The Seeds - An Evening Rite

Tonight, when I performed the Evening Rite, I felt very intensely "into" it.  With rites that someone performs daily or on a regular basis, there are times when, despite your best efforts you feel as though you are just going through the motions, and there are times when everything "clicks".  This was one of those times for me.

The Rite itself consists of an invocation to Sarasvati, the Hindu Goddess of Wisdom, and listening to an Oracle of Hers.  Then Ratri is invoked with a hymn, and the blessing of Earth is called.  Then Ninlil and water, Isis and air, Devi and fire, and Demeter and spirit.  Following that is a period of silent communion.  After the communion, healing is sent and the Goddesses are thanked for their grace.

With the invocation of Ratri there was a "zing" that went up my spine and body, an electric, intense force that traveled over me in a wave.  It was very potent, and I felt Her presence very strongly.

On most days I don't get much feeling from the communion portion.  I merely remain silent and keep myself open.  Tonight, though, intuition tugged my body into the Wings of Isis a.k.a. Goddess posture to receive wisdom.  (Some of this, like the wisdom part, is coming spontaneously.)  I contemplated each of the Goddesses seperately, fought to keep my thoughts under control and calm, and tried to "stare" at my third eye by focusing both of my physical eyes upwards and towards each other, and I felt a repeat of that "Zing!" that I felt with the hymn to Ratri, but much more forceful and internal.  I felt the energy shooting up within me, dancing back and forth, and saw a serpent inside myself, writhing and dancing upwards, and I had the impression of a cobra's head coming out of my crown and facing forwards.

My eyes opened as the energy poured up, and I sent out healing to those who needed it as well as the rest of the Aset Shemsu.  I would keep drawing energy up and releasing it in a warm, orange-red wave towards the object.  I haven't felt energy surge through me like that in quite a long time.

I said my thanks to the Goddesses, put out my candles, contemplated, then decided to record the experience.

One thing to note is that I was playing with kundalini energy just before performing this rite.  It is possible that this enhanced it, but it's something that doesn't "just happen" for me, I need to be in the mood, which I suppose is only appropriate given the energy and my methods.

In any case, I thank:

Sarasvati the Wise, of the Golden Eyes,
Ratri, the gentle Night,
Ninlil who bathes in the pure stream,
Isis who moves the air with Her wings,
Devi who guards the flame and is the flame,
and Demeter, the source of Ambrosia and Earth Mother.

Blessed Be,
Amma Iset

The Seeds - A Full Moon Rite

The last post that I published was for a rite at the New Moon.  Tonight's ritual was a Full Moon Rite, done in conjunction (long distance) with other members of my Iseum.  It was to be dedicated to a Moon Goddess.  I chose my Lady Isis, as the Moon is one of her many, many aspects.


First we were to find an image of the Caduceus to meditate on and guide us in raising energy in the Rite.  I chose both of the above, for obvious reasons.

I performed Isidora Forest's cleansing and consecration rite, cast a circle, and did the Elemental Pillars.  I called out to the Ancestors and Blessed Dead that might wish to join me; Rose and Apuleius specifically (as if he had nothing better to do ;) )I invoked my Lady many times and by many names, as is only appropriate for Myrianymos.  Afterwards I stood in the center of my space and meditated on the imaged, first drawing the moonlight down through me into the earth, and then drawing the energy below upwards, following the paths of the serpents, up through my form and out my crown and hands.  As I beamed it out into the Universe, I used the provided prayer:

In the Names of Isis and Osiris may all beings be blessed: the Sidhe and humans, animals and birds, reptiles, fish, insects, trees and plants and every element.



Pure as milk and smooth as silk, white as the silver that sings the name of the Moon.  Serpents of light dancing in corridors of color, sounds of all sorts.  Hail falling, crackling against the outer barrier, white from the heavens, water in pure crystal form.  CLEAR.  CLEAN.  Safe.  Warm.  Womb.  Night.  Light.  Her Might!  In and down, up and out, from Her to me to All.

That was spontaneous, but as good a summary as any.

I bid farewell to the Ancestors and Elements and closed the temple, then performed the Evening Rite and the Shrine Dedication.  The Prayer to Devi seemed especially pertinent: "...riseth, piercing the mystic centers, until thou hast reached the high place".

A rite-ful night, and now I sit and eat little round white shortening cookies a coworker made for me, and drink milk and record my experiences, or at least, what I did.  I will endeavor to fill this space with more insight over time.  Often when I perform rites like this they take a while to sink in and manifest.  I'm just glad for the connection and the communion time, and hope that the energy that I raised bolstered and healed the others of my Iseum, my loved ones, my beloved Ancestors, the Aset Shemsu, the rest of the Silver Web, and well... "the Sidhe and humans, animals and birds, reptiles, fish, insects, trees and plants and every element."

