The SHARANYA Devi Mandir (Goddess Temple) of San Francisco holds monthly open circles (pujas) in the Sha'can tradition, a path informed by Tantra and modern Witchcraft. Below is a brief synopsis of our ceremonies.
Kali Puja: Honoring the Divine Mother by Abel R. Gomez
We at SHARANYA honor the Goddess as the cosmic interconnectedness of all beings, the Mother of Life, and the pathway to illumination and ultimate bliss. Through Her grace and love, She guides us into the depths of our innermost being and inspires us to live in the fullness of our humanity. Specifically, we worship Maa Kali, the fierce and compassionate Mother Goddess of Hinduism, in both Her transcendent and immanent forms. Blending authentic ritual methodologies of both East and West, we are more fully able to open our hearts to Her love and offer devotion and prayer for personal, collective, and planetary evolution.
Our puja ritual begins by casting a circle hand to hand, creating a sacred space between the worlds. We honor and invoke the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, the elements of life, as guides and allies in our worship. Through breath, song, movement, and speech, three unique voices call forth the elemental powers, honoring the diversity of spiritual traditions gathered. As we conjure the elements, we draw power from each corner of the Universe and remember our intimate (inter)dependence upon them in our lives.
With the circle cast and the elements present, the gods can come forth. We first invoke Agni, Lord of the sacrificial fire, the dancing flame of all beings. Agni helps open a channel for us to commune with the Divine. Agni is also one of the most ancient deities of the Vedic tradition, honored with the first nine verses of the Rig Veda, the oldest religious text still used today. Our ceremony continues to open to the Divine by next calling Ganesha, the elephant-headed Lord of Obstacles who opens our minds and hearts to touch the Great Mystery. Through His worship, we are resolved of all that hinders our path and keeps us from fully experiencing the Divine.
Moving into deeper awareness of God and Self, we invoke Lord Shiva, the destroyer of life, sensuous yogi, Father of the Three Worlds, and Cosmic Consciousness alive in all things. His is the dance that turns the cycles of the seasons, the stars in orbit, and the ebb and flow the Universe. We welcome Him with our voices, chanting sacred verses that have lived in the hearts of humanity for thousands of years. Together we offer flowers and praise Shiva singing "Shiva Shambo Mahadeva Shambo", honoring Shiva as the Great God and the bringer of peace. Opening to His love and compassion, we see the beauty and divinity of the world.
Fully in the flow of Divine awareness, we then call forth Maa Kali to join our circle. With deep yearning in our beingness, we welcome the Goddess with mantras that have been sung to Her for millennia. We bow to Her divine presence and perform aarti, offering incense, water, food, fan, and light before Her living image. Together we sing "Jai Maa", Victory to the Mother, as we open fully and allow Her to touch our hearts. We breathe Her in, reaching ecstatic states through which we can more deeply experience Her beauty and grace. With the use of camphor, wine, tobacco, beer, and Tarot cards, we further deepen our awareness and allow Her messages to come forth.
Despite Her seemingly frightening imagery, Maa Kali's unique form inspires visions of living, dynamic, interconnected reality. To those who love Her, Maa Kali is the epitome of beauty, wisdom, and wonder in the world. She is the Queen of the deepest Mysteries, the Dark Mother of all beings, and the guide to our most authentic Self. Through Her worship, we connect to the primal powers of creation and disillusion, both beautiful and fierce. We release fear and notions of what "should be" or "must be" and allow Her to free us from illusion, giving way to true liberation and freedom.
Through puja (worship) offered to Maa Kali, we allow the Goddess to heal us and renew our souls. When we set time aside, as a community or alone, to perform puja to the Divine Mother, we connect to the original whim of God to know Herself. As we attune to the elemental powers and offer devotion to the gods, we transform ourselves and give birth to new worlds of being. Puja becomes part of the cosmic creation, allowing us to journey beyond time space reality and aid in the continuation of life on this planet. It grants us the ability to move from individual heart space into places of unlimited possibility. We awaken to the Goddess in every facet of our being and transform our reality, coming to see Maa Kali as the Holy Mother in whom we live, move, and have our selves made whole.
Who is this flower above me? And what is the work of this God? I would know myself in all of my parts.
It's interesting how our culture measures value. What is it that we contribute to the world? How do we make others feel? This is certainly very obvious way to measure worth, but what happens when these skills fail us? Do we lose value? Perhaps we are looking at this in an entirely erroneous fashion. True value come from the essence of who we are. It is this essence that informs all that we do, all of our skills, and our work in the world.
As I continue to integrate my experiences from Witchcamp earlier this summer, I think about my own Work in the world. After dealing with a deep crisis of faith, much of my work has been grounding, getting in touch with my body and with Earth Herself. My initiation into the Tantric lineage is coming up in less than a month and there much personal work and integration to be done. For it to be meaningful and pure, it must be a choice based on Essence, on True Will, and not on any Ego attachment.
The thought of initiation, of devoting my life to the Goddess, brings fear. It is a huge choice and one that will affect me for the rest of my life. At my core, though, I lose fear and remember why I'm here in the first place;
"Kali is the full picture of Universal Power. She is Mother, the Benign, and the Mother, the terrible. She creates and nourishes, and kills and destroys. By Her magic we see good and bad, but in reality, there is neither. This whole world and all we see in the play of Maya, the veiling power of the Divine Mother (Page 39)." - Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar by Elizabeth U. Harding
"One should not jump to the conclusion that Kali represents only the destructive aspects of God's power. What exists when time is transcended, the eternal night of limitless peace and joy, is also called Kali (Maharatri). And it is She who prods Shiva Mahadeva into the next cycle of creation. In short, she is the power of God in all His aspects (Page 147)" -Hindu Gods and Goddesses by Swami Harshananda
At my current level of training in Shakta Tantra, we are beginning to learn about and work with the Dasa Mahavidyas, the 10 wisdom (vidya) goddesses of Hindu Tantra. I was reading today about Bhuvaneshvari, the goddess of creation and thought the following was relevant:
"The beauty and attractiveness of Bhuvaneswari might be understood as an affirmation of the physical world. S[h]akta and tantric thought and practice do not denigrate the world or consider it illusory or delusory, as do other aspects of Indian thought. Tantra has a strong strain of world affirmation, which insists that underlying all of reality is the power, the s[h]akti, of ultimate reality. The physical world, the rhythms of creation, maintenance, and destruction, even self-infatuation and the hankerings and suffering of the human condition are all affirmed to be Bhuvaneswari's play, her exhilarating, joyous sport.
