2301
*
STAND UP, STAND UP FOR ODIN
-Robert Cook
(Tune: "Stand Up For Jesus")
Stand up! Stand up for Odin, you warriors of the beard!
lift high the Raven Banner that half the world has feared!
From Angleland to far Vinland shall sound the Warrior's Cry
Till every foe is vanquished, and Odin reigns most high!
March forth with steel flashing beneath the naked Sun
and never stand at rest again 'til all the World is won!
Let scarlet sword his symbol carve in every nation's sod
'Til every man still breathing stands up for OdinGod!
Let ships with prows of Dragons the mighty oceans cleave
and every land not Odin's our crimson gifts receive
let Raven Banners fill the sky where every man has trod
And all the soil beneath them belong to OdinGod!
Stand up! Stand up for Odin, you Warriors of the North!
With silver swords a-flashing to victory go forth!
From Angleland to far Vinland our joyous conquest lead
'Til every foe is vanquished, and Odin's Lord, indeed!
*
2302
*
NUDE
-W.J.Bethancourt III
-Ed Hirt
copyright 1982 W.J.Bethancourt III and Ed Hirt
(Tune: "Men of Harlech")
What the use of wearing panties
Whalebone corsets of your Auntie's
Boxer shorts and other scanties
Best of all is nude
There's such fun in going bra-less
Now that it's no longer lawless
'Specially if your figure's flawless
Best of all is nude
Nude is what you're born in
Shirts are never torn in
Underwear and lacy flimsies, garter belts and other whimsies
Yards of itchy cloth to put your form in
Ducks all do it, maidens rue it
Even ancient Picts in Britain blue it
Going naked's how to do it
Best of all is nude!
If your garters aren't elastic
Tie them up in knots fantastic
(Panty hose is something drastic!)
Best of all is nude!
If you're tired of wearing clotheses
Shed your garment 'mongst the roses
Never mind the old bluenoses
Best of all is nude!
Nude is best for ducking!
Worst for horses bucking!
Moonlit nights will see such sights
that are very best for fooling round
.....and elbows!
Nudity is grand to see
A well-known antidote to virginity
Take your clothes off and you'll see:
Best of all is nude!
*
2303
*
FAIRIES LOVE SONG
-Anonymous
Why should I sit and sigh
Broo and bracken, broo and bracken
Why should I sit and sigh
All alone and weary
When I see the plover rising
Or the curlew wheeling
It's then I'll court my mortal lover
Back to me is stealing
When the moon begins her waning
I sit by the water
Where a man born of the sunlight
Loved the Faerie's daughter
Oh, but there is something wanting
O but I am weary
Coming blithe, now bonny treads he
O'er the knolls to cheer me
*
2304
*
THE BARD'S SONG
-W.J.Bethancourt III
(c) copyright 1990 W.J.Bethancourt III
(Tune: "Dublin City")
As I walked out one quiet evening
At the hour of twelve at night
Who should I meet but a fair young maiden
Combin' her hair by candle light;
Lassie, I have come a-courtin'
Your kind favours for to win
And if you'd heed my petition
I would be your Paladin...
(CHORUS) Gather roses in the Springtime
Gather roses while ye may,
Time is passing; roses wither;
Winter comes; we're here -today-.
Have you seen the dew a-formin'
On the grass at early morn?
Have you seen the forest quiet,
Or a stag that's barely born?
Have you seen the dawn a-breakin'
O'er the Western Ocean's tide?
Have you felt my heart a-beatin'
When it's held close to your side?
I can give no gold or silver,
I can give no fields of land,
I can give no servants brisk
To wait on you both foot and hand;
I can give you wide roads callin'
Wind and Rain, and Moon and Sun,
Songs to sing, and love and laughter,
Dresses made of plain home-spun.
Come dance with me upon the greensward
in the moonlight, in the Spring.
Dance with me within the forest
Dance with me within the ring!
Earth below us, stars above us,
Fire and water by our side,
Dance with me within the moonlight,
Dance with me, and be my Bride!
*
2305
*
ALL THRU THE NIGHT
-Traditional
While the Moon her watch is keeping
all thru the night
While the weary world is sleeping
all thru the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing,
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
all thru the night
Though this Bard must roam full lonely
My true harp shall sing praise only
Love's soft dream, alas, is over
Yet my strains of love shall hover
Near the Presence of my Lover
Hark! A solemn bell is ringing
Thou, my King are heavenward winging
Earthly dust from off Thee shaken
Soul immortal shalt thou waken
With thy last, dim journey taken
Neath this Stone my King is sleeping
Stars around Him softly sweeping
Once and Future King preserving
Britain's Saviour there reserving
All around him Stars observing
all thru the night
Holl am ran-tire sehr thuh wed-ont
ahr heed ah nos
Dum-ar forth ee vro go-gawn-yont
ahr heed ah nos
Gol-i ar-all you tuh wull ooch
ee are thang os gweer bred vairtch-ooch
tie-leer nave oith m'yoon thu-wail-ooch
ahr heed ah nos
note: The last verse is phonetic Welsh.
"ll" is pronounced by putting the tip of your
tongue to the roof of your mouth, and saying "h"
and "l" at the same time...sort of.
"ch" is pronounced as German.
*
2306
*
TWO MAGICIANS
(Child #44)
recorded by Steeleye Span "Below the Salt"
She looked out of the window, as white as any milk
He looked in at the window, as black as any silk
(Chorus): Hello, hello, hello, hello you coal black smith
You have done me no harm!
You never shall have my maidenhead
That I have kept so long!
I'd rather die a maid, aye, and then she said,
And be buried all in my grave,
Than to have such a nasty,
husky, dusky, fusty, musty coal black smith!
A maiden I will die!
She became a duck, a duck all in the stream
And he became a waterdog, and fetched her back again
She became a star, a star all in the night
And he became a thundercloud and muffled her out of sight
She became a rose, a rose all in the wood
And he became a bumblebee and kissed her where she stood
She became a nun, a nun all dressed in white
And he became a chantry priest to pray for her by night
She became a trout, a trout all in the brook
And he became a feathered fly, and catched her with his hook
She became a quilt, a quilt all on her bed
And he became a coverlet, and gained her maidenhead!
note: This has MANY variants. See Robert Graves' "The White Goddess" pg. 401!
*
2307
*
JOHN BARLEYCORN
There were three men come out of the West
Their fortunes for to try,
And these three men made a solemn vow:
John Barleycorn should die!
John Barleycorn should die!
(nb: 4th line of each verse is sung twice)
They plowed, they sowed, they harrowed him in,
Threw clods upon his head,
And these three men made a solemn vow:
John Barleycorn was dead!
CHORUS: Fa la la la, it's a lovely day!
Sing fa la la lay oh!
Fa la la la, it's a lovely day!
Sing fa la la lay oh!
They let him lie for a very long time
'Til the rain from Heaven did fall,
Then Little Sir John sprung up his head,
And so amazed them all!
They let him stand 'til Midsummer tide,
'Til he grew both pale and wan,
Then Little Sir John he grew a long beard,
And so became a man!
They hired men with the sythes so sharp
To cut him off at the knee
They rolled him and tied him about the waist,
And used him barbarously!
They hired men with the sharp pitchforks
To pierce him to the heart,
And the loader he served him worse than that,
For he tied him in a cart!
They wheeled him around and around the field,
'Til they came to a barn,
And there they made a solemn mow
Of poor John Barleycorn,
They hired men with the crab-tree sticks
To strip him skin from bone
And the Miller he served him worse than that:
For he ground him between two stones!
They have wheeled him here and wheeled him there
And wheeled him to a barn,
And they have served him worse than that
They have bunged him in a vat!
(more)
2308
John Barleycorn (cont.)
They have worked their will on John Barleycorn
But he lived to tell the tale;
For they pour him out of an old brown jug,
And they call him home-brewed ale!
Here's Little Sir John in a nut-brown bowl,
And brandy in a glass!
And Little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl
Proved the stronger man at last!
For the huntsman he can't hunt the fox
Nor loudly blow his horn,
And the tinker can't mend kettles nor pots
Without John Barleycorn!
(Note: sing the chorus after every other verse or so. Encourage the group
to join the song)
*
*
THE FALSE KNIGHT UPON THE ROAD (Child #3)
-recorded by Steeleye Span
"Oh where are you going to?"
said the False Knight upon the road
"Oh I'm going to my school."
said the wee boy and still he stood
"What is that upon your back?"
said the False Knight upon the road
"Ah weel, it is my books!"
said the wee boy and still he stood
Oh, what have you got there? I wish you was on the sands.
I have got my bread and cheese! Yes, and a good staff in my hands!
Oh won't you give me some? I wish you was on the sea.
No, ne'r a bite or crumb! And a good ship under me!
And the ship to sink.
An inch away from shore!
I think I hear a bell.
And it rings you straight to Hell!
*
2309
*
NOTTAMUN TOWN
-Traditional
In Nottamun Town, in Nottamun Town
Not a soul would look up not a soul would look down
Not a soul would look up, not a soul would look down
To show me the way to fair Nottamun Town
I bought me a horse t'was called a grey mare
Grey mane and grey tail and green stripe on her back
Grey mane and grey tail and green stripe on her back
Weren't a hair upon her that was not coal black
She stood so still threw me to the dirt
She tore at my hide, she bruised my shirt
From saddle to stirrup I mounted again
and on my ten toes I rode over the plain
When I got there no one did I see
they all stood around me just looking at me
i called for a cup to drive gladness away
And stifle the dust for it rained the whole day
And the King and the Queen and the company more
Came a riding behind and a walking before
Come a stark naked drummer beating a drum
With his hands in his bosom came marching along
Sat down on a hard hot cold frozen stone
Ten thousand stood round me but I was alone
Took my heart in my hand to keep myself warm
Ten thousand was drowned that never was born
*
2310
*
CAMBRIAN DREAM
-Gwydion PenDerwyn
copyright probably to Nemeton
In the mountains of Cambria, by Rhymney's bright stream
I have oft slept in heather, and dreamed a bright Dream
No mortal could wake me, nor see what I've seen
No landscape could ever compare.
'Twas the Land of my Fathers, unfettered, and free
Ere the time that the Saxon swept over the Sea
When mistletoe grew 'neath the shining Oak Tree
No landscape could ever compare!
(Chorus): Dreaming of Prydein, asleep on a hill
When I awaken, will you be there still?
Oh, Island of Poets, my dreams you can fill
But never the long waking hours.
Mighty Poets and Warriors traversed every road
Leaving stories and legends wherever they strode
Their pasts are recalled in the humblest abode
In tales of the sunnier days.
(Chorus)
Now my story is ended, my song is all gone
I have slept thru the evening, and into the dawn
Yet still, I remember your Face, Albion,
And your older, and much wiser ways!
(Chorus)
*
2311
*
SHE MOVED THRU THE FAIRE
-Padraic Colum
recorded by Theodore Bikel
My young love said to me: My mother won't mind
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind
She put her arms 'round me; these words she did say:
It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day!
Then she stepped away from me, and she moved thru the Faire
And so fondly I watched her move here and move there
At last she turned homeward, with one star awake
As the Swan in the evening moves over the lake.
Last night she came to me, my dead love came in
And so soft did she move that her feet made no din
She put her arms 'round me; these words she did say:
It will not be long, love, 'til our wedding day!
*
*
CUP OF WONDER
-Ian Anderson
recorded: "Songs from the Wood"
Jethro Tull
copyright 1977 Salamander Music
pub. USA: Chrysalis Music Corp.
May I make my fond excuses for the lateness of the hour
But we accept your invitation, and we bring you Beltane's Flower
For the May Day is the Great Day, strung along the Old Straight Track
And those who ancient Lines did Ley will heed this song that calls them back!
Ask the Green Man where he comes from, ask the Cup that fills with Red
Ask the old grey Standing Stones who show the Sun His way to bed
Question all as to their Ways, and learn the Secrets that they hold
Walk the lines of Nature's Palm, crossed with Silver and with Gold.
(Chorus): Pass the Word, and pass the Lady
Pass the Plate to all who hunger!
Pass the Wit of Ancient Wisdom
Pass the Cup of Crimson Wonder!
Join in Black December's Madness! Lie in August's welcome Corn!
Stir the Cup that's ever filling with the Blood of all that's born!
For the May Day is the Great Day, strung along the Old Straight Track
And those who ancient Lines did Ley will heed this Song that calls them back!
2312
*
CUP OF WONDER II
-variant lyrics by the Whyte Bard
May I make my fond excuses for the lateness of the Hour
But I accept your invitation, and I bring you Beltane's Flower
For the May Day is the Great Day strung along the Old Straight Track
And those who ancient Lines did Ley will heed this Song that calls them back!
Ask the Green Man where he comes from, ask the Sun his way to bed
Ask the grey and Standing Stones where last they lay their head
Ask the Lady where She's standing, growing young, and growing old
Cross the Lines of Nature's Palm, marked with Silver, crossed with Gold
For the May Day is the Great Day strung along the Old Straight Track
And those who ancient Lines did Ley will heed this Song that calls them back!
Ask the Lady where She's standing in the green and growing corn!
Take the Cup that's ever filling with the Blood of all that's born!
For the May Day is the Great Day, strung along the Old Straight Track
And those who ancient Lines did Ley will heed this Song that calls them back!
So, pass the Cup, and pass the Lady!
Pass the Plate to all who hunger!
Pass the Wit of Ancient Wisdom
Pass the Cup of Crimson Wonder!
(repeat verse 1)
*
2313
*
THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS
-Wm. Butler Yeats
recorded by Judy Collins
I went out to the hazel - wood
Because a fire was in my head
Cut and peeled a hazel - wand
Tied a berry to a thread
And when white moths were on the wing
And moth - white stars were flickering out
I dropped the berry in a stream
And caught a little silver trout..........
I had but laid it on the bank
And gone to blow the fire a-flame
Something rustled in the air
Something called me by my name!
It had become a glimmering Girl
With apple - blossom in her hair
Who called me by my name, and ran
And vanished in the brightening air........
Though I am old, with wandering
Thru hilly lands, and hollow lands;
I'll find out where she has gone
To seek her lips, to take her hands-
And walk thru long green dappled grass;
To pluck 'til Time, and times are done:
The Silver Apples of the Moon;
The Golden Apples of the Sun...............
*
2314
*
THE CHILDISH EDDA
-Poul Anderson
-Ron Ellik
(Tune: "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp")
Yggdrasil, where Nine Worlds clash, is a noble piece of ash
That shelters Norns and Gods and all that crew
There, a Dragon gnaws the base of an Eagle's resting place,
And four Harts, a Goat and Squirrel are there too!
Frigga took a year or so, and, except for mistletoe
Got from everything an Oath for Balder's good
Evil Loki wished him harm, so he hired Hodr's arm,
And the staff the Blind God threw was kissing-wood!
Tyr vowed Fenris-Wolf his hand if he couldn't break the Band
That All-Father's wisdom made both light and hefty...
Lupine muscles strained away, but the magic held its' sway -
And from then on, till The Time, they called Tyr "Lefty!"
When Thor went out to fish, he quickly got his wish,
and he hauled a Jormangandr from the Bay.
But Hymr cut the cable, and Thor was only able
To brag about the "one that got away..."
When Thor called upon the Giants, they didn't show defiance,
But they soon got rid of him, and of his Hammer!
For the sea he could not swallow, and old Grandmaw beat him hollow,
And the House-Pet caused an awful katzenjammer!
Asa-Thor became a "her" for to repossess Mjollnir,
And unto a frosty brute his troth did plight;
But the vittles that he ate would an army more than sate,
And the chefs at Utgard always rued that night!
Each God's Apple every day, kept the doctor far away
'Til a Giant captured Ydun from their Halls...
Loki fetched home Bragi's Bride, with Her health-food store beside,
Plus a char-broiled eagle underneath the Walls!
Odin said to Mim: "I think I would sort of like a drink."
Answered Mim: "That will cost you your left eye!
For you've come up very late to the Well at Wisdom's Gate
And the set-up prices, after hours, are high!"
Oh, the Giants brought their War up to Bifrost's very Door
And the battling wrecked Asgards perfect clime-
Jormungandr, Hel and Fenris dealt out Death in doses generous
And, in fighting, did the Aesir pass The Time!
*
2315
*
THE VALKYRIE SONG
(Tune: Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries")
We fly through the night skies
Flashing our fat thighs,
Picking up dead guys;
You call this a job?
You take the blond guy,
I'll take the redhead!
Wait, he's not dead yet;
Let him go . . . splat!
Chorus: Woo-oop! Woo-oop!
Woo-oop! Woo-oop!
Woo-oop! Woo-oop!
Woo-oop! Woo-oop!
Oh-h-h-h-h-h!
We're hunting the Wabbit!
We're hunting the Wabbit!
We're hunting the Wabbit!
We're hunting the Wabbit!
*
2316
*
GOD IS ALIVE, MAGIC IS AFOOT
-Leonard Cohen (c) 1966
God is alive.....Magic is afoot...God is alive....magic is afoot...
God is afoot.....Magic is alive...Alive is afoot..magic never died!
God never sickened. Many poor men lied. Many sick men lied.
Magic never weakened. Magic never hid. Magic always ruled. God is afoot.
God never died!
God was Ruler, though his funeral lengthened.
Though His mourners thickened, magic never fled.
Though His shrouds were hoisted the naked God did live;
Though His words were twisted the naked magic thrived;
Though His death was published round and round the world
The heart did not believe.
Many hurt men wondered. Many struck men bled.
Magic never faltered. Magic always led.
Many stones were rolled, but God would not lie down!
Many wild men lied.
Many fat men listened.
Though they offered stones, magic still was fed!
Though they locked their coffers, God was always served.
Magic is afoot....God is alive....
Alive is afoot....Alive is in command.
Many weak men hungered.
Many strong men thrived.
Though they boasted solitude, God was at their side.
Nor the dreamer in his cell, nor the captain on the hill:
Magic is alive!
Though His death was pardoned 'round and 'round the world,
The heart would not believe!
Though laws were carved in marble they could not shelter men;
Though altars built in Parliaments, they could not order men;
Police arrested magic and magic went with them, ah!
For magic loves the hungry....
But magic would not tarry, it moves from arm to arm,
It would not stay with them; it cannot come to harm:
Magic is afoot! It cannot come to harm.
It rests in an empty palm. It spawns in an empty mind.
But magic is no instrument: magic is the End!
Many men drove magic, but magic stayed behind; Many strong men lied.
They only passed thru magic and out the other side!
Many weak men lied.
They came to God in secret and though they left Him nourished,
They would not tell Who healed;
Though mountains danced before them, they said that God was dead!
Though His shrouds were hoisted, the naked God did live!
(more)
2317
God Is Alive; Magic Is Afoot (cont.)
God is alive! Magic is afoot...God is alive... God is alive...
Magic is afoot...
This I mean to whisper to my mind:
This I mean to laugh with in my mind:
This I mean my mind to serve
'Til service is but magic, moving thru the world
And mind itself is magic, coursing thru the flesh
And flesh itself is magic, dancing on a clock,
And Time itself, the magic length of God!
God is alive...Magic is afoot...Magic is afoot...God is alive..
Magic is alive...God is afoot...Alive is afoot...God never died.
Many strong men lied.
They only passed thru magic and out the other side!
This I mean to whisper to my mind:
This I mean to laugh with in my mind:
This I mean my mind to serve
'Til service is but magic, moving thru the world
And mind itself is magic, coursing thru the flesh
And flesh itself is magic, dancing on a clock,
And Time itself, the magic length of God!
2318
*
***************************
THAT REAL OLD TIME RELIGION
***************************
THE ENTIRELY ARBITRARY CATEGORIES OF THE VERSES
ASATRU AND ODINISM:..................................Pg.2317
BRUJA:...............................................Pg.2317
BUDDHISM:............................................Pg.2318
CARGO CULT:..........................................Pg.2318
CHRISTIAN:...........................................Pg.2318
CLASSICAL PAGANISM:..................................Pg.2319
CONFUCIANISM.........................................Pg.2321
CTHULHU: (a fictional deity, but well-known).........Pg.2321
(THE ALMIGHTY) DOLLAR................................Pg.2322
DISCORDIANISM:.......................................Pg.2321
DRUIDS:..............................................Pg.2322
EGYPTIAN:............................................Pg.2322
FICTIONAL GODS, DEMONS AMD HEROES:...................Pg.2323
HINDU:...............................................Pg.2323
ISLAMIC:.............................................Pg.2323
JEWISH:..............................................Pg.2324
KAHBAHLA:............................................Pg.2324
KRISHNA:.............................................Pg.2324
MIDDLE EASTERN PAGAN:................................Pg.2324
MITHRAISM:...........................................Pg.2325
MOONIES:.............................................Pg.2325
NEW AGE:.............................................Pg.2325
NEW WORLD PAGAN:.....................................Pg.2325
SCIENTOLOGY:.........................................Pg.2326
SHINTO:..............................................Pg.2326
THELEMA:.............................................Pg.2326
VOODOO:..............................................Pg.2326
WICCA AND GENERAL NEO-PAGAN:.........................Pg.2327
ZARATHUSTRIAN:.......................................Pg.2328
UNCLASSIFIABLE VERSES AND UNKNOWN GHODS..............Pg.2328
NEW VERSES NOT YET CLASSIFIED:.......................Pg.2328
2319
*
THE REAL OLD TIME RELIGION
tune: "Old Time Religion"
(Chorus): Give me that real old time religion (3X)
It's good enough for me!
ASATRU AND ODINISM:
I hear Valkyries a-comin One-eyed Odin we will follow
In the air their song is comin And in fighting we will wallow
They forgot the words! They're hummin! Till we wind up in Valhallow
But they're good enough for me! Which is good enough for me!
We will drive up to Valhalla It was good enough for Odin
Riding Beetles, not Impalas Though the tremblin' got forbodin'
Singing "Deutschland Uber Alles" Then the giants finally strode in,
And that's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Loki Shall we sing a verse for Thor,
It was good enough for Loki Though he leaves the maidens sore?
He thinks Thor's a little hokey They always come back for more,
And that's good enough for me! So he's good enough for me!
Shall we sing in praise of Loki, It was good for Thor and Odin
Though he left poor Midgard smokey? It was good for Thor and Odin
Oh, his sense of humor's hokey, Grab an axe and get your woad on!
But he's good enough for me! and it's good enough for me!
All the Gods tore into Loki We will worship now with vigor
Saying Deicide is hokey! The goddess known as Frigga
And they threw him in the pokey! Tho there are some who don't dig her
And that's good enough for me! She is good enough for me!
Good old Thor's the god of thunder If you wanna worship Odin
Really helps us get our plunder You don't have to have a coat on
Tho his head's still truly dunder Grab a sword and slap some woad on
He is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
In the halls of Frey and Freyja We will sing a verse for Loki
All the priestesses will lay ya He's the old Norse god of Chaos
If you're good enough, they'll pay ya! Which is why this verse don't
And that's good enough for me! rhyme or scan or nothin'
But it's good enough for me...
BRUJA:
Let us sing for Brujaria
Though the blood's a lot less cleaner;
It's not Christian Santaria
So it's good enough for me!
2320
BUDDHISM:
We will all go to Nirvana Oh we all will follow Buddah
So be sure to mind your manners Oh we all will follow Buddah
Make a left turn at Savannah And we'll eat no food but Gouda
And we'll see the Promised Land! Which is Gouda-nuff for me!
It was good enough for Buddha, We will go and sing "Hosanna"
As a god he's kinda cute-a, To our good ol' pal, Gautama,
And he comes in brass or pewta' He will never flim or flam ya',
So he's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
No one wrote a verse for Buddah We will all go to Nirvana
Tho I think they really coulda We will all go to Nirvana
And I really think they shoulda Make a left turn at Urbana
'Cause he's good enough for me! And you'll see the Promised Land!
CARGO CULT & PACIFIC ISLANDS:
To the tune of Handel's "Largo" If you get too tired
We will hymn the gods of Cargo And you need to get up higher
'Til they slap on an embargo Just have Pele light your fire!
And that's good enough for me! From her island in the sea!
You can keep your saints with halos,
Your hosannas or dayenus:
Let's throw virgins in volcanos!
And that's good enough for me!
CHRISTIAN:
We will worship with the Fundies There are those who worship Satan
With their itchy hair-shirt undies And are just anticipatin'
If they don't bring "Mrs. Grundy," Armageddon's conflagratin'
Then it's good enough for me! That ain't good enough for me!
It was good for old Jehovah Let's all listen up to Jesus
He had a son who was a nova! He says rich folks like old Croesus
Hey there, Mithras! Move on ova'! Will be damned until Hell freezes
Another resurrection Day! And that don't sound good to me!
Jerry Falwell thinks he's sav-ed Oh we'll all be Fundamental
In a lamb's blood he's been lav-ed And be Holy Testamental
And HE thinks that I'M deprav-ed And never Trancendental
But that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
That Bob Larson shrieks and hollers We will finally pray to Jesus
Fighting demons in his callers From our sins we hope he frees us
Save his program: SEND YOUR DOLLARS! Eternal life he guarantees us
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Tho J.C.'s into fish, too, Anytime that I start hearin'
He's an avatar of Vishnu "Jesus loves you" I start leerin'
So he is welcome here, too, Maybe so, but not like Brian *
And that's good enough for me! Which is good enough for me!
2321
Brother Jerry is a cretin Brother Oral's in his tower,
But with all the cash he's gettin' Trusting in the Lord's power
Lotsa folks'll be forgettin Getting richer by the hour,
It's the "Land of the Free!" Now he's got the ransom fee!
Brother Robert's church is Crystal Brother Earnest is a healer
But all the Bible that he's missed'll And not QUITE a wheeler-dealer --
Make you "hotter than a pistol" More a jumper and a squealer
But he's good enough for me! So he's good enough for me!
Brother Jim and Sister Tammy Then there's good ol' Brother Billy
Had a show that was a whammy Bringing souls in willy-nilly.
But now they are in Miami All his trips are kinda silly,
Tryin' t'get back on TV! But he's good enough for me!
Whether Low Church or it's High Church And the Romans said of Jesus
Or it's Pie-Up-In-The-Sky Church "Lets kill him, he don't please us"
Come on down and visit my Church "But the Atheists will tease us"
'Cause it's good enough for me! And thats good enough for me
You could join Jehovah's Witness And let's not forget Pelagius
Running door to door for fitness Though some call him outrageous
Well if you've been blessed with quickness, He is pious and courageous
Then thats good enough for me And he's good enough for me!
CLASSICAL PAGANISM:
We will go to worship Zeus You can dance and wave the thyrsos
Though his morals are quite loose And sing lots of rowdy verses
He gave Leda quite a goose Till the neighbors holler curses,
And he's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
We will pray to Father Zeus We will sing for great Diana
In his temple we'll hang loose Who will teach of love and honor
Eating roast beef au jus, But you really gotta wanna!
And that's good enough for me! 'Cause she's tough enough for me!
Shall we sing a verse for Venus, We went off to worship Venus
Of the Gods she is the meanest, By the Gods! You should have seen us!
Cause she bit me on my...elbow! Now the Clinic has to screen us...
And it's good enough for me! But that's good enough for me!
We will venerate old Bacchus It was good enough for Sappho
Drinking beer and eating tacos With her lady on her lap-o
Til you've tried it please don't knock us She put Lesbos on the map-o
'Cause it's good enough for me! With her pagan poetry!
Let us raise a toast to Bacchus, When we worship Bacchus
We will raise a royal ruckus, The ethanol will sock us
Then we'll lay us down and f**k us We'll all get good and raucous
That's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Diana is a little spikey We'll sing praises to Apollo;
And she is a little dyke-ey Where the Sun God leads we'll follow
You don't have to be a Psych-e ('Though his head's a little hollow)
To know that's right for me! He's good enough for me!
