, combine confectioner's sugar and a bit of lemon juice into a glaze and cover the cookies with it. If you want to, you can even draw symbols with it. Allow the glaze to dry and collect the finished cookies. They keep for approximately a month, so you can prepare them in advance.
Of course, you can go through this process with a completely different recipe.
A traditional part of Wiccan ritual is “cakes and wine”. Depending on your tradition and persoanl preference, the drink may be wine, mostly red wine, juice, mead or any other beverage. The food is most often cookies, or a cake, but may be anything else. During the ritual, food and drink are blessed by the God and the Goddess and shared. The most obvious meaning of this part of the rite is “communion”: sharing in a small feast, eating and drinking with everyone present (and with the Gods), thus building a sense of community. Obviously, this part of the ritual is also a way of explicitly receiving the blessings of the Gods. Additionally, it is a reminder of the cycle of life and death.
If life is hectic and there is not enough time, it is quite common – and perfectly all right – to simply go and buy a bottle of wine and a box of cookies. However, if you have the time, try my recipe for ritual cookies. Most of the ingredients are quite mundane, but the most important part is mindfulness and love.
Recipe ritual cookies
For the dough:
500 g flour
250 g sugar
250 g butter
4 egg yolks
zest of one lemon
For the icing:
juice of one lemon
confectioner's sugar
For preparation, make sure you have all the ingredients and enough time. If you want to choose an appropriate music – either quiet and relaxing or suited to the season. Begin with a short meditation to relax, to let go of everyday stress and anger, and a short prayer or call to the Gods.
Then, weigh all of the ingredients for the dough into a bowl and knead it into a smooth dough. Of course, you can do that with a food processor, but this time I suggest you do it with your hands. Reflect upon each of the ingredients: Where does it come from? Is it grain, dairy product? What steps have been necessary to get it into the form in which you are using it? Meditate on the abundance of nature that nourishes us.
Once the dough is ready, place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Use that time to prepare anything else you need: space, rolling pine, cutting form, baking sheet. Then, go back to meditation. Meditate on what the cookies are going to be used for, and what that rite means. What layers or meaning are there to the rite? In the end, ask the Gods to bless you as you prepare the cookies, and to bless the products of your hands.
Then, preheat the oven to 180°C (corresponds to 360F). Take a part of the dough out of the refrigerator and roll it to a thickness of approximately 3-5 mm. Take your cutting form and cut out individual cookies. Use symbolic forms, such as moons, if possible, but if not, just use what you have or use a knife to cut triangles or squares. Place the cookies on the baking sheet and bake them for approximately eight minutes. Be careful with the time: They are ready when they are golden, do not let them get too brown. The actual time may depend on your oven.
In that way, bake all of the dough into cookies and let them cool. Always be mindful of the purpose for which you prepare them, and of the presence of the Goddess and the God.
Last of all, combine confectioner's sugar and a bit of lemon juice into a glaze and cover the cookies with it. If you want to, you can even draw symbols with it. Allow the glaze to dry and collect the finished cookies. They keep for approximately a month, so you can prepare them in advance.
Of course, you can go through this process with a completely different recipe.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Dance
In the Charge of the Goddess it says “and you shall sing, dance, feast, [...] all in my praise, for mine [...] is joy on earth”. I suggest we do just that!
Choose a piece of music you like to dance to. Again, it does not have to be something specifically pagan, just something suited to you and your needs. It can be something slow and sensual, a love song, or something energetic, animated.
Choose a place where you have enough space to move freely. Play the song in autorepeat mode. Make sure you are not interrupted – and not watched, if that disturbs you. Then: dance to the song. Put yourself, your hope, your dreams, your fear into your movements. Become the dance, and let the dance become a prayer to the universe.
Choose a piece of music you like to dance to. Again, it does not have to be something specifically pagan, just something suited to you and your needs. It can be something slow and sensual, a love song, or something energetic, animated.
Choose a place where you have enough space to move freely. Play the song in autorepeat mode. Make sure you are not interrupted – and not watched, if that disturbs you. Then: dance to the song. Put yourself, your hope, your dreams, your fear into your movements. Become the dance, and let the dance become a prayer to the universe.
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