The Path of She: Walking with the Goddess

Walking the path of the Goddess, the Divine Feminine, can be likened to connecting with the deeper, soul-based needs and desire whereby we feel an overpowering sense of peace and inner stillness when experiencing the most simple of things.  Noticing the first changing leaf that signifies Autumn is on its way, or how the sun's light plays upon a pond surface, the darting of sparrows, or the resilience of that pumpkin plant that is determined to take over my  back garden no matter how many times I cut it back.  All this subtle things may appear unworthy of any such "spiritual" attention, yet when viewed from such a perspective, they present great insight and wonder.  After all, one aspect of the Goddess is Gaea, Mother Earth.

 

The Three Fold Brighid - Goddess, Saint and Druidess

The 1st or 2nd of February is the sacred day of Brighid, the triple formed Celtic Goddess, Saint and Druidress.

 

Within Irish mythology, Brighid (whose name means, amongst others, "exalted one") was one of three daughters of the Dagda, the chief God of the Tuatha de Danann, all of whom were named Brighid.  She was also the wife of Bres (a Fomorian) to whom she had a son named Ruadan.

 

Lakshmi: The Hindu Goddess of Beauty and Prosperity

O Lakshmi, the one who has lotus-like eyes,

Who has lotus in hand,

Who is the most-dazzling white in complexion,

Who has a garland full of fragrance of various plants,

Who is the Goddess, Who is dear to Hari, Who is beautiful,

Who provides wealth to all the three worlds!

Please shower happiness on me.

(Author unknown)

 

Known since pre-Buddhist times, Lakshmi is one of the more popular Goddesses found within the Hindu pantheon.  Since last epic period (c.400 CE) she has been associated with Vishu as his consort, and plays the role of the model Hindu wife, obediently serving her husband. 

 

With her name being derived from the Sanskrit word Laksya (meaning “aim” or “goal”), Lakshmi was also known as Shri, was the Goddess associated with prosperity, wellbeing, royal power and illustriousness. As she was the embodiment of all these qualities it was believed that when these qualities were evident, the Goddess was present or would soon reveal herself.  Lakshmi was further considered to be the embodiment of loveliness, grace and charm, and was also worshipped as a Goddess who granted liberation from the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth.

 

A Time for Honouring Lakshmi

As the festive season draws ever closer, one Goddess comes readily to mind and that is the Hindu Goddess of prosperity and good fortune, of beauty and purification - the beautiful gentle Lakshmi. 

In the Hindu myth known as the "Churning of the Milky Ocean", the Gods were at war against various demons (the Asuras) who wanted to gain immortality. One day a wise sage offered Indra, the Hindu Warrior God, a garland of sacred flowers, however, in his arrogance, Indra threw the flowers on the floor. This display of arrogance upset Lakshmi, who left the realm of the Gods and enter the Milky Ocean. Without her, the Gods were no longer blessed with success or fortune, and as such, the world became darker, the people on earth more greedy, resulting in the refusal to make offerings to the Gods.  And as the Gods' power waned, the Asuras took control.

New Book: In Her Sacred Name

For a period of 10 years (from 2002 until 2012) I had a regular column in an Australian "spiritual life style" magazine, Insight, which sadly folded in August 2012.  Being a monthly magazine, often I found that I was writing about two favourite topics of mine - mythology and the Goddess.  This resulted in a number of articles being written over the years and subsequent requests (especially when the magzine folded) to collate them together into a book.  For the last 12 months, this is what I have been doing (amongst other things) with the end result being In Her Sacred Name: Writings on the Divine Feminine.

 

The Conpassionate Kuan Yin

Revered as both a bodhisattva (an individual who has attained Buddha hood, but decided to stay with the human race in order to bring enlightenment to every human being) as well as a goddess, Kuan Yin has been worshipped in many cultures and religions, with her worship still extremely popular today.  Images of her grace almost all Taoist Temples; she can be found in almost all Chinese Buddhist temples; she is revered within Shintoism; and her significance is even understood within Christianity where she has a strong resonance with the Virgin Mary.  As such, there are numerous spellings of her name (Kwan Yin, Quan Yin, Guan Yin or Guanyin) and just as many interpretations and titles of her name such as - “She who harkens the cry of the world”, “Goddess of salvation from misery”, “Goddess of one thousand arms and eyes” and more popular, “Goddess of mercy and compassion”. 