2322
We will worship with Poseidon Don't neglect that shrine of Zeus'
We will meet him when the tide's in Tho he's lost his vital juices
All the maidens he will ride in The old boy still has his uses
Then he'll give 'em all to me! And he's good enough for me!
All the hunters start convergin' We will all bow to Hephaestus
When Diana is emergin' As a blacksmith he will test us
It's too bad she's still a virgin 'Cause his balls are pure asbestos
But there's still hope left for me! So he's good enough for me!
And what about this Bacchus, There is room enough in Hades
Who lives just to raise a ruckus? For lots of criminals and shadies
Loosens women so they'll f**k us, And disreputable ladies,
Well, that's good enough for me! And they're good enough for me!
We will all see Aphrodite And to help things get real racous
Though she's pretty wild and flighty The priests of Pan and Bacchus
She will meet us in her nightie Will hold a f***ing contest!
And she's good enough for me! And that's all right with me!
Oh we will go and worship Pan,
'cause he just don't give a damn!
Grab a woman or a man,
And that's good enough for me!
Was a time, so I've heard tell, a We all worshipped Dionysus
Fine and promising young fella 'Till we ran into a crisis:
Gave his all to serve Cybele The bar had raised its prices;
But that's damn well not for me! That's not good enough for me!
We'll sing praises to Apollo There's that lusty old Priapus
Where the Sun-God leads, I'll follow He's just itching to unwrap us.
From Ionia to Gaul-o (He'd do more to us than tap us
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!)
We will have a mighty Party Pan's pipes got plugged last summer
In the honor of Astarte And it really was a bummer
Grab your chiton - don't be tardy Finally had to call a plumber!
'Cause she's good enough for me! But he's good enough for me!
In his dancing Pan will lead them Now Danae was sweet as flowers,
When his pipes call we will heed them She was into golden showers;
In truth tho, he don't need them And that showed her Zeus' power
He's more than enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Venus We will sing our staves to Venus
She'd have sighed if she'd of seen us We will sing our staves to Venus
Letting morals come between us Tho I think this rhyme is henious
And she's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me!
There's one thing that I do know Let us dance with Dionysus
Zeus' favorite is Juno And get drunk on wine and spices
She's the best at doing...you know! The Christians call them "vices"
And that's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me!
It was good enough for Cupid We will venerate old Hermes
It was good enough for Cupid With his staff entwined with wormies
His wings look kind of stupid Warding off the nasty germies
But that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
2323
Let's all drink to Dionysus We will all bow down to Venus
Wine and women beyond prices! As we dance upon Mt. Zenos
He made a Maenad out of my Sis! We will worship with our....voice
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
There are those who, when they've got e-
Normous problems that are knotty
They just take them to Hecate We all worship Aphrodite,
And that's good enough for me! And Her sister bold Astarte,
They both throw a lovely party,
In the church of Aphrodite And that's just fine with me!
She's a mighty righteous sightie,
The Priestess wears a see through nightie
And she's good enough for me
CONFUCIANISM
Let us read works of Confucius We used to study old Confucius
As we walk thru Massachusetts As we sat there on our tushes
In white robes that freeze our tushes We're learning but don't push us
But it's good enough for me! And thats good enough for me
CTHULHU:
We will worship mighty Cthulhu We will worship Great Cthulhu,
H. P. Lovecraft's big old hoodoo We will worship Great Cthulhu,
(1930's fiction voodoo....) And we'll feed him Mr. Sulu
But that's good enough for me! 'Cause that's good enough for me!
Let us sing to Lord Cthuhlu We will sacrifice to Yuggoth
Don't let Lovecraft try to fool you We will sacrifice to Yuggoth
Or the Elder Gods WILL rule you Burn a candle for Yog-Soggoth
And that's good enough for me! And the Goat With a Thousand Young
Of the Old Ones, none is vaster Well it's good enough for *
Even Cthulhu's not his master He's a mighty kinky master
I refer to the unspeakable * When you pray he goes much faster
and that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
And for those who follow Cthulhu Let's go worship Great Cthulhu,
We have really got a lulu: And run naked like a Zulu,
Drop a bomb on Honolulu! You and me and Mr. Sulu,
'Cause that's good enough for you! And that's good enough for me!
* - well, do YOU want to say it?
DISCORDIANISM:
Let us sing to old Discordia Of Great Murphy much is spoken
Cause it's sure she's never bored ya For his Law shall not be broken
And if she's good enough for ya It's not pretty when he's woken
Then she's good enough for me! Things go wrong for you and me!
If your rising sign is Aries If your god of choice is Squat
You'll be taken by the Fairies Well then trendy, man, you're not!
Meet the Buddah in Benares But you'll get a parking spot!
where he'll hit you with a pie! And that's good enough for me!
2324
We will sing a verse for Eris Let us do our thing for Eris
(Golden apples for the fairest!) Goddess of the discord there is
Though she sometimes likes to scare us Apple's golden, it's not ferrous
But she's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Let us praise the Holy Fool
For he's breaking all the rules
Holds you up to ridicule,
And that's good enough for me!
(THE ALMIGHTY) DOLLAR
Oh, the dollar is our Saviour There are those who scream and holler
If we spend Her or we save Her And get hot under the collar
She controls all our behaviour For their god, Almighty Dollar,
There's not enough for me! Who is good enough for me!
Call Him God, or call him Allah
The priest will take your dollah
Easy living from -your- follah-
-wers, but sorry, -not- from me!
DRUIDS:
We will worship like the Druids, In Pwyll's hall you will be welcome
Drinking strange fermented fluids, But he's not at home too often
Running naked through the woo-ids, Spends all his time in Annwyfn
Coz that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
I'll go get my golden sickle
And I'll wear it where it tickles
It ain't used for cuttin' pickles!
And it's good enough for me!
EGYPTIAN:
Let us sing the praise of Horus When we all bowed down to Nuit
As our fathers did before us There was really nothin' to it
We're the New Egyptian Chorus (Alex Sanders made me do it...)
And we sing in harmony! But that's good enough for me!
We will venerate Bubastis We will pray with those Egyptians
We will venerate Bubastis Build pyramids to put our crypts in
If you want in, then just ast us! Cover subways with inscriptions,
'cause that's good enough for me! which is good enough for me.....!
Let us all now worship Ra We will all do praise to Horus
And take care of our Ka In an old Egyptian chorus
We'll all sit round and go "Ah-h-h!" If there's something in it for us
Which is good enough for me! Then it's good enough for me!
Here's an invitation for us We will venerate Bubastis
All to go and worship Horus Cause my cat walked up and ast us
Doff your clothes and join the chorus (Now the cat box is DISASTROUS!)
And that's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me!
2325
FICTIONAL GODS, DEMONS AMD HEROES:
Here's to those who copy Conan We will sing of Foul the Render,
Here's to those who copy Conan Who's got Drool Rockworm on a bender
They're just Followers of Onan In his cave in Kiril Threndor--
And that's good enough for me! They're both too much for me!
There are followers of Conan. Of Lord Shardik you must beware;
And you'll never hear 'em groanin' To please him you must swear;
Followed Crom up to his throne(in) 'Cause enraged he's a real Bear,
And it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Azahoth is in his Chaos We will sing of Iluvatur,
Azahoth is in his Chaos Who sent the Valar 'cross the water
Now if only he don't sway us To lead Morgoth to the slaughter
That is good enough for me! And that's just fine with me!
We will worship Holy Ford We will sing the Jug of Issek,
Beta, Delta, Gamma, Lord And of Fafhrd his chief mystic,
But the Alphas might get bored Though to thieving Mouser will stick,
A Brave New World for you and me! And that's good enough for me!
Let us note the might of Ils We'll invoke the blessed Camber
With a thousand or more quills And the Unicorn of Amber
By the light that from him spills And the wizard Deliamber
He is good enough for me! They're good enough for me!
The late return of the Prophet Zarquon It was good enough for Cthulhu
Caused his followers to hearken Who'd eat me and who'd eat you, too;
As the Universe went dark on If it's good enough for Cthulhu
All of you and me! Then it's good enough for me
HINDU:
There are some that call it folly We will go to worship Kali
When we worship Mother Kali. She will help us in our folly
She may not be very jolly She'd be quite an armful, golly!
But she's good enough for me! And she's good enough for me!
As the goddess Kali dances I will wait till four-armed Kali
With her worshippers in trances Drags me thru that lonesome valley
You can learn some Hindu stances She's disgusting act-u-all-y
And that's good enough for me! But She's good enough for me!
ISLAMIC:
We will all bow down to Allah Warriors for Allah
For he gave his loyal follow Are sure to have a gala
Ers the mighty petro-dollah Time in old Valhalla
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
2326
JEWISH:
If you think that you'll be sav-ed Some guys have a circumcision
If you think that you'll be sav-ed On account of their religion,
If you follow Mogen David An embarrassing incision
Then that's good enough for me! Cut just ENOUGH from me!
Let us worship old Jehovah Let us celebrate Jehovah
All you other gods move ovah Who created us "ab ova"
Cause the one God's takin' over He'll be on tonight on "Nova"
And it's good enough for me! 'cause he's good enough for me!
KAHBAHLA:
We will read from the Kabahlah We will read from the Cabala.
We will read from the Kabahlah Quote the Tree of Life mandala
It won't get us to Valhalla It won't get you in Valhalla,
But it's good enough for me! Yet it's good enough for me!
KRISHNA:
We will all sing Hare Krishna Hare Krishna gets a laugh on
We will all sing Hare Krishna When he sees me dressed in saffron
It's not mentioned in the Mishna With my hair that's only half on
But it's good enough for me! But that's good enough for me!
I was singing Hari Rama
With my friend the Dalai Lama
'Til they dumped us in the slammer
But that's good enough for me!
MIDDLE EASTERN PAGAN:
I'll sing some songs to Lilith, We will have a mighty orgy
Not so young, and not so girlish, in the honour of Astarte
and She's always PMS-ish, it'll be a mighty party
but She's good enough for me! and it's good enough for me!
Lilith wears a lacy nightie We will sing to Lady Isis
And She is a little flighty She'll stand by us in a crisis
She will get you all excite-y And She hasn't raised Her prices
She's wet-dream enough for me! And She's good enough for me!
We will all bow down to Dagon We will all bow down to Enlil
We will all bow down to Dagon We will all bow down to Enlil
He still votes for Ronald Reagan Pass your Cup and get a refill!
And that's good enough for me! With bold Gilgamesh the Brave!
Let us worship sweet Eninni Oh the ancient goddess Nerthus
Let us worship sweet Eninni From herself the Earth did birth us
In a skimpy string bikini And I wonder: are we worth us?
And that's good enough for me! But she's good enough for me!
We will go to worship Lillith Well Dimuzi's on vacation
Grab your cup, step up and fill it He'll be back when spring awakens
Tho 'ware she don't make you spill it! There will be such recreation
And that's good enough for me! There will be enough for me!
2327
Oh the Phillistines abound
Oh the Phillistines abound
They had the biggest Baals around
And that's good enough for me!
MITHRAISM:
We will sing a song of Mithras We will all be saved by Mithras
Let us sing a song of Mithras We will all be saved by Mithras
But there is no rhyme for Mithras! Slay the Bull and play the zithras
Still he's good enough for me! On that Resurrection Day!
MOONIES
We will worship Sun Myung Moonie
Though we know he is a goonie
All our money he'll have soonly
And that's good enough for me!
NEW AGE:
Oh, our Spirits will awaken Well I'm tired of Ronald Reagan,
Oh, our Spirits will awaken He's too square to be a pagan,
Watch the Universe a-quakin' Let's all vote for Carl Sagan!
Which is Gurdijeff to me! He's good enough for me!
Timmy Leary we will sing to I'll arise at early mornin'
And the things that he was into When the Sun gives me the warnin'
(Well, at least it wasn't Shinto) That the Solar Age is dawnin'
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
In the sky I hear a hummin' Just like Carlos Castenada
It's the UFO's a-comin' Just like Carlos Castenada
That's not banjos that they're strummin It'll get you sooner or later
But it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
NEW WORLD PAGAN:
Thanks to great Quetzacoatl Some folks pray to the Great Spirit
And his sacred axolotl Most folks just cannot get near it
And his gift of chocolatl So they hate it and they fear it
And please pass some down to me! But it's good enough for me!
Praise to Popacatapetl Some folks worship the Kachinas
Just a tiny cigarette'll Some folks worship the Kachinas
Put him in terrific fettle They look like "deus ex machinas"
So he's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me!
Now watch out for the Maya's, Montezuma liked to start out
They might really try to fry ya, Rites by carrying a part out
Sacrifice people, not papaya's, That would really tear your heart out,
Just as long as its not me! But it's good enough for me!
Quetzacoatl's flyin' And when old Quetzacoatl
With the Toltec and the Mayan Found a virgin he could throttle
And the mushrooms he's been buyin' And put her heart into a bottle
Are good enough for me! It was good enough for me.
2328
We will worship Xochipilli We will worship Xipe-Totec
Though it might be a bit silly Tho it is a little lo-tek *
Running naked makes me chilly It is not a bit ero-tek (erotic)
But it's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me!
* "low - tech(nology)
Oh, there's none like Huizlipochtli The Kachinas of the Hopi
For destroyin' people tot'ly Dance about and some act dopey
Best to worship -him- remotely! They don't leave you feelin' mopey
But he's good enough for me! So they're good enough for me!
I have gotten in the way-o
Walkin' with the Monster Slayer
He is worthy of a prayer
And he's good enough for me!
SCIENTOLOGY
L. Ron Hubbard liked precision In matters Dianetic
And he founded a religion You need not get frenetic
That has caught a lot of pigeons Make your Engrams copacetic
And it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
SHINTO:
There are some who practice Shinto I don't really go for Shinto
There are some who practice Shinto It's just something I'm not into
There's no telling what WE'RE into! Tho I guess I could begin to
but that's good enough for me! 'Cause it's good enough for me!
In Japan they thought it neato
When they worshipped Hirohito
But that didn't sit with SEATO
So it never more will be!
THELEMA:
Uncle Crowley was a dreamer When the clouds they are a'rumbling
At the Abbey of Thelemer And the thunder is a'grumbling
But his magic is a screamer, Then it's Crowley that you're mumbling
So it's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me!
There are those who follow Crowley Let us call an Elemental
Tho the stuff that he held holy For a temporary rental
Turn your your brain to guacamole Just as long as it is gentle
But he's good enough for me! It is good enough for me!
It was good enough for Crowley
With his sacraments unholy
Who smoked pot and ate some moly
And it's good enough for me!
VOODOO:
There are people into voodoo There are people into Voodoo
Africa has raised a hoodoo There are people into Voodoo
Just one little doll will do you I know I do, I hope you do!
And it's good enough for me! And it's good enough for me!
2329
If you're really into dancing
And you wanna try some trancing
Then the Voodoo gods are prancing
And that's good enough for me!
WICCA AND GENERAL NEO-PAGAN:
Well, she raised an awful flurry When old Gerald got it goin'
When she made the scholars worry When old Gerald got it goin'
Thank the Gods for Margaret Murray! All that hidin' turned to showin'
She is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
It was good enough for Granny It's not good enough for Reagan
She could throw a double-whammy It's not good enough for Reagan
That would knock you on your fanny He's too square to be a Pagan!
And she's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
With the aid of my athame Meeting at the Witching Hour
I can throw a "double-whammy" By the Bud, and Branch and Flower
(And can slice and dice salami!) Folks are raising up the Power
So it's good enough for me! And that's where I want to be!
There will be a lot of lovin' We will worship with the witches
When we're meetin in our Coven 'Cause we're rowdy sons-of-bitches
Quit yer pushin and yer shovin' And they scratch us where it itches
So there's room enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Well the Christians all are humming We will gather at our saunas
Cause they say their God is coming, When the spirit comes upon us
Our God came three times this evening To perform the Rites of Faunus
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
Some folks worship all of Nature
Tho they love to taunt and bait-cher
They're just funnin', they don't hate-cher
And they're good enough for me!
ZARATHUSTRIAN:
We will pray to Zarathustra It could be that you're a Parsi
And we'll pray just like we usta It could be that you're a Parsi
I'm a Zarathustra boosta! Don't need a ticket; you get in free
And that's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
I pray to Ahura-Mazda I can't rhyme Ahura Mazda,
He's one god who sure won't pause ta I'll praise the man who tries ta
Pound some heads when given cause ta Then I'll wait for Barak Raz ta
Which is good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
UNCLASSIFIABLE VERSES AND UNKNOWN GHODS:
We will go down to the temple There are those who worship no gods
Sit on mats woven of hemp-le For they think that there are low odds
Try to set a good "exemple" That the god-seers aren't drunk sods
And that's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me!
Let us watch Ka-ka-pa-ull Where's the gong gone? I can't find it
Frolic in her swimming pool I think Northwoods is behind it!
Subjecting chaos to her rule For they've always been cymbal-minded
And that's all right with me! And they're good enough for me!
2330
They revered ancient ENIAC Some folks pray to the Orishas
And sacrificed to UNIVAC Tho their humor can be vishas
Now we sing our chants on VAX pack When they grant your stupid wishas
And that's good enough for me! But they're good enough for me!
When you worship Rusto There are those who worship science
Treat your friends with lust-o And some would send 'em to the lions
Pursue your faith with gusto! Without 'em we'd have no appliance
And that's good enough for me! So they're good enough for me
We will all bow down to Gozer
Priestess did it with that Joser
Cross the streams, and there she goes, sir
And that's good enough for me!
We will worship Christian Jesus Drink to FUFLUNS he's just fine
And do just like John Paul pleases The Etruscan god of wine
That we will... when Hades freezes! This verse doesn't really rhyme
And that's good enough for me! But it's good enough for me!
I have got a strange religion John, Paul, George and Ringo
I will worship Walter Pidgeon We will worship playing Bingo
Is he sacred? Just a smidgen! We will listen to them sing-o
But it's good enough for me! And that's good enough for me!
THE OBLIGATORY LAST VERSE
It's the opera written for us!
We will all join in the chorus!
It's the opera about Boris,
Which is Godunov for me!
----------------------------------------------------------------
2331
------------------------------------------------------------------
I suppose that this last song has turned you into a newt by now.
You may not realize that it happened, 'cause that's just how that
sort of thing seems to work. You need to put a carrot on your nose
and find a duck, and weigh it. Then you'll be OK again.
*
THE HIGH HOLIDAY SONG
-Melusine
(Tune "The Serving-Girl's Holiday")
I've waited longing for today
Spin the bobbin and spool away!
In joy and bliss I'm off to play
Upon this high holiday!
CHORUS: And spin the bobbin and spool away!
Oh joy that it's a holiday!
This night of (name) now we greet
Hail my friends, and merry meet!
Strike the harp; the drum we'll beat
Upon this high holiday!
The wine and cakes we've bought and made
Found a spot in a moon-lit glade
Our love and trust will never fade
Especially on this holiday!
In forst glade we've built a fire
Symbol of our heart's desire
Within Her Love we'll never tire
Wit thee well this holiday!
Cast the Circle, we're within
Let the Spiral Dance begin!
Invite the Lord and Lady in
Upon this high holiday!
Dancing, spinning to the tune
The Piper plays beneath the moon
We chant as one the Witches' Rune
Upon this high holiday!
*
2332
By: Lucie
Re: Labelling Wiccans
Hello. I'm the academic that Khaled mentioned. sigh... I've
read the
thread on definitions and I can see the trouble you have gotten into:
prescriptive definition versus descriptive definition. Let me explain:
I am currently working in the Dept of Religious Studies of the Univer-
sity of Ottawa as a graduate student studying contemporary religious
movements in Canada, especially women centered or women defined. This,
by definition,includes Wicca/Witchcraft/Neo-Witchcraft/Neo-Pagan-
ism/Women's Spirituality/Women's Urban(Neo) Shamanism...etc... I'm not
the only one there involved in this research (we have an actual
"Centre for Research in Women and Religion"). We also have a number of
women (and one man) researching collateral aspects of the above
mentioned religious phenomena. We have had to come to some working
definitions so that we can talk to each other and to other religion-
ists.
Personally, I have also had to come up with some minimal
definition of Wicca/Witchcraft that I can use as a representative of
said phenomena (yes, I am using the plural form) when I am asked to
present/explain/ explicate said phenomena to forums such as the
Canadian Council of Churches or the Canadian Association for Pastoral
Education (CAPE). It is as a result of this need, that I have devel-
oped a minimal inclusive descriptive definition that can be used to
differentiate Wicca/Witchcraft from other religious phenomena.
What is a minimal inclusive descriptive definition you ask?
Ok. Minimal = smallest number of characteristics Inclusive = includes
rather than excludes Descriptive = what is actually there rather than
what should be there (prescriptive) Definition = what can be used to
define, ie. to draw a line around, to know relative to what is left
undefined/unknown
I'm using a technique common in Anthropology: componential
analysis, ie. the identification of discreet analytical features
(components) that can be seen as occuring or not. A set of these which
minimally defines something is seen as its descriptive paradigm. A
descriptive paradigm is unique in that it can only be used to define
the phenomenon it describes and no other. Ok? Just so you know what
kind of language I'm using.
Yes, I consider myself 'Wiccan'. No, I am not a member/init-
iate/follower of any specific 'tradition'. I'm too much of an anar-
chist at heart for that, and anyways, how can I swear secrecy if my
only stock in trade as an anthropologist is the knowledge I have
gained by
experience? Sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Ok. So here goes....Relative to any other faith system,Wic-
ca/Witchcraft (I won't seperate them yet) can be minimaly defined as
consisting of these five necessary components:
1) faith system is nature based
2) divinity is conceived as inherent
3) divinity is apprehended as gendered and as minimaly female
4) the locus of decision is the individual
5) the locus of action is the individual in the present
2333
What does this mean? Remember, this is to distinguish this
faith group relative to any other type of faith group. It does NOT
include variations, only COMMONALITIES.
1) nature based: as far as I can tell, all forms of Wicca/Witchcraft
(WW for short?) are based on humans being part of and in nature rather
than apart from. Also, seasonality and elements (air, earth, water,
fire) are central to the human apprehension and interaction with
nature.
2) divinity is inherent: divinity has manifested in all that is, all
that is is an aspect of divinity, we are all manifestations of divin-
ity.....
3) divinity gendered and female: divinity in one of its most apprehen-
dable forms knows itself in the specificity of gender and that gender
is at least female "The Goddess". All groups, whether they acknowledge
the God or not,know divinity in its female form.
4) locus of decision: morality is a personal, individual thing and
responsibility for choices is also a personal, individual thing. No
one can (successfully) impose a set morality on any one else. Ost-
racism seems to be the only -effective- means of moral cohersion used
by adherents to this faith. Its the other side of "Do what thou wilt,
An it harm none" and the Law of Karma. If a person acts contrary to
the community norm, this person will be shunned, ostracized, severely
criticized, and may as a result,leave the community. No matter the
behaviour which the community wishes to refuse to accept, the in-
dividual will not be 'punished' or told that they may not continue to
behave in their chosen way. Again, even community norms (and community
may be read as 'tradition') cannot be imposed or dictated. Even in
oath bound traditions, oaths are taken freely and as freely adhered to
or broken.
5) locus of action: nothing is differed to the 'ever after', nor is
the past
fully responsible for what occurs in the present. This is it, this is
all there is for anyone, make the most of it. Again, no predestin-
ation, no fatalism, no 'heaven' or 'hell', this is not a prelude.
Secondly, no congregation, no group, no church, no polity has
any more importance and certainly far less immediacy than the in-
dividual as the believer and the definer of what is believe. Faith is
lived within the individual, as an individual.
Ok. Remember, this describes ONLY what all forms of WW share,
NOT what deferentiates them from each other or what is defined within
a tradition as what constitutes the whole of THEIR tradition. It is a
minimal, inclusive, descriptive definition..... (part 2 follows)
2334
Whew....So what use is this type of definition? It allows me
to compare WW to other faiths such as Christianity, Shinto, Islam,
etc. It allows me to talk about beliefs and practices without getting
mired in the specificity of traditions. It also allows me to speak of
Gardenarians and Dianics in the same breath. They have more in common
relative to other faiths than they have different relative to each
other...
I was asked what defined WW relative to other Pagans and to
nature based faiths such as Shinto. It took some thinking but I think
I've been able to do it:
WW is
1) focused on the human (rather than nature or divinity)
2) divinity always takes a human form (at least)
3) WW works according to principles (fundamental underlying realities
which inform behaviour)
4) WW is law driven (there is a 'right' or 'proper' way...) 5) bel
ievers need to rationalize and to make scientific their faith (just
think of tables or correspondences and our explanations of 'why it
works')
I was also asked what distinction I made between Pagan, Wicca
and Witchcraft. I do make a difference.
Pagan: from paganus (latin) for of the country side as opposed to
"civitas" of the city
Neo-Pagan: post 196o's revival of country cum nature based spiritual-
ity -seen in opposition to Christian/Mainstream church -logical
spiritual outcome of the 'back to the land' and 'experiential
experimentation/mystical quest' of this same era
Witchcraft (revival): British phenomenon dating from the 1950's. Wicca
is used in Gardenarian texts but not used as a lable of the faith
group or practice. Wiccan NOT used.
Wicca/Wiccan: preferred terms adopted by many North American developed
Traditions of WW to differentiate themselves from British Traditions
(Gardenarian, Alexandrian)
Witch/Dianic: terms of self definition used by many North American
women to acknowledge their mythopoethic/political reclaiming of woman
centered / woman defined spirituality. Often expressed as: Women were
burned as witches in the Middle Ages, well, I'm a witch and you're NOT
going to burn me! May or may not express the adherence to a specific
tradition (Reclaiming, Dianic (Z. Budapest), etc) but is always an
indicator of woman centered / woman defined experience and self
definition.
Neo-Witchcraft: all forms of contemporary Anglo (ie of English lan-
guage,not an ethnic or nationalistic lable) witchcraft to distinguish
from Ancient, Middle Eastern, Midieval, or non-European forms
Wicca versus Witchcraft: as it seems to be used by most people today.
Wicca is a type of religion and witchcraft is a technology (ie spell
crafting,craft of the wise, nature magic....)
2335
By: Randronoth
Re: JudeoPagans 1
***
Iyyar: A Menopause Ritual
Penina Adelman
A time to keep and a time to cast away
This month's ritual has been designed with an awareness of our moth-
ers, grandmother, and great-grandmothers who were earlier inhibited---
even in the community of Jewish women--from marking the cessation of
menstruation, of derech nashim (the way of younger women as in Genesis
31:35) and the release from the physical tasks of childbearing and
childrearing. Now wholly freed, our female ancestors would have been
ready "to give birth" to their personal creativity, to dip into
Miriam's Well without the distractions and responsibilities of family.
We hope to convey a positive tenor to this life cycle event which has
been feared and misunderstood by so many men and women in the past.
Once a woman has reached the age beyond which pregnancy ceases, her
gender identity is often blurred by society. She is in a transitional
state, experienced by those interacting with her as being full of
power and danger. During the tumulous fourteenth century when the
Black Death struck in Europe,those women who managed to survive the
disease and live to old age were thought to be witches.
In interviewing post-menopausal woman to arrive at an appropriate
ritual marking their "change of life", I found unanimous reactions.
All indicated they would forgo any ritual ceremony that emphasized
menopause, fearing a societal backlash which might discriminate
against them as they advanced in age. Most said they did not feel very
different physically after menopause. The aging process itself was
their emphasis; the gradual body changes. These were linked not only
to menopause, but to the entire process of aging. Whether these same
feelings and attitudes will persist when contemporary young women
reach their menopause is now being speculated.