Bhuvaneswari never ceases to attend to the world...She nourishes the world that she oversees and protects. Indeed, she is said to be food itself, on which all creatures depend. Her smiling face revels her gracious attitude toward the world and those creatures who depend on her for sustenance. The gestures of conferring boons and removing fear also express her gracious attitude toward the world, particularly to her devotees." -Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine by David Kinsley
Tonight I give thanks for: warm bed. full moon. friendship. community. good food. warm breezes. books. the interwebs. music. selflessness. faith. starry skies. hope. parents.
Little Shop of Horrors
Current mood: blessed
Category: Blogging
My Bible teacher told the class we have 27 more school days 'till graduation. It's less than a month away, but it seems like years from now. One of my fondest memories at Bridgemont will always be my work with the theatre department. We were finally able to upload a clip of our fall production of "Little Shop of Horrors". Take a look. Deepest gratitude to my director, Lisa Nelson, and all others involved. You will be missed.
Unfortunately, yesterday the toll of US soldiers dead in Iraq reached 4000.
A candlelight vigil will be held tonight, Monday, at 7pm in the San Francisco Civic Center. Bring candles. Do not bring signs or placards, please, at the request of the Veterans for Peace. Note the time change - 7pm, not 6.
"This is the time of the spring’s return; the joyful time; the seed time; when life bursts forth from the earth and the chains of winter are broken. Light and dark are equal: It is a time of balance, when all the elements within us must be brought into harmony. The Prince of the Sun stretches out his hand to Kore, the Dark Maiden, who returns from the Land of the Dead, cloaked in fresh rain, with the sweet scent of desire on Her breath. Where They step, the wild flowers appear; as They dance, despair turns to hope, sorrow to joy, want to abundance. May our hearts open with the spring! Blessed be!" -Starhawk, The Spiral Dance
Celebrated in many cultures and traditions, the Vernal (Spring) Equinox is most often celebrated as Ostara in the Craft. According to Celtic lore, Ostara was a maiden spring Goddess whose symbols include rabbits, lambs, and eggs. Other traditions celebrate the return of Persephone from the Underworld, and thus the return of life to the land. Celebrate this Aries festival by blessing and planting seeds, coloring eggs, and finding your own equilibrium in this time of balance between light and dark.
I’ll be doing a ritual for the Equinox and full moon tomorrow night, then the big ritual with Reclaiming on Saturday. May the seasonal shift find you in beauty, peace, and abundance.
Jai Shiva! Tonight is the Hindu festival of Shivaratri.
This new moon festival celebrates the marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvati. It is believed that on this auspicious night, often called the Night of Shiva, Lord Shiva preformed the 'Tandava', the sacred dance that creates, preserves, and destroys the universe. Hallmarks of this festival include fasting and ritual worship of the Shiva Lingam. Devotees strongly believe that whosoever sincerely worships Lord Shiva on this night will be absolved of all wrong-doing and will be released from the cycle of rebirth.
I'll probably do a small puja for Shiva, Sha'can style in a bit. There seems to be a lot that needs prayer in my life and in the lives of those around me. May Shiva grant us peace, mercy, and love as light and warmth return to the Earth. Jai Shivashankara!
***Below are some mantras a for Shivaratri (from www.mahashivratri.org)- enjoy
Lord Shiva Prayer Naagendra haaraaya trilochanaaya bhasmaangaraagaaya maheshvaraaya Nityaaya shudhdhaaya digambaraaya tasmai nakaaraaya namahshivaaya Meaning: Salutations to Shiva who wears a serpent as garland, who is three-eyed, whose bare body is covered with ashes, who is forever pure and the very embodiment of sacrifice.
Shiva Dhun Shivo Bhokta, Shiva Bhojya Shivo Karta, Shivah Karma Shivah Karanatmakah Meaning: Shiva is the experiencer and the highest object of experience. Shiva is the goal of Sadhana. There is nothing apart from Shiva. There is nothing other than Shiva. Whatever there is, is Shiva. There is nothing, which is not Shiva. There is no place, which is not Shiva. There is no time, which is not Shiva. To be aware of this is to be aware of Shiva.
URGENT: Halt Woman’s Execution for ’Witchcraft’
Category: News and Politics
From Phyllis Currot
URGENT: Halt Woman's Execution for 'Witchcraft'
To Those Who Share Our Deep Concern:
Please join us in calling for the immediate pardon and release of FAWZA FALIH [DEL:Falwah Faliz], a Saudi Arabian woman who has been sentenced to death by beheading for the alleged crime[DEL:s] of "witchcraft." As Human Rights Watch has declared, the conviction of Fawza Falih is a travesty of justice.
A letter to His Royal Highness KING ABDULLAH has been drafted and signed by clergy and members of various faith traditions. The letter may be read online where you may also sign it. Please do so as soon as possible at:
Credo 5: Healthy Relationships
Current mood: hungry
The universe is comprised of relationships. Each being in the universe is but a strand of the vast cosmic web of interconnectedness. What happens to one strand of the web affects every other strand. When we combine this idea with the concept that all beings have innate divinity, we form a very unique paradigm in regards to the way we interact in relationships. Whether with a parent, friend, or romantic partner, a relationship should be based on reciprocal love, honesty, mutual consideration, and respect.
Spiritual leaders from around the world have taught on the importance of relationships, the ways we interact with one another. We have an essential longing within us to reach out to other human beings, built into the basic framework of who we are as human beings. We are a pack animal and without or mates, we are destined to death and loneliness. We need others to share our love, grow with, and have companionship with (http://www.gotquestions.org/true-friendship.html). These companionships are always a catalyst from spiritual growth and transformation, as we begin to shift our consciousness and attention to other human beings (Das).
