Tara - V. Portal of Leo: Introduction & Rites

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V. Portal of Leo

Introduction: Beware the Gang

Rite 1. The Golden Rule

Rite 2. Hidden Love

Fellowship of Isis Liturgy

By

Olivia Robertson

Tara of the Oracles

The Alchemical Twins Face the Fates

The Octagonal Temple of Alchemy

V. Portal of Leo: Introduction to Rituals One and Two

Beware the Gang

I was five years old, in a small country town, Reigate, in England. I was dressed for my first day at school. My sister Barbara, my elder and mentor, gave me a serious warning.

“You are only a new girl. When you get there – a girl called Mona will come up to you and be very kind and even kiss you! Look out! She does that to all new girls. But she is Head of a Gang and you’ll be hers. You’ll be lost.”

After this fearsome warning I walked down Reigate Hill with Barbara with trepidation. And sure enough, when I arrived, a big girl – about twelve – came up to me, went on her knees and embraced me. Fortified by my sister’s superior wisdom, I pushed away and turned my back. This was my first step in self-realization…

My next experience, two years later, was what happened to poor Gladys. At school we had been invited to a party in a very rich family’s home. There was to be strawberry and vanilla ice-cream, a garden railway train for children and Presents. So hopefully we climbed into a school bus and off we drove.

Then we drove past a row of small terraced houses with washing hanging up. I cried out: “There is Gladys playing in her garden!” There she was, yellow hair flying, playing solitary catch-ball in a small yard. “Oh, She wasn’t invited”, explained a girl. “She’s poor.”

Years later, another scene impressed itself on my mind. It was during War, World War II. I was acting as a nurse – Red-Cross on my apron, in Bedfordshire. There I saw a sunset in the wrong place – It was London on fire.

But it was not this dramatic scene that hurt me. It was in our ward where injured men from Dunkirk were treated for fractures. Most had their legs in plaster, hoisted up on pulleys. Some, recovering, could eat at table. But we had to have two separate tables for meals, as French and English patients would not eat together. Well, they had each other…

Not so our solitary black African soldier. No one would eat with him. He had to eat his meals at his locker.

We can legislate, write books, give sermons, but how can we change human nature? And not just human. I saw a documentary film about the private family lives of wolves. There was one wretched black-haired wolf who was the pack fool. He was bullied, not allowed to eat until all the others had eaten – and then only was given left-overs. In order even to live, this wolf became the pack comedian. He would play absurd tricks, grovel, roll-over – anything to please. So he was tolerated. Finally he could bear it no longer, so off he went in search of a better life. He was monitored by camera – but went astray and was eaten by a mountain lion.

But what was strange – even suggesting some sort of conscience, was that the pack mourned his passing. The whole winter the wolves were dispirited. They had no one to blame, no one to torment, no one to laugh at. What an obituary for a scapegoat.

I like solutions – perhaps because I am born under Aries? What are my remedies for cruelty from Gangs, whether these be schools, nations or churches?

So here are my own three discoveries. Firstly, we do have God the Father but he can repudiate – punish – disown. This is what we learn from Fathers. But God the Mother loves even the most repulsive and stupid children! This we observe in the behaviour of Mothers. So when we acknowledge God the Mother as being source of all that is – to insult – belittle – ill-treat any of her children, whether two-legged, four-legged or with no legs at all – we hurt our Divine Mother. And She has the backing of the Divine Father.

To give an example: The most tragic of photographs I have ever seen was of a monkey in a vivisection laboratory, his hands gripping the bars of his cage. He head was lifted up – his mouth open – with an expression of such anguish – such terror – that he was both animal and human – indeed, Nature Herself, when we destroy her children and her earth.

My favourite method to dissipate cruelty is through recall of previous incarnations, experienced in trance state, and remembered by the percipient. What I find strange is that the persecutor in one life becomes the victim in the next. And so on through a succession of lives, until liberation is attained through forgiveness.

My third method is through the arts – that empathy we find with fictional characters – in Shakespeare – Tolstoy – in paintings by Rembrandt. Our separated consciousness finds communion with diverse characters – creatures. We gain the divine gift of Omnipresence.

To me the necessity is never to lose control of ones own original eternal soul. So indeed Beware the Gang!

Every country, every religion, all legal structures, need to offer their members a way of escape from their institutions. Spiritual Awakening comes through change!

Tara of the Oracles

The Alchemical Twins Face the Fates

Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson

V. Portal of Leo

The Golden Rule

Ritual No. 1

The Golden Rule is to Face Truth with Courage

The Octagonal Temple of Alchemy

Priestess Alchemist (to twin apprentices, Aiden and Elaine): To learn to follow the path of Wisdom, we need to listen to the inner teachings of the Magus Zoroaster of Ancient Persia.

Priest Alchemist (raises sceptre): Priest of Priests, Zoroaster, Honoured Magus of the Inner Temple of the Divine Light of Wisdom, Sacred Brother to Apollo, we seek your guidance.

