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Goddess Encounters: The first is memorable!
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday here in Colorado we had clouds and the threat of snow; we saw a few flakes. Today it is beautifully bright with brilliant skies and a warm Sun pulling us toward the 50-degree mark and spring! The Moon is waning too; have you felt her diminished influence?
Goddesses are like the Moon. Actually they are the Moon! When we are near them and they are in their full power there is no questioning their influence; there is no questioning period. It is best just to remain in that glow of energy and accept the emotions as they flow. It can be a wonderfully good feeling to be in that flow.
I grew up in a Lutheran household; there were no Goddess Encounters then! Far from it! Luther threw all that “stuff” out during his rebellious years, stripping any lingering hints of the Feminine side of God from his religion. I rejected all of it during my rebellious years. Oh, I read the myths, histories and even some of her-stories. My head was in science. But then I bumped up against the limits of science. There was too much left unexplained. And the older I grew the the greater that unexplained heap became. And even as a Presbyterian, the thinkers, the scientists, the “frozen chosen”, there was still no room for Goddess. The women of the Bible were lovely people but far beneath the masculine god preached about on Sunday.
I had bumped up against the limits of religion. They leave no room for growth! All of them have their boundaries. What happens when those boundaries are shredded? You are bounced out; even the most liberal churches expect some “confession of faith” and expect conformance with that confession. I realized then I was searching for something that had no name; the closest I could come to a descriptive word was “spirituality.” I know, it’s a pretty lame word and becoming even more so with over- and mis-use.
Rosemary was searching then too. She found a seminary in Oklahoma (of all places) called Sancta Sophia, Lady Wisdom. It sounded good. And it was there during visits and keeping up with Rosemary”s studies that I first began to encounter Goddess. This was a gradual encounter that is still unfolding.
At Sancta Sophia Seminary, a mystery school founded on the Christ-mythos and based on spiritual teachings, such as those of Alice Bailey, I was introduced to the “Aquarian Rosary.” This is a “translation” of the Roman Catholic rosary updated for non-Catholics and more in keeping with the principles of Santa Sophia and the “New Age.” Clearly, as a non-Catholic, this whole idea of chanting to Mary as a form of “mantra yoga” was pretty strange for me. And the fumbling with beads and a cross; wow! But I was searching and as a searcher I was willing to look in every corner, even a Rosary corner. When I visited the seminary we gathered to chant the Rosary. I not only enjoyed it I felt something, some presence, some power, not unlike how I sense the full Moon. And then one day at the end of the Rosary chant, my Rosemary says: “Mary is here and has a message for us.” What?! This is my wife stating she is going to channel a message from Mother Mary.
And I felt it! This was The Divine Feminine I was hearing. This was the Feminine Voice of God speaking to us through Rosemary.
The Face of the Goddess is infinite. The Voice of the Goddess is filled with compassion for us, for the Earth. And She has many Names. She is The Mother of All Things. Rosemary continues to channel Mary, Inanna, The Divine Feminine. And it’s sometimes difficult to remember who the speaker is when Rosemary channels. It’s difficult to separate this worldly woman, my wife, from the Voice from far beyond and yet so close, so intimate.
I have been blessed by many encounters with Divine Feminine energy, the Goddess. Sri Karunamayi (Amma) embodies the Divine Mother. I will write more of my encounters with Amma later this week; meanwhile visit her site: http://www.karunamayi.org/
Do you remember your first encounter with Goddess?
What is this? Music of the Heart.
Remember that Korean Zen koan I mentioned last week? I think I need to ask that question and sit for a while with the answers that come! What is this?
First, it is this potent, full Pisces Moon. It is so full of water; I feel the water rising in my very body; it’s like a flood tide rolling in to inundate me with the salty flow of emotion. And I don’t think I’m alone. Did you watch the Olympic hockey game yesterday between Canada and the US? When the US scored that last second goal to tie the game at the end of the third period, even the announcers were having trouble getting the words out; I thought the one guy was going to burst into tears! — Pisces full moon! And what a flood of emotions on both sides of that excellent match-up when Canada scored the winning goal in overtime.
What is this?
We are still in the influence of Grandmother Moon. She will be impacting our emotions for another couple of days. Since she peaked yesterday at 9:38 am MST we will likely sense her presence, even if we can’t see her, until Wednesday. Just be still with it. Be easy with yourself. Meditate on the energies you are feeling. Breathe into your middle and sense what’s there. Is it unsettled? What is this? Flow with the chop and churning. Is it still like a frozen pond? What is this? Melt into it.
What is this?