The ways that we interact with others is perhaps one of the most important discussions in spiritual practice. After realizing that you are on a spiritual path, we recognize there are others along with us for the journey. We can synthesize this with the essence of the previous papers, because our concepts of purpose, origins, and the divine inform the way we treat others. For example, an individual who believes there is no supreme being, subscribes to the idea of evolution, and believes life does not have intrinsic meaning will handle his or her relationships in a strikingly different vein than someone who interacts with a supreme being, believes life came from this being, and feels the purpose of earthly existence is to honor this beings. All beliefs have chain reactions, and this is particularly important to regards to the ways we treat others.
The way we treat others comes from within. As Doreen Valiente's Charge of the Goddess states, "If that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you shall never find it without" (Penzack 232). We must recognize the divine presence alive in ourselves. If we follow the logic of the previous paper, the gods are ever-present in the world and all beings are their manifestations. Thus, we are called to treat others as if they were manifest divinity, because that it what they are. When we can hold that space within ourselves, we can reflect that in the outer relationships we have with other people. It is that love for ourselves that informs every aspect of our relationships with others and helps us to put ourselves in others' place.
The way we love and interact with relationships takes many forms. Gary Chapman's The Five Love Languages of Teenagers suggests fives such modes of relationships: words, gifts, service, time, and gifts. According to the author, "If teenagers become fluent in speaking all five love languages, their relationships with people will be greatly enhanced" (Chapman132). After recognizing the divine with ourselves and others, we begin to move into the practice of it and realize that different relationships involve different modes of expression and communication. While it may be perfectly logical to hold hands with you lover as you walk down the streets of San Francisco, many of us would not do the same with our father. Recognizing what is appropriate and what is not, is the first step in forming healthy relationships, which includes taking into account what the other person is feeling in an act of mutual love and consideration.
Naturally this leads us first to look at the relationship with our parents. Through what we hope was love, we were conceived. Our mother held us in their wombs for nine months before bringing us into the world. Together with our father, she raised us, teaching about life and how to best interact with the world around us. It is a unique bond we have with them that we not have with any other. This also gives us a unique way of interacting with them as they child.
For many of us, the first glimpses of our parents were as a source of love, nourishment, and refuge. Indeed, this is why the symbol of the Mother as Goddess and Creator of the Universe has become such a powerful and prevalent archetype in spiritual circles today. As our mothers raised us, it was their deepest hope that we find happiness and true fulfillment in life. It is from this space that we can approach establishing relationships with them. They may, at times, say things that hurt our feelings, asks us do to things we would rather not do, or give advice we would rather not hear, but all such actions are truly rooted in love and an honest attempt with our best interests at heart.
Friendships are an entirely different story. It has been said that friends are the family that you choose. Friends are the people we desire to be around whether it because of similar interests, circumstance, or personal history. They are our companions and loving brothers and sisters that help us traverse the difficult path of life. When in need they heed our call and when they are hurting we soothe their tears.
Friends differ from parents in a major way in that they can often relate to us on a deeper level. Many people choose friends that are in the same or similar age group, or if not, usually much younger than their parents. This is not to say that parents cannot relate to their children, rather, it is often easier to make friends within or around one's age group because they are often in similar social situations and are able to relate to what is going on at the present moment with a deeper understanding and reliability than what most parents have.
Friends also differ from parents in the way we deal with conflict. We fight over different things. While, as a teenage, we may become angry with our parents when they do not allow us to go out on a week-night, we fight with our friends when they hang out with other people instead of us or borrow money and do not return it. Because friends can become so close-knit, it also gives fuel to the fire when conflict begins, as they often know more personal information than parents and can use it to mock. In spite of all of this, relationship expert Mike Hardcastle believes, "Friendships are complicated but important parts of everybody's life but good friendships are worth the effort it takes to maintain them" (Hardcastle). Friendships are hard. When things get rough, we have to work hard to make things better (the intensity based on the particular issue), It can be heartbreaking and emotionally demanding, but if the friendship is true, it is worth it.
But what makes a true friend? We see a great illustration in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. According to one account, Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:13-15). A true friend is someone who will be behind you no matter what befalls you. Even to the point of death, a true friend will sacrifice his or her own life to protect you own.
Of course, there are many levels to friendship. If one has a healthy relationship with one's parents, they are one's friend. A friend can be a next-door neighbor that shares her lemons from her lemon tree or the guy you sit next to in Biology that you occasionally share a joke with. A friend is also the one who will be there for you when in need, or if not, try to guide you whenever possible. The same principal applies in each case, though, to maintain a healthy friendship. There must be a reciprocal love, consideration and respect. We must remind ourselves to be conscious of the way the other person in the relationship is feeling and how our words and actions affect them.
As a friendship between two (and sometimes more) people becomes stronger, they may develop a deeper relationship, a romantic relationship. Perhaps the greatest difference between a friendship and a romantic relationship is the level of time and care you give. You may wish to hang out with your friends now and again, but your romantic partner is someone you want to see all the time, and in many circumstances, is the person you share a home with. Your romantic partner is also the one with whom you are able to engage with sexually, uniting on the deepest level available in the physical realm.
This sexual level is what makes some people uncomfortable or scared because it is what makes lies in the deepest part of ourselves It is the thing that gives us the most physical pleasure on earth and when shared with a partner, becomes a powerful connection. When we acknowledge the inner divinity within ourselves and with are partner, sex need not be a fearful or shameful act, but a spiritually transformative union between souls. Doreen Valiente's original ritual speaks directly to this concept when she channeled the Goddess saying, "Behold all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals" (Penzack 232). A unique component of romantic relationship, sexuality is to be honored and revered. Through it we are able to connect with are partner(s) and with the Divine.