 

Rite of Her Sacred Fires in Adelaide

Every year The Goddess House, together with the Temple of the Dark Moon, include the Rite of Her Sacred Fires in with the May Full Moon Gathering ritual. 

 

 

The Rite of Her Sacred Fires is a unique international devotional celebration of the mysteries and magic of the Goddess Hekate.  It was born out of the Hekate Her Sacred Fires anthology project and written by Sorita d’Este who offered it as an act of devotion for all who wished to participate in May 2010.  The first year saw the Rite of Her Sacred Fires translated into numerous languages, with several thousand people from around the world participating by doing the ritual on the Full Moon that month.  To read more about the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, please visit the Covenant of Hekate (where the above information has been sourced from).

 

Queen of Olympos devotional now available

I am very excited to announce that Queen of Olympos: A Devotional Anthology for Hera and Iuno is now available via Amazon.com.  This anthology, the fourth to date that something I have submitted has been publishe, explores the often misunderstood long suffering "wife" of Zeus (and his Roman counterpart, Jupiter).  However, as readers will discover, there is so much more to Hera/Iuno that what is commonly considered today.

 

"Embracing the Goddess" to be held at the WEA (Adelaide) in October

I am ecstatic to be able to announce that the WEA (Worker's Education Association) here in Adelaide will be running the first of what I hope will be a number of Goddess orientated workshops with "Embracing the Goddess" to take place on Saturday, 19 October 2013.

 

Senua - Britain's Unknown Goddess

It has been a number of weeks since I last blogged here at The Goddess House.  With only just over six weeks before I head off to the United Kingdom and take part in two glorious trips organised by Dragon Eye Tours, my list of things to do seems to being increasing on a daily basis.

 

While taking a wee moment to collect my thoughts before tackling the next thing on my list, I came across this rather interesting article about a lesser known Romano-British Goddess Senua that was published in the Goddess Alive ezine a few years ago.  The author of this article does not appear on the ezine link, however, I was able to ascertain possibly the source from an article that was written by Maev Kennedy that appeared in the Guardian on 1 September 2003.

 

Encountering Tiamat from the Watery Deep

Takhisis, Queen of Darkness
by Jeff Easley

Often depicted as a watery demon, the Babylonian Goddess Tiamat was actually a primordial deity whose death created the heavens and the earth.  From the watery chaos of the oceans, Tiamat (who related to the salt water) mated with her partner Abzu/Apsu (the God of the fresh water) in order to create the Babylonian pantheon.

When the younger Gods killed her beloved Abzu, Tiamat sought revenge, only to come up against the Babylonian hero, Marduk, who trapped her in his net.  Being asociated with the winds, Marduk "blew" Tiamat up with his winds and eventually killed her by piercing her stomach with an arrow.  Marduk then cut her body in half: from the upper half he created the sky and from the lower half he made the earth. From her water came forth the clouds and her tears became the source of the Tigris and Euphratus rivers.

November Devotional Service

As the year is quickly coming to an end, various other commitments are amounting up.  As such, a regrettable decision has been made to cancel the November devotional service that was to be held at The Goddess House this coming Tuesday, 13 November 2012. 

 

A private healing circle will still take place so if you would like a name to be added to the list, please contact the Priestess in Residence.

 

The final devotional service for 2012 to be held on Tuesday, 11 December 2012, will still go ahead.  The theme of this service will be to honour the God and Goddess of the Summer.  I hope to see you there.

Green Tara and the Buddha

 The next devotional service to be held at The Goddess House (next Tuesday, 9 October 2012) will be in honour of the Green Tara and the Buddha. 