Some women may choose to mark the end of menopause with a "mature age
bat mitzvah" if they have never had one as an adolescent. Setting a
goal such as learning to read and speak Hebrew, to read Torah, to lead
a prayer service, teaching a Jewish text within the forum of a bat
mitzvah, at an age well beyond 12 or 13, is the way many older women
are choosing to reenter the tradition after years of alienation from,
or passive appreciation of, Jewish ritual. Others may wish to invite
friends who experience menopause already or are presently undergoing
it. My own mother has said that she could not imagine participating in
a menopause ritual, but would have liked to get together with her
friends to share experiences of those important years of change.
Hithbagut
Bring: The book of Ruth (several copies); a group for the mithbogeret.
(As preparation, read the Book of Ruth.) Setting: Home of the mith-
bogeret, the menopausal or post-menopausal woman, here named Tamar. We
are in a sitting room. Have pictures of the woman as a baby, young
girl, young woman, bride, mother, grandmother. Flowers and greens of
the season decorate the room. Attending are all the female relatives
of the mithbogeret who can be present--sisters, daughters, mother,
aunts--as well as her good friends, including members of the Rosh
Hodesh group.
2336
Themes of Iyyar
Keeper: Iyyar is a transitional month which falls between two major
holidays--Pesach, in the month of Nisan, and Shavuot, in Sivan. From
the second night of Pesach, we count forty-nine days (seven weeks)
until Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. This period is called the Omer.
When the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, each family would count a
sheaf offering of grain to bring to the Temple on the pilgrimage
festival of Shavuot. The purpose of this may have been partly a way of
blessing the Spring harvest which would also be celebrated on Shavuot.
In the act of counting, the Rabbis saw an opportunity to keep
track of inner harvest of spiritual qualities. Every week of the Omer
was to emphasize a particular attribute of God. Each day of the week
then represented a different permutation of the divine attributes.
In the context of this Rosh Hodesh Iyyar marking Tamar's
hithbagrut, one may think of the counting of years and deeds and
events which make up a woman's life. given are seven distinct stages
of life corresponding to the seven weeks of Omer: conception, pregnan-
cy, birth, childhood, womanhood, motherhood, and maturity.
In the seven-week counting of the Omer, we find the sugges-
tion of seven ritual activities which may be performed during the Rosh
Hodesh celebration for any given month. We take as our impetus the
Rabbis' notion of seven divine attributes to be explored and emulated
for the purpose of healing the ills of the universe. We have desig-
nated these activities:
meditation, ritual immersion, (mikveh), singing, prayer, storytelling
(midrash), text study (talmud torah). eating and drinking.
Omer as Period of Mourning
Keeper of Iyyar: The period of the Omer which includes the entire
month of
Iyyar is considered by observant Jews to be a time of mourning.
Wedding
ceremonies, hair cutting, and playing music are prohibited. The
reasons for this are unclear, ranging from a plague said to have
killed the disciples of Rabbi Akiba in the early centuries of the
Common Era, to the influence of a Roman superstition which held that
during this time of year, the souls of the dead wander into the land
of the living. We do not view menopause as a time to mourn the "end of
fertility", as have many in the past. Our purpose in coming together
today is, rather, to understand and recognize the meaning of menopause
for women who have experienced it or will soon enter its phases. Today
we have an opportunity to think of new ways for women to mark this
time in future years.
Sign of Iyyar
Keeper of Iyyar: The astrological sign of the month is the Bull,
Shor. Nisan is the month during which seeds are planted. The bull
ploughs the earth, bending its broad neck to the ground, dragging a
heavy load. The bull tends the change from the new Spring growth of
Nisan to the first Spring harvest of Sivan. The rhythms of the earth
reverberate throughtout the strong body of the bull.
Kavannah
Keeper of Iyyar: In some cultures, once a woman has passed the
age of childbearing, she is known as the "Wise Woman" of the com-
munity. In her reside the knowledge and values of her people which she
transmits to the young. Hers is the status of a venerated elder. This
contrasts sharply with the devalued status of the aging female in our
own culture. Today we intend to question this and to learn about the
experience all have had during menopause in order to instill new and
2337
positive expectations in our children and grandchildren. One of the
major misconceptions we need to address has to do with sex and the
older woman. In Judaism, sex has never been linked only to procrea-
tion. On the contrary, in addition to procreation, sex exists for the
sake of pleasure, wellbeing, and harmony in a marriage. Therefore,
when a woman has passed the age of childbearing and even earlier, she
is encouraged by Jewish law to enjoy sex with her partner. Are there
any other kavannot? Each woman voices her own intention for the
ritual.
Woman: To mark the passing of physical fertility and to rededicate
ourselves to a greater focus on spiritual, intellectual, and artistic
creativity and fertility.
Woman: To say good-bye to the womb, rechem, the center of childbear-
ing.
Woman: To praise and give thanks for the cycles of life which pulsate
through our bodies.
Woman: To say good-bye and good riddance to tampoons and sanitary
napkins and pads and foams and jellies and diaphragms and pills and
anything else I've left out--forever!
Tamar, the Mithbogeret: I would like this to be a ritual of transmit-
ting wisdom, hokhmah.
In Greek, the word for "wisdom", sophia, was identified with a female
figure. In Hebrew hokhmah is a word of the feminine gender. The
connection between wisdom of Tekoa and Abel in 11 Samuel 14 and 11
Samuel 20, respectively, are examples of what seemed to be a conven-
tion in Isreal at that time--a woman of the community who knew how to
choose her words wisely and communicate the desired message. She was
perhaps a female counterpart to the Hebrew prophet, God's instrument
of communication with the people of Isreal. More examples are found in
Proverbs 14:1 and in poem recited to the woman of the household on
Sabbath evening, "A Woman of Valor." One of the last lines speaks of
her mouth, which "opens with wisdom."
In fairy tales, the woman with special powers, with the knowledge
of creation and destruction, is either an evil witch or a good fairy
godmother. Both are frequently characterized as older women. In this
hithbagrut ritual, we teach and lead a discussion based on two stories
of mother and daughter figures where the mother passes on her life's
wisdom to her daughter. they are stories of Naomi and Ruth in the
Bible and Demeter and Persephone from Greek mythology.
Storytelling
All should have a copy of he story of Ruth and Naomi, or should
have read the story in preparation. Tamar, the mithbogeret, then tells
the Greek myth in her own words.
Demeter and Persephone
Once there lived a goddess who ruled over the earth. She had power
over agriculture, causing aboundant growth of cereals and grains. In
this way she echoed Naomi and Ruth, women of the land. Demeter had one
lovely daughter, Persephone, as fair as the first flower of Spring.
One day Persephone wandered far from her mother to pick flowers which
2338
beckoned. Steeped in the fragrance of those blooms, she was startled
by Hades, the dark god of the Underworld. He seized her and pulled her
down to his cold, damp kingdom beneath the earth.
Demeter sank into despair when her beloved daughter did not return.
She entered into mourning, forgetting to bring new buds into being.
She grieved for her daughter, even refusing to eat or sleep. Thus, the
earth was allowed to wither.
When at last she sought aid from the gods to find her daughter, she
was told that if Persephone had not eaten food in the Underworld, she
could return unharmed to this world. Though Persephone had not been
tempted by food, Hades was able to break her resolve with a single
ruby seed of a pomegranite. Knowing that if he could induce her to
nourish herself in his domain, he could have her as his wife, he
strove to make her taste food. Because of that one seed, she would now
have to divide her time equally between Hades and Demeter, between the
land of darkness and death and the land of light and life.
That is why the Greeks say that the earth blooms half the year and
withers during the other half. When Persephone descends to her hus-
band,
Hades, Demeter forgets to bring the buds into being.
Tamar describes the link between these stories in which an older woamn
passes down special knowledge to a younger woman, and the onset of
menopause in which the transmission of wisdom amoung the members of a
women's community is crucial. She tells of her own experience of
menopause and asks other women to share theirs. The younger women who
are present share their fears and fantasies of menopause and ask
questions of the older women.
Meditation and Movement
Woman: Since menopause involves a new relationship with one's
body, we now meditate on ending that segment of our live characterized
by an active womb.
This meditation begins with a movement excercise called "Aura-
Brushing." The "aura" is the psychic field arond an individual. This
aura may be affected by fatigue, illness, depression, isolation. The
purpose of "brushing the aura" is to symbolize making a fresh start by
discarding the cobwebs which drain one of energy.
We start by forming groups of threes, one woman standing in the
middle, one on each side of her. Now the woman in the middle should
close her eyes. the other two will begin to whisk the air upward from
her feet as they whisper her name repeatedly. They whisk from her
feet, her legs, her trunk, up to her neck and head, whispering all the
while.
Each woman in the group takes turns standing in the middle while the
other two brush her "aura".
Woman: I composed this meditation especially with you in mind. Tamar,
as you and I have been working together, I know the kind of imagery
you might use for yourself.
It is important to note here that the process just mentioned is a
crucial one for the Rosh Hodesh ritual. As pioneers in new ritual, we
continu to scrutinize our conceptions to create meaningful ceremonies.
2339
In this case, Tamar asked for help in saying good-bye to her once-act-
ive womb. another woman might require a different image journey.
Woman: While we composed the following for Tamar, all may participate,
even those not yet at menopause. But do not feel you must participate.
You may wish to close your eyes sending healing energy to Tamar. Or,
you may wish to start with this visualization and then let your own
imagination take over. Some of you may want to leave the room. How you
decide to participate is your own choice.
Now, begin by finding a comfortable position. Close your eyes and
focus on your breathing deeply in and out...
See yourself carrying your womb in a crystal jar. Look at it care-
fully. take the jar with you to Jerusalem. Carry it carefully up to
the Mount of Olives. Find a spot on the Mount of Olives and begin
digging a hole with your hands.
Dig deeply, and when the hole is deep enough, place the jar containing
your womb deep into the Jerusalem earth. Cover the jar carefully. Know
that your womb is buried safely, forever. Before leaving the spot
where your womb is buried, thank your womb for all that it has given
you. Thank the earth for protecting and housing your womb.
Cover the spot with a smooth, white Jerusalem stone. Walk to a nearby
waterfall. Stand beneath it and feel yourself cleased from within and
without. Retuen home knowing that you will continue to be creative
and productive. Feel yourself strong and in perfect health.
When you are ready open your eyes.
When the mediatation is over, some of the women share what they felt.
Others remain silent, choosing to listen. Tamar is very peaceful,
talking about what this ritual evening has meant to her.
Gift the women present Tamar, the mithbogeret, with a gift, one they
have made or bought. The Keeper of Iyyar invites all to partake of the
food and drink on the table.
2340
The Blot
Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Lewis Stead
The Blot is the most common ritual within Asatru. In its simplest form
a blot is making a sacrifice to the Gods. In the old days this was
done by feasting on an animal consecrated to the Gods and then
slaughtered. (The word blot itself is related to the Norse words for
"blood" and "sacrifice.") As we are no longer farmers and our needs
are simpler today, the most common blot is an offering of mead or
other alchoholic beverage to the deities.
Many modern folk will be suspicious of a ritual such as this. Rituals
such as the blot have been falsely interpreted by post-Pagan sources
in order to denegrate the ritual or trivialize it. The most common
myth about ritual sacrifice is that one is buying off a deity e.g. one
throws a virgin into the Volcano so it won't erupt. Nothing could be
further from the truth. In Asatru it is believed that we are not only
the worshippers of the Gods but that we are physically related to
them. The Eddas tell of a God, Rig, who went to various farmsteads
and fathered the human race so we are physically kin to the Gods. On
a more esoteric level, humankind is gifted with "ond" or the gift of
ecstasy. Ond is a force that is of the Gods. It is everything that
makes humans different from the other creatures of the world. As
creatures with this gift, we are immediately connected to the Gods,
we are part of their tribe, their kin. Thus we are not simply buying
off the Gods by offering them something that they want, but we are
sharing with the Gods something that we all take joy in. Sharing and
gift giving was an incredibly important part of Norse cultur (and of
most ancient cultures) and had magical significance. Giving a gift
was a sign of friendship, kinship, and connection. By sharing a blot
with the Gods we reaffirm our connection to them and thus reawaken
their powers within us and their watchfullness over our world.
A blot can be a simple affair where a horn of mead is consecrated to
the Gods and then poured as a libation, or it can be a part of a
larger ritual. A good comparison is the Catholic Mass which may be
part of a regular service or special event such as a wedding or
funeral, or it may be done as a purely magical-religious practice
without any sermon, hymns, or other trappings.
The blot consists of three parts, the hallowing or consecrating of the
offering, the sharing of the offering, and the libation. Each of
these is equally important. The only tools required are mead, beer or
juice, a horn or chalice, a sprig of evergreen used to sprinkle the
mead, and a ceremonial bowl known as a Hlautbowl into which the
initial libation will be made.
The blot begins with the consecration of the offering. The Gothi
(Priest) or Gythia (Priestess) officiating at the blot invokes the
God or Goddess being honored. This is usually accomplished by a
spoken declaration with ones arms being held above ones head in a Y
shape, in imitation of the rune elhaz. This posture is used for most
invocations and prayers throughout Asatru. After the spoken invoc-
ation an appropriate rune or other symbol of the God or Goddess may be
drawn in the air with the finger or with the staff. Once the God is
invoked, the Gothi takes up the horn. His assistant pours mead from
the bottle into the horn. The Gothi then traces the hammer sign (an
upside down T) over the horn as a blessing and holds it above his
head offering it to the Gods. He then speaks a request that the God
or Goddess bless the offering and accept it as a sacrifice. At the
2341
least one will feel the presence of the deity; at best one will be
able to feel in some inner way the God taking of the mead and drinking
it.
The mead is now not only blessed with divine power but has passed the
lips of the God or Goddess. The Gothi then takes a drink of the horn
and it is passed around the gathered folk. Although it sounds like a
very simple thing, it can be a very powerful experience. At this point
the mead is no longer simply a drink but is imbued with the blessing
and power of the God or Goddess being honored. When one drinks, one
is taking that power into onesself. After the horn has made the
rounds once, the Gothi again drinks from the horn and then empties the
remainder into the hlautbowl. The Gothi then takes up the evergreen
sprig and his assistant the hlautbowl and the Gothi sprinkles the
mead around the circle or temple or onto the altar. If there are a
great number of the folk gathered, one may wish to drop the drinking
and merely sprinkle the various folk with the mead as a way of
sharing it. In a small group one might merely drink as the blessing.
When this is done the Hlautbowl is taken by the Gothi and poured out
onto the ground. This is done as an offering not only to the God
invoked at the blot, but it is also traditional to remember the Earth
Mother at this time, since it is being poured onto her ground. Many
invocations mention the God, Goddess, or spirit being sacrificed to,
and then Mother Earth, as in the Sigrdrifa Prayer "Hail to the Gods
and to the Goddesses as well; Hail Earth that gives to all men."
(Sigrdrifumal 3) With this action, the blot is ended.
Obviously this is a very sparse ritual and if performed alone could be
completed in only a few minutes. This is as it should be, for blots
are often poured not because it is a time of gathering or festivity
for the folk, but because the blot must be poured in honor or petition
of a God or Goddess on their holiday or some other important occasion.
For example, a father tending his sick child might pour a blot to Eir
the Goddess of healing. Obviously he doesn't have time to waste on
the "trappings" of ritual. The intent is to make an offering to the
Goddess as quickly as possible. At some times a full celebration might
not be made of a holiday because of a persons hectic schedule, but at
the least a blot should be made to mark the occasion. However, in most
cases a blot will at least be accompanied by a statement of intent at
the beginning and some sort of conclusion at the end. It might also
be interspersed with or done at the conclusion of ritual theater or
magic. Our kindred, for example, begins the ritual with a chant of
"Odin, Vili, Ve" which connects us to the Gods of creation. Between
the invocation of the God or Goddess and the actual Blot we usually
add a meditation or something else which acts as a focus of the
ritual. Once, for example, we made mead in the middle of a ritual to
Aegir. As part of our blot we also pass the horn three times. The
first time around is a taking in of the power of the charged mead and
all offer a toast to the God(s) of the occasion. The second and third
rounds are open to toasts to other Gods, toasts to the kindred, the
hosts, to pledges, boasting and anything else on wishes to say. It is
essentially a "mini sumble" in the middle of our blot. Always of
course, we remember the purpose of our ritual. We would never toast
one of the Jotnar during a ritual to Thor for example. We have also
added a few steps at the end which are a private affirmation of our
groups kinship with each other and with the Gods.
Basic Outline of the Blot Ritual:
2342
I. Sanctify space with the Hammer rite
II. Invocation of the Deity
III. Secondary Activities supporting the blot: meditation etc.
IV. Load mead by offering it to the God
V. Pass mead for blessing or sprinkle on folk
VI. Other activities, prayers, etc
VII. Thank the deity
VIII. Pour the libation to the Earth
THE NECKLACE OF A THOUSAND STRANDS
In the beginning that ever was and ever shall be, there was only
Night. She lay sleeping. In Her sleeping, She dreamed. In Her
dreaming, She sighed. In Her sighing, She turned and in Her
turning, She awakened. In Her awakening, She saw naught but
Herself, and found Herself beautiful.
Long did She delight in Her beauty, Her perfection. Her softly
rounded limbs, full body and flowing hair were so magnificent
that She wished to adorn Herself.
She captured Her thoughts, each a brilliantly colored speck of
light, and strung them together to form a Necklace of a Thousand
Strands. This She donned and was pleased.
Each speck sparkled with its own hue and brilliance, creating
spectacular scenes of Night in Her many attitudes and postures.
When Night moved, so did the Necklace of a Thousand Strands.
This created a living, moving mosaic of Night - each image acting
and reacting with other images of Herself.
Though this was beautiful and pleasing to Night, it created in
Her a loneliness. Loneliness to have companionship, loneliness
to have another admire Her great beauty, loneliness to experience
love outside Herself.
Not know how to create this Other that She longed for, She sought
to amuse Herself through movement. She began a stately dance,
slow and measured. As She turned in the figures of the Dance,
wind was created in Her passing, and in it She visualized a
partner, a counterpart.
She sent all Her love and longing into the whirlwind She had
created, and a shadowy form began to take shape. She turned and
spun ever faster, thinking more upon the shape of Her desire.
The form became more solid. It began to take on substance and
reality. It was like, yet unlike, Night. She felt drawn to it
and it was impelled toward Her.
She gloried in Her creation of the form, and it adored Her great
beauty. The Two danced together. The longer They danced, the
stronger and brighter did the fierce spirit of longs and love
grow between Them, Night and Her Shadow.
Her Shadow became all that Night was not, out of Her longing to
be fulfilled, and She was called Day.
Day and Night danced furiously together, and finally, no longer
able to keep apart, made love to one another. In Their wild,
2343
passionate turnings, the Necklace of a Thousand Strands began to
break, a strand at a time. The specks of light went flying off
to become the Stars, to swim about the divine couple, in
beautiful precise patterns, as if to remain a part of Love's
Dance. Thus began the Ages of Loving.
All but one strand broke, and it remains together to this day.
It is seen in the sky, brilliant, breath-taking and
awe-inspiring. We call it the Milky Way.
Dawn and Dusk are the sacred times and places where Night and Day
merge in love's ecstasy. Keep them holy.
- ZS-1-SB -
HOW THE WORLDS AND PEOPLES CAME TO BE
Night and Day danced lovingly and long, through the spectacular,
blazing bits of thought that had flown away by the breaking of
the Necklace. Not long can such love exist with creating of
Itself images that reflect this Great Love.
Many of the bits of brilliance grew heavier and more solid
throughout of passing of the Ages of Loving. These bits were
called Worlds, or Planets.
The Lady and the Lord, Her Consort, looked upon their Worlds,
delighting in each one, and decreed that there should be life
upon them. Life that re-created the Love and Harmony that They
and the Universe shared.
So, They began to form upon these Worlds, rivers and streams and
bodies of water to quench the thirst of the plants and animals
that would henceforth live upon the nurturing breasts of these
Worlds.
These Worlds They called "Little Mothers," for from their soil
would spring all manner of life and it would be sustained by the
"Little Mothers."
Near each of the "Little Mothers" there was always placed a
particularly bright thought-speck, called the "little Fathers."
For Night and Day knew, as we do, that Life must have warmth and
light to truly grow and reproduce.
All Worlds They did not make the same, for diversity and
combination serve to further the Great Love of Themselves.
Having then seen to the Planets and Suns, and too, to the seeding
of the Worlds with all manner of vegetable and animal life, the
Divine Ones rested.
But the Great Goddess was not content. She felt the work was yet
unfinished. She spoke to Her Consort and told Him of a plan. He
agreed, knowing that the Lady knew what was best for Her
Creations - for was She not the Progenitor of All?
Thus, they began to make and mold a people for a World. They
made them in twos, male and female, to reflect the images of
Themselves, and so that the re-enactment of Their Great Love
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might take place.
Now we know what people transpired upon this World, but we, as
yet, know not what people were designed to populate other Worlds,
or which Stars they are under by which they flourish by the Lady.
Though we would wish in our hearts to be the only objects of
reflection of their Love, we must never think to believe that
Their Infinite Love, burgeoning across all the Universe, had
created none but Ourselves. Nor that the Divine Ones are so
limited that They have not created many peoples on many Worlds,
though unbeknownst to us. And they - these people of other
Planets, like us, are perfect reflections of that immense, Divine
Never-ending Love.
LIGHT OF THE WOMB
In the warm Womb of Her Mother, She rested and dreamed. She felt
through the membrane all that had passed, did pass, and would
pass with Her Mother. She knew that Her Mother was reckoned to
be beautiful, kind and giving; yet too, She know that those Her
Mother would succor had no thought of her Gifts, and would not
repay kindness with kindness, but rather with rapine and
disregard.
Light-of-the-Womb knew that She had been seeing future dreams;
that the ugliness and cruelty of Her Mother's foster-children was
yet to come. And so, She resolved in Her heart to become
beautiful but uncaring to those who would grasp at her beauty -
unreachable, yet so desirable that Her Mother's foster-children
would ache in their hearts for desire of Her.
The day of Her birthing came, and as Her Mother shuddered in the
agonies of labor, Light-of-the-Womb cared not for Her own pains,
nor for those of Her Mother - but thought only of Her imminent
freedom that would at last allow Her revenge on
those-yet-to-come.
With a heaving surge, She tore free from Her Mother's thrashing
body, and screamed in triumph at Her escape.
Now even as the Daughter knew of all that passed with the Mother,
so did the Mother know of that which passed within the heart and
mind of the Daughter; and She set up a great travail. The waters
of Her Womb crashed and hissed in torment; Her bones creaked and
trembled; Her flesh rent apart in pain and suffering.
Yet in Her great Agony, the Mother cried out to Her Child, "Oh,
Daughter! Light-of-My-Womb! Why do you betray your Heritage?"
And in coldness, did the Daughter answer, "I would not be as You,
Mother, to be ravaged by the uncaring; to be ignored by the
lesser who have no sense of what they do; who see not beauty in
its truest form!"
And She placed Herself a distance from Her Mother; away from the
warmth of Her embrace - yet within the reach of Her low, gentle
voice.
Long ages passed, and the uncaring Child danced Her empty dance
about the abode of Her Mother, growing more delighted with Her
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own frozen beauty; more strongly determined to exact revenge upon
those who would bring pain and sorrow and disgrace upon Her
Mother. Her light of beauty shone silvery and pristine upon Her
Mother's sleeping form.
When the fosterlings came, at first they were reverent, and gave
back to the Mother tokens of esteem and praise - all that they
could with their limited abilities. Though Light-of-the-Womb saw
this, She waited - unforgiving of the future grief She knew they
would bring.
Always did the fosterlings worship Light-of-the-Womb, and She fed
upon this worship as Her due, but did not soften towards them.
Some of Her coldness touched the fosterlings and made them, too,
a bit cold. But She cared not.
In truth, She became more cold and disdainful, at times even
bringing madness to those who cared too deeply for Her. It was
right and correct that they should worship Her beautiful Self,
for was She not delicate and gracious in Her gift of Silver Light
as Her Mother slept? Did not She cause Her mother's Love for Her
to control the planting and growing of the food they ate? She,
did She not, caused Her Mother's blood, Her salty Womb to pulse
in rhythm to Her turning dance.
She ignored Her Father's brilliance, though She privately
admitted that it was from Him She had inherited her gentle glow.
At time, His anger flared at Her, then would Her gentle Mother
intercede, coming between the Two, as if to protect the Daughter
from His furious gaze. At these times, a bitter cold came upon
Light-of-the-Womb, and Her cruel humor turned to dark despair.
As soon as Her Father's wrath had cooled, Her mother would move
gently away, exposing Light-of-the-Womb slowly to Her Father's
gaze, so that He might remember the beauty of His Daughter.
Light-of-the-Womb began after a time to feel shame, and regularly
turned Her face from Her Parents - so that at times only a sliver
of Her shining countenance could be seen. Though She suffered
shame at her disdainful ways, She found She could not change.
For all heat in Her had died over the long ages, and no more was
there the white hot rushing of blood in her veins. She had
become stone - trapped by her own frozen vanity.
So now, as She looks upon those fosterlings that tear at Her
Mother's pride and beauty, She cannot aid Her in any way, save to
soothe Her Mother with Her silvery light, and to cause desire in
the fosterlings' hearts. Her beauty and unapproachability tugs
at their hearts, causing their bodies' water to flow in Her
timeless rhythms - making them turn a portion of their desire for
Her upon their fellow fosterlings. Lovers, too, pray to Her and
are heard. The mad are sacred to Her, known as Moon-calves.
Upon Her full face can be seen a look of surprised sadness, for
She cannot partake of Her Mother's Fate, save to watch - and know
that She, too, will be ravaged. But since She never gave of
warmth and substance, there will never be regret in the stripping
of Her bones. And only a cold, frozen thought is lodged in Her
heart, remembering what love was.
No tears fall from Her eyes, for Her waters are wasted, and Her
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blood is dried up; but a little remains of Her liquids; enough to
warn the wise when rain will come. At these times She dons a
halo of opalescent light to show the only She can, that She is
still the daughter of Her Parents and that though She cannot feel
love or give love, She can inspire that emotion in Her Mother's
fosterlings when they gaze up at Her and call Her - Moon.
HOW THE SEASONS CAME TO BE
In the beginning of the green World, the Lady Night did dance
upon the Earth's breast. She delighted in all the Earth - the
growing herbs, the animals, the insects, the birds of the air,
the creatures of the waters, and all that made up this pleasant
abode.
She exulted in the warmth of the sunny days and cool nights. She
ruled this world with Her companion and counterpart, the Bright
King, whom She had fashioned out of Her longing for love. His
name was Day; the brightness of the Sun shone from His visage.
Great was their joy in one another, and in the green fertile
World about Them.
The Earth became more and more full of Her creations - crowding
happily in on one another, until there was little room to Dance
or move about, and the Earth groaned under Life's weight.
Mother Earth complained to Father sun, the They consulted with
each other on how they might best serve the Great Goddess, and at
the same time relieve the burden that rested so heavily on
Earth's weary body.
After much talking, they could not decide what they must do, and
Father Sun told Mother Earth that since her's was the pain, so
must Her's be the solution. And He turned away His Face and
shrouded Himself in robes of seething clouds.
Coldness fell upon the Earth, and many things cried out in loss
an pain. For was not the Sun needful to them for Life? Many
things began to wilt and shrivel close to the Little Mother's
bosom, looking for solace. Many things burrowed deep, sleeping
until a more favorable time.