When one becomes a lover, one is truly transformed. The body becomes an instrument to loveingy worship at the feet of another human being. This is not submission in the popular sense of the word, far beyond the reaches of logic, to the realm of poetry and flowing beauty. Of course sex is not the only way to express love, but it is the most direct and transformational, and in dominant paradigm our of society, it is also the most taboo. According to author and Feri Priestess T. Thorn Coyle, "Sex is connection to all life…To reclaim sex is to reclaim the power of the life force. We must enter into the realm of worms aerating the soil so that roots can better grow. Of the roots thrusting into the earth, caressing it in the darkness" (Coyle 120). Through sex, we not only connect with our partner in a deep and meaningful way, we also "reconnect" ourselves to the entire universe, and thus the gods, opening our consciousness to remember our ever-present connection to all. In this light, we reclaim the meaning and the essence of sexuality as a sacrament and devotional act to our partner and to the divine.
This, in turn, gives us an even more sensitive code of ethics. Because we invest so much of ourselves in our partner, we should continually open ourselves to their needs and concerns. At this level, this consideration does not come merely from fear that the other party will part from us, rather because we truly care and love our partner.
Because relationships are all around us, it is vital to take care to preserve them. Strong relationships provide us with companionship, refuge, and love. They help us walk with us through the rocky and hellish moments of our life and illuminate our path. To preserve these precious jewels, our relationships should always be based on mutual respect, love, consideration, and honesty.
Works cited Chapman, Gary. (2000). The Five Love Languages of Teenagers. Northfeild Publishing, Chicago, IL. Coyle, T. Thorn. (2004). Evolutionary Witchcraft. New York, NY: Penguin Group Inc. Das, Lama Surya. How Would the Buddha Date? 29 Jan 2008 http://personals.yahoo.com/us/static/dating-advice_buddha-date-beliefnet Penczak, Christopher. (2004). The Outer Temple of Witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications. Hardcastle, Mike. Saying Goodbye, Staying in Touch.. 2 Feb 2008. http://teenadvice.about.com/od/crisislinesadvice/a/friendships1.htm "What Does the Bible Say about Friendship" (2008) http://www.gotquestions.org/true-friendship.html The Holy Bible: New International Version. (2004). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.
This is the night of solstice, the longest night of the year. Now darkness triumphs; and yet, gives way and chances into light. The breath of nature is suspended: all waits while within the Cauldron, the Dark King is transformed into Infant Light. We watch for the coming of dawn, when the Great Mother again gives birth to the Divine Child Sun, who is the bringer of hope and the promise of summer. This is the stillness behind motion, when time itself stops; the center which is also the circumference of all. We are awake in the night. We turn the wheel the bring the light. We call the sun from the womb of night. Blessed be! -Starhawk, The Spiral Dance
People from all over the world will gather today to celebrate the sun. In the Northern Hemisphere, we celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the renewal of all Nature. The Sun God is reborn once more of the sacred Womb and brings us comfort and joy. May He bring you light in this dark time, warmth in the cold, and hope in this time of sorrow and loss. May He shine light on your path, that you may truly see the beauty and love around you.
Humanity has yearned for Deity since the dawn of time. We have sought explanations for this mysterious world and who or what controls it and we have called those powers the gods. We first saw the divine spark through woman as the Great Mother Earth Goddess who gave birth to all existence. As human experience and understanding increased, our concept of Deity expanded into myriad forms and images of divine manifestation. We created religions, traditions, and systems of interaction with these energies and personalities to help us live in harmony with ourselves and the cosmos at large. Humanity progressed and adepts of these traditions, mystics, priestesses, priests, and shamans, experienced an underlying level of unity within all things, and also called this Deity. Thus, in attempting to convey the fullness of Deity, we may say Deity is multiple, having many faces, symbols, and personalities yet is also ultimately one being that pervades the universe.
For many theists, the most powerful attribute of Deity is unity. God (who at this level could just as easily be called Goddess) is the web of interconnectedness of all beings, the sustainer of the universe, ground of all being, the first cause. This is what Hindus refer to as Nirguna Brahman, the ultimate, pervasive divine reality that cannot ever be fully known by our finite human minds. According to Religious Studies professor Jordan Paper, "A substantial number of persons in any given culture seem to have various types of unitive experiences, experiences of various degrees of ecstatic states in which one merges with the totality of everything or the divine. And it is far from unusual to become lost in music, art, a beautiful scene, or a sunset, all imparting a feeling of the oneness of everything without disrupting one's theological understanding, whether monotheistic or polytheistic" (Paper 122). We can know that such a reality exists because we can interact with it as mystics have throughout time. Music, poetry, and dance are all things that can help us reach this state. We can also observe this in the natural world strands of connectedness and interdependence. An entire branch of science, Quantum Physics, is also dedicated to understand this (What the Bleep). It is important to note that neither the experience nor the analysis point absolutely to monotheism or polytheism.
The concept of divine unity is an amazingly beautiful concept, but as an impersonal force, it looses nearly all sense of practicality. Though the universe can be said to have a consciousness, how can we interact with it? One way is to understand God as a giant diamond. Christopher Penczak explains, "The wise ones see the diamond is both one solid shape in its entirety, whole and complete, yet with many facets that lead to the center light. The wise one can switch between each paradigm because both are true, yet neither fully encompasses the [entire] mystery of the divine…The closer you get to the center of the diamond, the bigger the 'facets' get, leading to the archetypal beings… and finally the vast Great Spirit, the divine mind that is the center, the light, and the entire diamond simultaneously" (Penczak 55). Through this illustration, we can understand that the ultimate transcendent divine, Nirguna Brahman, is one being comprised of many images or facets that we can connect with. Each facet is a particular deity (archetypal being), a glimpse, one piece of the puzzle. Though we can never know the totality of the diamond, by honoring and cultivating relationships with facets of the diamonds (the gods) we are able to reach deeper levels of understanding of Deity as a whole.
To put it in simpler terms, Deity existences as a vast consciousness but also has many aspects. According to neo-Pagan Witch Starhawk, "The whole galaxy is a life form and being. But we also have different aspects of those energies ad powers that sustain the universe. For the sake of convenience we call them "Goddesses" and "Gods". They have their own personalities and their own constellations of particular energies. They work with particular issues, in particular realms, awaking and resonating forces within us" (Vale 6). Though Deity exists and is manifest in all things, we must use the gods to tap into specific pools of energy. It is important to realize that though these deities are aspects, they are also unique beings in and of themselves which have specific myths, symbols, and rituals used to commune with them. This is what Hindus call Sarguna Brahman, the personal deity with shape and form. When we are calling forth a particular goddess or god, we are calling upon specific, focused energies that will manifest in the way she or he is accustomed to through cultural propitiation.
