covenrochester | Entries tagged with the goddess of the witches

Very frequently when meeting a Seeker or a Cowan, the person will tell me that he or she has long been interested in magic, divination, nature, and so on. When "Nature" is mentioned, I've learned to hear "spending time outdoors" or "the natural environment." Rarely, someone will mean it to refer to "the Earth" or, even more rarely, "the Earth Mother" as a conscious entity. "Nature" proper is none of these things. The confusion probably started arising in the 1970s when we all started "fooling Mother Nature" with our delicious, chemical-filled Chiffon-brand fake-butter-magarine (Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijVijP-CDVI or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDkiq5jD5Hc or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLrTPrp-fW8).

If you are priest or priestess of the Old Religion, your subtle experiences of the Unseen will have fitted you admirably to understand what I will explain here. If you are some kind of some self-declared Tik-Tok-er or IG-er outside of the structure and tutelage of the Wise Ones, good luck to you. You chose your bed.

Nature is more akin to the female side of the One-Most-High. Higher in vibration and reach than the Earth Mother, or the Triple Goddess of the Moon, or even the Great Queen of Heaven. Nature is a set of laws and conditions, of stressors and flexors (just as we all are) and Her signature in physical manifestation is the number 7. She creates nothing in physical manifestation with the number 7 itself. She *IS* the number 7, and when you see something organized along the lines of the number 7, She is there, but in the background. 7 colors. 7 whole tones. 7 directions. The 7 shapes of creation.

She is present by Her absence. Look at the triangle above. Isis was Nature amongst the Egyptians. Erase Her line. What do you see? (the two remaining lines form a 7). Therefore, I repeat: She is present by Her absence.

The Wise Ones, both ancient and modern, call Nature the Virgin, because 7 cannot be divided by any number within the first ten digits except itself (the number 1 does not count inasmuch as, technically, no division has occurred in the result). She also bears no children because she can produce no other digit by multiplication in the first ten digits.

In the Greek Mysteries, Athena was the figure of Nature. In Greek numerology, Her name added to the number 77. She was called Parthenos (the Virgin), which in Greek numerology added to 515. 51.5 degrees is the nearest approximation to each angle of a 7-sided Heptagon.

The mystery that She is both present and absent at the same time is shown in Her mathematics.

When She is present, we cannot see Her:
1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 x 7 = 5040
7 x 8 x 9 x 10 = 5040

When She is absent, we know by Her absence that She must be there somehow, even if invisible:
1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 = 720
8 x 9 x 10 = 720

NO OTHER DIGIT BUT 7 WILL DO THIS. This is precisely why veils are used in the celebration of the Mysteries of the Goddess, and why OMMA THEIS EISO PEPLON means both "look beneath My veil" (see me, I am here) and "hide your eyes within your cloak" (do not look at me, I am not here).

She is Athena Parthenos. The Heavenly Venus of the Alchemists. Aseh-Neeta of Sais in Egypt. The Elohim of Netzach. The Hecate of the Chaldean Oracles. The High Priestess of Tarot. She is the link between the most subtle rates of vibration and the most dense rates of vibration.

Nature is like an ocean wave. The water is not the wave, but the water tells us that the wave is passing by. Nature is just like that. She is like Rilke's lover whom he could never catch. He could smell Her perfume on the balcony, but She was not there herself. He entered a street just as She turned the corner at the other end. In an antique store, an old mirror was still dizzy with the reflection of Her presence, although She had left the shop.

Rilke, however, was not a Witch. If you have been lucky enough to be blessed with inherited or learned skill, I will state that it is possible for a human being to perceive this "Nature-wave" by the inner senses. In other words, we are not engaged merely in theory and number-juggling here. Witches have the power to perceive this in reality. Never heard of all this before? Wash your nose of its ink-spots, and go find a Witch.

Are you interested in numerology? You need to know these doctrines of cosmology and number. Do you read the Tarot or playing cards? If your meanings of the 7s do not comprehend the above doctrines, you will never be a great seer or seeress for the Gods. You must learn the Universe's language. It cannot be compelled to learn yours. This goes not just for 7s, but for all the numbers.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

An Image of the Horned Father (rather Druidic, I think).