ORACLE OF THE MAGUS ZOROASTER

The teachings of the Magi have been distorted, used as engines of power to cement the authority of those with little knowledge. Facts, the sandaled feet of Truth, have been ignored, in order to foster self-gratifying delusions.

Do not glibly quote Prophets, Masters, without yourself sharing the experience given. Such discourses – given as infallible truths – are an easy smokescreen used by those who manipulate the strings of power.

This power comes from the innate fear of poverty, illness and death in every human soul. Anyone who can pander to easy solutions, false promises, may achieve veneration, riches, and above all, power over others.

The path of Wisdom is only to accept some “truth” if you yourself in your heart and your mind, know this to be true…..

Within every creature is a guiding light, whether this be the instinct of migrating birds, the pollen-seeking bees, or the orbits of planets. So my counsel is to follow your own star! But keep in mind that there are myriads of stars, or else you too may lose yourself in soul-destroying delusion.

Priestess Alchemist: Thanks are given to the Magus Zoroaster for his unexpected Oracle for us to look within. His words were refreshingly alive.

Priest Alchemist (to Elaine): Elaine, you regard yourself as a lawless one, who defends victims against the abusive laws of establishments. You need to understand Divine Law which underlines earthly mandates. Are you willing to undergo the Initiation of the Supreme Ruler of Leo?

Elaine: I agree. Someone must challenge this Supreme Ruler. This will be just what I want to do.

Priestess Hierophant (shows tarot card from the Marsailles deck): This is your emblem. Describe the card.

Elaine (holds card): Just what I expected! It shows “Le Pape” – The Pope. He is an old man with a white beard, wearing the Triple Crown of rulership over hell, earth and heaven. His right glove bears the 4-pointed cross, and he holds a sceptre topped with a hexagram. 2 lunar acolytes are before him – a mysterious 3rd priest shows just one arm. Behind him are 2 pillars.

Priestess Hierophant: You have prepared yourself… Enter trance through the Portal of Leo. We shall be with you but not help you. You would not expect it.

Trance Journey

Elaine: Eagerly I climb up the Hill of the Zodiac, to the mighty Temple. This is at last my chance to show I am descended from Brynhilde, the Valkyrie! I can war with the Gods. About time too **** I enter the Temple and pay respects to the Central fire of the Goddess Vesta.

Easily I find the flamboyant Portal of Leo. One could hardly miss it! It is shining gold, with the naked Lion Goddess on the left side, and a luminous figure of Akhenaton surrounded by rays of Light is on the right. I part the gold veil and pass through the Portal…

I find myself in the very environment I have become so suspicious of! It is ideal. It is so absolutely beautiful! What is remarkable is that I feel I am inside a planet – not on the surface. The light is milky in colour, gentle and all pervading. It does not drain colour from the silks around us, but rather draws out the colours. There is no visible source of light – no sun nor moon – which is very restful for the eyes. Also what is peculiarly delightful is soft music, and this is ideal – because I only hear the music when I wish to! If I send forth a message – “silence” – there is silence.

The people are beautiful – of various colours from indigo to pale blonde. Some are tall, some short, but all look in perfect health. This is clearly a heaven of some sort. I do wish for more information. My request is heard… a slender priest with shaven head and pale ochre robe stands by me. I note his bare head, as everyone else has luxuriant long hair.

I find myself asking the obvious. “What date is it? Where are we?”

He answers telepathically. “You and I are from a different place, and we both have a different date! This civilization of Mazda, the Light, belongs to a remote period of time before your solar system had its present form.

“What is your date?” I ask.

He replies: “I belong to Time Eternal. I am from All Space.”

Curiously, I feel deeply at home with this priest – as if he were my father. “There is something I don’t like here,” I said. “I can’t put my finger on it – something is missing. It is perfect. But I should miss all my odd-bod friends! Also these animals are perfect pedigree furry pets. I like warthogs – because they are so ugly!”

The priest answers me seriously. “Some call this moon Valhalla, Hall of the Valiant. To many it is a New Jerusalem. It was created by the perilous use of the inner fire of the home planet. I will show you who created this heaven and from where.”

He took me to a mighty dome which opened upon the surface of this globe. I got a shock. Below us was a huge dark planet that looked menacing – too big and too near.

“Surely no one is there now?” I ask. “On the contrary,” he says. “Below dwell the followers of the Dark Goddess Anahita. Some call her Kali, and others, Allat. The planet is named Tiamat. The inhabitants are in biological form, and there are plenty of them. They are a violent race. Indeed, it was to escape the tyranny of reproduction, of physical form, that the followers of Marduk, God of Light, created this satellite. It is joined by a rainbow bridge of magnetic force. By command of Marduk, his followers left behind all unhealthy people, any with criminal tendencies and eccentric ways. Even discrimination was used as to the animals brought to the satellite. The legend of Noah’s ark comes from this. Only healthy, useful, attractive creatures of Mazda are here. The rest of the Anahito dwell below, preying on each other, ‘red in tooth and claw.’”

“How do these folk up here survive, if they are so chaste?” I ask.