We can better understand this idea by delving into the psychology behind it. According the famous Swiss psychologist Carl Jung, the psyche has many parts, two of which are the Ego and the Unconscious. It is the role of the Ego to use logic and data to understand the world. The Unconscious is the 'inner child', in direct communion with the Fabric of All (God), which interprets the world through feelings and symbols. Both are needed in everyday life and for true spiritual understanding. In this case the symbols are the gods, images and facets of the divine that do not encompass the All by themselves, but helps us to more easily understand the transcendent Divine. According to High Priestess Janet and High Priest Stewart Farrar, "…if the Unconscious is presented with a workable code of symbols which the Ego is learning to understand, it will willingly seize on that code to get its message across. This improved communication between Unconscious and Ego is a great part of what is meant by 'opening up the levels' or 'expanding consciousness' (Farrar 148). When we give the Ego a usable set of symbols, like the gods, we establish communication between the Ego and the Unconscious aspects of ourselves. In this way the gods act as archetypes, reoccurring energies and characters in the myths of human experience, that are tangible enough to satisfy the rational Ego yet also fluid enough to appeal to the Unconscious.
We can further understand the way the god's function by examining the way symbols work in the psyche. According to one dictionary, a symbol is "something used for or regarded as representing something else" (dictionary.com). We use symbols everyday to communicate with one another. Everything in the Universe can be expressed in symbolic form. When we speak, our words evoke images to those we speak with. Each person interprets these words with their own set of symbols based on culture and life experience. This is where polytheism comes in. Each individual has his or her own collection of symbols that only makes sense only within the context of that person's psyche. Similarly, the gods only make sense in their cultural context with their culture and their individual symbols, stories (myths), and rituals. Additionally, this is also why we may Deity is multiple, because each individual has a different interpretation of what "God" is and uses different symbols to communicate those experiences.
Because we need the gods, we also co-create their existence. As Kala Trobe writes in Invoke the Goddess, "God forms [deities] are intelligent patterns of energy elevated into a prolonged energy and enhanced existence by the continual input of other beings. Some are the remnants of atavistic necessities of the species, such as warmth (solar deities) and food (gods of hunting and harvest); others have grown from civilization, such as the gods of intellect and artistry" (Trobe XIV). The gods exist of their own accord as Deity manifest in nature, but are also brought to life, at least in part, through our worship, admiration, and acknowledgement. Every time we worship or even think about a particular deity, we contribute our energy to his or her energy pool. To again quote Star hawk, "She both exists and we create Her" (Star hawk 107). Though it is important to honor the gods through their cultural traditions, it is also true that they can and do change. The gods are not static; they are living entities that change just as we do and co-create their myths with them. Their myths, their stories and symbols, change and transform just as the culture and we must be aware, like the seers before us, that at times ignored gods "die" when they are no longer worshiped and new gods spring forth as a particular culture needs them.
All of this is important because "…polytheism is grounded in the view that reality (divine or otherwise) is multiple and diverse" (Alder 25). To acknowledge that Deity can exist in many different forms is to acknowledge that one image or path cannot be sufficient for all people. Different people have different needs and relate to images and symbols in unique ways. To force someone to worship a particular god or goddess, is to force paradigms and ideas that may not work for the person. Instead, goddess and gods appear in our lives when we need then and when they need us. As John Michael Greer writes, we interact with them "…in a network of reciprocal relationships or exchange, [in which] every being is connected to every other being in a closely woven fabric of reciprocity" (Greer 116). Both parties benefit from the relationship and, as mentioned above, we are able to access particular pools of energy to benefit our lives as they are enlivened and exalted. For example, we may give offerings to Oshun, the African goddess of love and beauty, to bring forth a suitable love interest. Through this interaction we receive a lover, while Oshun receives our prayers and offerings. The energy we give also heightens Her consciousness and personal power.
Perhaps the most fundamental thing polytheism acknowledges, is that the Divine, whether we call it God, Goddess, or individual deities are ever-present in the world. Everywhere we turn, no matter who we are or what we are doing, we can see, hear, and touch the Sacred. Essentially, the gods we worship are personifications of the Divine presence pervading all things. In this regard we, too, are divinities. To once more quote Starhawk, "She is here. She is within us all…Whether we are eating, sleeping, making love, or eliminating body waste, we are manifesting the Goddess" (Starhawk103-104). We are the embodiment of the Goddess. No matter where we go or what we are doing, we are committing sacred acts, within a sacred world, and we, too, are sacred ourselves.
As our own personal experience and understanding of God increases, we may turn to different deities for continual support and spiritual wisdom. We co-create their existence to help us greater understand the Whole, ultimately to help us acknowledge our own divinity and the place we have in the world. Their multiple images are simply gateways into greater understanding of the Divine One. Through constant spiritual practice we may be able to see that although Deity is a presence that pervades the universe, S/he manifests in multiple forms and images.
Works cited: Adler, Margot. (1986). Drawing Down the Moon. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Farrar, Janet and Stewart Farrar. (1984). A Witches' Bible. Blaine, WA: Phoenix Publishing, Inc. Greer, John Michael. (2005). A World Full of Gods. AZ: ADF Publishing Paper, Jordon. (2005.) The Deities Are Many. Albany, NY: Stat of New York University Press. Penczak, Christopher. (2004). The Outer Temple of Witchcraft. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications. Starhawk. (1999). The Spiral Dance. San Francisco: HarperOne. "Symbol." www.dictionary.com. 12 Dec 2007. Trobe, Kala. (2001). Invoke the Goddess. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications. Vale, V. (2001). Modern Pagans. San Francisco, CA: Re/Search Publications. Vincente, Mark. (Director). (2004). What the bleep do we know?. [Motion Picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
As human beings, we live in a world in which we must accept or at least acknowledge certain natural and objective laws and phenomena. The concepts that the world is round or that water is wet, for example, are integral to the ways in which we understand the world to function. They can be analyzed and measured through objective scientific investigation and proven to be true. In the same vein, we may rightly say that objective truth exists in the realm of mathematical calculation. When we turn our attention to moral and spiritual matters, however, there is much debate and controversy. We cannot prove religious or moral ideas in the same way as we can prove scientific or mathematical equations, if we can prove them at all. The very nature of religion and morality can be said to exist beyond the scope of human understanding, and thus, can only be understood from our limited human perceptions of reality. To be realistic, we may conclude that objective absolute reality exists in the realms of math and science, but is unclear, at best, in the realms of religion or morality because beliefs and morality are based on cultural understandings and individual perception.