Father of the Fallen,
Father of the Fearless,
Father of the Forged,
May your Children rise in the Light.
So mote it be.

To be trained in the Craft of the Wise is to be trained into a priesthood of the Earth and of humanity. Those who undergo such training, take its oaths, and understand its obligations deserve the title Witch, Wise One. It is a title bestowed on us. We cannot claim it for ourselves, no matter much we wish it were otherwise.

An initiated and trained Witch Priest or Priestess, even if no longer practicing with a coven, will never forget his or her spiritual work, which is to be of service to the Earth and humanity in whatever way his or her circumstances permit. Sometimes that may be only lighting a candle before bed each night and saying a short prayer for the world. It might be healing work, either via herbs or magic. It might be teaching others, and raising them to the priesthood of the Craft. It might be predicting the future for people. It might be planting trees or scattering the seeds of healing plants in a public park (recall our proverb: "The Witch who plants loves others besides herself").

It might be praying for the suffering of others:

". . . Hear my words, Holy Dark Mother,
Be gracious unto me and to those for whom I pray:
The friendless, the defenseless, the meek,
The victims of crime or violence, the unjustly accused, the intranquil,
The lost, the confused, the fearful,
The overburdened, the persecuted,
Those who seek the peaceful release of death,
And all those who seek healing, whether in body, mind, or spirit . . ."

The Craft is a viable and enriching spiritual path for those who want to learn the ancient mysteries and develop the hidden powers, and then use them to serve the Earth and humanity. Do you think at its root and most fundamental that the Craft is about finding and making offerings to some patron deity? Resolving your ancestral traumas? Doing personal shadow-work? The Wheel of the Year? Colored candles, rocks, essential oils?

No.

Mother of the Forgotten,
Mother of the Forsaken,
Mother of the Forlorn,
Tell your Children
That We are here for them.
Blessed be.

*** To all those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

An Illustration of the Goddess of the Witches, from Paul Huson's MASTERING WITCHCRAFT

La Dea ha il potere di fare tutte le cose, di dare gloria agli abbassati, ricchezza ai poveri, gioia agli afflitti, bellezza ai brutti. Non affliggerti, se sei suo seguace; anche se sei in prigione e nelle tenebre, Lei porterà la luce: molti sono quelli che Lei affonda affinché possano salire più in alto.

--Dal Vangelo delle Streghe

The Goddess hath power to do all things: to give glory to the lowly, riches to the poor, joy to the afflicted, beauty to the ugly. Be not in grief, if thou art Her follower. Even if thou shouldst be in prison and in darkness, She will bring thee light. Many there are whom She sinks that they may rise the higher.

-- From the Gospel of the Witches

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

At Candlemas, the Feast of the Goddess and the Women's Mysteries, if a Witch so chooses, the Lady will speak to him or her and give a Blessing, a Quest, and a Sacrifice. If you take one, you must take all three. The Maiden gives one. The Mother gives another. The Wise One gives the third. Most people take advantage of the opportunity, and think about their messages from the Lady all year round. Each answer is unique and personal between the Witch and the Lady. Of course, you need either an oracular person in your coven or a specialist in divination. You cannot simply pick a card out of an oracle deck and expect to get a specific and coherent message.

My blessing this year was: "My son, I am sending to you a new art to learn and, with it, new knowledge. I hope you can die to your old self sufficiently to accept My blessing."

So She spoke on February 4th. By February 12th, Her words were fulfilled. I was introduced to an Eastern Master from whom I will learn some things.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

When the Goddess comes among humankind, She comes veiled, at first. When She thinks you are ready, She will lift Her veil and give you this command:

"Omma theis eiso peplon!"

It is marvelously ambiguous, and depending on who and what you are, you will understand one of these two things:

(a) Hide your eyes within your cloak!

or

(b) Look beneath my coverings!

We mention this only because this old chestnut has nearly disappeared from human consciousness, and we would not have it so.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

There are few really good depictions of the Queen of Heaven, from whom the art of astrology derives. But, below is one good image I like. You will recall that the Goddess as Queen of Heaven is our great aid in divination and in sorting out reality from falsity, and that the Goddess as Earth Mother is our great aid in healing work. These, in fact, are the two foci for Coven Rochester's existence: knowledge and healing.