Then Mother Earth devised a plan - let there be two halves to the
year - the bright and warm, and the dark and cold. Thus would
the burden lighten somewhat, when the things shriveled for a
while.
Father Sun once again looked upon Mother Earth, and agreed that
Her plan might work well. "But who would rule the dark time?" He
asked.
"Let the Lord be the Master of the cold season, " She replied.
"Then can the Lady renew and replenish all things after His
Reign."
Father Sun felt it would not be wise to leave the Lady
companionless. Why could there not be two - one to rule the
bright and one to rule the dark. He wished that the Bright Lord
should remain in the warm time; for He was straight of limb,
bright of visage, and merry of heart. Too, Father Sun thought
2347
the Lady would wish a companion to compliment Her beauty, be
light-hearted in all ways, thus making the task of renewing all
the more joyous.
Mother Earth thought long on this, and at last sent a choice of
her own. The man was strong and dark of countenance. He had not
the great beauty of Father Sun's choice, nor were His ways
light-hearted and merry. He was much given to thinking, planning
and building. He was much given to practicalities, and could be
counted upon to the clearing away of the extra weight that so
burdened Mother Earth.
On a day designated by Sun and Earth, the two Lords met in a
glade where the Lady sat twining ropes of flowers in her tresses,
and draping them about Her body. As She surveyed the two Lords,
She felt chill from the Dark One. He seemed so stern and
forbidding! The Bright One caused Her heart to dance. She ran
gaily off, holding the hand of the Bright Lord, singing and
laughing.
The Dark One said nothing. He went far to the North, where the
sun's rays were weaker, and the vegetation sparser. He built
Himself a fortress, and hunted for foods, preparing them in
strange ways so that they would last a long while. These, He
stored, and then set about making furniture and pots of fired
clay in which to cook. After a time, He had made a snug and
comfortable home for Himself, with room enough for guests.
The Lady and Bright Lord payed Him no mind, gaily Dancing and
playing and loving. They planted seeds, tended them lovingly,
and then at the fruits of Their Harvest.
On the day the Sun stood still in His journey, the frolicking
Lady and Lord felt a sudden chill. There, in the meadow, where
first the Three had met, stood the Dark One. He held out His
hand to invite the Maiden Lady to come with Him.
The Bright Lord sheltered the Maiden in His arms, refusing to let
her go, clinging with all the love of Life that was His nature.
The Lady held close to the Bright King, refusing to look upon the
Other.
"Then," said that Dark Other. "We fight!" They took up arms
against One Another, and it seemed as if the Bright King was
winning for a time. The Maiden Lady clapped Her hands in glee.
The Sun and Earth watched this battle passively; it seemed to go
on forever. But the sun must not stay His course in the Sky,and
as sunset approached, the strength of the Bright King waned. The
Dark Lord, He of the Earth's devising, seemed neither to lose or
gain strength, but remained constant. He struck a great blow
against the Bright King, who fell down, dying. The golden grain
drooped heavy heads, and the fruits of the trees fell to the
ground in sorrow. The flowers began to wither, though new ones
sprang up, blood red from the Life fluids of the dying God.
The Lady gave out a sorrowful cry, and the tree leaves changed
their colors - some golden in honor of the Bright King's hair,
some as red as His blood, and others the color of the Earth that
was to receive Him into Her bosom.
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The Lady heaped flowers upon the still form of the Bright King,
and mourned Him in a sorrowful song; a song that raced through
the branches of the trees, who added their own mournful tones.
Though the blood of the Bright King cried out for revenge, the
Dark Lord ignored it, and grasping the Lady firmly by the hand,
took Her off to His home in the North.
The fallen fruits and flowers dissolved in sorrow, into the Earth
Mother's breast. The seeds of their yearning for Life lay
dreaming of the long summer they had known; remembering the
shining love that the Lady and Her Consort had shared with all
that was.
Now Father sun was angry that Mother Earth's choice should win
over His Bright King in battle, and took Himself off a ways from
Her. The World became colder. Without the love of the Maiden,
the Brightness of the youth, and the warmth of Father Sun, Earth
began to sleep under a blanket of white. So, too, slept all but
the most hardy of plants, trees, and animals.
Though the Maiden resisted Him at first, She soon came to love
the Dark One for His differences, and She learned much from Him,
and He from Her.
Then one day, the Sun stood quite still, viewing the Earth,
thinking how still and pale She looked - and how it was not Her
fault that her Champion had won. He sent a pale ray of light
down into the Caven Fortress where the Dark One ruled as Lord,
the Lady by His side. And lo, a son was born to Them. His
visage was bright and shining, as He laughed and played in His
cradle.
For a time, the Dark One was jealous of the Child, for He knew it
was the Bright One, returned. Then, as the Child grew to
manhood, the Dark King sent Him away.
The Lady, refreshed from Her confinement, followed the Youth.
Again, Spring came to the World.
Now, this story is many times repeated. Neither the Bright King
or the Dark One ever own the Maiden-Lady for all time, but must
share Her. This must be, so the World be a true World, that the
Four Seasons go apace to turn the wheel of the Year, and that all
may learn that Life and Death and Life are but a cycle, and that
Hope is always near.
THE REASON FOR DEATH
A time after the Lady began Her yearly trip through the Seasons,
sharing Her reign first with the Bright King, then the Dark King,
She began to notice that when She returned to the Upper World,
many of the things She loved had perished. She spent much time
replenishing the Earth with new plants and animals. This work
was joyous - as the creation of New Life is always joyous - but
She puzzled over it.
She inquired of her Companion, the Bright King, but He had no
knowledge of what was happening to those things that had
perished. He slyly suggested that when next She traveled to the
2349
Dark Lands to rule with the Dark King, to ask Him - the Dark One
and Rival to the Bright King - the question that haunted Her so.
"Perhaps," said the Bright One, "It is some mischief that He, the
Dark One, has gotten up to. Then you shall have an answer."
Thus, during Her next time with the Dark Lord, She inquired into
the matter. He answered, saying, "Yes, 'tis I." Angered, She
demanded to know why all the things She loved must wither and
perish away at His command - for was not the growing and care of
all things Her own right?
He told Her that Death was the rest and release for all things.
That all things must wither and pass away for a time, to make
room for new things - New Life. He explained that mortals and
animals and plants,not being of the fine, high, spiritual stuff
as Themselves, were unable to sustain the fullness of Life for a
long while - that they grew weary and longed for peace.
She became anguished at the thought of the pains of her
creations, and wished to know for Herself how they fared in their
short lives. The Dark King bade her go into a mortal body for
its normal span to learn of sorrow, pain, age,and the longing for
release.
So She did go into the mortal body of a woman-seed in the womb of
one of Her people. she was born in great travail, suffered all
the pangs of growing up, and then She began to age. The mortal
years passed through Her as days, and yet it was hard and
wearisome. Pains beset her, her joints grew stiff, Her eyes dim,
and Her mind uncertain. The many wisdoms She had gained, She
spun as tales for little children sprawled by the hearth-fire on
bitter Winter days. she knew that though they listened now, they
would forget all She had told,and have to learn and re-learn it
all in their own time. Sadness fell upon the Goddess.
At last, troubled greatly by Her body's infirmities, She begged
the Lord's release from the body that encompassed her spirit.
The Dark Lord, Ruler of Death, closed Her eyes with a gentle,
loving hand, and lifted Her forth. Her bright, shining presence
was once again strong and beautiful.
The Lady's tears fell golden to the ground, capturing an insect,
a flower - and froze there, in the cold light of Her
understanding. These tears are found by mortals even today, and
prized as gems. Not all have forgotten the beauty of the meaning
of those golden teardrops.
She turned to the Dark Lord, smiling. She said, "I knew not that
I knew not, but You have shown Me that peace, and rest and
renewal are the rewards Death gives at the end of a hard and
treacherous life. How sad it is that these mortals know nothing
of Our Glory, save at the end of physical existence." He
replied, "Lady, it is Law; whatever You have brought into
existence never truly ceases to exist, but merely is changed into
something new."
She pondered long on this, and then turned to the Dark Lord and
said, "Therefore, let Us give them the ecstasy of Love for one
another, that they may touch upon this great beauty while on
Earth. Let it be the hope that spurs them on, though life seems
2350
hard at times. And let them remember and love one another again,
when they have returned to physical form." "So be it," said He.
The Lady gathered up Her frozen tears, and strung them together
with pieces of jet, taken from the Dark Lord's Hall. this
necklace was to remind Her always of the intervals of Life and
Death of all things.
The Lord kissed her hand twice, and watched Her walk away to
green the Earth once more, resplendent in Her new understanding
of Life, Love and Death.
KARMA: THE WHEEL AND THE SPIRAL
The Lady of the Wheel of the Year, having learned that Death was
a necessary part of Life, returned to her Bright King, and
together they Danced with great joy, greening the Earth - so that
all was again covered in blossoming, bursting Life. From time to
time, She would see one of Her People in sorrow and travail, and
She would remember that existence. She felt a pang of sorrow,
recalling the despair at pain and trouble that mortals felt all
through their lives.
Only in the midst of Love or at the end of physical existence did
they know bliss. Too often, even the bliss of Love was forgotten
in the throes of hardship and misery. Too, She realized, that
though there was rest and succor at the end of physical
existence, the mortals knew no hope for betterment, other than
peace at Life's end.
At first, She did not speak of this to either the Bright Kin or
the Dark Lord. She pondered privately upon the cycle of Life,
Death, and Rebirth; the Seasons of the wheel of the year, and at
last made a decision. Conferring first with One then the Other,
the Lady persuaded her two Lords to consider a plan to help Her
people. That They might more readily accept Her plan, She
presented it as a game.
This game, She called Karma: it was an elaborate system of
debits and credits by which the players could judge the progress
of the playing pieces - the pieces being the People. Now, the
actual living on Earth was only part of the game - the first
stage - to be clever enough to survive danger, disease,hunger and
other pieces maneuvering for the same. the second stage was how
well the pieces maneuvered for the prizes - and how honorable
they went about achieving their goals (a credit), and how
dishonorably they chose to act (a debit).
Adding a further twist to the game, She insisted that when a
piece had achieved the full round of the twelve-spoked wheel -
having experienced and mastered the lessons of each spoke and
returned a final time to the hub (known as the Summerland), that
a third level be added. this third level, being on of the
Spirit, gave the pieces a chance to grasp from a Higher Existence
than that of merely bettering the Physical Self.
To expedite the counting up of credits and debits for each piece,
She created a body of beings known as the Lords of Karma. She
set before Them the cosmic Laws of Order and Existence, and gave
into Their keeping the Akashic Records - the golden, flowing
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source of all that is, was, and ever shall be.
Then She instructed the Two Lords in the Game, that They might
watch with interest and understanding. Too, that They might
cheer on or aid a piece that caught Their fancy or touch Their
hearts with its struggles. They, nor the Lords of Karma were
judged - for it is only by the Cosmic Laws of Order and Existence
in the Providence of the Divine One to judge the Creations.
As the Game advanced, much to the enjoyment of the observers,
there seemed to be a missing element. the Dark Lord too the Lady
aside and said, "Never meaning criticism, My Dearest Lady of
Life, but is it not pointless if Your piece do not know they can
strive toward better lives and higher aims?" The Lady thought
upon this, and told the Lord that He was correct, and that She,
herself, must resolve this flaw in the pattern.
She gave a banquet and invited all those of the Greater and
Lessor Pantheons, explaining to them the Game, and the reason She
must prepare for a Journey - Journey which would take Her once
again into the World of Mortals.
All the Beings of Light were grieved, for They love the Lady
fully, and did not like her to be absent from Them. but She
promised Them that though She must journey far, as long as Love
was, there was She, also. She then departed on Her Journey to
the Plane of Mortal Existence and was not seen again for a Tim in
the Halls of Light and Love.
THE CRAFT OF THE WISE
Now the Lady made Her journey to the Plane of Mortal Existence,
and on the way, She passed through many other realms: Those of
spirits and phantasms, and those of the elements. She dwelt a
time in each realm, gathering the essences of each one about Her,
layer upon layer, to clothe Herself. These essences were
necessary, for the Plane of Mortal Existence is made up of all of
these elements, seen and unseen.
Too, She spent time with Light-of-the-Womb, experiencing Her
quiet pain, her self-imposed penance. The Great Goddess reminded
her Little Sister, Moon, that all things work together in
Harmony, and that one day, Her great sacrifice would be repaid in
Great Glory.
Then coming at last to her destination, the Goddess once again
clothed herself in Human Flesh. She clothed Herself in all the
pain and sorrow, and the joy that is the Fate of Humankind. Back
She went - back to the sensations of the five senses. Back to
the heavy physical vehicle that Human souls use to transport
themselves about. Back to a coarse and humble life; one from
which She could study her people more fully, and teach them that
which they must know.
She chose not to go back into the body of a strong warrior, nor
yet on of great physical feminine beauty - but rather as a plain,
slender young woman. Her eyes were brown as the Earth in which
She dug for roots; Her hair was as brown as the bark; Her skin
weathered a bit by the elements. though She dressed as drabbly
as any other mortal girl, there was still a spark, an intensity
2352
that could not be denied. this, the Goddess Herself, could not
change, for otherwise, She would not be present.
The sparkle of Divinity that shone from Her eyes drew others to
Her in a warm bond. they listened to Her teach the secrets of
planting and growing things, the ways of animals and fish and
fowl; the flying birds and insects; secrets of water, wind and
dire.
Too, She instructed them in the Way. She taught them of the
Spiral Dance of the Universe, that same spiral that is found in
the very cells of their bodies. She instructed them in the
Mysteries - those of Birth, and Death, and Rebirth; and in doing
so, explained the Game of Karma.
When She taught them all they could learn, She told them that She
must go once again to her Halls of Love and Light, but that they
might call upon Her in times of need, and She would hear and
answer. She told them that the phases of the Moon would show the
Way.
Among them She left One whom She had taken as a Consort and
Helper. He was a Forest Lord, Protector of the Wilds; He would
as as Her Regent upon the Earth while She was away.
The people wept bitterly, for they could not bear to be without
their beloved Goddess. But the Lord comforted them, saying,
"Does She not love you enough to come amongst you? To provide a
Regent for your comfort - to promise you an Eternal Life in Her
Love at the end of the Spiral Dance?"
And they built many temples and places of worship. Sacred were
the many Springs where She had drunk. Sacred, too, were the many
Groves where She had slept. And too, those places of power where
She had wrought the Magicks of the Spiral Dance for the
edification and delight of Her children.
Those She taught well became Her Priests and Priestesses - and
they continue to instruct Her People in Her Ways.
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Celtic Deities?
Here is the promised beginning discussion of "The Gods" in
Celtic religion. The majority of this post is brought to you by
Lorax, Small Furry Tree-Creature of the Gods <g>
****Extra-Long Posts Warning****
I shall throw out the first hot caber by suggesting that use of the
term
"Gods" within a Pagan Celtic context is totally useless, mislead-
ing,and an example of the sloppy scholarship that Deartha'ir Isaac
bemoans.
This notion has been long in coming for me, but was triggered this
week when an ADF member noted the use of the word "God" [singular]
several hundred times in a suggested reference work on pre-Christian
Greek religion. It made her somewhat nervous as it seemed to not be
the best possible term in a polytheistic culture, given that a multi-
tude of things, from entities to abstract concepts had been subsumed
as "God".
This, combined with my very recent reading of the Dunnaire Finn, the
Book of Invasions, and the Tain has led me to be more discriminating.
As my Priestess colleage, Brandy Williams, has often said, there are 2
kinds of people: Splitters, and people who deny the existence of
splitters. <g>
So, let us take it from the very top, the creation of the world. At
least, according to one translation of one version of the Book of
Invasions.
The first inhabitants of Ireland were Cesair, daughter of Bith, son of
Noe (Noah), and their 3 men + 50 women. <Happy happy, joy joy!>
These people all drowned, and are therefore unimportant to this story,
save that Fintan survived to recount tales of the beforetime.
Partholan was the second discoverer, the chief of his people. Par-
tholan
brought with him the people that were first in many arts--brewing,
cauldron making-first combat, farming, and a host of other things.
Patholan chose a fertile place, cleared 4 plains, and homesteaded
there.
His wife slept with his retainer, which caused problems. This resul-
ted in the giving of the First Verdict, that of Delgnat. Boan, Brea,
Ban, Aine and 6 others were the "pure daughters" of Partholan, imply-
ing perhaps that he had more, following the customs of the times.
The generation of Partholan was the one responsible for first naming
of
places in Ireland. Partholan's generation was also long-lived, and no
plants grew old in their time. His generation largely died out after
a plague.
Both of these first generations are referred to as men and women, not
deities. People of Arts [Aes Da'na] maybe yes, but not deithe [deit-
ies]. This, at least, according to the Christians who recorded the
tales.
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The third generation is that of Neimhedh (Nemed). He came from
Scythia.
Neimhedh had 4 chiefs with him. Nemhed fought and won three battles
over the Fomhoire. Fo-mhor (over the sea, or something like that).
Despite this, the Fomorians seemed to be quite good at opressing the
Nemedians, by demanding 2/3 of their agricultural output at Samhain,
delivered to Magh Cetne. The Nemedians went to Greece and collected
an army, some drui and ban-drui, wolves and venemous animals. A
proper challenge was delivered, and the battles were engaged. The
Fomorians were defeated at last. Only 30 Nemedians survived.
The next group of invaders are the somewhat mysterious Fir Bolg, or
Bagmen. The Fir Bolg had 5 chiefs (one more than all of the previous
invaders) as did the De Dannan. The Fir Bolg divided Ireland into 5
parts. Previous invasions had separated Ireland into 4 parts. Much
is made of the poetic, noise-shakin skill of the Fir Bolg. They were
some jammin' magickal folk, alright. The Fir Bolg have the distinc-
tion of the first "riogh" (king) in Ireland. So we have division into
5 parts, kingship, and the use of iron.
Now, the Sons of Nemed had not been sitting still all of this time.
They had been off in Greece, learning draidheacht, cleverness, nice-
ness, and Spiffy Things In General (slight gloss from bad 19th century
Victorian english). These folks were called "Tuatha De" " ... that
is, they considered their men of learning to be gods, and their
husbandmen non-gods, so much was their power in every art and every
druidic occultism besides. Thence came the name, which is Tuathe De,
to them."
Now, please note that their ancestors are PEOPLE. The TdD became so
by
virtue of their skills. This is a process that would not be unfam-
iliar to a good citizen of Republican (not Imperial) Rome. One can
become deific by proper actions, family and/or national devotion, and
other things. The TdD had been instructed in 4 cities in the North.
One has to infer that these cities are in Greece, where they are
instructed in these arts. Now, not all translations say this, exact-
ly. Greece and Spain are frequently glosses for the Otherworld, but
not always. The 4 Treasures were brought from Greece. As we have
discussed the Treasures before, we shall pass in silence on them here.
The TdD fought battles with the Athenians as their allies, and thru
druidic demonry reanimated dead bodies that then rose up and fought as
if they were living. It is here that we learn that hazel or rowan
twigs thru the neck do in reanimated corpses. <Occult Factiod #912
collect em all.)
The TdD arrive in Ireland on a Monday, in the Calends of May, where
they
burn their ships on the shore so they cannot return, or the Fomorians
use the ships.
The TdD fought with the Fir Bolg (it is, after all Ireland we are
talking about...), won, lost, won again, lost again, were healed,
hurt, etc. Nuada gets his silver arm and loses kingship in this
process. The TdD slew all but a few of the Fir Bolg, who then fled to
the outermost isles of the seas. Compare this with the more archaic
traditions of the Hebrides and Northern Islands of Ireland...
2355
The genealogies up to this point are enough to make a kinship special-
ist
whimper, cringe, and fall to sleep the final sleep, so we will ignore
them, but to say that aside from Cessair, everyone is related (or
sleeping with someone who is) to everyone else. Biblical begatting is
easier, trust me.
The TdD are referred to as goblins in the text. So much for the great
contrast between the demonic Fomorians and Deific TdD. If you care to
argue that to a medieval monk all deities are one deity and all are
demonic, then there is even less reason to consider the Fomor demonic.
2356
That said, the text has Eochaid triumph, "without enchantment of
idols,
shaped the distinction of good verses but as for knowledge of the
warrior bands of whom we speak although we enumerate them we do not
worship them."
The picture is far more confused than ANY simple model, folks. I have
not even begun to discuss the "giant" stories. If I were to do so,
then Finn and his buddies are giants, not unlike Jotuns. But wait!
So is Cu! And, if they are giants, then what are their parents? Finn
is descended from Baiscne, and Cu is descended (or a reincarnation) of
Lugh. So the Aes Dana=Giants?@(#*#*(@#_@
If we get to the local spirits, worshipped well into the 18th century,
and maybe later, (or the 20th, as Erynn thinks), any meaningful use of
the term "God" has to be tossed out with the burnt brac after dinner.
We have people, descended from the Trojans/Greeks learning heavy juju
and becoming like Gods. They fight, live, die, get reincarnated,
stretch their influence far beyond a single generation, and are
immortalized in song. Remember, the Cauldron of Poesy, the only
available text on the training of a fili (one who sees) reminds us
that we are all more than our birth, at least potentially.
As Patrick Ford has suggested, the written tales/sagas are probably
just a sequencing of shorter oral bits, there is no real problem with
dying on page 23, and having hot sweaty sex on page 25.
They are also said to be immortal in the Otherworld. Many of the
later
tales have all of these survivors gathering in the Otherworld (some-
where near Miami or Desert Springs, I suspect) and only sometimes
coming out to see us mere mortals.
Also note (this flash of awen just in) that most of the folks that
wander into faery are Aes Dana! Reverend Kirk, Thomas the Rhymer, Tam
Lin and many others.
The Path to Faery must be (therefore) paved with Excellence.
Now, the above analysis depends strictly on my reading of the texts.
I am quoting from the handiest text, the one that unfortunately has no
bibliographic data in it, but is well-reasoned, erudite, and foot-
noted to death. This is a facing-page xlation, btw.
I am NOT saying that some of these beings are not worthy of devotion.
I am saying that it is not ness. true that all of them were viewed as
"Gods" at all times in history, particularly not in the omnipotent,
omniscient Xian meaning of the word, nor in the usage common to
Bullfinch.
It may be best to regard the Aes Dana as Shterpersavs, or "Short-Term-
Personal-Saviors", in Dobbspeak.
<Rant Modes Off>
Thanks.
Lorax & Erynn
2357
Walking with my Friends
Masochistic Maiden
The beach glistened under the sun, still wet from the
ebbing tide. My friends and I walked along leaving
tracks in the sand. We stopped at a tide pool and
discovered a bunch of sand dollars. The mark of a star
etched in each of the skeletal remains made us think of
the star at the center of the pentagram necklace I wore.
One gently held the necklace in his hand as we talked
about the meaning of each of the points. Earth, Air,
Fire, and Water, and then spirit. We talked how each of
these is a gift from Mother then we walked on.
He ran ahead and found a broken sand dollar with a tiny
mollusk, barely bigger than the head of a pin, inside.
We were amazed that anything so tiny could be alive. It
made us more aware of all the living things we often
overlook. Beneath our feet the ghost shrimp rested in
their tunnels, ocassionally blowing water back from the
many holes that dotted the beach. The larval forms of
life that clung to shells, stones, and settled in the
masses of seaweed thrown up by the surf, each caught our
attention before it was stolen by the gulls and crows
begging for scraps of bread.
Soaring overhead, the wings of the gulls whipped tiny
eddies of air that stirred the whisps of hair that had
escaped my ponytail and lifted the front few strands of
his hair. His eyes reflected the shine of the ocean on
the sand, and his quick voice and ready laughter made me
feel fleet of foot and full or the joy of youth.
After walking the beach we climbed a nature trail
through the woods. We stopped to look at the flowers,
delicate white stars with pink stripes. Again we thought
of the pentagram. We also imagined the Goddess of Spring
with feathers and flowers braided into her hair. A
little further we found a deep puddle with a surface as
smooth as glass. The sky and the trees were reflected
back at us in such precision and perfection that we
talked for a while of what that perfect world beyond the
puddle might be like. We wondered how we could make our
side of the mirror so peaceful and clean looking.
We walked further and came to a tall ancient tree and
wondered what stories it could have told, if we could
but understand. For a moment we could almost see the
native americans stalking deer and gathering herbs. The
tree, covered with a mass of moss as thick as carpeting
neither denied or confirmed our thoughts. Suddenly, with
a smile I thought of the ledgends of Gnomes that live
beneath the trees. This old trees roots held deep dark
holes and the forest litter was not creeping in to cover
them. The arching root looked so much like a roof over
an entry way and the size of the root system above the
ground indicated that a large family of Gnomes could
easily escape human eyes. Just a wink of time and they
could scamper out of sight beneath the undergrowth. We
could hear, if we stopped to listen, the soft sounds of
2358
the wet undergrowth being disturbed. Was it the hurried
movement of little men in peaked caps? Gnomes, weren't
they the creatures of the Elemental Earth? We could
smell the damp earth all about us. This was certainly a
good place for them.
After forest's close embrace, the clearing was sunshine
and sparkles. We saw dandilions growing on the green
hillside. We recognized them as one of springs first
splashes of color and representations of the sun shining
down on us. Carefully gathering several of the golden
heads we carried them to the mouth of the nearby stream
as it lead to the ocean. We threw them into the water,
watching them float down to the sea. With each flower we
sent a wish....no more oil slicks....less
polution...save some of the natural rain forests...each
of us remember to carry away a bit of trash every time
we go for a walk...no more whales beaching...no more
drift nets dragging sea mammals to their deaths...a bit
of nature for every child...and healing for Earth mother
where she has been strip mined. Then we turn to leave,
neither of us really wanting to go.
James isn't three yet, and Scott is only five, but they
were my friends as we walked and they gave me a chance
to share the wonder and beauty of the beach and the
woods. Take time with the young. There is much they can
teach us and give us when we take the time to share
their world.
Firefawn: A tale by Masochistic Maiden
Silently the fawn stepped into the clearing. It's
fur dappled with white blended well with the filtered
light coming through the aspens. Here, high in the
Cascades, the fawn had greeted spring at its birth only
a few weeks ago. Now, its legs were strong and its
attitude cautious but playful. It stopped for a few
seconds and sniffed the mountain air. Mother.. her
scent on the breeze... was just across the clearing.
There were other scents too......fresh shoots of grass,
tempting and new... the deep wet smell of the earth...a
sharp scent that he was not familiar with lay almost
hidden among the other odors. He hesitated, but wanted
so much to run to his Mother and drink deeply of her
life giving milk. She had been away for a big part of
the early morning grazing in a lower clearing. Now that
she was returning he could almost taste the warm rich
milk. He remianed cautious and took a second step.
His mother steped into the clearing oposite him.The
sun shined tawny and golden on her back and the early
grasses hid her tiny feet in a carpet of lushious green.
Her head held high she advanced with prancing steps
across the clearing. The wind at her back ruffled the
hair along her spine. She advanced across the clearing
and the fawn began to almost tremble with anticipation.
No longer cautious he leaped into the air and landed
with his hooves bunched together then sprang upward
again. Switching ends in the air he landed facing away
2359
from his mother then quickly pivoted on his hind legs to
get her back into his sight. She seemed to take forever
to cross that clearing.
The wind again brought her scent to him, along with
the scent of that pungent but unknown thing. Somehow the
scent felt wrong but the fawn had no experience to give
him any indication how that scent figured into his
world.
His mother was nearly to him now and he frisked
across the few steps between them and burried his nose
beneath her flank. At that moment his mother caught the
faintest hint of the pungent smell that the fawn had
noticed. Her large eyes suddenly seemed to be even more
alert and her nostrils flared as she turned her head to
try and detect the message the scent brought. She had
not smelled this smell for a long time but she knew it
brought danger. She searched her distant memories... it
was not a man smell exactly, but somehow she associated
it with man. Pungent and sharp but not strong enough for
her to fix. Then the recognition flashed into her...
FIRE. The smell was smoke. She and her young fawn were
standing knee deep in the dead growth from last years
grass. Fire could sweep the understory of shrubs and
grasses with terrifying speed. She nudged her fawn and
began to move hurridly away from the smell. Upward...
the slopes of the mountains called her.
She began a slow trot toward the upper slopes,
angling toward the river. The scent of smoke grew and
soon it was not only a scent, but whisps of gray swirled
among the trees in the lower canopy when she looked over
her shoulder. Other animals had joined into the retreat
as she had traveled. Rabbits now dived between her feet.
Other deer, elk and a moose with a calf ran full out
past her. She picked up her pace to as much as the fawn
could handle. Leaping great distances a buck raced past
her. Behind them a raging forest fire was growing. It
threatened to overtake the sea of life desperately
running for the river.
Near the river a lone figure was aware of the
coming fire. He had been alerted by the passage of the
first few animals and had spotted the smoke high in the
air long ago. As he loaded his pack animal and prepared
to ford the river he saw that one doe and fawn lagged
far behind the other creatures who were preceding the
curtain of flames.
The doe reached a point between the tall trees that
had been blocked by a downed evergreen. Its trunk
stretched far and the upper branches reached as far the
other direction. This was not impossible for the doe,
she could easily jump the downfall. The fawn however
might not make the distance. There was no time left. The
doe flew over the barrier and hit the ground at a dead
run. The fawn, tired already, leaped but failed to reach
the top of the massive trunk. it ran left, then right,
but there was no way around. It leaped again and again.
The smoke of the fire began to fill the space between
the tree tops and darken the world where the fawn was
trapped between a wall of fire and a wall of unyeilding
trunk.
2360
The doe fled when the smoke and heat became too
great. She reached the river and plunged to the other
side. A cascade of various creatures flowed over the
banks and to safety across the river.
The lone man also crossed the river and was filled
with sorrow when he did not see the fawn alongside the
doe as she pulled herself from the water. There was no
way he could return to the flames to rescue the fawn.
The evergreens were fully ignited and their heat was
easily felt even across the wide river. Running Buck
lead his horse and pack pony away from the heat. He'd be
a few days late getting back from his hunting trip due
to the fire, but it would save him miles to wait for it
to cool some and cut through the burnout to his village
to the west. He hoped the fire had not disturbed the
village or made the tribe move to a new site.
During the night a hard rain began to fall. It ran
down the roof of Running Buck's leanto in heavy rivers,
but it would put out the raging fire and begin to cool
the ground. Maybe Running Buck would not be so late.
Early in the morning a stand of blackened giants
and chared earth was all that greated Running Buck as he
reforded the river and began his journey homeward. The
trail he was following lead about 30 yards from the
downfall that had stopped the fawn. Remembering its
panicked eyes, Running Buck was again touched by
sadness. He turned his pony toward the last spot he saw
the fawn and decided to ride to the spot to say goodby
and ease its spirit into summerland and maybe collect
its pelt for a pair of mocossins for his daughter.
He rode along the massive trunk, once, twice, and
did not see the fawn. Just as he was about to turn away
he noticed a hollow under a part of the log. He
dismounted and carefully approached the hollow. When he
peered into the darkness beneath the massive trunk, a
tiny hoof was about all he could make out. Figuring the
frightened animal had forced itself under the trunk
moments before dying of smoke and heat, Running Buck
grabbed the hoof to draw the animal out. The pelt should
be a good one without any charing.
Suddenly the tiny hoof gave a jerk. The fawn was
still alive but trapped beneath the log. it had rammed
itself so far into the interior that it could not back
out on its own. Running Buck pulled hard on the kicking
hoof until a smoke streaked, terrified body came into
view. He slipped a length of leather cord around the
fawn's neck before he freed it from the hollow.
Once out from under the massive trunk the fawn
tried to spring away from Running Buck, but the leather
around its neck held it fast. Soon it stood meekly,
breathing hard but resigned to being held. Its tongue
hung from the corner of its lips and a light foam
followed the upper curve of its mouth. Running Buck
decided that any animal who survived the fire must be
blessed by the spirits and that he would not use this
animals pelt, but instead would take it back to the
village and give it to his daughter as a pet.
He lashed the fawn to the packframe on his pack
pony and rode off toward his village. The fire had left
a ugly scar across the foothills, but fortunately had
2361
not reached as far as the quiet valley where his
tribe were camped.
Arriving in the village, Running Buck went first to
his family's site and entered the teepee. The lifting of
the flap let golden sunshine spill into the interior.
His daughter and wife looked up. Little dove, his
daughter jumped up suddenly to greet him and sent a bowl
of colored beads scattering at her feet from the beading
she had been working on. Running Buck swept her into his
arms with quick loving hands and told her about the
great fire...he told her about the fawn not being able
to leap the high tree trunk and being left by its
mother. Tears of sorrow came to Little Doves eyes as he
described the scene. He turned and carried Little Dove
out to the waiting ponies and showed her the fawn who
was still alive.
Little Does looked at the tiny body with its
spotted fur, and the big brown eyes and pink tongue and
thought it was the most beautiful animal she had ever
seen. Running Buck lifted the fawn down and tied it to
the side of the teepee. He left Little Dove to get
aquainted with her new friend and went to prepare an
animal bladder as a nursing bag for the fawn. The tribe
had several ponies giving milk for their foals. Perhaps
the fawn could be raised on their milk. He filled the
bladder with warm mare's milk and carried it back to
Little Dove.
She sat on the ground with the fawn gathered into
her lap like a puppy stroking its tiny ears and
scratching the fur between its eyes. Already the fawn
was becomming accoustomed to her gentle touch. She took
the bladder full of milk and stuck the end of the
protruding spout between her fingers so that the fawn
could suck on her fingers and draw milk from the
bladder. At first it turned away from the strange scent
of the mare's milk, but finally thirst overcame its fear
and it began to suck.
"Well," said Running Buck,"It looks like your young
friend may make it. Perhaps you should name it now."
"I already have." responded Little Dove. "I will
call it Firefawn, because he came from the fire."
Firefawn grew into a strong young buck during the
summer he spent with the tribe and made so many friends
among the tribe that they kept him with the ponies over
the winter.
When spring came again and it was time to let
Firefawn return to the wild. Running Buck made him a
bright red collar of leather so that none of the tribe
would accidently shoot him as he grazed among the trees.
For many years the deer with the red collar was seen by
members of the tribe and whenever they saw him they knew
their hunt would be successful. Firefawn became the lead
buck of a large herd of deer.
Running Buck and Little Dove's kindness returned to
help feed the tribe for many winters.
So in life, all that we do returns to us. Good for
good and bad for bad. Let good be what returns to your life.
2362
A DRAGON TALE
by Kalioppe
====================================================
The Bardess of Caer Sidhe, am I, dropping in to tell you the tale of
the last living Dragon on Earth - you know - the one who lived over
the vale. The battle was great 'twixt the Wizard and she. The Last
Dragon met her demise. When the smoke had all settled, the Wizard
looked 'round; an object caught his sharp eyes...
"Lo! What is that?" sayeth the Wizard. "Good Goddess! I think it's
an egg!" He scooped it up and sped to the castle, as quick as he
could on old legs. Now the townsfolk were thrilled that the Dragon
was gone. They applauded the Wizard as great...he told not of the egg
that he cared for so well, as he feared the babe's possible fate.
The egg hatched and the Dragon was healthy. The Wizard loved him so
well! But one night as the Wizard lay sleeping, he awoke by the
tinkling of bells. "Twas the Ancients who came a calling, to tell him
his time was near. He thought, with a jolt, "Who will care for this
babe...the one who has grown so dear?"
Sadly, he called the Council and told of the callers in the night. He
told them of the Dragon and then explained his plight. He told them
that the Dragon was the symbol of the strong. He persuaded them to
care for him... then began his journey long.
All wanted to care for the baby...but then the touble broke out!
There were too many squires and not enough peasants...a cauldron of
trouble, no doubt!! "I want to feed it!" "I want to school it!" "I
do!" "No, me! Not you!" They set up rules so lofty, the work was
done by only a few...
Jealousy brewed more turmoil, and then the bragging began: "I gave up
MY food for the baby...yes, I am a WONDERFUL man!" "That's NOTHING!"
said one woman. "I gave him my ONLY shawl!" Egos rose and swelled so
great, they encompassed one and all. Sadly enough, it got to the
point with themselves they were duly impressed. They never saw to the
Dragon...they were too busy with egos, at best.
The baby died of hunger. The baby died alone. The baby died of
ill-attention, too weak to even moan. When the folk returned to the
castle and found their charge quite dead, they looked at each other
and pointed their fingers, then looked at the sky overhead. The
clouds were dark, but from their depths, many voices spake as one:
"The first law is love," spake the Goddess, "The second is 'ye harm
none!'" Emptiness welled up inside as their tears began to stream.
For they had killed the Last Dragon, and their one and only dream...
That is the story I traversed to tell, and to it, I beg, pay great
heed. Always take time to help one another - the time to do a good
deed. Everyone is different, though the same at times, it seems.
Accept your neighbors differences, and cultivate their dreams.
2363
Sep-15-93 20:54:00
From: White Raven
To: All
Subject: The Goddess Movement
I was sitting in the breakroom at work this morning (you know, the
place where bible quotations greet us in the mornings :) and I dis-
covered the following article in the 'Colorado Living' section of "The
Denver Post." Enjoy
"The Goddess Movement: Woman-based Spirituality gains followers"
by Leslie Petrovski
In mid-September in a sparsely furnished Washington Park home, about
12 women, mostly in their 30s and 40s, will gather to celebrate Mabon
-- or fall equinox (sept 23). After a vegetarian potluck dinner, the
group will sit in a circle around a basket filled with apples, tiny
pumpkins and acorns -- fruits from the harvest.
One woman, who started this feminist spirituality group two years
ago, will start the ceremony by casting the circle -- creating sacred
space by invoking the elements (eart, fire, water and air) and Goddes-
ses associated with each element. During the ritual, the women will
ask for individual healing, then pass around a globe while asking for
planetary healing. One might request the universe to heal the suffer-
ing of the world's women; another will seek healing of the oceans; yet
another asks for healing in Bosnia. More and more, all over the
country, women (and some men) are gathering together to practice a
woman-based spirituality. They give themselves many names, and their
rituals vary from group to group.
"Feminist spirituality combines different movements," explains
Starhawk, author of "The Spiral Dance," an introductory text to
witchcraft. "Some are working within Jewish and Christian traditions
to ressurrect female images; others are outside any organized tradit-
ional; others participate in the Wicca tradition. There is a lot of
diversity in the movement. What feminist spirituality does is put our
experience, as individuals and as woman, at the center of our spirit-
uality."
There are no estimates of the number of people worshipping this way,
although journalist Margo Adler, in her book "Drawing Down the Moon,"
estimates there are 100,000 American pagans, people who call themsel-
ves witches, Druids or Goddess worshippers -- people who "look to the
old pre-Christian nature religions of Europe."
There are many clues of the prevalence of the Goddess. A young
scholar completing her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado said, "I
know a number of women who are big into the Goddess." Bookstores are
filled with books dedicated to women's spirituality. Even driving the
highway, you'll notice discreet bumper-stickers like "Goddess Bless."
In Goddess spirituality, the cycles of nature are worshipped and
celebrated -- winter, spring, summer and autumn -- and are viewed as
metaphors for birth, growth, fading and death. Attributes tradition-
ally viewed as femine (i.e., intuition and nurturing) are revered.
Defining the Goddess religion, however, is about as easy as catching
fish with bare hands. But there is a rich and ancient history as-
sociated with it. Old Europe, with its woman-focused religions, was
2364
settled prior to 4000 B.C. Similar earth-based, female cultures
existed in Crete, Greece, Catal Huyuk and elsewhere.
"A lot of this occurred in rural centers," exlains University of
Denver a art Historian M.E. Warlick. "In agrarian societies, they
think of the earth as the mother and typically the earth is a God-
dess." Eventually, the Goddess-based religions were displaced by
warrior gods like Zeus and Yahweh. Some scholars suggest that Goddess
worshippers went underground, and that the religion survive in secret.
In the '60s, that began to change. The feminist movement, which
brought a new ethic of control to women, also allowed women (and men)
to look toward feminine images for religious sustenance. Women and
men began to practice openly in the Wiccan traditions or create their
own feminist spirituality.
To oversimplify the Goddess: There are no rules, except freedom; there
is no bible, no major doctrine; what has survived of ancient Goddess
religions has come down in fragments. Most Goddess worshippers do
share the goal of living in harmony with nature.
"As a witch," explains Elisa Robyn, a Denver-based spiritual coun-
selor, "I have an intimate relationship with the deity, that is the
Goddess and the God. I believe in reincarnation. And I believe in
karma -- whatever I create inside of me are the energies the world
hands back to me." "A couple of years ago, I was at Sunday school at
the church we were attending," she remembers. "We were talking about
virgin birth. I raised my hand, trambling, and I said, 'I think I'm
not a Christian anymore. I don't think Jesus intended us to worship
him.'"
Confused and troubled by this realization, Rebecca held a birthday
party for herself, inviting all of her female friends to talk about
God. Not satisfied with this intellectual approach, Rebecca, 43, began
organizing rituals in accordance with the eight Sabbats of the Wiccan
year: Yule to acknowledge the winter solstice; Brigid, or Candlemas,
dedicated to the Goddess of fire and inspiration; the Ecostar Ritual
to celebrate the spring equinox; Beltane, or May Eve; Litha, or the
summer solstice; Lughnasad to mourn the dying Sun King; Mabon, or the
fall equinox; Samhain, or Halloween, that marks the end and the
beginning of a new year. Due to Rebecca's urgings, a small group of
women has evolved to conduct rituals and tentatively celebrate the
seasons. Rebecca's mailing list is now up to 30 women.
The Goddess movement is "attracting a wide range of people," explains
Starhawk, who was raised Jewish, "from a middle-aged women who have
lived very conventional lives to young, punk anarchists."
Lois Yackley, 49, a Denver elementary-school teacher and member of
Rebecca's Goddess group, sees her involvement as an outgrowth of her
mental health. Like many women who are seeking a woman-based spirit-
uality, Lois, a former Catholic, always felt the absence of women in
the church. As she grew in therapy, women's issues became increas-
ingly important to her. "The next step in the feminist movement," Lois
says, "is spiritual. Some feminists are saying that there will be nore
mor progress (in the movement) unless it's spiritual."
2365
Lois became involved in Rebecca's group through a growing friendship
with Darcie, the mother of a child in Lois' class. As their friend-
ship matured, they shared books on feminist spirituality and attended
Rebecca's rituals and parties. "Women are getting together to see how
we feel about things. We validate out feelings and thoughts. This
feels right."
Darcie, 43, is an artist and homemaker, who struggles with her
conflicting feelings for her church (she is a Methodist and a church
trustee) and her blossoming interest in feminist spirituality. "I no
longer have a strong belief (in Christianity), but I'm interested in
the structure of my family," she explains. "It's a difficult situat-
ion for me, emotionally and psychologically. I feel very strongly
about the family worshipping together, so I'm not ready to give (the
church) up until I have something to replace it with."
Rebecca's group gives Darcie a place to explore her new ideas about
spirituality with women who feel the same way. "I'm trying to move
toward believing not in one power over all, but a multiple power
within," Darcie explains.
"This matches the political climates of the times," explains Robyn.
"Women are looking for something about themselves that's special. So
the Goddess is becoming more prevalent." Robyn, who also was raised
Jewish and now practices in the Wiccan tradition, adds that, "Women
are looking for their power. This is right in line with the ecology
movement, the women's movement, the personal growth movement."
"When women get into witchcraft, it is a blossoming experience. There
are role models -- women of power, Goddesses -- it's a totally dif-
ferent energy and perception."
... "Never did Nature say one thing and Wisdom say another." -- Burke
Funeral rites
Oz Caliburn
A long while ago, I said I would post the funeral service that I had
put together for my sister. Having at long last got my act together,
here it is. The sources for the rite were "Magical Rites from the
Crystal Well" by Fitch, and "The Book of the Prophet" by Gibran. A
couple of the poems were written by my other sister, and by my father.
The final poem is unsourced, but I first saw it in a copy of "The
Wiccan", which was an AustPagan newsletter.
As a bit of background, my sister Vicki was spastic and mentally
retarded. She died at the age of 35, after renal failure. My wife
and I were at her deathbed, and actually took her across - no easy
task, as her mind was very hard to "grip". Vicki, although severely
retarded (mentally she was about 3-4, could not read etc) had grasped
the fact that she wasn't going to get better from her last illness,
and had in fact asked me to "help her die".
I hope that this rite, my last gift to my sister (even if I have taken
it from various sources), may help inspire some of you who find
yourself in similar circumstances. It is non-denominational, focusses
on no particular deity, and served it's pupose admirably at the time.
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******************************
Part 1
We have for a while lost one who is dear to us, And we all feel the
loss. But it is only for a time, and we will lose our sorrow.
There is a reason for being here, and a reason for going. The Other
Side, the Places Beyond, Are warm, pleasing and beautiful with all
ills gone, and youth anew.
There is a reason for leaving, when the purpose of this life is done.
We must all journey beyond to pause, to rest, and to wait for those
who are loved, In a place far from the cares of this world, with
happiness and strength renewed. For dying is only a mode of forget-
ting, a way of rest, a way of returning to the Eternal Source, however
we may see It.
It is said in ancient lore -
"Arrayed in some new fleshly disguise,
Another mother gives birth.
With sturdier limbs and brighter brain,
The old soul takes the road again".
(At this point, my other sister read this poem - I believe she wrote
it herself, but from where she drew her inspiration, I can only
wonder)
You came and touched so many hearts
In so many different ways.
You gave so much, and asked very little in return.
There is an emptiness as if a part of me is missing,
But I am sure with time you will show me how to be whole again.
I know you are safe now, and nothing can harm you.
Remember, although we're apart,
We will always be together.
Part 2
Life and death are one, as the river and the sea are one. For what is
it to die but to stand naked in the wind, And to melt in the sun?
What is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from it's
restless tides That it may rise, and expand, and seek it's Gods
unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence
Shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountaintop,
Then shall you begin to climb.
And when the Earth has claimed your limbs, then shall you truly
dance.
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(The following poem was written by my father - he says now that it is
crude doggerel, but it speaks from his heart)
Vicki, Fate was most unkind,
Gave adult's body, but child's mind.
Yet from you so much love was spread
Everywhere you were seen to tread.
We'd like to think where'er you roam
In the new world you'll call your home,
There'll be no more pain, no more ills,
No more of this life's bitter pills.
Forgive us if today we're sad,
For we loved you so much - Mum and Dad.
Part 3
(This was read as the coffin was taken from the room used for the
service to the crematorium)
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle Autumn's rain.
When you wake in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.
********************
Those who were at the service, Pagan, Christian, and agnostic alike,
all felt that these words expressed the "right" things at the death of
a much-loved person.
Blessed be
O C
... But to be born again, you must die
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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: The following transcript comes from a talk
that Eric Pryor gave at the Victory in Jesus Church in Denver, Colorado at
7:00 p.m. Sunday, February 24, 1991. There were about 200-250 people in
attendance. The meeting was held in the old Federal movie theatre, which
has definitely seen better days. Attendees were for the most part working
class people with families. The audience was quite vocal and
enthusiastic. Besides myself, there were 5 other pagans in the audience,
scattered around. At least one of these also has a tape recording of the
proceedings.
Pastor Cordova "Larry Lea prayed, and because he prayed, the very general
that attacked him is the very general that got saved." 1/
("Hallelujah!" General praise and applause from the audience.)
this brother, I call up the Reverend brother, come to devil, I mean come to
Denver, and let's give the Devil a black eye. And he called me up and
says, Brother, let's not only, let's not only give a black eye, let's,
let's break a couple of legs already! Alright, Amen! (Applause and cheers
from audience.) Yes! Give him a hand. Yes! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
I want you to stand up and I want you to raise your hands (unintelligible)
Father, in Jesus' name I pray that you anoint our brethren. That his words
would be your words. His thoughts would be your thoughts, Father. That he
would not pull any punches, Father. That he would be an oracle of yours,
Father. Oh Father, you who can set him on fire for you, God, let his words
be as fire, Father, and let the hearts of the people be as brass. Oh, GOD
bring revival to our lives and we'll give you the PRAISE and we'll give you
the glory. In Jesus' name. People, we don't want you to leave tonight if
you have a need. If you're not filled with the Holy Spirit after this
brother's through, we're gonna be down here. Some of us ministers are
gonna be down here with Eric. We're gonna be laying hands on you. We're
gonna be praying for you that God the Holy Spirit would set you on fire
cause let me tell you something, time is short. It is short. Amen.
Please welcome Eric.
Pryor: There're so many microphones around here I don't know what to do
with them. Harvesting souls or harvesting microphones here, I don't know?
Well, I'm, I'm I'm glad, uh, to be here in Denver, and I'll tell you one
thing though, the Strongman, uh, he didn't want me here. He didn't want me
here because he knows that I know. He knows that I know that he is a stone
cold liar. (That's right! comment from audience) Big time liar. What I'd
like to do before we, before I get into my testimony, I, after that I've
got a scripture I'd like to back it up with. I'd like for all of us to do
something really special because this glorifies God, OK? And this is part
of giving the Devil a black eye so if you'll just join in with me, if you
dear ones would just stand up and join in with me, we're gonna work on
giving the Devil a black eye, OK? (Audience stands up.)
Father God, we stand here before you tonight, we stand here before you
tonight because we love you, Father God. Father God, we know that you are
the way, the truth, and the light. Only through you and your son Christ
Jesus, through Christ Jesus can we have eternal life and that SATAN IS A
LIAR! So we're gonna do some spiritual warfare here tonight for you,
Father God, if it please you. SATAN! WE SERVE YOU NOTICE. WHERE THE
LIGHT IS, THE DARKNESS SHALL NOT OVERCOME AND THAT SATAN, WE BIND YOU UP
AND WE CAST YOU DOWN! ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 16:19 IT SAYS "WHATEVER IS
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BOUND HERE ON EARTH WILL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN and whatever seeds are sown
here on earth will be sown in heaven," so, Satan, WE BIND YOU UP AND WE
CAST YOU DOWN AND WE PUT YOU RIGHT UNDER OUT FOOT! WE SERVE YOU NOTICE,
GET DOWN, SATAN, GET DOWN! Satan get thee behind us. Father, we sow the
seeds of gospel, and we sow the seeds of love, and we sow the seeds of
truth so that all the people to the corners of the world would know of your
glory through your son Christ Jesus, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT,
SATAN WE SERVE YOU NOTICE, YOU GET OUT OF DENVER! We have served you
notice you have no legal right in here, Satan, you have absolutely no legal
right to be here.
Now, Dear ones, I want to hear something that's gonna glorify God. I don't
care what you shout, but on the count of three, we're gonna shout to the
Lord because in the Bible, all through the Bible it said that they shouted
before the Lord. As a matter fact, when Jesus comes, comes back, he's
gonna come back with a SHOUT! And he's probably gonna be saying I'M
COMING! So I'm gonna tell you something, we're gonna shout before the Lord
and we're gonna glorify the Lord with that shout, I don't care you yell
Hallelujah, Satan be gone, whatever, but on the count of three we're gonna
shout before the Lord and we're gonna shake the walls of this temple and
we're gonna let Satan know that WE'RE HERE AND HE'S NOT WELCOME! One, two,
three! (General shouting and cheering by the audience.)
Yeah. That feels good. That feels good and that glorifies the Lord, I
tell you, that glorifies the Lord. Sometimes it takes a shout to wake up
the dead! Let's don't sleep! Don't let Satan get up behind you and stick
a knife in your back! He did it to me! He was giving me black eyes all my
life. So Satan's a liar and I'll tell you what - I'm here through Christ
Jesus and the Holy Spirit running through me. I'm gonna kick him right
back every time. That's why I wear snakeskin boots, cause it says "and you
shall be walking on serpents heads!" Scorpions and snakes, right? That's
all I have to say to Satan. Up your butt! (Applause and cheering from
audience.)
You can sit down. Aren't you glad I don't sing? I wouldn't know what to
sing anyway, other than anointing come upon me and praise the Lord that's
about all I know. And that's about all I want to know, is praise the Lord
Jesus Christ for his goodness and his mercy that he hung on that tree and
he bled for us. Think about that. Here was a man, OK, he was God, but he
was temptations each one, uh, each and every one of us have, yet he was
nailed to that tree. Railroad spikes, think of it, going through his
wrists and through his feet AND HE WENT INTO THE VERY DEPTHS OF HELL AND
TOOK THE KEYS OF POWER FROM SATAN AND GAVE THEM TO THE SAINTS, AND THAT
MEANS YOU! AND YOU CAN USE USE KEYS! THAT'S THE HOLY SPIRIT! If you have
the believer's authority, I want to tell you something, you put on the
whole armor of God and the Holy Spirit runs through you, every time Satan
sees you, boy he runs and he screams. He starts hiding up under every
little rock just like the sneaky little snake he is. Maybe we ought to
make a pair of snakeskin boots out of him tonight.
So I'll tell you something about myself, OK? Whew! Boy I just, I just
love shouting before the Lord and I just love giving the Devil a black eye
because man he had me so deceived. When I was a little kid, I uh, grew up
in a uh, really dysfunctional family and that's a very polite way of
putting it. I was abused. Uh, I was beaten. Matter of fact, I wasn't
beaten, uh, I was actually tortured. At a very early age I learned that
uh, I had to depend on God for everything. Now I didn't know anything much
about life. I didn't even really know too much about Jesus. And at 4 or 5
2370
years old I can remember getting on my knees and crying and saying God,
would you be my father. Now in later years I come to know that that word
that Jesus Christ used was Abba, which is Arabic for Daddy. And he's all
of our Daddy. And he loves each and every one of you, and that's for sure.
That's for sure.
So I grew up, you know, under a lot of oppressions. Matter of fact, even
before I was born the doctor said to my mother, you know, uh, Mrs. Pryor.
She'd spent six months in a uh, mental institution, my father actually uh,
helped drive her crazy with a bit of help from Satan. And she said "Mrs.
Pryor, don't have this kid." I already, she already had three other kids.
She said "don't have this child. You should abort this child." She said
"no, no, no, no, I'm gonna keep it and I don't care what my husband says I
don't care what anybody says, I'm gonna keep this child." And she had me
and, uh, I grew up in a bunch of forester(sic) homes for the first several
years of my life. It's sketchy at best I'm researching my life right now
for an autobiography. But a lot of people want to really know what
happened
on the inside.
So any rate, uh, it's pretty (can't hear word) to find out that for the
first several years of your life you really don't know where you are or
nobody will tell you. So any rate, I grew up depending on the Lord for
everything. But I didn't really see it as salvation or anything it was
just naturally praying for the Lord to come and help me. And he did. He
answered those prayers. He knew I wasn't born again. And, uh, since I had
no control over my life, you know, I was getting abused. My parents would
do things like hide food on me. I'd go to school, one time I went to
school with a broken foot. One time I had my skull fractured and I passed
out in the school and woke up semi-con, uh, came out of a coma in a
hospital. Didn't even know what happened to me. Why I had passed out,
'cause night before I was beaten all night and had my skull split.
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It was a, it was, a rough upbring,uh, up upbringing and I call it uh, uh,
Larry Lea, God bless him, he's uh, he's one of my uh, spiritual fathers and
he calls them prayer warriors and I call them GLADIATORS! FRONT LINE MEN!
They see some big time combat with the sword of the spirit. You always
associate gladiators with that sword. Boy, I'll tell you, this is our
sword right here. (Holding Bible aloft. amen, etc. from audience.) And how
many of you know that this is a mighty sword. Big time mighty. (applause)
So, what happened was, is I grew up, I sought power and I sought it in all
the wrong places. Control. So that I wouldn't have to put up with the
beatings, so that I could eat, so that I could just live a normal life like
any other kid. I had all these problems. I just wanted to live a normal
life. So I sought power.
And around the age of, well actually at 8 years old I was already reading
Tarot cards. But around 10 years old is when I really started to
intelligently seek power and I'd always been taught that God was a
judgmental God. I was taught that "GOD WILL STRIKE YOU DEAD if you do
this. GOD WILL STRIKE YOU DEAD if you do that." Some of you older timers
might know something about the manipulation of the hand and the body and
how God will strike you dead, if you know what I'm saying, you know. Well
I'll tell you, everything was God will strike you dead. And I started
thinking "what's going on here? What kind of God is this?" But I was
taught that Satan would give you, would give you power, he would give you
money, he would give you the girls that you want. He'll give you, he'll
give you everything. So I got a really wrong picture of Satan. That was a
deception. And I was taught that deception, believe it or not, by people
who were teaching other people about God. Preachers.
So I sought out, I actively sought out, the occult sciences so that I might
study to show myself approved as it were. And I studied just about every
occult science there was. It started out, candy coated enough with
Witchcraft. I'm a white Witch. I'm not, I'm not out there to hurt
anybody, I'm just gonna you know heal everybody and love on trees and love
on the Goddess and worship nature. Well why worship nature when you can
worship THAT WHICH CREATED NATURE? (audience applause and comment.) WHY BE
SO OPPRESSED WITH SATAN WHEN GOD CREATED LUCIFER WHO FELL AND BECAME SATAN?
GOD IS SO MUCH MORE AMAZING! It's amazing that I'm here today. It is
amazing that I'm alive! I have half the Pagan nation cursing me! Do I
look dead to you? No. It's but by the grace of God that I'm here.
Because of his love and his mercy that I'm here.
So what happened, I got involved in the occult and I really steeped in it.
And I studied. Then one day, I tried to get things right with my family.
I, by that time I was 15 years old, I'd already been an ordained High
Priest. People were already starting to name BABIES after me! I was like
a Mozart of the occult community, the prodigal child! I lived in a temple!
I lived in an occult temple 24 hours a day! I could get up, I had books
all over the place and anything that I wanted to know. I had some of the
finest occult teachers that the world could offer. I'm talking about the
big guns. And they all came and they trained me, mano y mano. They
discipled me just like I'm being discipled by Pastor Dick Bernal over at
Jubilee Christian Center. Just like I'm being uh, discipled by, uh, uh,
uh, Pastor Kennedy and Larry Lea, people like that. I was discipled by the
greats in the occult now I'm being discipled by the greats in the Lord!
(audience
applause.)
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So, I tried to get things right with my family, and one day I, I had quit
school. I was selling my body in New York City. I was in between New
Jersey and New York as a male prostitute and I was going into covendoms in
New York City. I was doing all kinds of crazy things. I was living in a
temple and kinda coming back into Jersey and sniffing around and seeing
what was up. I was doing drugs boy you name it, I would eat it. If I
thought it would get you high, I would eat it. And I did. I, I, I had
more occult books, I had, as a matter of fact, my library at one time was
big enough to fill at least one wall from the floor to the ceiling high of
some of the finest occult books that you could get and the people that
wrote those books were the people that were teaching me.
So at any rate, I decided I'd try to get things right with my father. For
some reason I was like a dog that had been kicked and wanted to come back
to his master with his tail between his legs. So I tried to get things
right with my family, but, uh, of course it didn't work out. And one day I
went to the high school that I used to go, used to go to school at, and I
sat in the assembly and Word of Life Singers from Scroon Lake, New York,
Jack Wurtz and Word of Life Singers came in. They had a crusade. And boy,
I'll tell you, those, those, those singers just amazed me. Now I was very
impressed that day and I don't know how I came across this woman, I don't
remember, uh, I had a syringe filled up with battery acid in my locker and
I was thinking, well after this crusade I'm just gonna go into the bath-
room, I'm gonna take that syringe, big 16 gauge needle, and just take it IV
and painful or not, I didn't care, I was just going to do my life in.
And, uh, one young lady just said she had a burden for me. She was going
to sing but she came up to me and she said look, and gave me this little
tract and told me a little bit about the Lord. And I FELT something from
her. I felt LOVE come from this woman by impartation with the love of the
Holy Spirit. And I went back and I asked my father, I said, "Dad, I want
to go to this this, this crusade." My father over his, uh, Jack Daniels
and Schmitz Beer is like, "Ah, you can't go."
So I went anyway. And I walked from Bergenfield, New Jersey to Hackensack
New Jersey and I was the first one there. And I sat in an empty auditorium
and watched these people set everything up and I was just amazed by the
whole thing. Well, they got to singing (unintelligible) and they
evangelized and they spoke about the Lord, and they had an altar call. And
it hit me. And I'll tell you I came down for that altar call. When I came
down for that altar call I believe that I had a real genuine experience
with the Lord at that time. I mean I was blasted with something. And I
later was uh, baptized. I was submerged in a baptismal tank. And, uh, the
small occult book collection that I had was nothing compared to the
collection you'll see on the video tape that I burnt up, but it burnt up.
But the interesting thing about these people were that they were legalis-
tic. They taught me how to rattle off scripture like a machine gun. They
taught me all the "thou shalt nots." They told me you MUST cut your hair.
You MUST do this, you MUST do that. You CAN'T do this, you CAN'T do that.
"I'VE been a Christian longer than you, I know." Notice they didn't say
anything about the Lord says. They said I say and YOU must. They were
judgmental. They were clear with me. And then they sent me up to, uh, a
Bible Institute. And there I was a wrangler and I worked with the youth,
and I had plenty of scripture in me. And I knew Jesus Christ was Lord, I
just didn't like the life I was living. It was just plain old too rigid.
I was still, I still had garbage pail mouth. My mind hadn't been renewed.
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And that's where Satan goes, right into the mind. That's where he does his
warfare. Because when Jesus is in your heart, he can't get in there, but
he can get in your mind alright. And he can tell you what you can't do.
He can kinda tell you what you should do. So I went up there and we got
into an argument over something really stupid. Believe it or not, it was a
buck knife. Now as a wrangler, it was part of my job if I had to snap some
leather to save a child's life, or my life or a horse's life or something,
I needed that knife to snap some leather. And they couldn't deal, these
are, these are Christian brothers and sisters, they could not deal with
this. they said, "It presents a bad image of God to carry that knife in
front of those young children." I said "well, don't you think it would
present a worse image if one of those children got trampled to death? I
need that knife to snap leather." And he just went on about this knife and
I'm thinking "what's going on here?" Finally I said, "you want the knife
so bad?" I took the knife out and I stuck it in his desk and I said,
"that's it" and I left.
I said well, you know I mean, it was something after Jesus, I knew there
was some kind of power there. I knew there was power there, but I just
couldn't believe that cause I didn't know anything about a personal
relationship with Abba Father. I knew nothing of that. So I left, and
boy, the Strongman was right behind me going, hehehe, "we got him now. Oh
we got this guy now. Not only is he already a high priest, but he knows
where to go." And I did. I went right back to New York City. Right back
to those temples and I started studying even more fervently, trying to find
a way to get back to God. That's all I wanted to do.
It was candy-coated at first. I didn't think I was doing anything wrong at
first. And I started to digress into the darkness. I mean farther and
farther. There were points where I blatantly didn't care. And I hexed and
I cursed, and let me tell you something, I've heard people say that uh,
Satanists are taught not to curse Christians because, uh, Christians know
the Lord. Let me tell you something, Satanists will curse God himself.
They'll curse anything. They'll curse anything that moves including
THEMSELVES and they don't even know it! But they don't care.
So I got involved in Voodoo, Santeria, Macumba, Ceremonial Magick,
Witchcraft, you name it, I was into it. Ouija boards - I had a collection
of em. Tarot cards - I had one of the largest private collections of Tarot
cards in the United States. I was into it all. All of it.
And I'll tell you, as time progressed I got farther and farther into the
darkness and I tried to get involved with the powers of the secular world
and keep my occult practices which I believed to be spiritual practices at
the time, off to the side, just get involved in pursuing my artwork. And
I, I was gettin pretty good with it for awhile. I was making some money.
I wound up getting married, had two kids, we started to buy a plane,
started to put money down on my first town house, uh, I had two cars and I
was really, really, really being impressed by the Strongman. And I was
drinking, I was drugging, I was doing all kinds of things. I was shot four
times, no actually I was shot five times, and was stabbed four times. I've
still got the bullet holes in my body to prove it. One time I actually
went through a third story window and had my neck fractured and my lower
back fractured, but by the grace of God I survived. And actually got up
and walked away. But any rate, no, I wound up in the hospital though
nonetheless.
But any rate, I got steeped in darkness and uh, one day in 1987 my wife and
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I really we just weren't hitting it off my first wife and I, I started to
really seek after help with my problems with alcohol, my depression and all
this other stuff. And I was practicing dark stuff and I just didn't put
two and two together. I didn't know that that was the SOURCE of my
OPPRESSIONS! I didn't know that. That's how deceived I was! AND I KNEW
WHO SATAN WAS! I HELPED HIM WRITE SOME OF THE BATTLE PLANS!
So, my wife and I split up. And I left in 1987 for a pack of cigarettes
and never came back. Came out here to the west coast. And boy, I'll tell
you, what happened then, that was the most amazing thing that's ever
happened to me in my entire life. And I'll praise and worship the Lord any
way you want me to standing on my HEAD if he wants me to! (Comments from
audience "Yes! Yes! Hallelujah!) I founded New Earth Temple. And I used
to go out and do all these works like help the homeless, feed the homeless.
I used to try to clothe the homeless. I even lived with them. I had a
business out here for a while. I even lived with them. I gave up the
business to live with them. I worked with the Red Cross during the
earthquake. I did everything trying to be a humanitarian, figuring, well,
you know God's got a weigh that this is good.
I never really thought about the Lord, although, it's funny, or not funny
depending on kinda how you look at it, alot of times I'd hold Circles,
which is like a service, with the covendom, and while they were all
chanting he he, in Enochian, under my breath I was saying Praise the Lord
Jesus Christ. I was a hypocrite! Jesus Christ was my ace up my sleeve.
Now I can't explain any of this. I don't know how to explain any of this.
But I do know one thing, God is not a loving god, he IS love! He is love!
(amens from the audience.) PURE, UNADULTERATED LOVE! AND HE GAVE HIS ONLY
BEGOTTEN SON THAT NONE OF US SHOULD PERISH, BUT LIVE AN EVERLASTING LIFE
WITH HIM! And I can think of no better place to be than with God, who can
take Satan and just go like that and trash him in a moment. Satan knows
that the war has been won. But he's gonna take down as many people as he
can. I know he tried to take me down but I, I'm wise to him now. And not
only that, but I got his battle plans and I'm gonna expose him to the
saints ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!! ALL AROUND THE WORLD!!! (Applause from
audience.) AND THAT INCLUDES (unintelligible)
Christians are not wimps. Brother I know that we're not wimps. (audience
response - yea) WE'RE THE MIGHTY SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE ONE LIVING
GOD! WE ARE A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD! WE ARE KINGS AND QUEENS, HEIRS TO TRONES
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN! AND WE WILL BE UP THERE WITH JESUS CHRIST AND WE
will have angels to judge. WE WILL RULE! WE ARE RULERS! We're better
than this. We are better than this what's happening out here in the world.
GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME THAN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD! DON'T YOU EVER
FORGET IT! (Applause and cheers from audience) AND REMEMBER, IT'S NOT YOU,
BUT IT'S HIM, ABBA FATHER, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT FLOWS THROUGH YOU!
THROUGH THE AUTHORITY INVESTED IN YOU IN JESUS CHRIST'S NAME THAT YOU CAN
KICK SATAN RIGHT IN THE TAIL EVERY TIME AND WIN! Put the whole armor of
God on! (Applause and cheers.)
God alone. I didn't mean to get off track there, but every now and then
the Holy Spirit goes, "Hey, Eric, say this." The Holy Ghost! (Laughter
and applause from audience.)
Any rate, I used to, I used to call, uh, since I had a bad experience with
legalism and all this other stuff, uh, churchianic stuff, you know, you're
going to church and be like, boy if you, in some churches if you get up and
2375
you say PRAISE THE LORD! and you really feel it, they go ssshhhh! Now wait
a second! You're supposed to worship the Lord with a SHOUT! THAT'S THE
WAY THEY DID IT IN THE BIBLE! IT'S ALL OVER THE BIBLE! It even says Jesus
is coming back with a shout! IT TELLS YOU HOW TO WORSHIP THE LORD WITH A
SHOUT IN HIS HOUSE. SO LET THE WALLS OF THE TEMPLES SHAKE TO LET SATAN
KNOW THAT YOU'RE THERE! DON'T GIVE HIM AN INCH, SAINTS, DON'T GIVE HIM AN
INCH. Cause you give him an inch he'll take your life. He'll take your
life. That's a fact.
So I used to monitor what I used to call these right wing fundamentalist
preachers. These, these preachers who'd deny us our rights. These free-
flowing Pagans to worship the Mother Goddess ... and the God and to hug
on trees. You know, man, when I look back I, I'm surprised I didn't go
into a health food store and say, "Uh, yeah, dude, uh, I'll order a bowl of
dirt and a side to tree bark, man." And it was really wild. I was
twisted! But I was teaching a lot of people. A lot of people. I sowed a
lot bad seed and I pray for a crop failure, oh, Father, I pray for a crop
failure! Cause what you sow so shall you reap. So I pray for that every
day. I'll get on my knees till they bleed if I have to. I'll, I'll drop
any time the Lord tells me to.
So, any rate, I monitored all these preachers and one day I'm sittin in my
office and I'm looking over all these radio show offers, I'm looking over
the book offers, and believe me, I had a lot of book offers. A lot of
people wanted to know what I had to say about the realm of the occult,
about the realm of the darkness. I was (unintelligible) riding a dark
horse. I JUST DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE WHITE HORSE WAS A BETTER RIDE! A MUCH
MORE POWERFUL RIDE! (Cheers from audience.) And isn't that quite a
coincidence that our Lord Jesus Christ is comin in on a white horse? With
a sword, I might add. And I'm glad I'm not on the receiving end, I'm
tellin you that much.
So any rate, my wife comes in, he he, she comes running into the temple and
she's got this article and she knows I used to give fire and brimstone
ceremonies to the Pagans (unintelligible.) I'm tellin ya, I was so messed
up it was unreal. I wish I had some of the tapes but we burnt up the
temple. Oh well. But she comes running into the office as white as a
ghost cause she knew this would get me really upset. And the article said
this is about Larry Lea, the article said "God's Green Berets are comin in
to San Francisco to exorcise it of demons, of the demons of prayer, uh,
perversion, of witchcraft, of greed, and all these spirits, right?"
I said how DARE this man blasphemy Halloween! A HOLY DAY! Holy smoke was
I wrong! I was big time wrong! But I got angry. And don't you ever
believe that Satan's troopers are not organized. Oh, we have doctors, we
have lawyers. There are actually surgeons that are Satanists! We've got
one in the military that's a lieutenant colonel. And they're out there.
And they're operating on you! What happens if one of their talismans falls
off into your gut? One of their medallions or something? Whew! Ugh! Ohh
that gives me goosebumps just to think about it!
So, I got really fired up and throughout the computer network I told all
the
different pagans, all the covens, which is a group and groves which is an
even, a coven is 13, a grove is larger than 13. I founded New Earth
Temple,
uh, New Earth Fellowship of Mankind in '83 and it's so big I don't even
know how many people there are in it anymore. I just, just, just disowned
2376
it. And I pray every day that they'll come to know the Lord Jesus Christ
(Amens from audience.)
And uh, I came out here and founded the New Earth Temple, which is like a
little sister satellite. Put it under the same charter and, uh, I started
sending out the battle cry. "Here was another Jim Jones coming into town.
The witch trials were gonna start. Cotton Mathers revisited. I can see it
now. Here it comes. They're gonna break out the witch burning stakes and
they're gonna kill the homosexuals. They're gonna kill the poor, they're
gonna kill the witches; they're gonna kill the wizards and the sorcerers
and the warlocks. In the Bible it says suffer not a witch to live and all
this stuff."
And I said "Oh Lord!" And I didn't use quite that word, I said "Oh my
God," and God was listening to me. He said, "yeah, Eric, I got a plan for
you. Wait till you see this one!" But I didn't know it. I did not know
it. So yeah, the battle cry. And I got a lot of response. And along with
my temple, I got in touch with all the gay rights activists, the civil
rights activists, cause it was a political issue at first. To me it was
like, "how dare you come into San Francisco wearing combat fatigues talking
about seizing it by force which is rightfully ours? I'm thinking what
the... what's this guy talking on? This is my temple. You're not seizing
my temple." You know? I didn't know what they were talking about, I was
just reading the newspaper accounts.
So, the day before I got everybody all fired up and news started coming out
of the woodwork. We were on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, we
were in the USA Today, CNN, every news station. I mean I saw the news
printout. This went as far as Australia and Sweden. The printout would go
back and forth against this, uh, uh, uh, across this room several times.
I've got stacks of articles. The whole world knew about this.
And I'm thinking, yeah, right. Alright, the Pagans are gonna finally uh,
be able to voice what they have to voice, that they're an oppressed people.
Little did I know that Christian are even more oppressed because of who
they are. And the Strongman, we were doing the Strongman's work. And he's
out there to do us down and dirty every time to each and every quarter
that's what he's gonna try to do.
So, I wound up doing a show called "People are Talking." I had spies in
the Christian church. Since I had a temple I had to know what the Chris-
tians were up to. So I just had spies go into Pastor Dave Bernal's church
and Jubilee Christian Center. And I was just trying to figure out the way
that I could drop this man like Jimmy Swaggart, who I had occasion to meet
Jimmy Swaggart. And I was seeing that happen.
When I was doing "People Are Talking", they put all the makeup on me and
stuff in the makeup chair. And I heard that Dick Bernal had just walked
in. And I said, "well, this guy's gonna break out a witch burning stake
and this is gonna be it. We're gonna go to blows." Well, I'm tellin you
something, he was the sweetest, most loving transparent man I have ever met
in my life. And he just loved on me. He talked to me. He talked to me.
Man to man. I found out that we had a lot in common. And his wife, Carla,
who's got that that, that that tenacity, that pit bull like tenacity kept
after me about how much God loved me. And I'm like "Get away I've got a
show to do - for the dark side. But I'm right and you're wrong. I don't
know what you people are." That, that, that love was imparted on me.
2377
So, he said, uh, after the show, this was going to have some coffee. And
he said "you, you're, you're going uh, to the uh, crusade?" And I said,
"yeah, but I'm gonna have to go in disguise cause they published in the
newspaper I was coming there to disrupt the crusade." He said "Why don't
you be my honored guest?" I said "what in the? That's one good way of
getting in." See, cause I had planned that if Larry Lea said one thing
racist, elitist, bigoted, not a Christian - don't think I didn't know what
Christianity was all about cause I even said on the news "If they truly are
Christian, they'll welcome me with open arms" just like Jesus Christ
welcomes each and every one of you with open arms. And Lord have mercy,
they sure did.
But, I took a gun with me. I had it in my boot and I figured, "if this
preacher gets out of line and starts with the witch burnings, I'm gonna
shoot this man. Even if I have to lose my life or whatever or go to jail,
I'll shoot him." Because occultists believe just as strongly, a Satanist
believes just as strongly, about what he's doing as a Christian does about
their belief. Some of those really don't care. They even have some of them
so deceived they don't even know. They don't know what to believe in, so
they'll worship a desk. And there are people that do that. There are
people that worship inanimate objects all the time.
So, what happened, the day before the crusade we had a circle and it was
supposed to be a circle, like a service, to bind up and cast down.
Interestingly enough, we were using the same words, that's how you know
when they say that the Devil will use palid half-truths that will sound
almost right? Sounded almost right to me. It sounded right to me,
actually. Actually, the circle in on the videotape. And we got these
Pagans together and there was uh a little bit more than 75 it was more like
a few hundred just at the day, the circle the day before. That didn't
include the army we had for the next day. Ha ha. We had a surprise
coming. We were gonna go to war.
And I'll tell you what happened. We had our circle. It started out to be
a binding. We figured if any negative energy that was gonna come along
with this guy Larry Lea onto the people because we knew the power of
prayer. We knew about the power of prayer. Now Witches have their own
version of prayer. THERE IS POOWER IN WORDS! THAT'S WHY THE LORD WANTS
YOU TO SHOUT! And sometimes it takes shouting to wake up the dead!
So. We had our circle. And things got out of hand, it just haha, whew
boy did it get out of hand! Well, what happened was it started out to be a
simple enough binding circle we'd keep the energy in there and nobody
getting hurt and we could get (unintelligible.) In the news just your
basic Pagan ritual in downtown San Francisco. Sounds a little bit like
Soddom and Gomorrah to me, I don't know about you guys but's its an
understatement for San Francisco. Unfortunately - you guys do a lot of
praying for them there. By the way, let me tell you something, Colorado is
a hornet's nest. You guys may or may not be aware of it. They're just not
as blatant about it here. But they're there. They're watching me. They
know I'm here. AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE NOT IN HERE! Well great. Because
every chance I get I'll pull down the devil's pants and kick him in the
tail. (Applause from audience.)
Well, what I was gonna say, we pulled up. We pulled up in the car and I
got out. I was the first one out of the car. Pastor said, he said Eric
you go out first he, he. They're your people and they're a real ugly
looking crowd. Believe me they were an ugly looking crowd. There was
2378
thousands of them there. There was more like 5,000 of them there. And
they were all dressed like Freddy Krueger. Some of them were wearing their
whole Satanic garb. The Witches were wearing their white Witch garb. How
many of you know there's no such thing between a white Witch and a black
Witch? It's all the Satan. Some it's just a little bit sweeter tasting.
A little bit more deceptive. It's all the same.
So, I got out of the car first. When I got out of the car, they started to
step out and the crowd just ROARED. They were so happy to see me. Cause
they knew that the High Priest of New Earth Temple, a man who spearheaded
and threw all this stuff together was gonna go in there and disrupt the
crusade. Then Dick Bernal gets out of the car. Then they were really
confused. The roar just like instantly stopped and they looked like, huh?
And so Dick Bernal, wearing his casual double-breasted suit, huh,
(unintelligible)
It was really funny. I'm a totally different person now. And when you see
the tape you can see. You know, the Lord did this in just a couple of
months time too. WHICH IS EVEN MORE AMAZING! GOD STILL WORKS MIRACLES!
AND HE EVEN HAD THE SECULAR MEDIA THERE TO DOCUMENT IT AND HE HAD THE
CHRISTIAN MEDIA THERE TO DOCUMENT IT AND THEY PUT IT ON THIS TAPE SO THAT
HE COULD SAY "THE DEVIL IS A LIAR"! (Applause and cheers from audience)
AND I'S ON TAPE! WE GOT IT ON TAPE! And we got it on tape. Devil you are
a liar. We got you with your pants down now! And I'll tell you, he
doesn't even want this tape out. Pastor, Pastor Cordova will tell you what
we went through gettin these tapes here. Unbelievable. These tapes are so
hard to keep in stock it's.... he doesn't want it. He doesn't want his
pants pulled down. Maybe because there's no genitalia there or nothing. I
don't know (laughter from audience). Who knows!
But I'll tell you something, I walked through the crowd and as I walked
through the crowd, I could feel. You know how you can just feel when
someone doesn't like you? I'll tell you somethin, I, I felt hatred. I
felt anger. Matter of fact, you'll see one young man on the tape saying
"We're coming here to hate the Christians." Literally we're coming here to
be hateful. I really didn't want to hate anybody, I just didn't want any
of this, this, (unintelligible) stuff on me. That's all. That's all.
Plus I wanted to hear the other side of the story. There's two sides to
every coin. Ha.. There's the dark and there's the light. There's those
that know Jesus, and those that don't. It's that simple. Ha. It's really
that simple.
So what happened was I walked into the auditorium and I felt behind my back
I could feel like a...kinda like if you've ever been uh, uh, body surfing
in the ocean you've got that rush that just pushes you along, kinda felt
that rushing, pushing, hateful energy on my back. And I looked over my
shoulder and I could see through the glass doors and the barriers and the
riot police with all his combat gear on all these people and they looked so
diseased and so sick. Half of them had AIDS. The other half was just
totally had blown minds. All doped up, smoked up and choked up. They were
out there and they were saying some of the most disgusting things I ever
heard. And they were throwing ripe fruit at the Christians and eggs and
they were being physically violent. As a matter of fact, I saw one young
girl get kicked in the back. She couldn't have been any older than 8 or 9
years old. They ripped her coat off of her. And not one Christian, not
one spirit-filled Christian took a Bible and threw it back at em. And how
many of you know how heavy a Bible can be? It can be a pretty formidable
2379
weapon if you want to use it in a carnal way. BUT IT'S AN EVEN MORE
POWERFUL WEAPON WHEN YOU USE IT AS A SWORD! (Applause from audience.)
So, not one Christian, not one Christian threw a Bible. Not one Christian
goaded anybody on. And they forged through in and when I looked over my
shoulder and I saw all that, I immediately felt ... my heart broke. I
looked over my shoulder and I said "My God, am I responsible for that? Yep
you sure are, Brother. You're the one who ha ha got everybody crazy, yeah,
you're responsible for that. If someone gets hurt of killed, it's on you,
Brother. And I thought, whew, blah." But when I looked in the auditorium
through the doors, I felt something else. I felt love coming out of
there. But it wasn't, it, I, I, I didn't really , it didn't read across at
first as love. It was just something different. Something that I wanted
to run to. I was drawn to it.
And when I went in there, people who I would normally find ugly and
disgusting and aesthetically not pleasing to an eye, and I'm an artist, I
made some good money in the art world, people that I would normally find
ugly, people that I would walk up and say "did anybody ever tell you you
are UGLY!" Well I'm telling you something, man I mean I was really a nasty
person, too, sometimes, and , uh, but now I'm nasty for the Lord when it
comes to Satan. So any rate, I, all these people looked beautiful. It was
like they were glowing. Like, I don't know how to explain it. It was
amazing. And so I went in there and then expected the typical "Gee
Brother, God loves you. Here's a Bible tract." and walk on. "Have you
heard the word of God lately." "Yeah, I'll send him a postcard. I'll call
him." That was all I expected. I expected a bunch of crazed Christians to
sing a bunch of songs, whoop and holler for a little while and tell me
about how much God loved me, and that would be it.
There was something special about these Christians. These Christians were
filled with the Holy Ghost, and they had LOVE! AND GOD IS LOVE! THAT
MEANT THEY HAD GOD IN THEIR HEARTS! AND THAT'S WHAT WON ME OVER! But it
was a battle! Oh the Strongman worked hard! He worked overtime on me to
keep me from coming back to the Father. Maybe I wasn't even in the
kingdom, I don't know.
BUT I KNOW NOW! And I'll tell you something, I see the twinkle in their
eyes and you know when the music started they all swaying and getting into
the spirit there, hands were going up and they're speaking in tongues and
all this, and I said "What do you people do? Drop acid and drink and get
high and then come to a prayer meeting? What is going on here?"
So I did my best. "I am the High Priest of New Earth Temple, Reverend Dr.
Eric J. Pryor. I will maintain at ALL times." And I'll tell you, I kept
on feeling the Holy Ghost and I'm tell you that when they started singing
"CALLING DOWN FIRE" man, they were singing that song bigtime, I'll never
forget it. It's my theme song now, I love it I can't stop singing it.
Cause I know what it means now! CALLING DOWN THE HOLY SPIRIT! And I'll
tell you, my foot started going and I said "Nope!" Can't dance. No. I'm a
High Priest, I'm a High Priest. Had my collar on, my pentacle and
everything.
All the Christians are looking at me like this, but they were loving on
me. They were loving on me. And the music kept on going and my hand
started. "Nope, Nope, Nope! Man if the media gets one shot of you,
Brother, you're career is over. You have no more power. Those 20,000,
50,000 Pagans. Forget it!" So I maintained pretty much a parade rest like
2380
attitude. You can see that in the video. But I was fighting the Holy
Ghost. The Holy Ghost was saying, "Hey, Eric, I want to love on you. I
want to be inside you man. I want to work through you. I LOVE YOU! I
LOVE YOU!" And I didn't know that. And I stood there and I'm telling you
something, it was a battle like I've never, ever felt in my heart.
So, the first night, man, I'll tell you something, I, I, I walked out and I
was. I was in a daze. I was in a trance. I, I, I thought maybe they had
developed some kind of subliminal laser technology or brainwashing. Maybe I
was being emotionally......
(Some lost due to turning the tape)
...and say "Be Healed"! In whose name was I healing 'em? Not the Lord's,
he he, the Strongman had me deceived and the doctors deceived me too. So I
loved it. Well, David Bremmer, Pastor Bernal and Carla and me, we slipped
out through a side door. They threw tear gas grenades at us. We slipped
out through the side door and everybody's choking on the tear gas and I've
been in so many riots in San Francisco it's like, "Hey, oxygen, you know."
So, I came out the side door, man and we went walking through the park.
All... already there's a homeless dude in the park "Hey, Eric, what's up
man? You coming to the park Monday?"
"Yeah, I'll be there, no sweat."
"Hey, good going. Yeah, you give those Christians hell."
Huh. Satan was giving him hell, not the Christians. So what happened was
while they walked in front of me, I furtively reached in my boot and I
threw the automatic in the garbage pail and I said "Nah I don't want to
hurt this man Larry Lea because everything that this man said I could agree
with. So there was a blackout. The media blackout. The media was at my
door all the time. They wanted to know what I thought about this.
I went home and I was, I was changed already, but I didn't know that. And
my wife, I'm laying down in the bed kinda like this (rigid posture). My
wife said to me "Well how was it?"
"Don't ask!"
I went in that temple room and how many of you know that when there is
really heavy duty demonic presence it's like a refrigerator? It's like a
refrig, it's cold. Well the temple became cold. Everything, everything
lost its glint, it's glitter, it's, it's, it's the fascination was all
gone! It was a hollow place! I was practicing what they technically call
the Olde Religion and what do you do to old things? You bury them. It's a
dead religion. And that's exactly what it was was a religion it had
nothing to do with God. It was man made. It was an Adamism.
So, I lay in bed that night, I, I didn't get any sleep. Just like I
haven't gotten any sleep since I got to Colorado. (Laughter from aud-
ience.) Well, now, I did get a little today. About 5 minutes.
So any rate, well, running on the Holy Ghost, you know. A little coffee
every now and then doesn't hurt either. So, uh, I laid there in bed all
night and uh, my wife she, she, she slept pretty well, but she kinda felt
funny too. And, and I said to her, this was the next day for the crusade
and I was invited back. I had a VIP seat. Boy they really had me. The
2381
Christians are really tricky when they want to reel one in, especially the
big fish. "Give em a VIP seat. Make im think he's important. Put his
name on it. Yes, and call him doctor even though he's a befuddled Satan-
ist. Yes, Dr. Pryor, here's your seat." Stoked my ego bigtime. How many
of you know that Satan's got a bigtime ego and so do his soldiers? You
know what I'm saying? So, you know, I took the bait. The Lord gave you
just the bait to use.
So I said the second day I said to my wife, "Look," well, she's now my
wife. She wasn't my wife before but uh Pastor Dick Bernal married us by
the way. I AM NOW A MARRIED MAN! IN THE EYES OF THE LORD! (applause from
audience) She couldn't come on this trip, but when I come back, I'm gonna
bring her. She's got an interesting story to tell too. As a matter of
fact, she's in the tape too. And uh, so then, my wife's a scientist.
Secular scientist. Very well educated. You know I'm kinda stupid compared
to her.
I said, "Look, Sondra, you're gonna have to come with me and help me figure
this out because they think... they're doin somethin there, and you can
feel it. Boy if you could bottle it and sell it, you'd get rich." How
many of you recognize that story from somewhere in the Bible? Uh...lemme
see now, if memory serves me correctly, it might have been one of my
ancient ancestors by the name of Simon, when I was practicing. I'm no
longer a practicing occultist. Simon tried to buy this and bottle it. And
that's exactly what I thought I might be able to do, walk away with some of
that. Restore the energy in here and use it.
So I brought her with me the second day. And I said, "And whatever you do,
do NOT become born again. If you come back here born again, you're out of
here! You can't be THE Priestess of no New Earth Temple if you're a born
again Christian!" hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite, cause I knew something
about Jesus Christ. I just knew it was real. I just didn't know about the
Holy Spirit. I didn't know that the Holy Spirit is that which not only uh,
uh helps you do things that you can not only, can not only do, it helps you
with preparation when you're reading the Word and all that other stuff, but
that the Holy Spirit is what helps you walk a Christian walk, WHICH IS A
VERY VERY NARROW WALK! BUT SATAN'S IS WIDE, REAL WIDE, and you can fall
into the darkness so easy, so so easy.
So any rate, I told her, I said, "Don't you come back born again on me."
And this time, (unintelligible). Every now and then, you know, the music
would be going and everybody'd by "calling down fire" and all these
beautiful songs. First of all, I never really listened to much music
except to Pagan drumming, or Pagan flute playing, or whatever, and, and I
LIKED this music! And you know I started to notice something. Like, for
instance, the Christian band looked like Motley Crue! Half of them were
glowing and had long hair and stuff and I said "Wait a second. This is
kinda messed up here. Aren't Christians supposed to have short hair?"
Christians with EARRINGS in, wearing bizzarre -- don't they all wear, like
black mortician's suits and have short hair and drive big cars and go to
barbeques on Sunday and talk about "How great was your game of golf,
George? "I shot three under par. What did you shoot? "Ah, I got a double
eagle today." I played golf today. But I played it in the spirit! And I
pray in tongues when I play golf. I'm not a bad golfer for someone who's
only into golf for a couple of months.
So any rate, I said to her, "Don't you come back born again." So we're
listening to the music and everybody's swaying and Carla's getting drunk in
2382
the spirit again and everyone tried to figure out WHAT IS THIS! We felt it
too, though. So I mean, we literally looked, you know, like at the
fixtures to see if there was some kind of laser technology in there. Maybe
there's something underneath the seats.
One of the funny things that was happened is I never really eat candy.
I'll have a little bit of coffee with my sugar and I'm sure Pastor Cordova
and Pastor Bryan over here will bear witness to that, but I don't really
eat candy. Just never really, lost the taste for it somewhere along the
line they had these body guards up there for me and this one body guard,
Jerry Hill, boy God bless him, he was the head usher, he is the head usher
at Jubilee, kept on going "here, you want some candy? want some candy?"
And I'm thinking "These stupid Christians. They think they can buy me off
with a lunch, a couple of cups of coffee, and candy? Ah how simple-minded
they are! What a bunch of fools! I'm gonna take 'em for a ride!" What I
didn't know is that it was sanctified candy. (laughter from audience) IT
HAD BEEN PRAYED OVER. AND I DIDN'T KNOW WHY I WAS EATIN' SO MUCH OF IT.
IT TASTED SO GOOD! SEE, IT TASTES THAT THE LORD IS GOOD! (Applause from
audience.) And the Lord is good.
So, Sondra and I are eating all this candy, and the music's going and I
kept on going "Nope, can't dance." And I had to stomp on my wife's foot
every now and then make sure she wouldn't dance. "Now Quit it!" you know?
So, that night Pastor Bernal took us home and Pastor Bremmer, and he said
"look, uh, you know, I'm, I'm leaving for Hawaii. I gotta be in Hawaii,
but Pastor David Bremmer, my associate pastor, it comes to mind, I didn't
like this guy I call him PRESTO PASTOR, cause he's so SPARKY! and the guy
is just enjoying the Lord, man, this guy fasts 40 days every year. He's
amazing, you know. And I really grew a love for these people. You know, I
normally didn't , I NORMALLY never got close to anybody, but I loved these
people cause they were loving ME! GOD WAS IN THEM! GOD WAS LOVING ON ME
THROUGH THESEPEOPLE, just like you should be loving in the world out there,
so that youcan bring them in! That's the bait, LOVE! Cause God is Love!
SO USE GODAS THE BAIT Let it flow through you!So what happened. Pastor
Dick went to Hawaii and I thought "Well, never seehim again. It's been
nice. Got a couple of free meals out of him, but Istill don't know what's
happening with these Christians. I agree with whatthey're saying, but I
think it may be Silvia(sic) Mind Control. Maybe theyah, are in cahoots
with Ron L. Hubbard or something, or EST or who knows?"But I still kept on
feeling that feeling! IT WASN'T IN THE HEAD, IT WAS INTHE HEART! THERE'S
A BIG DIFFERENCE! Satan works on the head. He can'tget in the heart if
there's light in there. And, boy, you could see itthrough the Christians,
you could see Christians on fire for the Lord causeyou can see it in their
eyes. And, you know, they say that they eyes arethe windows of the soul,
or a mirror, or whatever. That's true, man, youcan see God. A true,
spirit-filled, full gospel Christian, you can see it.So, what happened? I
went back the last night. This was the night of thetest. The same thing
happened all over again, calling down fire and "I amDoctor Eric J. Pryor,
Reverend Minister, High Priest of New Earth Temple, Iam in FULL control. I
AM in full, full, full control. I am. Stop it! I amin full control." And
that's what the last night was like. But, uh, whathappened was, Sondra and
I went home, well, what, before that, I said, "let's put there magick to
the test." That's what we called it, gettingslain in the spirit in the
Holy Spirit and laying on hands. I called thatmagick. That's what
occultists do. You see the same thing. I used to beable to go like that
AND knock people down ten feet away. I used to gowhew! like that and
they'd go right down. Ha, I don't know what I wasslayin' em in, but I was
slayin' em in somethin'. Like mud, you know?So what happened? She had a
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headache that day, really bad. She suffersfrom migraine headaches and she
had a runny nose. So, I said to her, eachnight they put out an altar call
for healing. And I said, "OK, let's putthis Christian magick to the test".
So I said, "YOU go up and get healed.We'll use you as a guinea pig. I'll
just go up, kinda behind you." Ha haha. They laid hands on her, but
everybody went on me like this! And theywere praying and they were praying
and they were praying and I was going. Imean the Holy Ghost was going
through me bigtime. They just kept on lovingon me. And I'll tell you, I
walked out of there knock-kneed; floating onwho knows what? I know now,
the Holy Ghost. Ha ha. By impartation.And I went home that night. Sondra
and I were laying down in bed togetherand this time our house was like, I
was expecting icicles to start you know,forming on the roof of the house,
and, uh, she said, uh, "Do you feel it?"I said "Yeah". She said "Can you
sleep?" I said "no". I said, "Can yousleep?" She said "no". So "Well,
what are we going to do?" "I don'tknow". And we just laid there.We just
laid there and they all went back to Jubilee. Our Christian friendswe,
well they said, "well, when we get back," Pastor said "when we getback,
we'll invite you down to Jubilee." So, I called up Jubilee. It was,h, uh,
I think it was on a Saturday and I got their answering machine. AndI think
well, uh, Saturday or Sunday. Yeah, it was a Sunday cause I thoughtthey
would answer the phone at church. I got their answering machine said"Wel-
come to the Jubilee Christian Center if you know the extension numberpush
the button now." AND I FELT THE SPIRIT, THE HOLY GHOST OVER THE PHONETH-
ROUGH AN ANSWERING MACHINE! I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT! AND I SAID WHOA!THIS
IS GOOD! For a couple of weeks, until I got a chance to go back toJubilee
I used to just call up and listen to that voice, and I feltbetter. And I'd
pass the phone back and forth to Sondra. We got a BIGphone bill! Who
cares? It felt great!So they sent us up, they put us up. Actually, before
that, I gotta tellyou, I had a meeting with Larry Lea. Before the third
night early in themorning. Larry Lea never talks to anybody during the
crusades. He's alwaysin prayer. This brother's a big time prayer. You
know, he prays and heobeys. I do the same thing. Pray and obey. That's
it! That's all thereis to it.And I'll tell you somethin', Dick Bernal
calls me up first thing in themorning last night of the crusade and says
"Hey, Eric, Larry Lea wants tomeet you. He's got a burden on his heart."
And I'm saying, "OK, this is mywarning. I know it. They got the witch
burning stake in back of theroom. They got a limo or a Rolls or something.
Yeah, that's it, yeah.Those money-making Christians with witch burning
stakes. Hypocrites!" Nah, nothing like that. They brought me over there,
went into this little roomand there was Larry. Kinda like that. And, uh,
we sat in his makeup roomand boy, I'll tell you, he was the most humble man
I had ever met. And thetwinkle in his beautiful blue eyes and that smile.
And I, I used to, I, Icouldn't even stand a Texan, Texas accent. But he,
everybody in Texasaccent I always wanted to punch for some reason, You
know? And he had thisTexas accent, and, and I loved it!And I'd (unintel-
ligible) that things were working so great that I, ha, hereI am, High
Priest of New Earth Temple. I hadn't made my decision yet, but Iknew that
it was eventually coming. Something was comin' anyway. PastorDick Bernal
was sitting next to me and, uh, uh, Larry said, "Do you mind ifI, if I tape
this?" And I looked up and I said "Pastor Dick, what do youthink?" Little
did I know, I'd be calling him "Pastor Dick" and sharing hisoffice with him
at Jubilee! It's incredible, I mean, things happen, right?So Larry says to
me, he says "Eric, can we talk?" We shared about outbackgrounds and he
said "Eric, look." He said, "I can see in your heartthat you're a man
who's truly seeking the truth." And he said "Seek and yeshall find." and
wrote Matthew 7:7 in my Prayer Warrior Bible, which I justrecently gave
away to a man who's a spirit filled Christian who's gone overto the Middle
East, and I said "Look, I know Larry Lea sent 79,000 of thoseover there to
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the Middle East. You show them this Prayer Warrior Bible andyou tell them
it's from Eric Pryor a man who went from Pagan to Pentecostand I bear
witness to Larry Lea and his ministry and what a wonderful thinghe's doing.
You go out there and you witness on the field. You just bringthis Bible
with you. Maybe it'll stop a bullet, I don't know." (applausefrom
audience.)So what happened? Uh, he said to me, "Eric, I'm not here to make
a convertout of you. Only the Holy Spirit can convict you." So what I did
was Isaid to him, "Look, all I'm interested in is the truth and if the
truth be abucket of water, I'll drink it." He caught that on camera. The
Lorddocumented all of this, it's amazing! He said "I want an air-tight
witnessso we can really kick Satan where it hurts."So what happened was, I
went to Jubilee. They put me up in a hotel room fora couple of nights and
gave me a chance to rest and the next day I went toJubilee. Now I knew
that alot of other people knew that I was pallingaround with Dick Bernal,
and I knew that they'd know what was up and Iwasn't talking to anybody
because a battle was raging in my heart forweeks. Before Dick Bernal came
back there was a lapse of time. And I wentto Jubilee Christian Center and
I listened to the Pastor speak. And onceagain I felt that feeling. I felt
that love of God. They prayed, theyyelled before the Lord, they sang songs
of praises. I felt it in my heartonce again and I could see it in all
their eyes again and I said "I wantthat."And I could see alot of people
from New Earth Temple and other temples Iwent to in that audience. I was
pretty nervous. I was afraid of abullet. How many of you know "no one who
comes against you shallprosper?" I didn't travel up here with body guards
this time. I do sometimes. And so any rate, they had an altar call. And
he looked at me.He had me right in the front row once again, where all eyes
were upon me,he, he, he. And he had an altar call. And I felt, I felt the
Spirit of theLord call me. He said, "Eric, come to me. I love you. I
LOVE YOU!" Justlike he LOVES each and every one of you. He even loves the
sinner. He justwants that sinner to come to him. So I got up and I
rededicated my life tothe Lord and I repented. And I immediately, I had
no(unintelligible) theBook of Acts, I didn't know about this, but I
immediately in the back roomsaid to the pastor, I said, "NEW EARTH TEMPLE
MUST COME DOWN BY MY HAND!"I couldn't believe I said that, but I knew it.
And we took hundreds ofthousands, I mean the crystal collection alone was
$60,000, other thingswere priceless museum quality pieces, we don't know
how much value theywere, and book contracts and everything and we just went
into New EarthTemple and uh, we videotaped this. We've got this on the
tape. Talk aboutpoltergeist activity and the Exorcist, this was even
worse. I mean PastorBremmer was choked. We thought he was gonna drop on
us.The lights and the camera were on the same circuit. The camera kept
ongoing but the lights kept on going on and off. Part of that footage
theycouldn't use because I didn't have a re-cleaned-up mouth at the time,
so Iwas using some very carnal language. But we tore out the temple and
weburnt it in front of Jubilee Christian Center in front of a several
thousandpeople. And, uh, the day of the burning the Strongman actually
tried tostop it. It started to rain a little. And we're having a hard
time withrain in California. And it started to rain a little and we
thought "Oh,we're not even going to be able to have our bonfire because of
the rain."But it didn't rain. There was just dark clouds over Jubilee.And
we burnt down New Earth Temple and it all went up. And the fire was sohot
and you'll probable see things like this. One box in one of the uh,fire
pits that we couldn't burn. It should go up like that. It's made outof
rosewood. That cheap Indian stuff that should just go whoosh. Itwouldn't
burn because of the contents in it. I mean it was amazing. Thedumpster
melted. The dumpster. The steel dumpster melted. I mean that'show hot
the fire was. So New Earth Temple was no more and I tell you, Ifelt,
whoosh, whoosh, all the stuff coming out of me. I could not believeit. I
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was like. Get out of the way! It was just coming out of me. Justsmashing
everything up. And I felt like I didn't even have any weight. Ifelt like
I was air.And after it was all over, all was said and done, and I'd
rededicated mylife to the Lord, and I said, "Lord, I have nothing to offer
you back. Me,that's it, that's all I have. And I'll get rid of New Earth
Temple and Iwill pray and I will obey and I will magnify you and I will
glorify you allmy days and I will try to impart the very love that you have
shown me. I'lltry to love on other people too, Lord. And Lord, if you
give me the chance,I'll go around, ALL AROUND THE WORLD PULLING DOWN
SATAN'S PANTS. I'LL DOIT!"So, as a result of watching Jubilee (unintel-
ligible) a little bit oflunch. As everybody knows these prayer warriors
need to ear. Man does notlive on air alone. He lives on a little bit of
the, you know this pastorcan bear witness to that. Full Gospel. So what
happened was, uh, as wewere driving away, now this is really interesting,
we had that dark blackcloud covering, and Carla and I were sitting in the
back of the car and welooked over our shoulders, over at Jubilee and there
was still dark cloudsexcepting right over Jubilee there was a hole in the
sky and there werebrilliant, brilliant, brilliant sunlight shining on
Jubilee.That year alone Jubilee grew 1,500 members. We're into '91 and
it's growinglike wildfire. And you know why? Because they're worshiping
the Lord with shouts and there is no room for the spirit of religion. It's
not all about "I've been a Christian longer than you, so I know more."
It's all about JESUS CHRIST, THE LIVING SON OF GOD! (APPLAUSE FROM AUD-
IENCE) AND THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ALL THE PROPHETS. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT
SITTING ON THOSE PEWS WARMING 'EM. IF I HAD A CHURCH, I'D TAKE THE PEWS
OUT AND MAKE 'EM STAND!IT SAYS YOU SHALL SHOUT BEFORE THE LORD! AND THAT'S
WHAT WE DO! THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS GETTING SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT WITH
DIGNITY. WHEN YOU FALL YOU LOOK JUST AS STUPID AS EVERYBODY ELSE. WHETHER
YOU ARE WEARING A $600 SUIT OR A PAIR OF HAND-ME-DOWN JEANS. WHEN YOU'RE
SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT, YOU'RE SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT! WHEN THE LORD WANTS YOU
TO DO DOWN, YOU GO DOWN. YOU PRAY AND YOU OBEY! And you be humble before
the Lord. And I'll tell you what that Holy Spirit is moving through you
and you got the whole armor of God upon you, let me tell you something,
Brothers and Sisters, Dear ones, let me tell you something, you can do a
mighty, mighty work! YOU DON'T MESS WITH NO CHILD OF GOD! (amens, etc.
from audience.) SATAN SEES THAT HOLY SPIRIT AND HE FLEES. DEVIL GET OUT,
AND HE MOVES! HE MOVES BIGTIME cause he knows that the war has been won
through our Lord Jesus Christ.When Jesus Christ died for us, and he saidhow
heavy his heart must have been when he thought "Father, Father, whyhas't
thou forsaken me?" Who in their right mind would not fall to theirknees
and go "oh, oh God, you gave your only begotten son so that I mighthave
life everlasting!" I am the father of two beautiful young boys and Idon't
know if I could bear to see my kids nailed to a tree for people that I
didn't even know, BUT GOD LOVES YOU THAT MUCH! SO TAKE THAT PRECIOUS GIFT
AND RUN WITH IT! THERE ARE PROMISES AND PRIVILEGES FOR THE CHILDREN OF GOD
AND YOU TAKE THEM AND YOU RUN WITH THEM!A new church is being birthed here,
people. A CHURCH THAT IS GOING TO HONOR THE LORD GOD AMLIGHTY IN A BIG
WAY! AND IT'LL PRAISE HIM AND(unintelligible). He knows. He knows. You
shall worship the Lord with ashout and be humble before the Lord and know
that it's not you. It's Godworking through you. And that the Lord doesn't
need you, he doesn't needyou! But he calls you and he will allow you to
work for him. My everyneed. I haven't had (unintelligible). I don't hold
a secular job. I comeout here on a wing and a prayer wondering whether or
not I'll be shot. Idon't know. Take the red-eye flight at 4:30 in the
morning I get in here, a couple of hours sleep and I'll do whatever the
Lord wants me to becauseSatan's a LIAR! AND I'M GONNA TELL PEOPLE ABOUT
IT! AND HE AIN'T GONNASTOP ME! Not so long as I have the power and the
authority through JesusChrist and the Holy Spirit running through me no
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way. No way. He cannot stop me.And I'll tell you, when I go I want to go
with a shout of praise to theLord. When I go from this world into the
kingdom of heaven I want to be goABBA! And he's gonna go WELL DONE, OH
GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! AND HE'SGONNA WIPE THE TEARS FROM MY EYES! AND
I'M GONNA SIT ON A THRONE, AND I'MGONNA GET A CROWN! BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, I
AM AN HEIR, I AM A PRINCE becauseof Jesus Christ! (amens, etc. from
audience.) And I've got the mostpowerful weapon in the world. This
(holding up a Bible) could make anuclear device look silly. You can win a
war with this. You can win a warwith this. And I'm tellin' you somethin',
dear ones, we are not on thedefensive as Christians. We are on the
offense. TO TAKE BACK WHAT'SRIGHTFULLY OURS! WE ARE TO GAIN GROUND.
DON'T GIVE SATAN ONE INCH OR HE'LL TAKE A MILE, AND HE'LL TAKE YOU DOWN
WITH HIM! And he will, he will. That brother upstairs blew his brains out
and you should see what was on the kid's walls! Slayer! Van Halen! Drug
paraphernalia! But, Praise God, his father's here tonight! (applause from
audience!)I was at Bible Temple today, the Lord said, "Go out there and
make disciples among men." He didn't say go out there and make converts,
but first you have to be converts. First you have to accept the Lord.
Then you gotta go to a place where you can be discipled and taught the
things of God, like I'm being taught. And I'm so blessed. Thank you
Father! Oh, I thank you Father for what you're doing to my life and what
you're doing in all the saints' lives. Cause I've surely been blessed
because I know some really serious people in the Lord.Well, I know this
brother here and I'm watching a church be birthed and, and I know that I
was here, and and and I was over at Pastor Bryan's church, Bible Temple,
this morning. I'm so blessed. I really felt so blessed. You know, we
went out and we had lunch and my motto is one a day for the Lord at least
to keep my hand in the battle. We were sittin there and the Holy Ghost
said to me, "Eric, that waitress needs the lord." Pastor Bryan, you want
to come up here, Brother. Why don't you tell them what happened? Now this
is the way the Holy, the Holy Spirit works. The Holy Spirit put it on
me.Now we're gonna be casting out oppression. We're gonna be casting
outdemons and we're gonna have an altar call for those of you who areback-
slid. The Lord'll take you back. We're gonna have an altar call forall
you who are oppressed. We're gonna have an altar call for all of youwho
are having children who have problems. We'll lay hands on the parentsand
by impartation you go home and you lay your hands on your kids. Youwatch
over your children. You are stewards of your children. We'll havethat
altar call and be blessed by it.Don't miss that opportunity! Cause, I'll
tell you something, I might walkright out the door and they'll be rapture
and I'll be gone. He, he, he. Ican't wait. I'm having a hard time
dealing with these cars and snow andcold and clothes. But, Pastor Bryan,
here he'll tell you. Tell you how the Lord works. The Lord puts it upon
you real quick Here's Pastor Bryan from Bible Temple. Give this brother a
big hand. (applause from audience.) We're gonna help bring the spirit of
revival BACK TO WJERE IOT BELONGS RIGHT HERE IN DENVER SO THAT YOU CAN TAKE
SATAN (UNINTELLIGIBLE) (APPLAUSE FROM AUDIENCE).Before we have our altar
call, and that is, none of the proceeds of thistape go to me. All I'm
interested in is sowing seed. And I don't want toleave Colorado with a
tape, and I'll tell you why. You see, it's not onlywere they hard to get
here, he, it was only by the grace of God that theygot here, believe me,
but, uh, this is probably going to be one of the mostpowerful tools that
you'll ever have. Has anybody here seen this tapeyet? Can anybody bear
witness to what's on this tape? It's a mighty,mighty tape.I mean this was
God's work. It's not my work, this is not Jubilee's work.This was God's
work. And I don't want to go home back to Jubilee with onetape. I wanna
know that you've got some more ammunition that you can showthe youth. That
you can show other people who are oppressed. Just showthem the power of
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God's love, cause that's what I did. I came face to facewith God's love.
And you know something? The Lord turns all evil things to the good. He
did. The secular media documented it as well. One right up your flap,
Satan! And we got it all on tape, the whole thing.And hopefully, the Lord
willing, if I can ever slow down for one second andget some sleep I'm gonna
put the words. I'm penning the scribe right now.The autobiography "From
Pagan to Pentecost" which is meatier and will giveyou a little bit more.
And it'll also have some information in there as tohow you can do certain
things to help your brothers and sisters out who need to know the Lord.
And with that, Dear Ones, I'm gonna hand you over to uh, a man who's who's
fervent and mighty in this Spirit-filled church and this other brother here
who's got a mighty mighty church in the Lord and these two brothers here,
I'm telling you, are gonna be doing some mighty
......tape ends
TO WICCEN OR NOT TO WICCEN......
by Vivienne West
Christians "christen" a child shortly after it comes into the
world. Surely, then, it would make sense for Wiccans to "wiccen" a
child at the same age - or even earlier.
I have an objection to the christening ceremony based on my funda-
mental belief in the right of the individual to make their own free
choice. The christening ceremony, usually if not always performed
on a person who is far too small to speak for themselves, condemns
the child to at least nominal Christianity all their life. Their
parents are sworn to raise the child as a Christian no matter how
obviously unhappy that makes their offspring, and statements are
made in ritual about the actual belief-system of the child. This is
abhorrent to me: no one should ever make binding magical promises
(and all rituals, even Christian ones, are magical) about someone
who cannot speak for themselves and whose preferences are not
known.
Now, I have read short articles in various Pagan magazines in the
past (one in particular I remember, but Murphy has got to my mind,
so I can remember neither the title nor the authors' names) in
which people have laid out ritual events ar scripts that do exactly
the same thing, only in Wiccan terms instead of Christian ones.
This, too, even as a Wiccan, I find distasteful. Once again, a
person (even if they think of themself as a concerned, caring
parent) is forcing their own belief-system and value-judgements on
someone who is too young and helpless to speak for themself.
I do believe in celebrating the event of birth. Birth is a huge
step: it is a statement about the individual's choice of
environment and associates for up to the next hundred years or so.
It marks the beginning of a period known as life, in which the
individual is offered chances to grow and develop, as well as to
experience pleasures and pain. Birth should be celebrated, and it
is fitting to celebrate it in front of the Gods.
But even as a part of such celebration, do I have any right to
insist that my infant child is going to grow up into being Wiccan?
Obviously, as a Wiccan whose every aspect of life is influenced by
2388
my belief-system, I am going to teach my child about the Craft and
try to instill a love of the Gods that I know and love. I am going
to try to teach a love of the magical way of looking at the world,
as opposed to the boring old way everyone else looks at things. Yet
if my offspring, while knowing all they can about the Craft, decide
it is not for them and some other path (or no path at all) is the
only right and fitting way to live their life, then that is their
decision. I have no right, even at this early stage, to condemn
them to a lifetime of Wicca, no matter what.
On the other hand, though, as a caring parent I have every right
and every emotional need to do whatever I can to protect and bless
my child. I will definitely do a working when this infant I am
carrying is born. This will be along the lines of an introduction
or presentation of my child to the Old Ones, and an asking of their
blessing and protection on him/her. It will not, however, be an
ceremony formally inducting the child into Wicca. That can wait
until such time as he/she expresses an interest in initiation.
"Restoration" Christian Churches and Their Origins
Chris Anderson
> Restorationists: you, mormons, armstrongites,
> millerites, adventists, and other sects whose claim is
> that the original true Gospel was lost or perverted over
> time and that your sect has RESTORED it.
Prior to the appearance of any of these there was yet a different
"restorationist" movement whose doctrines were entirely familiar to
mainline Protestantism. Each of the above groups has been at odds with the
doctrines of the mainline Protestants at one point or another. Of the
collection you mentioned above, only the Adventists (and at that, not their
predecessors) hold to particularly orthodox positions.
You'll find the original batch of "restoration churches" under the heading
of a 'non-denomination' or two such as "_______ Church of Christ" and
"_______ Christian Church". BTW, the fellow up in La Porte, in spite of
the name being used for his facility, is in no way related to these groups.
Here's a brief summary of the whole concept:
The following is a brief summary of the "Declaration and Address"
that was written back in (I believe) 1904. It was the first document that
comprehensively issued the plea of the "Restoration Movement". It is
the closest thing that exists in the way of a "creed" for the various
churches of the Restoration Movement.
The "Restoration Movement" can be traced back to the late 1700's. James
O'Kelly, a Methodist in North Carolina, favored an independent,
congregational form. Abner Jones (Baptist, 1800-1803 time frame) called
for the abandonment of human creeds. J.A. Haidane in Edinburgh, Scotland
(1798) had a substantial influence on Campbell (below) and called for the
abandonment of "human innovations". Alexander Carson (Tubemore, Ireland,
1807) made a plea for the restoration of New Testament church practice.
Barton W. Stone (Presbyterian, Kentucky) dumped the Calvinist thinking on
predestination, and joined Campbell in 1831. Thomas Campbell concluded
that "closed communion" was invalid, and was 86'd by his denomination as a
2389
result. He and Alexander Campbell authored the "Declaration and Address".
The "Declaration and Address" contained thirteen propositions, summarized
below:
1) That the church of Christ is "essentially, intentionally
and constitutionally one."
2) That although this unity presupposes and permits the existence
of separate congregations or societies, there should be perfect
harmony and unity among all of them.
3) That the Bible is the only rule of faith and practice of
Christians.
4) That the Old and New Testaments alone contain the authoritative
constitution of the church of Christ.
5) That no human authority has power to amend or change the
original constitution and laws of the church.
6) That inferences and deductions from the Scriptures, however
valuable, can not be made binding upon the consciences of
Christians.
7) That differences of opinion with regard to such inferences
shall not be made tests of fellowship or communion.
8) That faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is a sufficient
profession to entitle a man or woman to become a member of
the church of Christ.
9) That all who have made such a profession, and who manifest
their sincerity by their conduct, should love each other as
bretheren and as members of the same body and joint-heirs of
the same inheritance.
10) That division among Christians is antichristian, antiscriptural,
unnatural and to be abhorred.
11) That neglect of the revealed will of God and the introduction
of human innovations are and have been the causes of all the
corruptions and divisions that have ever taken place in the
church of God.
12) That all that is necessary to secure the highest state of
purity and perfection in the church is to restore the original
ordinances and constitution as exhibited in the New Testament.
13) That any additions to the New Testament program which
circumstances may seem to require, shall be regarded as human
expedients and shall not be given a place of higher authority
in the church than is permitted by the fallible character of
their origin.
Sat 21 Nov 92 17:05
By: Phoenix Whitebirch
2390
To: All
Re: Re: Tools Etc.
This was originally a post by Song Bird in the Herbalism echo. I
thought it was interesting enough to cross-post it to some of the
magical echos.
Note to all: I appologize for the exceedingly lengthy nature of this
post. My thought was that unless you, dear reader, have been following
the posts on this topic, an edited response would be really obscure.
And thank you, Song Bird, for this post to which I am responding. Gave
me pause for thought, for sure! Bless you!
SB>> SH> It is much easier for the student to concentrate on
SB>> SH> their true value if they already know that they can work
SB>> SH> the magic without the tools.
SB>>
SB>PW> I approve! Bravo! I tend to agree with the folks I know
SB>PW> who insist that you're not much of a magician if you depend on
SB>PW> something outside of yourself for your magic. Not that tools aren't
SB>PW> useful! I tend to feel that learning energy movement through your
own
SB>PW> mind and body is the foremost important thing in beginning.
SB>Hallo. I'm aware that this conversation is mostly directed towards
Wiccan
SB>workings (correct me if I'm wrong), but if I may I'd like to insert a
though
SB>into it.
Wiccan, ceremonial magic and generic Neo-pagan, yes...
SB>Being that there are many forms of magic, and some of them religious,
SB>how do you respond when challenged that there are some forms of magic
SB>that are integral to ritual. Without the ritual and it's working
SB>tools of power, the end result of the magic is less well worked.
I suppose I would say that theoretically any magic that can be worked
with ritual and/or tools can also be done without. The caveat with this
is that most of us (self included) don't have the skills, knowledge
and/or power to do without the ritual/tools for certain complicated
powerful working, IMHO. Though perhaps if we worked without tools or
ritual more often we'd get better at it... ;) Seriously, though, I'm
not advocating dropping the tools or ritual --- they're useful. And I
think it's better to do what's useful than to work until you're ninety
before you finally get good at it!
SB>Tools sometimes mean much more than just a focus, more than just a
SB>way to get to where you are going. Ofttimes the tools themselves are
SB>invested of the very life necessary to work the magic.
You're speaking here of tools which carry energy or intelligence, I
assume? I was refering to tools which are made by the worker or by
another worker for the purpose of someone else using them. In my
understanding tools are more useful if they carry energy or
intelligence. If they do, it's because the worker put it there. I
differentiate these from tools which acquire energy or intelligence
through a process other than human intervention.
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SB>Shamanistic paths use tools in this way, as an example of one. There
>is soul invested in the very wood and in the nature of the stones, and
>in the casting of the light, and in the movement of shadow, and in the
>rippling shudder of sing-song rhythm. Without these, with only a
>wo/man alone and reft of surroundings, how much are we depriving
>ourselves of?
It sounds to me like in that circumstance we are depriving ourselves of
the opportunity to work with another intelligence. When you use the word
"soul" I presume you mean "entity" as well, to which I attribute some
level of intelligence.
SB>Any tradition that believes in the vesting of power down through the
SB>centuries, in the passing of knowledge, known or unknown, unto it's
heirs,
SB>fits into your definition of the use of tools to enhance personal power.
Not tools. The vesting of power and passing of knowledge is through (as
I comprehend it currently) the partnership of human and deity. As I see
it, the process of initiation (which many workers use, including all of
the shamanistic paths that I know anything about) does several things:
1) charters the individual with membership in the group with all the
rights and responsibilities involved thereof. 2) Passes power or
knowledge from the initiator to the initiate (sometimes the power or
knowledge is seen as coming from elsewhere, such as a deity). 3)
Formally introduces the initiate to the energy and/or deities of the
tradition. 4) Creates a new personality for the initiate which
sometimes supplants the old one. I'm sure there are points I've missed
and not all initiations do all these things.
SB>What is this personal power you use? Certainly that power is from
SB>within, utilizing nothing from without, if you deny the use of tools.
Not necessarily or entirely; I don't consider the ambient power of the
universe a "tool" per se. I differentiate between energy and a tool.
SB>What, precisely, is a tool?
Good question! Does this fall into the same kind of discussion as "what
is a witch", perhaps? :) IMHO a tool must be an object, either
physical or an astral representation of a physical object. If it's not
an object, if it's an entity, energy, intelligence, spirit, or whatever,
it's not a tool, it's a partner (or servant in some circles).
SB>What, precisely, is personal power?
I think of personal power as the ability to exercise one's abilities.
To whatever degree you have the energy, skill and knowledge to do so,
you have personal power. This includes the energy, skill and knowledge
to draw on power from outside your physical/astral/whatever being.
SB>Are the gods a tool, or power, and can we cast without them?
The gods I deal with are real entities with minds, thoughts, feelings,
histories and agendas of their own. They aren't psychological
constructs, or sheer power, or tools. If by "cast" you mean what I mean
by "work", I say yes.
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SB>Is inherented knowledge passed through the centuries personal power, or
a
SB>tool, and can we cast without it?
I think of power as energy, but perhaps the power passed by initiation
is both information and energy (thus including knowledge). I conceive
of the power of an inititiatory line (of whatever flavor) as a stream, a
line of connection to which all members of that line, living and dead,
connect. We can draw on the knowledge and energy of the line, or we can
work without it. I don't think of it as exactly personal, as it belongs
to everyone in the line.
SB>Are the spirits that surrounds us a part of us and a power to be used,
or
SB>some seperate entity and a tool to be cast aside?
Spirits are entities, as near as I can figure, and that makes them
neither powers nor tools. There's a difference, for example, between
drawing on the energy of the moon and making a connection with the
spirit of the moon.
SB>At times, the definitions of tools and power become too intermixed
SB>to seperate. Perhaps, we are nothing without our tools. Perhaps,
SB>there really are no tools. Perhaps, we are the tool. I challenge
SB>that what we are comes from without and that there is nothing that
SB>we do today or any other that will increase or refine our power one
SB>wit *unless* we reach outwards. What we become will pass to the
SB>generations. What has been is within and a tool as surely as any
SB>other.
I have real difficulty accepting that all I am comes from without.
That makes me too much defined by that which surrounds me, and binds me
to be what the outside (parents, friends, society) says I am. I don't
believe I am a tool, even of my deities. I do agree that without input
from that which surrounds us, we don't have any opportunity for growth
and development. That is where connections are so important, and why it
is so important for us to connect with that which nourishes us,
rather than that which stunts or devours us. What we pass to the
generations depends on the quality of our lives and works.
SB>And when an oak is dead or felled to earth
SB>By one to whom a tree is but a tree,
SB>Where is this treasury of loveliness?
SB>I think it passes to another birth.
SB>The rugged pine that overlooks the sea
SB>May know the charm the desert palms confess.
SB>--Grace Brown
This was too gorgeous to omit. :) --- Phoenix
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Solitary Neophyte Ritual from Usenet
This is from the alt.magick group on Usenet. It was posted in the middle of
the last year.
Hello,
Due to an overwhelming email response, I've decided to post my solitary
G.D. Neophyte (0=0) ritual. It's still in the experimental stages, so I'd
appreciate comments.
A few caveats. First of all, compared to the 'official' ritual (which
I included in outline form after my own), it is SHORT. Much detail has
been omitted. This is primarily to aid memorization, but the central
working or 'purpose' of the ritual can be expanded in many ways (I give 2
examples). Because of this flexibility and brevity, it may not stand
up to 'official' standards -- I probably don't mention enough god-forms,
stations, or sephiroth (yet) -- but I still think it's a valuable tool.
In addition, please forgive the somewhat stilted prose in the descrip-
tions. It was written with the old grade rituals in mind. Also, some parts
are completely of my own design (such as the oath and the eucharist at the
end), but I think they mesh well with the 0=0 'current'.
Oh yes, and: The following is copyrighted, 1992, by Steven R. Cranmer.
___________________________________________________________________________
* * * * * * * THE ENTERER OF THE THRESHOLD * * * * * * *
(0) Precede the ritual with a general purification of the body.
OPENING:
(1) Dim the Temple lights. Lay out thy circle in a clockwise direction,
starting in the East. Set up a veiled Light in the East.
(2) Stand in the center of the circle, light thy lamp in the left hand,
and give the Cry of the Watcher Within:
"Hekas! Hekas! Este Bebeloi!"
(3) Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, to banish all
unwanted energy from the circle. Precede and follow with the
Qabalistic Cross.
(4) At the center, keep still and listen to the voice of thy Undying
and Secret Soul. Say:
"Let me enter the Path of Darkness and, peradventure, there
shall I find the Light. I am the only Being in an Abyss of
Darkness; from an Abyss of Darkness came I forth ere my
birth, from the Silence of a Primal Sleep."
(5) Purify and consecrate thyself:
Extend thy arms in the form of a great cross, and say:
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"In the name of the Lord of the Universe,"
Make three small crosses on thy forehead with the LEFT middle finger
(Stolistes purifies with water), and say:
"Who works in silence,"
Make three small crosses on thy forehead with the RIGHT little finger
(Dadouchos consecrates with fire), and say:
"And whom naught but silence can express...."
(6) The Oath:
Kneel on both knees. Raise thy head towards the heavens, and say:
"I am _______, and I seek the Light."
Lower thy head to the earth, and say (slowly and methodically):
"I am _______, and I do this day bind myself to Know, to Dare,
to Will, and to Keep Silence."
Raise thy head slightly, halfway between earth and heaven, and say:
"I am _______, and I am a child of earth and starry heaven."
INVOCATION:
(7) Mystic Circumambulation in the Path of Darkness:
Rise, approach the North, and face East. Circumambulate one and a
half
cycles with the sun, and pause -- barred in the South. Take a deep
breath before continuing, contemplating the uselessness of fear
uncontrolled, then say upon passing the Hierus in the West:
"Darkness is thy Name,
thou Great One of the Paths of Shades."
Circumambulate one and a quarter cycles with the sun, and pause --
barred in the North. Take a deep breath before continuing, con-
templating
the need for balance (the Middle Pillar), then say upon passing the
Hierophant in the East:
"Light dawning in Darkness is thy Name,
the Light of a Golden Day!"
From the East, turn and face the West.
(8) Close thine eyes, and hear the Hierophant say, as you step forward
four times to the West,
"I come in the Power of the Light.
I come in the Light of Wisdom.
I come in the Mercy of the Light.
The Light hath Healing in its Wings."
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(9) Turn and face the East. Open thine eyes and invoke the Lord of the
Universe as you step four times back towards the East.
"Holy art Thou, Lord of the Universe!
Holy art Thou, whom Nature hath not Formed!
Holy art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One!
Lord of the Light and of the Darkness!"
Simultaneously, make the active invoking pentagram of spirit with thy
right index finger, and the passive invoking pentagram of spirit with
thy left index finger.
(10) Touch the Light in the East with thy right hand, and say:
"Inheritor of a Dying World,
We call thee to the Living Beauty."
Touch the Light with thy left hand, and say:
"Wanderer in the Wild Darkness,
(light the Light)
We call thee to the Gentle Light."
Touch the Light with both hands, and say:
"Long hast thou dwelt in Darkness,
Quit the Night and seek the Day!"
Knock with the right foot with each pulse of the Battery, and take
small steps (9) backwards, extending the Light...
KHABS AM PEKHT !
KONX OM PAX !
LIGHT IN EXTENSION !
Bask in the power and glory of the Light, and imagine the god-form of
Horus surrounding thee.
(11) At this point in the ritual, many things can be done. Two reflective
practices, however, are obvious:
(a) DIVINATION: Sit in the center of the circle, face the
Light, and perform thy castings. Begin with
the sign of Horus, and end with the sign of
Harpocrates.
(b) RECITATION OF THE TREE OF LIFE:
Step forward, starting with the right foot, and trace out
the Tree of Life, rising on the upward Lightning Flash.
Vibrate each sephiroth-name as it is passed.
Arriving at Kether in the East, bask in the power and glory
of the Light. Vibrate each Hebrew letter name, starting
with Aleph, and meditate on its meaning, position in the
Tree, and Tarot image.
Turn to the West and formulate the Middle Pillar, beginning
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with the sign of Horus and ending with the sign of
Harpocrates.
CLOSING:
(12) Mystic Reverse Circumambulation in the Pathway of Light:
Rise, and approach the East. Face towards the East and make the
signs of Horus and Harpocrates. Circumambulate with the sun three
times (making the above 0=0 signs upon each passage to the East --
three more times). Stop and turn to the West.
(13) Go to the center and face West. Purify and consecrate thyself:
Extend thy arms in the form of a great cross, and say:
"In the name of the Lord of the Universe,"
Make three small crosses on thy forehead with the LEFT middle finger
(Stolistes purifies with water), and say:
"Who works in silence,"
Make three small crosses on thy forehead with the RIGHT little finger
(Dadouchos consecrates with fire), and say:
"And whom naught but silence can express,"
Extend thy arms once again in the form of a great cross, and say:
"I declare that the Sun has arisen and the shadows flee away!"
(14) Face the East, and take thy eucharist:
(NOTE: The following is ancient Egyptian, from the Book of the
Dead. Roughly translates as "I live in MAAT, I nourish
my heart on MAAT")
Sipping the wine, say: "Onkh-ya, em-maot."
Eating the bread, say: "Som-ya, em-maot."
Swallowing both, say: "Ab-ya."
(15) Contemplate the achievement of the Light:
"Be my mind open to the Higher.
Be my heart a centre of the Light.
Be my body a Temple of the Rosy Cross."
(16) Final banishment: (precede and follow with the Qabalistic Cross).
Make a rose-cross in the east. First, make the vertical line, from
top to bottom, saying:
"In the name of Yeheshuah the redeemer,"
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Make the horizontal line, from left to right, saying:
"I do now suffer all spirits bound by this ceremony
to depart in peace unto their places."
Make the circle, starting at the rightmost point and going clockwise,
saying:
"May the blessing of Yeheshuah Yehovashah be with you
now and forever more, and let there be peace between
me and you."
(17) Stand in the center of the circle, light thy lamp in the left hand,
and give the Cry of the Watcher Within:
"Tetelestai!"
(18) Douse the unveiled Light. Take up thy circle in a counter-clockwise
direction, starting in the East. Raise the Temple lights.
___________________________________________________________________________
An outline of the full Neophyte ceremony follows.
The letters in column 1 refer to the breakdown of the ritual
in the Z.2 'formulae of light.'
___________________________________________________________________________
* * * THE ENTERER OF THE THRESHOLD * * *
A East
A ---------------------------------
A | IM CN PH PR |
A | HP ______ |
A | \east/ |
A |-------------------------------|
A | (B) HG (J) |
A | |
A North | ------- | South
A |ST | + | DA|
A | | /_\ | |
A | ------- |
A | ______ KX |
A | \west/ HS |
A ---------------------------------
A West SN
B HP = Hierophant
C IM = Imperator (Gevurah)
C CN = Cancellarius (Chesed)
C PR = Praemonstrator (Tiphareth)
C PH = Past Hierophant
C HS = Hierus
C HG = Hegemon
C KX = Kerux
C ST = Stolistes
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C DA = Dadouchos
C SN = Sentinel
D The Candidate, in black. Head covered with hood-wink, rope tied
D thrice around waist.
E THE OPENING OF THE 0=0 GRADE
E
E 01. HP / (/ is symbol for knock)
E 02. KX gives call: `Hekas! Hekas! Este Bebeloi!'
E 03. HP supervises the opening....
E - KX and SN knock to check that the Hall is guarded.
E - HS accepts Neophyte signs from all to assure secrecy.
E 04. Naming of chief officers of this grade (HP,HS,HG).
E Naming of lesser officers. (by NAMING, Invisible stations awake)
E Explanation of stations and duties of all officers.
E 05. Purification and Consecration (of the Hall) with water and fire.
E 06. 1st Mystical Circumambulation (in the Pathway of Light;
E Rashith ha-Gilgalim - the swirlings of the Primum Mobile).
E 07. All rise, adoration: `Holy art thou, Lord of the Universe....'
E 08. KX declares the Hall opened.
E 09. Battery of the 0=0 grade: HP /, HS /, HG / : KHABS AM PEKHT
E HS /, HG /, HP / : KONX OM PAX
E HG /, HP /, HS / : LIGHT IN EXTENSION
E 10. All sit. KX removes rose, cup, paten, and lamp from altar.
F 11. HP announces dispensation from 2nd Order Chiefs to admit Candidate.
F 12. HG goes out to prepare candidate. Knocks for entry.
G 13. HG LEADS IN CANDIDATE.
G 14. Speeches by HG, ST, DA, HP, KX : unpurified; barred from entering.
G 15. 1st purification and consecration (of Candidate).
H 16. HP asks Candidate why he has come. HG replies for Candidate.
I 17. HP asks Candidate if he/she is prepared for the Oath, and explains
I its ramifications and limits.
J 18. Candidate kneels. All 6 officers form a hexagram around him/her.
J 19. The OATH is repeated.
J 20. Candidate rises.
K 21. HG takes Candidate to NORTH of Hall (greatest symbolical darkness).
L 22. Mystical Circumambulation - all pass HP twice, then KX bars the
L Candidate's passage to the WEST.
L 23. 2nd purification and consecration.
M 24. Procession proceeds to HS. HS promps HG for his name.
M 25. Hood-wink momentarily lifted as HG answers.
N 26. Circumambulation continues. All pass HP and HS again, then KX bars
N Candidate's passage to the EAST.
N 27. 3rd purification and consecration.
O 28. Procession proceeds to HP. HP promps HG for his name.
O 29. Hood-wink momentarily lifted as HG answers.
P 30. Circumambulation leads to Altar (Candidate on WEST side). All
P officers, in hexagram pattern, but HP kneel.
P 31. HP invokes the Lord of the Universe.
Q 32. All rise. HG, HS, HP speeches to the effect of: `Long hast thou
Q dwelt in Darkness - Quit the Night and seek the Day!'
Q 33. The Candidate is received into the Light:
Q HP /, HS /, HG / : KHABS AM PEKHT
Q HS /, HG /, HP / : KONX OM PAX
Q HG /, HP /, HS / : LIGHT IN EXTENSION
R 34. Candidate led to EAST side of Altar. Receives signs, tokens, and
2399
R words from HS.
R 35. 4th purification and consecration (between the Pillars).
S 36. Rope of darkness removed. Badge of 0=0 received.
S 37. Final Mystical Circumambulation. All pass HP thrice.
T 38. HP explains rope, hood-wink, Altar (with cross, triangle, and 4
T elements), the mystical words, the pillars, lamps, and officers'
T stations and meanings.
T 39. KX declares that NEOPHYTE has been initiated into 0=0.
U 40. HS addresses Neophyte on secrecy, study, and humility.
V 41. HP addresses Neophyte on detail of grade progression.
W 42. KX performs mixing of clear & bloody fluids. Explains the
W importance of the Oath taken.
X THE CLOSING OF THE 0=0 GRADE
X
X 43. HP /
X 44. KX gives call: `Hekas! Hekas! Este Bebeloi!'
X 45. HP supervises the closing....
X - KX and SN (& HS,HG) knock to check that the Hall is guarded.
X - HS accepts Neophyte signs from all to assure secrecy.
X 46. Final Purification and Consecration (of the Hall).
X 47. Mystical REVERSE Circumambulation.
X 48. All rise, adoration: `Holy art thou, Lord of the Universe....'
X 49. Mystic Repast (eucharist of 4 elements). All partake.
X 50. KX declares `It is finished!' (inverts cup), TETELESTAI!
X 51. HP /, HS /, HG / : KHABS AM PEKHT
X HS /, HG /, HP / : KONX OM PAX
X HG /, HP /, HS / : LIGHT IN EXTENSION
X 52. Final QUINTESSENCE speech of HP. Neophyte led out by KX.
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The Lady's Prayer
Our Mother
Who art here present,
Honored be thy name.
Thy time is come
We shall be One
On Earth, which is our heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And love us in our imperfections
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
For thine is the spirit of the great
transformation
Forever and ever.
Amen.
The Gaea Thesis
IN order the understand the nature of the All-Mother, we must first
understand our own origins. Each of began our individual life as a single,
fertilized cell or zygote. In the processs of its innumerable divisions
and multiplications, that cell kept dividing up and redistributing the very
same protoplasm. That protoplasm which now courses through all of the
several trillion cells of your adult body is the very same substance which
once coursed through the bosy of that original zygote. For when a cell
reproduces, the mother cell does not remain intact, but actually becomes
the two new daughter cells. ANd this is why, no matter how many times a
cell fissions in the process of embryological development, all the daughter
cells collectively continue to compprise but one single organism.
We may imagine that, should our cells have consciousness akin to our own,
they may very well fancy themselves to be independent entities living and
dying in a world that to them would seem to be merely an inanimate environ-
ment. But we know them to be in fact minute components of the far vaster
living beings that we ourselves are.
Over four billion years ago, life on Earth bega, as do we all, with a
single living cell containing a replicating molecule of DNA. From that
point on that original cell, the first to develop the awesome capacity for
reproduction, divided and redividied and subdivided its protoplasm into the
myriads of plants and animals, including ourselvs, which now inhabit this
third planet from the Sun.
But no matter how many times a cell fissions in the process of embryolog-
ical development, all the daughter cells collectively continue to comprise
but one single organism. ALl life on Earth comprises the body of single
vast living being -- Mother Earth Herself. The Moon is Her radiant heart,
and in the tides beat the pulse of Her blood. That protoplasm which
coursed through the body of that first primeval ancestral cell is the very
protoplasm which now courses through every cell of every living organism,
plant or animal,of our planet. And the soul of our planetary biosphere is
She whom we call Goddess/
"First life on my sources
First drifted and swam
Out of me are the forces
Which save it or damn
Out of man and woman
and wild-beast and bird