According to one dictionary, an absolute is "not limited by restrictions or conditions" (dictionary.com). It is a concept that is true all the time, every time. For many people, this is most apparent in regards to mathematical calculations. If, for example, one adds two and two together, one will always get four. One may reasonably conclude that it is logical to assert that it is a truthful and absolute statement. This level of objective, absolute truth is also evident in the arena of science.
Science is based on observation and analysis. When we believe we have encountered an insight into the way something works, we apply the scientific method of gathering data, creating a hypothesis, testing out the hypothesis, and finally analyzing the data. When we have followed the scientific method for a particular concept and get accurate results several times, we may conclude that the concept is a law, that it is "true". Though it may not be true in the absolute sense, it helps us to more deeply understand the world we live based on our current understanding. It is impossible to understand completely the way in which the world operates. When we discover new evidence that is contradictory to established laws, we can simply apply the scientific method and change our understanding as needed.
The ways we understand truth become nebulous when it come to the individual way we perceive the world. Accord to scientist Dr. Joe Dispenza, D.C., "We create the reality we see. We are reality creating machines" (What the Bleep). So much about the way we view the world is based on our own beliefs and the beliefs of our culture. In essence, we see things based on what we have been taught to believe and call those beliefs "truth". To quote another scientist, John Hagelin, Ph.D., "Every age has its hidden assumptions…that the world is round, that the world is flat. There are hundreds of hidden assumptions that may or may not be true. Of course, in the vast majority of cases, historically, these things aren't true. So, presumably…most of what we take for granted about the world simply isn't true" (What the Bleep). A vast majority of what we hold absolute, may indeed, turn out to be false. In many case, the "truth" in an absolute sense is simply not necessary because the values and belief system of the culture are enough to allow the group to stay grounded at a healthy level of reality and coexist harmoniously.
But if there is a falsehood that can be ignored, then a level of truth is also indicated. There must be an objective state of affairs that our individual beliefs and ethics are merely human attempts of understanding. According to Hindu scholar Linda Johnsen, this objective state can be found in Nirguna Brahman, or ultimate, transcendent divinity, without form or qualities. She writes, "It is Absolute Reality itself, pure self-existent being. Any attempt to describe it fall flat…The Supreme One is totally beyond our imagination. The human mind can't begin to grasp it" (Johnsen 149). Though we try to understand such an abstract concept, we will never fully know it. Instead, we must rely on our finite human understandings of the world based on glimpses into the abstract world of the Absolute. This leaves a great deal open to individual understanding and points to the dangers of imposing such an understanding on others.
If our understanding of the world is based on personal perception, how can we fully know when a spiritual or ethical principal is absolutely true? We cannot. According to Helena P. Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society and an important Occult figure, "The possible truths, hazily perceived in the world of abstraction, like those inferred from observation and experiment in the world of matter, are forced upon the profane multitudes, too busy to think for themselves, under the form of Divine revelation and scientific authority. But the same question stands open from the days of Socrates and Pilate down to our own age of wholesale negation: is there such a thing as absolute truth in the hands of any one party or man? Reason answers, 'there cannot be.' There is no room for absolute truth upon any subject whatsoever, in a world as finite and conditioned as man is himself" (Blavasky). So much of what we hold to be absolute truth, particularly in a religious sense is dangerous to cling to because it is based on a human understanding of cosmic ideas. When we put our trust in absolute truths, we leave ourselves at the mercy of individual views and perceptions of how the universe works. It is a finite attempt on explaining the infinite. How can any man or woman, for example, know beyond that shadow of a doubt that there is only one god? It is impossible. To do so would require a level of omnipotent knowledge of the universe that is not available to us as human beings.
This leads us to wonder why we should even consider the concept of absolute truth in any place but math and science. According to Pagan Podcast host Deo Shadows, there is a danger in "… taking truth out of its useful context, where we use it to distinguish phrases from lies, perceptions from hallucinations, and thoughts from mistakes and launching the word truth into a useless space…that is, when we question what is beyond our collective experience as human beings. Truth does not belong there. It belongs in its mundane sense where it is useful…To push truth into that other realm, where we ask about the ultimate reality that is forever beyond our can is to destroy the use of the word truth" (Shadows). It is folly to believe one can understand something so beyond our reach as humans such as the absolute nature of reality. We can, of course, make educated guesses and attempts to understand pieces of it through philosophical discussion and spiritual discipline, but we will never fully understand it. To hold to a particular moral, philosophical, or religious paradigm in this regard, and attempt to push those ideas on another is not only foolish, it is down right irresponsible. One may logically say that objective divinity exists, for example, but to make attempts to make any one view the absolute view is simply illogical as there is no way to prove such a theory.
This is where it is dangerous to clinging to such absolute concepts in religion and morality. According to Druid and shamanic healer Kristen Madden, "Absolute truths are dangerous because of our absolute conviction that they are Truth…We blindly cling to these beliefs. We don't investigate where they came from because we don't want to risk losing security of our reality constructs, even if these constructs make for an often uncomfortable reality. We tell ourselves it is silly to work on these, because they are not just beliefs" (Madden 3). Absolute truth can be dangerous simply because it is so sincerely held. Wars have been fought in the name of absolute truth; the most blatant of these was the Crusades, a "holy war" over who should take control of Israel. We see it today in the struggle between the Jews and the Muslims as the two groups fight over the ownership of the "Holy Land", Israel. For many people in our culture, these absolute religious or moral truths are simply accepted as is it often easier to accept than to truth dig deep and understand the meaning of things, even if those truths are harmful or unhealthy on some level. An example of this is the concept that a romantic relationship must always be between one man and one woman. How do we know this is true? How do we know any other form of romance is absolutely wrong? We cannot know for certain. We know only what are culture and religious leaders tell us, and in some cases, what we come to understand through life experience. This all steams from the fact that any form of absolute truth, that can not be proven, is a human attempt to understand abstract concepts beyond our reach.
There is another way absolutes can be damaging, and that is in the very way we view the world. In her book, The Spiral Dance, neo-Pagan Witch Starhawk states, "One regressive tendency is what I call absolutism, which stems from an intolerance of ambiguity…Either God created Adam and Eve or they evolved a la Darwin. Either our unresolved unconscious conflicts are the final cause of our unhappiness or economic of material conditions…The Judeo-Christian heritage has left us with the view of the universe composed of warring opposites, which are valued as either good or evil. They cannot co-exist. A valuable insight…shared by many earth-based religions, is that polarities are in balance, not at war. Energy moves in cycles…It cannot be indefinitely exerted exclusively in one direction; it must always turn and return, push and pull, and so be renewed" (Starhawk, Spiral Dance 217-218). There are hundreds instances where clear cut answers do not fit into the equation. This is clearly evident when we examine ethics. Is abortion wrong, for example? To most of us, the answer is not clear cut. For many of us, the concept that a particularly action is right or wrong depends entirely on the situation at hand. Ethics are fluid and relative. The vastness of the universe cannot be neatly head in a box. This is particularly relevant when discussing concepts of good and evil.
In our culture, there is a strong following of the "good vs. evil" motif. In most cases, "the good" (us) is battling "the bad" (them) for something that should be rightfully ours. This is perhaps most clearly seen in the "spiritual warfare" concept held by most Christians, that there is a constant battle between the forces of good and evil within the universe and that Yahweh (the ultimate source of good) is in conflict with the devil (the ultimate source of evil). According to healer and teacher Christopher Penczak, "We have no devil. Historically, we recognize such sources of evil as constructs by dominant authoritarian structures. Evil is a manmade construct having no basis in natural patterns…Humanity interprets good or evil based on personal wants and perceptions. It is personal, not universal" (Penczak 190). Throughout history, the term "evil" has been used to demonize and bring fear, and it is perhaps the fear of eternal punishment that drives so many people into accepting such beliefs. When we observe the patterns and cycles of nature, however, we see no signs of absolute evil.
Where does this leave us in regards to morality? If there is no absolute evil that we can understand, how to we distinguish from right and wrong? We do not have to. Our ethics arise from the ways in which we interact with the world. To quote Starhawk once more, "If we see the world as a dynamic whole, then the first question we might ask when we face a choice is, 'How does this action or decision impact the whole'?" (Starhawk, Earth Path 30). Because we do not have a fallen nature, we are not amputated from the divine and thus every act is a sacred act, however, just because it is sacred, does not necessarily mean we should do it. To take this concept to an extreme, killing a person is just as sacred of an act as planting 100 trees, but obviously one is helpful and another is harmful. We may create our ethical standards in this way, by attempting to trace our actions to see how they will affect everything else. If we believe an action is ultimately helpful and healing, we may conclude that it is an ethical thing to do.
Furthermore, if we introduce the concept of multiple deities, we see not only that absolute morality cannot exist. According to Occult author John Michael Greer, "If, as traditional polytheist religions suggest, gods are not omnipotent and occasionally contend with one another, it's entirely plausible to suggest that the moral principals upheld by different gods would not be absolute, and might come into contact with one another" (Greer 75). Different gods create different moral standards of their devotees. It is a perfectly plausible concept, as differing cultures dictate different, and at times, startlingly different moral ideas. Ethics cannot be absolute in this sense. Rather, they are subjective ideas on how to live properly and more fully in the world.
For most people, the arena of science and math is never open to debate or questioning. Things are what they are. When we look into religious or moral concepts, however, we run into many shades of grey. By their very nature, religion and morality are abstract concepts beyond the infinite understanding of human beings. One can find an exception to almost every rule or doctrine. We may even encounter shades of grey when analysis scientific observation. Perhaps the safest way to understand truth in regards to such ideas to be aware that objective reality can be measured in the "mundane" worlds or math and science but can only be hypothesizes in the realms of religion and morality.
The search for purpose is as old as humankind. It is an integral part of our earthly existence, built into the basic framework of our psyche. Purpose informs our every action and without it, we are utterly lost. So great is our need for meaning that seekers, philosophers, and mystics through out history have devoted their entire lives to its attainment. We all need an explanation for why we were put on this earth and what we are ultimately striving towards. When we begin spiritual discipline and open our awareness to the ever present divine, we discover our innate purpose and place in the world. Through constant spiritual discipline, we are able to achieve our cosmic and earthly fate and create a more pleasant world.
No matter what path we choose, or which chooses us, we cannot walk this earth forever. Our days on this earth are numbered and finite, and thus, one must quickly decide how to best serve one's purpose. According to Occultist James Wasserman, "The search for union may well be said to be the root motivation behind human existence. While the basis of this drive is both mysterious and elusive its power is great, and all intellectual attempts to discredit or deny it pale before its universality." (Wasserman 39). There is a common longing within each of our hearts, a longing that can only be fulfilled by living a purpose driven life. While we may not know why we seek such a meaning, the truth remains that without it, we cannot survive in this world.
We live in a in a world of infinite beauty, wonder, and divinity, but we are often blinded by Maya, or illusion. As Occultist and Witch Kala Trobe points out in her book Magic of Qabalah, "Mundanity is Maya, the delusion of individuality, the sense of divorce from cosmic intelligence and the subsequent futility that continually tempts us to believe in it." (Trobe 31). Maya is that which prevents us from experiencing the fullness of our divine nature and discovering our purpose in this life. It is the illusion that we are separate from the divine (cosmic intelligence) and that earthly life is a purely mundane pursuit.