( The Queen of Heaven )

When Will the French Rail Strike End?

This is a lovely little chart. Soon after Nicholas Sarkozy was elected in France, he proposed---in accordance with one of his campaign promises--certain reforms to the pension benefits of various public employee groups, and the French rail workers were one such group. On 13 November 2007, the rail workers called for a strike in opposition to the reforms. I received an inquiry from a business person who would be greatly inconvenienced by the strike if it continued past a certain date. He was going to Paris and would most likely have to alter his travel plans. He asked whether I could tell him: "When will the French rail strike end?"

I could and I did.

The Seeker was irrelevant here, except for the fact that he was a business person living in a different country, and so I had to analyze the chart a certain way.

France: House 9, and Lord 9 is Jupiter.

French Government/Sarkozy: House 6, and Lord 6 is the Sun.
(10th from the 9th)

French Public Employees: House 11, and Lord 11 is Saturn.
(6th from the French Government)

The Jobs of the French Public Employees: House 8, and Lord 8 is Mars.
(10th from the French Public Employees)

We must judge this question as: When will the French Public Employees return to their Jobs? In astrological terms, when will Saturn and Mars be brought together?

I could also see from the chart that the Moon was the rail union boss.

In a question like this, we can ignore almost all prohibitions with a couple of exceptions not applicable here. We can do this because we *know* for a certainty that the rail strike will end at some point. Paris public transport is not shutting down FOREVER. Therefore, there must be an answer in the chart.

Saturn and Mars will next be brought together by a translation of light by the Moon.

The Moon's next aspect is a square to Venus, but we can ignore that as a prohibition.
After that, the Moon trined Saturn and immediately opposed Mars. That's the aspect we need.

Curiously, Mars in this chart is Stationary. So it is staying put until the Moon reaches it. When the Moon reaches it, Mars goes Retrograde -- a symbol of everyone going back to work.

When does that aspect perfect? In just about 9 degrees, which I interpreted as 9 days, November 22.

Judgment: I told the Seeker that the strike would be ended on the evening of the 22nd, and there would be rail service the next day and the days following. And so it was. The decision to end the strike was made at a meeting on the evening of the 22nd. Most service resumed on the 23rd, and all service resumed on the 24th.

You can trace out more of the story by looking at the receptions. I did, but my Seeker wasn't interested. He just wanted to know whether he would have to cancel his trip to Paris.

One can see that Sarkozy would not budge or negotiate (fixed sign, mute sign), but would remind the union boss that the union boss might have some worldly power (Moon on angle), but not much negotiating power (Moon in weak-voiced Capricorn) and zero moral ground (Moon in detriment). So the union boss met with the workers and said, "hey, I'm on your side, I'm doing all I can for you" (Moon trine Saturn, with Moon loving Saturn), "but, regretfully (Moon opposition Mars, Moon exalting Mars, Mars controlled by Moon), everyone's going to have to go back to work (Moon translating light of Saturn to Mars) while we enter further negotiations." That was somewhat of a falsehood on the part of the union boss. Sarkozy had already reminded him that his negotiating voice was weak (Moon in weak-voiced Capricorn), but the union boss was buying time.

And so it all proved. The rail workers essentially folded with some minor benefits (to save face) and a rather public spanking, and Sarkozy eventually passed his pension reforms.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

If you have grown up in a Christian-Churchified country, you will know of the Pater Noster, the "Our Father," or the Lord's Prayer. The term "Pater Noster," comes from the two first Latin words of the Lord's Prayer:

Pater noster
qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum,
mekka lekka hi
mekka heiney ho . . .

(Just kidding on those last two lines . . . I wanted to make sure you are paying attention). This traditional Latin form was known as the White Paternoster amongst magical practitioners. There was also a "Black Paternoster" -- which is the White Paternoster, in Latin, said backwards. It had many uses in medieval times. Fallen Catholics and Christians, or the psychotic, vengeful, oppressed, etc. who wanted to pledge themselves to the Christian deity of evil, i.e., the Devil, would use it. It could be used in curses. And so on.