The Green Tara is often referred to as the "Buddha of the Enlightened Activity".  She is known as the "Mother of Mercy and Compassion" and is the female aspect of the universe, which gives birth to warmth, compassion and relief from bad karma as experienced by ordinary beings in cyclic existence.

A Morning Prayer for Freya

Freya is the Norse Goddess of Love and Beauty, as well as fertility, war, and wealth. The daughter of Njord, and sister of Frey, Freya lived in Folkvang (battlefield) where each day, she chose half of the slain warriors (with the other half going with Odin).

Norse legend tells of Freya, whose chariot was pulled by two black cats. Some versions of the tale claim they became swift black horses, possessed by the Devil. After serving Freya for seven years, the cats were rewarded by being turned into witches, disguised as black cats. The cats also played around her ankles as a symbol of her domesticity.

The Story of Creation - Creating Ritual

In Pelasgian (and later Greek) myth, the Goddess Eurynome danced the world into creation from the dark void of Chaos.  The following is based on that ancient story which has been transformed into a way of calling in the elemental quarters when creating a sacred space.

For those who are not based in the Southern Hemisphere, or who use different placements for the elementals, feel free to adapt.

Bone Mother and the Child of Winter

The mid Winter solstice may have gone and this morning the fragile sun is warming the land, but this is an illusion ... Winter is far from over as the weather can quickly change within a blink of an eye.

This time of uncertainty is ruled by the Bone Mother, the Goddess of Winter.  Often referred to as the "Unknown One", the Bone Mother is often considered to be older than time itself for it was she who created time - to the Hindus, she is referred to as Kali.  She is also considered to be of the land, yet as she walked, she created the land.  To the inhabitants of the British Isles and Ireland, and in particular of the islands off north west Scotland, she is known as the Cailleach.

Using Devotional Beads



Triple Goddess Devotional Beads

The use of beads as a devotional tool can be found within many spiritual paths and traditions.  Known by various names, the purpose of using devotional, prayer, mala or even rosary beads is largely the same -that of being a counter when prayers, mantras or chants are repeated.

Sacred Strands is a wonderful site that outlines the use of such beads.

Lunar Eclipse in a Sagittarius Full Moon

At tonight's Full Moon Gathering, the moon will not only be in the astrological sign of Sagittarius, but it will also be under the influence of a partial lunar eclipse.  This is when the Earth lines up between the Sun (in the astrological sign of Gemini) and the Moon so that it blocks the Sun's light from fully reaching the Moon. 

During a lunar eclipse the Earth cuts the energy between Sun and Moon, dissolving the energetic structures on Earth and within us.  This opens a portal through which we can release old complexes, habits, ideas, beliefs and wounds that no longer serve our life.   

Hymn to Isis

I call upon you, Isis, most graceful and high of the High Ones
Hear your lowly servitor and grant your blessings
Most full and gentle
You whose crescent moon and stars
Encompass the world.

Wave your arm, and strew the glittering dust of many worlds
Like seeds to be planted in the vast blackness of space
Step gently across the bridge of many colors
And rest in the mountains of flowers I wish for your offering
That they may shine.

Swell the fruit of the land, make mother with child
Cause flying birds to nest, and bees to swarm
Make the endless procession of life grow full and bountiful
Bring water to the well and rain to the clouds
Cause your veils to fall upon barren earth
And make it holy.

Tykhe - the Goddess of Luck

Within Greek mythology, the Goddess associated with fortune, providence and fate is Tykhe, who was also honoured as Eutykhia, the Goddess of good fortune, luck, success and prosperity. 

The daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, Tykhe was represented with different attributes.  Holding a rudder, Tykhe was conceived as the divinity guiding and conducting the affairs of the world, and in this respect she was called one of the Moirai (or Fates); with a ball she represented the varying unsteadiness of fortune - unsteady and capable of rolling in any direction; with Ploutos or the horn of Amalthea, she was the symbol of the plentiful gifts of fortune.