Amazonation
©2003 Joan Cartwright
GRATEFUL GODDESS |
Awakening the Goddess
The
murder of nine million women during the Inquisition
intrigued me even before I knew the number
of women burned. Woman has been resigned to her place as a second class homo
sapiens, since the Ice Age that began, 27,000 years ago. Women's relegation
to home work, while men pursued venison was a turnabout from the adventurous
lives of women who hunted, gathered and brought home the herbal "bacon".
Women's hunt was of the fruits of the land. But when ice covered the planet,
growth ceased and women became the borders of caves with fire and furs as
their luxuries.
During the course of people
trying to survive, women forgot the powerful creatures they used to be.
Three-dimensional life eradicated the memory of the experiment Spirits
engaged in to bring upliftment of life and consciousness to Planet Earth.
Lightworkers, Starseeds, Ascended Masters and Angels have worked for
centuries to keep the idea of Divinity present in the minds and hearts of
women, while men continue to build up cities and destroy the habitat of
Earth's creatures.
Women were Goddesses long
before the cities came, long before the banks came, before the wars came.
Peace, care, nurturing and love were the rewards of being around women. That
time is returning. Men tire from destruction. They yearn for the warmth of
woman's breast, for her rationale for getting what you need when you need
it. Their egos are retreating from the need to control her and she needs to
be prepared to take the lead. Get
THE FACTS
Halloween Witch
Author Unknown
Each year they parade her
about, the traditional Halloween Witch.
Misshapen green face, stringy scraps of hair, a toothless mouth beneath her
deformed nose. Gnarled knobby fingers twisted into a claw protracting from a
bent and twisted torso that lurches about on wobbly legs. Most think this
abject image to be the creation of a prejudiced mind or merely a Halloween
caricature. I disagree, I believe this to be how Witches were really seen.
Consider that most Witches were women, were abducted in the night, and
smuggled into dungeons or prisons under the secrecy of darkness to be
presented by light of day as a confessed Witch. Few if any saw a frightened
normal looking woman being dragged into a secret room filled with
instruments of torture, to be questioned until she confessed to anything
suggested to her and to give names or what ever would stop the questions.
Crowds saw the aberration denounced to the world as a self-proclaimed Witch.
As the Witch was paraded through town en route to be burned, hanged,
drowned, stoned or disposed of in various other forms of Christian love all
created to free and save her soul from her depraved body, the
jeering crowds viewed the results of hours of torture. The face bruised and
broken by countless blows bore a hue of sickly green. The once warm and
loving smile gone replaced by a grimace of broken teeth and torn gums that
leers beneath a battered disfigured nose. The disheveled hair conceals
bleeding gaps of torn scalp from whence cruel hands had torn away the lovely
tresses. Broken twisted hands clutched the wagon for support, fractured
fingers with nails torn away locked like groping claws to steady her broken
body. All semblance of humanity gone this was truly a demon, a bride of
Satan, a Witch.
I revere this Halloween Crone and hold her sacred above all. I honor her
courage and listen to her warnings of the dark side of man. Each year I shed
tears of respect when the mundane exhibit their symbol of Christian love. |
Honoring
and celebrating the sacred roots and traditions related to Halloween and
Samhain
The Charge of the Goddess
"Hear my words, and know me. I shall be called by many names, in many
tongues; past ancient days, beyond this moment, and through the end of time
-- at once Artemis, Diana, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Venus, the Morrigan, and Queen
of the Witches. I am the Great Goddess, Mother of All.
Whenever you have need of my aid; once a month and best when the moon is
full; and eight times more in the year, shall you assemble in some secret
place, to call me and to honor my spirit. Know that my truths and my love
shall make you free, for no man can enslave you, or prevent your worship of
me in your mind and in your heart. Listen well when you come into my
presence, and I shall teach you of deep mysteries, ancient and powerful; the
rhythms of the planets and the seasons, the circle of life and death and
life renewed. That which is unknown shall be known, and that which is hidden
shall be revealed; even the secluded soul shall be pierced with my light.
Yet I require no sacrifice or pain of your bodies, for I am the Mother of
all living things, and my only law is Love Unto All.
I am the beauty of the green earth, the white moon that sails among the
stars, the mystery of the flowing waters, and the desire of the heart of
man. From me all things are born, and to me all things in their season
return. Let my joyous worship be in your hearts; dance, sing, and feast in
my name, for all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. Let there be
beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and
reverence within you, for these are the gifts which I offer to all my
children.
And you who seek to know me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail
you not, unless you know the Mystery; for if that which you seek, you find
not within yourself, you will never find it without.
Hear my words, and know me truly; Lady of moonlight and magick; Maiden,
Mother and Crone. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I
will welcome you into my arms once more at the end of your earthly
existence."
Adapted from "Moon Magic" by D. J. Conway; "To Ride a Silver Broomstick"
by Silver Raven Wolf; and "Casting the Circle" by Diane Stein.
May the deep wisdom traditions of the ancient ones who loved and listened to
the earth and who cherished and honored Life-Spirit-Mystery flourish in our
lives and world. |