It’s Holi Festival — Happy Holi! In India and many places with Hindu populations people are throwing colorful powder and water at one-another. This is a Vishnu celebration marking the beginning of spring and the return of color to our lives. Yesterday at our Sundays at the Center celebration (see www.SundaysatTheCenter.org) we learned about the Holi Festival. One of the more interesting reasons given for using colors to celebrate this holiday relates to Krishna , an avatar of Vishnu, and his wife, Radha. It seems Krishna’s mother thought Radha’s complexion was too light for Krishna who was dark. So, she suggested applying color to Radha’s face! In many of the images of Krishna and Radha, he is given a bluish face while Radha is much lighter. So, even the Gods and Goddesses of ancient India were conscious of the color of their skin and wanted to be darker! Are we ready for the Moon to be darker, to begin to shrink into herself, to fall back into the Sun? Are we ready to let go of what is no longer serving us and consider what we may want to bring in with the waning of the Moon to Newness?
What is this?
Rosemary, the Goddess in my life, hosted an incredible “Conversations with The Other Side” last week. We had a full house and so many of the messages from other dimensions were teaching us about Consciousness and Conscious Living. Then again, on Sunday the message for the day was about Consciousness in the Cosmos, and Earth Consciousness within the Cosmos. If you are not linked in with these thoughts, these lessons in Conscious Living, then here’s how to do it: Rosemary’s blog is: www.wisdomconnections.net; her website is: www.rosemarybredeson.com. And, as a sample of what is available through this remarkable woman, I offer here a poem she received and translated for me at the Conversations with The Other Side event; this poem was “dictated from The Other Side” – maybe from medieval times:
The lute was created
To allow strings to sing.
The music of the heart
Can be played through an instrument
Or through the voice.
But the one who knows their own heart
Needs no instrument to sing.
The one who shares a heart with others
Can do it silently.
What is this?
The Full Moon, Goddess of the Night
What a difference a day makes. The Colorado sky here is a brilliant blue with high puffy clouds. Yesterday’s three inches of snow have already melted from the roads and life is full of cheer. This fullness I’m feeling may have something to do with the rapidly waxing Moon to full. She arrives at her fullest at 9:38 am MST on Sunday. And the next few nights of her rising should be spectacular as we look out over the eastern plains.
Many of the ancient Goddesses who ruled over their people with benevolence and light were associated with the Moon. Inanna and many of her “descendants” were Moon Goddesses. What is it about the Moon that offers this wonderful feminine energy recognized and honored through the millennia? And what is it today that continues to influence us, even when we don’t realize it? Even when we pay no attention to her glorious dance!
Yes, ask any emergency room nurse or doctor about the influence of the Full Moon. No, I’m not writing here, yet, about astrology and the influences of the planets and stars. Just as the Moon influences our oceans, so too does she influence the ocean residue pumping through our bodies. It’s a watery world we live in and we are watery creatures. The Moon tugs at us in subtle ways and during Full Moons not so subtle ways.
So, what I’m suggesting is we all need to pay attention to the phases of the Moon; this helps us understand what may be going on with us in our bodies, our emotions, our minds and our spirits. The Goddess Moon not only watches over us, she plays with us and asks for our response! If you are a woman reading this you already know about the filling and emptying of the Moon who moves in rhythms parallel to your own. Men, ask the Goddesses, the beautiful women, in your life, about these rhythms and begin to sense them yourselves. Honor the movements of the Moon and honor your responses to them.
There are many ways from ancient traditions to honor the cycles of the moon. A few months (moonths) ago Rosemary channeled a wonderful set of instructions on how to prepare for and respond to these cycles. You can down-load the audio of this message at: www.rosemarybredeson.com. Please accept this gift from me as a thank you for reading!
One of the wonderful Goddesses in my life, Barbara Everett of Minneapolis, is, among her many talents, an extraordinary astrologer. She has written a lovely piece on Sunday’s Moon; here’s an excerpt:
Pisces Symbol (note similarities to the Tai Chi!)
“Full Moon in the Sign of Pisces
“Pisces, the twelfth sign of the Zodiac, is the most mysterious sign of all.
It’s ruler is Neptune, the ancient god of the sea in which all secrets lie
hidden. The glyph is two fish, joined together, but swimming in opposite
directions, telling of the dual nature of Pisces—–moving upward towards
evolution and advancement——or downward towards negativity and sadness.
…
“At the time and celebration of the Full Moon, emotions are quick to surface,
especially at this full moon. Dreams are more available, tears come easily,
decisions are difficult to make. Be especially kind and generous to yourself
and others as we swim from Darkness to Light, from Chaos to Beauty, from death
to immortality. BELIEVE in the goodness of the human heart, BELIEVE in your
self as a divine being having a human experience, BELIEVE that Love heals,
changes the course of human events, and creates miracles of mind, body, and
spirit.”
Note the wateriness of this message! Emotions run strong during full moons. People may drive like “luna”-tics. Be careful, be aware, honor the Full Moon Goddess! Her influence will be with us for the next six days.
The Heart of Darkness
It is an unusually dark and gloomy day in Colorado. We are so use to the bright sunshine here and high skies. There is occasional light snow falling which lightens the day; the white is a beautiful contrast to the dreariness, the black clouds threatening more snow!
Light and dark – The Taoists used this contrast as a metaphor for the dichotomy of masculine and feminine energies. The Tai Chi symbol, a central representation of Taoism, highlights this contrast but also presents the balance between them and the dynamics of the energies: note the black feminine “fish” as it spirals around the white masculine “fish” as if chasing his tail. Also note the bit of feminine black in the white “fish”, its “eye”, and the white masculine “eye” of the feminine “fish.” It is a powerful image and tells us much about the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu and his fellow sages. They fully appreciated and respected the feminine principle. Perhaps this is best explained in the first chapter of Lao Tzu’s “Taotejing.” This translation is by Red Pine:
The way that becomes a way is not the immortal way
The name that becomes a name is not the immortal name
The maiden of heaven and earth has no name
The mother of all things has a name
Thus in innocence we see the beginning
In passion we see the end
Two different names
For one and the same
The one we call dark
The dark beyond dark
The door to all beginnings.
I love this image of the dark door, full of mystery and the unknown. Yet, it seem soft and warm, welcoming. It is that feminine energy which moves us to sink into ourselves and become one with all. It is that doorway which humanity is called to move through. We are on an exquisite threshold. Are we brave enough to enter through to a new dawn?
Light and dark. I have found so much of value in China Galland’s book, Longing for Darkness. I quote a passage here which speaks so passionately and so eloquently about this darkness:
“…longing for darkness is a deeply felt human need that cuts across, goes beyond, and at the same time includes issues of ethnicity. This is a multivalent darkness. This is the darkness of ancient wisdom, of people of color, of space, of the womb, of the earth, of the unknown, of sorrow, of unconsciousness, of the darkness beyond the light, of matter, of the descent, of the body, of the shadow of the Most High.
“Like light, darkness has a wide range of symbolic meanings. The color black can signify the stage just before enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism–imminence; space; burning; the final stage of the soul’s journey to beatitude in a Sufi tradition; wisdom; fertility in Old Europe; purity in a Turkish tradition; mourning in the West; and the first step in the medieval alchemical process, the nigredo.”
Beautiful! Nothing to be afraid of there but something to embrace. The Taoists embraced the Feminine energy; so much of LaoTzu’s magnificent work is about the Dark Feminine. It is time for all of us to remember the importance of the dark. It is time for us to step through the “door to all beginnings.”
From Inanna to Madonna
I am reading two exceptional books on the Goddess. The first one was purchased by Rosemary for her research and work on Inanna, a very early Sumerian Goddess of Heaven and Earth. As soon as I saw the book I knew I had to read it and Rosemary hasn’t seen it since! The book? Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth, Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer. Maybe it’s the red cover with gold lettering in the title that attracted me. Or maybe it is the name – Inanna…who knows what past-life connections I may have to this powerful feminine principal from ancient times.
Actually the stories and hymns from the book are ancient; they were first written down on clay tablets in cuneiform at least 4,000 years ago. Sumer was settled during the 5th millennium BC and became known as Sumer about 3,000 BC. The stories are likely far older in the oral literature carried by the people. Inanna’s reign spans a fascinating period of history when humans were in transition from a nomadic to an agrarian life style and began to gather and live in city-states. In the west we consider this period the rise of civilization there in the so called fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. She also reigns over a very important shift in the way humanity governed itself as men began to gather power onto themselves and as the mystery of life held by women for millennia before this period began to lose it’s influence on society.
Was this a fateful or fatal shift in the balance of power? It was definitely fateful; time will tell if it was fatal! And this brings me to my first point: we are in the beginning of another shift. Men who have held power over humanity for at least the past 4,000 years are beginning to lose their control. Women are coming to prominence in many fields; women are taking control of finances from the family level to institutions; women are beginning to play a major role in governing throughout the world; women are coming back into their own right. Women will save the world! – Hopefully in the nick of time.
The Goddesses, Inanna, Ishtar, Mari, Diana, Isis, Hecate, Pasiphae, Selene, Brigit, Cybele, the Shekinah, Lilith, Persephone,… all moon goddesses, and all related, are still with us, just as the moon is still with us! It is time to find Her again if we are to save ourselves through Her support.
The second book? Longing for Darkness, Tara and the Black Madonna by China Galland. This is the story of the one woman’s search for the Divine Feminine, not only for herself but for all women (and men!). I first read this book years ago; it is a great source book for Buddhist teachings and is a wonderful travelogue as Ms. Galland goes on pilgrimages in search of Tara and the Black Madonnas. Through her travels and time with teachers she discovers the connections among all the moon goddesses from Tara to Kali to Inanna to the Madonna. And she finds the Divine Feminine in herself.
I have the honor and privilege to live with the Divine Feminine as personified by Rosemary. All of these goddesses in my life give me hope for humanity. The immediate future does not look all that great! It has taken men 4,000 years to get us to this point. Perhaps it will take a few years of recovery and balance before we can see the true light through the brilliant and beautiful eyes of the Goddess.
Men and The Goddess 