Less well known is the Green Paternoster. There are several old charms that go by the name Green Paternoster. The Bishop of Lincoln complained in the early 13th century of old women blasphemously using a charm in which they addressed an entity called the Green Paternoster as “Peter’s dear sister.” Given the facts that “Peter” derives from the Latin word for “rock,” and that the entity addressed is both female and “green,” it is clear that the old beldams were invoking the Earth Mother as the Sister of the Land (Rock). Another version addresses the Green Paternoster as “Mary’s sweet sister.” Mary is derived from the Latin word for “the sea.” So, in that version, the old ladies were invoking the Earth Mother as the Sister of the Sea.

Green Paternoster,
Peter's dear sister (or Mary’s sweet sister),
Who knew every charm
Of midwife and healer,
Be thou my guardian,
Be thou my foster,
As long as I say
The Green Paternoster!

It is an adaptable charm, and it exists in versions that Witches still use.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

The Goddess, in her Venus form of Inanna of Sumeria

I have no words to praise as highly I would wish the work of Jalaja Bonheim in her audiorecording (I downloaded mine on iTunes) narrating "The Descent of Inanna: A Journey Through the Ancient Sumerian Goddess Myth." Track 1 is the story of the descent. Track 2 is the story of the ascent. Bonheim's skill at story-telling is as masterful as it gets, with proper emotion, rhythm, cadence, volume. I did not know much about her when I downloaded the recording, but within 30 seconds, there was no doubt in my mind: I was in the presence of a Wise One. A true Priestess. One-Who-Serves-the-Mother. And yes, it makes all the difference. The Gods do not send us many such in each generation, so when you find one, cherish her and proclaim her gifts.

The myth, itself, is a mine so deep that one could harvest its preciousness for years and years, or for a lifetime, or for lifetimes. Its central and most basic truths are also to be found in the Craft and, if you are in the higher reaches of the Craft, this recording will help remind you of why and how you got there, and what your duty is. If you are not initiated, you are not very likely to see these truths or, if you can see them, you are not very likely to understand them.

Nonetheless, the recitation of a sacred myth by a true priestess can still be helpful to you. A priestess like this is not trying to simply INFORM YOUR MIND. She is TRAINING YOUR HEART in a certain way. So, if you can brave it, still your mind, be quiet, and let Bonheim's perfect and unfathomable performance point you down the path toward wisdom.

Rating: 5/5 Cauldrons

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

On 15 September, in the posting on The Gods of the Witches, I asked this question:

"Where does the Bull-Man and the Goddess push you forward through the birth canal and into the Great World?"

Not only in the Chauvet Cave, but in the first five cards of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

The Bull-Man is represented by the Fool-Magician.
The Goddess of the Moon is the High Priestess.
The birth canal, the doorway into the world, is the Empress.
The beginning of the Great World, itself, is the Emperor, governed by the sign Aries, the first sign of the zodiac.

And that is the answer.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

. . . are the oldest Gods of all." That is one of my favorite quotes from an old Witch named Ameth, now deceased, whose use-name was Doreen Valiente. It's true. The Gods of the Witches predate all of the Abrahamic religions by thousands and thousands of years. Take this image on a wall of Chauvet Cave, in France (photo 1). Dated to 32,000 B.C. It shows what has been called "Venus and the Sorceror" or "The Bull-Man and the Goddess." The photo below is a comparison of some of the artistic geometry to the Venus of Willendorf statuette (photo 2).

The Bull-Man/Goddess image is all the way in the back of the Chauvet Cave. Moving forward to the cave opening is like the birth canal into the Great World. Any Witch would recognize this as a massively old shrine or temple to the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

You may think that such entities as this have little to do with the modern world. You would be wrong. Their importance as spiritual forces has never been lost to the Wise Ones, who have hidden it in plain sight in many different places across the centuries.

Can you, dear reader, tell me one of them? Where the Bull-Man and the Goddess push you forward through the birth canal and into the Great World? Think on it, and I will provide an answer to the riddle at a later date.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester