Category Archives: The Gods

2015, The Gods, Thoughts

A Dedication to and a Rumination on Lady Ma’at (Law) and Lady Themis (Order)

Today was rather interesting. My dedication is to learning and understanding the spiritual law that guides our tradition, our faith, and our adherents. Divine anger rightly is shown towards impiety. When I think of you, Lady Ma’at, some words that come to mind include balance, discipline, and law. When I think of you, Lady Themis, order and law (as justice) come to mind. I thank you both for your intercession today regarding a life matter and the reminder that order is not a dirty word, nor is law, or discipline for that matter. I have learned that tenacity and determination can be the companions to the desire to maintain order, one’s own ethical standards (personal law, code of honor, or belief), and discipline.

Recent terrestrial events, at times, limit the use of the word “law” to its narrowest point, yet when we pray and ask for your intercession in matters of spiritual and human justice, there is law on a physical level, a spiritual level and an emotional level. For a time, I did not distinguish between these variations.  In getting to know you, Lady Themis, I have learned to be careful in asking for justice. It is not like television or a simple yes or no response: Themis, in terms of justice, can cut in many directions. When I ask, my hands had better be clean, lest the consequences fall on me. Lady Themis is careful, and in my devotion and worship to you, I have become more cautious in certain areas. Do I have a long way to go? Definitely. As a passionate person, there are times when my emotions over-rule my mental understanding of a situation; I become more pathos in tone than logos.   When I come to you, order is brought to the forefront; if I ask for a determination, my own actions, as well as those of others will be examined. At times, you have been kind, challenging with questions that clarify what I might not have considered. I want to continue on the path of learning justice and balance.  I rededicate in my relationship with you to listen and hear your words that you place carefully near my ears as I sleep.  You are not in a rush, and too often, I have been.

On the other hand, my relationship with Lady Ma’at has been a bit more on the personal side, using prayer and meditation to calm the inner turmoil. Discipline requires faith and follow through, you reminded me years ago. Anger can be good (and here is why). What have you asked for? Being with you reminds me that often, as witches, as mageia, we get exactly what we ask for – and then decide that we don’t know what to do with it.

You are law, you are strength, you are courage to face the most wondrous and difficult decision that each person embraces daily – free will. Through your guidance, I have learned that the personal responsibility as stated in “The Witches’ Law” is one of the most challenging and rewarding choices that any person can have. We choose free will each day, and we blossom or wilt away from the consequences of this choice.  If the first tenet or commandment of our tradition is to create, the backbone of what each of us believes is the willing and full embrace of free will. If innocence or lack of knowledge is the path of least resistance, then the acceptance of “The Witches’ Law”, and in particular, the lines “Thou hast no right but to do thy will./ Do that, and no other shall say nay”, means that we choose to accept knowledge and the consequences of what we say, feel, think and do.  This is so incredibly powerful and, at times, scary as hell.

So, I reaffirm to you, Lady Ma’at, my devotion and willingness to walk this path with my eyes wide open, with my ears alert, and with my senses fully alive in order  to take in and make wise decisions with the information present on all levels.  I have and continue to learn to be responsible for my mind and my heart; my deepest gratitude for the blessings and continued gifts of purification.

Thank you both for being a part of my life.

Doxa Theion!

Agape

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2015, The Gods, Thoughts

A Dedication to and Rumination on Lady Demeter (Harvest) and Lady Ceres

Hail, Demeter!

Lady of the harvest, the law, and the infinite loop of growth and destruction, of life and death.

The busy, maternal, productive day yields its fertility in warm breezes,

the feel of solid earth beneath my toes.

As you have reminded me, you do not raise weak saplings, but strong oaks,

hearty wheat, and strong plant stock.

You taught me to trust in what is and to make it a habit to answer the

question being asked, to strengthen what lies within and without.

So often the mundane requires a slight of hand,

be it in office politics or neighborly greeting.

The question being asked, far too often, may not be the actual

question that lies beneath.

You remind me to look past the shade and gather true abundance

that is earned, understood, and deserved.

Each year we celebrate, learn and delve into the mysteries

shared with those of ages past.

I thank you, my lady, and embrace the quiet necessity of regular harvest,

the law, and the seasonal dance of death and life –

Each fall and spring

from your lips words of wisdom

enlighten and bring recall to those who seek understanding

of the mother, the one who helps the crops grow in beauty,

the one who stands tall and straight.

Lady Ceres,

it is you who rules physical nourishment, the rites of marriage and

fertility of the womb,

and you who protect the commoners, the laborers, those who toil

with honesty and just measures.

My maternal day reminds me that you guide and help mothers,

all mothers who are devote to their young.

Those who trespass or violate the earth suffer your wrath;

as protector you are fair, yet accept the blood sacrifice when necessary.

There is much I have to learn about you and I re-dedicate myself to that journey.

When you speak, Ladies Demeter and Ceres, it may be brief, but it is always fruitful. Your words fill my soul with purpose,  like the purple flowers that rest outside my door.  I thank you both for your support, for your blessings, and for your revelations. Any act of mothering, of law, and of standing up to a variety of tests comes in part through your guidance and wisdom.  Thank you.

Doxa Theion!

Agape

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2015, The Gods, Thoughts

Dedication to and a Rumination on Lord Kronos (Inevitability) andLord Saturn (Harvest)

Life has been about responsibility and the inevitable of late. This is the end of a two year cycle (perhaps three, now that I think about it) of transition,evolution and serious growth. For that, I am grateful and thank you for the lessons and the often (very) dry sense of humor. One of the recent gifts has been that of acceptance of what is with humility, gratitude, and thoughtful reverence. I do not like to think of aging, or its consequences; both are a reality in my life on a daily basis, from those who are seventeen going on forty, to those who are seventy and mischievous as a ten year old in spirit.

As the Lord of Time, Fate, and Inevitability (that which cannot be changed), you, Lord Kronos have taught me that nothing new can come in if the gateway is jammed with what is old and past. Leaves block a drain until the water or stronger force clears, and thus renews it. The past two years have been spent gathering and discarding what is not needed for new growth. There is only so much space for worry about what is not present, or what is needed ten years from now. The cycle of eternal youth and rejuvenation is marked by the harvest festival that we celebrate in August and the ability to let lay fallow the soil that resides within the individual.

When I first became an initiate, I feared Lord Saturn and rarely would call upon Lord Kronos, in any form. What I have learned since that time is that fear is not only inevitable,but it must be embraced and then put aside, in the same manner that a child acknowledges and then leaves behind his or her earliest toys. You know that it is there, and you move forward in spite of it. If fear is the rock that blocks the stream, then these past two years have shown me that it is either move the rock or remain stuck. I have chosen again and again to move the rock. When the rocks have been too heavy, I have called upon the Gods, which includes asking those around me for prayer and intercession as well.

As the Lord of the Harvest and the inevitable on the physical plane, you, Lord Saturn have reminded me to count my blessings, regardless of the form or number. With each Saturnalia, I think of what is important for the following year. This past Saturnalia, the highlight was a ritual where we put our goals and aspirations for the light half of the year into a jar that remains on one’s altar, sealed until Verlitha Solistum (Rite of Pyrhea). I must confess that I am curious to see when I open my jar in just over five weeks whether I have remained true to my own desires and quest for knowledge or if I have gaps to fill.

Finally, I thank you Lord Kronos and Lord Saturn for speaking to me on the happy nature of life, as well as the serious. When I have looked for guidance, you speak to me in my dreams and remind me that time (seconds and minutes versus hours, days and years) is all relative. I thank you for those I love, who have taught me about the meaning of time in small bits. I don’t take it for granted anymore. Thank you so much.

Doxa Theion!

Agape

 

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