Namaste, and Amma Iset.

The Seeds - A New Moon Rite

Tonight I did a New Moon rite, attuning to the other members of my Iseum as I did so.  It was the first time that I called out to Hekate, and I called out to Osiris as well, as I usually do on the New Moon.

Here are the invocations that I used:

New Moon Invocation to Osiris:

Hail to you Osiris, who has died and returned!  God of Life and Lord of the Living, Dying God and King of the Dead!  Son of Earth and Sky and Father of Anubis and Horus!  Good God of Green and Grain, Lord of Love, Beautiful Boy!  Hail to you Moon God, White God, Green God, Song God, Dance God, Laughter God, Dying God, Dead God, Reborn God!

Hail to you, Ausar, on this night of the New Moon, a night held sacred to you since ancient times.  Into darkness the moon has descended, as you did to the underworld.  Now its white light grows, as your purity and power ever do, towards the height of its majesty.

Your sweet name is remembered by us, the followers of Isis, your sister and bride, and you are honored by us on this night.  We remember that light will always come after darkness, that hope will rise like the moon from the horizon, that the grain will always grow again.

Grant us guiding light in the dark, healing, and strength for this Moon, Good God.  Blessed be to you and welcome.

and:

Invocation to Hekate:

Hekate,

Lady of the Crossroads,

Lady of Doors,

Lady of the meeting place of Sea, Sky, and Stone,

I call out to you.

Hekate,

Lady of the Crossroads,

Lady of Thresholds,

Lady of Portals,

We are mortal, and cannot see far beyond the place that we stand.

We are mortal, and do not know what lies down each road.

We are mortal, and do not know what lies behind each door.

Torch-bearing Phosphoros (Light Bearer), help us to see in the darkness of the unknown.

Help us to see the signposts that hang at the crossroads, and to read them, and to understand them.

Help us to see the plaques upon the doors, and to read them, and to understand them.

That we choose the best roads to walk,

The best thresholds to cross,

And arrive at the best destinations.

Hail to you, Hekate Enodia! (Goddess of the Paths)  Goddess of the Crossroads!

Hail to you, Hekate Propylaia! (The One Before the Gate) Goddess of the Thresholds!

Hail to you, Hekate Crataeis! (The Mighty One) Goddess of Star, Sea, and Stone!

Blessed be to you and welcome!

Impressions:

The strong impression that Hekate was letting me know that all that she had been described as to me was not all that there was.  She is both beautiful and terrible.  She told me not to sit cross-legged, but to kneel, as was proper for me.  Mostly I simply sensed her presence.  I hope that more will be revealed as time goes on.  However, I am pleased to have made contact with the Lady of the Crossroads, and pleased that it was a pleasant experience.  When I was done with the communion and it was time to make offering and wrap up, I felt three distinct kisses on my crown.

As a side note, during meditation earlier on in the day, three young women approached me, laughing and smiling holding hands or with their arms around the others' waists.  I had the impression that this was She, and that She was showing me that she was young and beautiful as well as ancient and powerful, and that She welcomed my invocation.

Lord Ausar, Osiris... words often fail when it comes to describing the love I feel for him.  Beautiful, strong, wise, stern, pure, loving... he is the ideal man, the ideal Father, to me.  There are many Gods I love, but not in the way that I love him.  I felt him tap me on either shoulder with an implement when it was time to rise from the communion, and share the offerings.

During the communion period, I had a vision of the light crossing the surface of the moon, but looking like a film, something covering the moon in its darkness.  It was distinctly opalescent.  I had the impression/suggestion: it is easier to see by the dark of the moon, the light of the full moon can blind you.  I think that I grok this.

It was a good Rite, and a good night.

The Seeds - The Flamma Vestae

Tonight I performed the Flamma Vestae, attuning to it with Lord Arthur Freeheart, who guided me in it and into the Heart Beats Drum Iseum.

Following is a recording of sensations and visions from the rite:

When the priestess of Vesta conferred her blessing, I felt a pillar of white light, blinding my inner eyes, spread down through me.  I was left with spots and motes behind my eyes and a feeling of being more truly myself than before.

When, through attuning, I danced around the altar, I saw and felt myself in many incarnations and forms, my "body" flashing and changing as I moved.

When the offerings were given there was a weight in the air that was not from the thick, sweet odor of the copal alone.  It was many presences united by a single (sensation, light, vibration?).

When I received my Ankh and cord, I felt that I stood at the center of a wheel, spokes radiating out from around me, and at the ends of the spokes were others already set aglow with Her light.  I felt pure, and clean, that level of being where we are all One, where we all touch.  With deliberate action, I sent my love and light along these spokes to bless and join with that of others.

Often with these things, the most amazing manifestations happen not at the Rite itself, but in the days after, when the energy begins to sink in and manifest in our lives.  If this is the case, then I am in for a ride, and if that is the case, I pray that my Chariot holds strong and on a clear path.

I love you, and even if I don't know you, I know you, as you know me.  May the light fill all of us, and through us, the world around us.

Blessed Be!

The Flowers - A Rune Reading

For the first time in a long time, someone asked me for a rune reading.  I performed it last night.  I have to say, quite simply, that I needed it as much as she did and am sure I got as much out of it!  It gave me a chance and a reason to reconnect and make offering to Odin, who I've been nervous about contacting for a while.  It reminded me of a skill and a gift that I have that I can help others with.  It was draining, as any sort of reading or divination comes with counseling (which can be mentally exhausting), but I am feeling much better for it.

The Flowers - An Offering

So, the offering for the Flamma Vestae - I pulled out Offering to Isis and opened it randomly.  It fell open to the Horns and Disk Crown (Keriati Woh Aten).  I have an old image that I made for offering rites, and I will use it for the Flamma Vestae.  With the thought in mind that I want to make one.

Not necessarily a crown.  I have the image of it topping a staff.  Again, I am not great with wood-or-other working, and have no idea where I would even start with that.  I want to make this, though.

The Flowers - A Way Has Opened

It has been a long time since I've posted here, but I'm not going to let it go away.  This is my own personal Philae, at least part of it.

I've recently (over the last six months) discovered the Fellowship of Isis.  I examined their online materials carefully before joining; I have not found anything yet that I disagree with or that does not fit my gnosis.

I've found a teacher for a Lyceum (one of the teaching groups for the FOI) who lives relatively near to me, and I have been corresponding with him about membership.  A couple of weeks ago I attuned for my first rite, a shrine dedication.  (Attuning is when multiple people in different locations perform the same rite at the same time, and try and reach out and attune their energies to one another; a way of performing a group rite long distance.)

I was pleased to discover that my altar already mostly matched the description of the standard FOI shrine, minus the scarab, though from what I've seen of its ritual use it seems to occupy the same place as a pentagram in Wiccan practice. Fortunately a friend had given me an ankh shaped mirror a while back with a very nice scarab on the back of it.  It was especially appropriate given that the part of the rite that the scarab is involved in mentions water and refers to it as "Her Mirror."

As I said, I was pleased that my altar already fit well with the rite.  It gave me the feeling that I was in the right place.  That this group was one that fit my vibrations well.

The rite itself is beautiful.  During it I was so focused on performing it that I did not have a chance to "feel" much (except in the meditative portion, I will get to that later) but afterwards and since then my altar has felt very different, and in a good way.  The energy about it is warm and strong, and I fancy that I can feel others doing some of the same rites and uttering some of the same prayers as I when I use it.  It feels like little echoes and whispers and a flush of red-gold warmth.

During the meditative portion of the rite I found myself being a lotus in the water (a pond of lilies surrounding you was part of the visualization).  My roots in the warm much, and the very top of me spread to the heavens.  The visualization was aligned with my chakras and other parts; with my crown being out of the water and my root being, well, my roots.  I had a feeling, very difficult to describe, that I spend too much time submerged, paying attention to the water around the rest of my parts, rather than the warm strength from my roots or the brilliance of the light on the petals of my crown.  Perhaps I should say, "We", as it seemed to be a statement/realization about humanity in general.

Now it is time for me to prepare for the Flamma Vestae, which is the initiation into the Heart Beats Lyceum.  I have everything that could be needed for the rite (some of it I picked up for Samhain, conveniently) other than an offering for my Lady.  It's supposed to be something that is made by my own hands.  The thing is, I'm not terribly crafty.  I want to make something, but I want it to be "beautiful and pure" as all offerings to Iset are supposed to be.  My current best idea is poetry or a new invocation; I'm better at making things with words than clay or thread.  At the same time I've considered that it may be better for me to learn to do something new for this, but then my offering wouldn't be of a quality that I would feel appropriate.  Right now I am waiting for guidance, reading the other FOI liturgy and rites and following their Facebook pages for more information.

This has been an excellent experience so far.  I feel closer to Her.