This may be the cause of so-called evil and benevolence in the world. According to Hindu leader Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, "People act in evil ways who have lost touch with their soul nature and live totally in the outer, instinctive nature…Those who perform seemingly evil deeds are not yet in touch with the ever-present God consciousness of their immortal soul." (Subramuniyaswami139). Though we are divine, it is easy to lose the sense of divine presence in the world. We are constantly bombarded with tasks, deadlines, and bills that distract us from spiritual pursuits. We find this reconnection through spiritual discipline.
In her book, The Circle Within, Wiccan Priestess Dianne Sylvan states, "We don't live in a world conductive to experiencing manifest Divinity. We are disconnected from our own sacred selves, splitting reality into the false dichotomy of mind and matter…that pushes us to farther from the sanctity of the world. We forget. Religious practice is a way for us to remember." (Sylvan 26). When we engage in spiritual practice, we are intentionally opening our awareness of our innate connection to the Gods, re-acknowledging that we are sacred, existing in a sacred Universe.We discover our purpose and experience the fullness of human existence. As author and teacher T. Thorn Coyle points out, "The more diligently you practice [spiritual] integration, the clearer your work becomes." (Coyle 285). The goal of spiritual practice is not only to help us become more cognizant to the divine in the world and in ourselves, but also to help us understand our place in the world and why we are here. The more we practice and the deeper our practice becomes, the more tangible our earthly purpose becomes.
Spiritual discipline means different things for different people. For some people this with involve simple devotional prayers. For others it involves elaborate daily rituals of alignment. What matters is its effectiveness to tap into innate divinity and manifest it in the world. When spiritual practices lead to a sense of presence, when every moment leads to deeper spiritual awareness, one knows the practice is effective. As the god Krishna states in the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita states, "If you focus your mind on me and revere me with all your heart, you will surely come to me; this I promise because I love you." (Gita 18.65). When we engage in spiritual practice, we will experience the beauties and wonders of connection to the divine. This experience will ultimately lead to a conscious state of divine unity with all things.
We are all fated to experience this reconnection to the Divine. While some call it Moksha, the Great Work, Self-realization, Liberation, achieving one's True Will, or simply serving God, all are merely symbolic statements for the same essential state of being.Inhis book Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart states"Ultimately, the Great Work is to aid, abet, and foster the evolution of consciousnessinto the next quantum leap…It is an awakening of the spirit, in which one experienceswith every fiber of one's being the full connection with all Beings, though out all of Time and Space." (Zell-Ravenheart 59).This is the enlightenment of the Eastern traditions, the awakening of the cosmic nature of one's own being during which one dissolves into the sublime bliss of divine unity. It is a quantum leap in the sense that we reach a higher level of cosmic awareness and acknowledge our role as a strand of the fabric of existence. This is the point at which we realize "we are in this together" and begin to think outside ourselves. For many people, the standard purpose of life is to "help people" and it is at this point that such a notion comes into play.
It is important to also stay grounded when seeking the Great Work. As shaman Jaime Sams points out, "You are still a human spirit but you acknowledge that you have a meat body that is connected to the animals, nature, and every other part of the universe."(Freke 12). The purpose of the Great Work is not to transcend the material world, but to live more fully within it. There was no Fall of Man and all things are sacred, and thus there is no need to renounce the material plane for spiritual attainment. Quite the opposite is true. According to High Priestess Phyllis Currot, "Nature makes the divine tangible. Nature is the gown the Goddess wears to make herself visible and the dance the God dances to express his joy. Looking at Nature, we see living, incarnate divinity." (Currot 70). Nature is the embodiment of divinity and by connecting to the natural world, we connect with Gods. When we engage in spiritual practice and dissolve the illusions of maya, we are able to see manifest divinity everywhere we turn.
This journey towards such a leap of consciousness may take many lives, or reincarnations, to achieve. According to author and healer Christopher Penczak, "The basic concept is that the soul is immortal. Aspects of our consciousness, our [non-physical] stuble bodies, continue on after the physical body perishes. The soul can then be reborn into another life…to continue the spiritual development through new experiences." (Penczak 293). We are on a continuing cycle of rebirths, each of which is meant to propel us to deeper awareness of our divine nature and connection to all things. Like everything else in nature, we too go through the cycle of life, death, and rebirth in the physical plane. It is when we have truly achieved the Great Work that are soul is released from the cycle of rebirth.
We also have individual destinies that we must fulfill. Perhaps it was the in/famous Occultist Aleister Crowley who said it best when he wrote, "Do what Thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law." (Crowley 13). Though it is perhaps the most well-known phrase in Occultism, it is also the most maligned and misunderstood. What Crowley was truly referring to was "the magick [spiritual discipline] of which works to push the practioners to individually find the way to connect with the higher, cosmic self, or God self, thus uncovering one's True Will (cosmic destiny) in order to achieve the Great Work: that which we are destined to achieve during our incarnation." (Digitalis 205). When one is in alignment with one's own purpose and place in the world are we able to achieve our cosmic destiny of unity. To do this we engage in the spiritual practice that our spirit needs to release ourselves from the cycle on reincarnation, or rebirth, and continue to the next plane of existence.
We are all seeking something. In our society it is typically sex, money, or power. But which of these will last when one's life on earth ends? None. All will fade with time. The famous Hebrew King, Solomon struggled with this during his earthly life, engaging in everything the world had to offer i
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Our puja ritual begins by casting a circle hand to hand, creating a sacred space between the worlds. We honor and invoke the powers of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, the elements of life, as guides and allies in our worship. Through breath, song, movement, and speech, three unique voices call forth the elemental powers, honoring the diversity of spiritual traditions gathered. As we conjure the elements, we draw power from each corner of the Universe and remember our intimate (inter)dependence upon them in our lives.
Together we sing "Jai Maa", Victory to the Mother, as we open fully and allow Her to touch our hearts. We breathe Her in, reaching ecstatic states through which we can more deeply experience Her beauty and grace. With the use of camphor, wine, tobacco, beer, and Tarot cards, we further deepen our awareness and allow Her messages to come forth.
animated
blessed
blissful
hungry
loved
chill