“By their astonishing scientific expertise,” replies the priest. “Genetically they are able to reproduce themselves in desirable mind and form. Any offspring not deemed appropriate are eliminated. They have a powerful, scientific priesthood well versed in genetics – and in the hygienic elimination of the unfit.”

“Let me go below. I hate this horrible heaven!” I cry.

There is a swirling motion and a terrible roaring. I find myself thrown like a meteor down and down until I reach the surface of the dark planet. I am hurt but unharmed.

Immediately I am seized by some savage looking bearded men with ugly looking weapons. I try to speak peace and explain that I come from on high to help them – that I am on their side – but they do not seem to understand… One of the men who looks distinctly Neanderthal, is plaiting my hair with his spit, and another is feeling the flesh on my thighs. Surely they are not cannibals?

I scream for help! I do not wish either to be raped or eaten. All my ideals vanish. I just want to survive.

Suddenly I am in the arms of the priest as if his child. “Just in time,” he says. “You do time your adventures for drama! The rainbow bridge is broken. The golden satellite has collided with a meteor – and is smashed to pieces. Its remnants form a many-particled girdle round your sun.”

“And the Mother planet?” I ask apprehensively. “Oh…, she is battered – but still is circling wildly like a meteor round your sun. She has lost most of her progeny.”

“So both races were destroyed many ages ago,” I comment. “Yet both had much to offer if they had got together in peace.”

“Oh but they did,” says the priest, as he restores me to my own date and place. “When there are opposites, a Third reconciling power manifests. The holy Deities, Tiamat and Marduk did bring the two races together at last.”

“Where?” I ask.

“On your earth,” he replies smiling. “They are the forbears of life forms on your earth.”

As I find myself recovering from trance – I don’t want to lose the priest, for he has reconciled two peoples. “Who are you?” I ask.

I hear his voice far away from all space and all time: “I am Zoroaster.”

Elaine takes a long time to return from trance as she wishes to learn more. She has won her degree, as she has faced unpleasant truth. Reports are shared and prayers for wisdom sent forth. Thanks are given to the Deities.

Sources: The Zend-Avesta, trans. Darmesteter, Sacred Books of the East Series, Motilal Barastsidass, Delhi. “Thus Spake Zarathustra,” Nietsche, Everyman. Harvard. Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Mozart’s Opera, “The Magic Flute.” Merlin’s Prophecies of World Peace-beginning: “A man shall grasp the lion within the earth.” Information from astronomical sources recently discovered on Eris, the dwarf planet and her satellite, Disnomia. There is possibly a smaller satellite not yet noticed!

Tara of the Oracles

The Alchemical Twins Face the Fates

Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson

V. Portal of Leo

Hidden Love

Ritual No. 2

Love Flees from the Mighty: She Makes Her Abode with the Humble

The Octagonal Temple of Alchemy

Priest Alchemist (to twin apprentices, Aiden and Elaine): Love is a rambling rose that finds her place in every heart throughout the universe. Yet she hides herself from those who would possess her, and opens her heart to the humble. To win the priceless treasure of love, we need to invoke the aid of the Goddess of Earth, the lion-headed Allat of Babylon.

Priestess Alchemist (raises sceptre): Mighty are the Mothers adored as Kali, Pele, Proserpine and Frigga. But none are greater nor more hidden than Thou, Allat, of the lion’s head, Whose steps shake the earth. You know the secret of every heart, in the depths of earth. Help us to find love and to hold it.

ORACLE OF THE GODDESS ALLAT

No true mother wishes to hold her children to her and so stunt their growth. A wise mother desires each of her offspring to show forth their original selves. Why The Cosmic Mothers conceal themselves is so that their progeny may people planets and attain their solar bodies.

Deep within the recesses of My Heart is a living fire that is attuned to the fires within all that is. This living network of flame pervades the cosmos, wherever there is matter. But know that the living flames that show forth as great suns yet emerge from the solemn darkness of the Mothers of The Abyss.

This darkness fills struggling humanity with terror; yet is the refuge of victims fleeing from those who hunt them. It hides those who suffer torment, and finally provides the enfolding darkness of death. Death leads to a greater sphere of being. The Heavenly Father inspires lives to evolve, even through pain and wrong-doing. This must be, yet when a species expands to soul-destroying activities – I call these children home.

Do not ignore the Divine Mothers! Come to Me with good heart, and you will discover My love. But you will return to the Mothers in any case! That is the Law of Nature – of your becoming.

Priest Alchemist: We give thanks to the Goddess Allat for Her Oracle.

Priestess Alchemist (to Aiden): You have heard the wisdom of Allat, the Goddess of Ancient Babylon. Are you willing to undergo the Initiation of Tammuz, lover of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Ishtar?

Aiden: Of all the ancient myths, that of Ishtar and Tammuz draws me most strongly.

Priestess Alchemist: So be it. (shows him a tarot card) Describe this Tarot card!

Aiden (examines the card): Ah! “La Force,” XI of the Marsaille deck. I don’t know any other pack that gets the picture correctly. This depicts an Enchantress who is not taming a lion – the lion is emerging from her own body! She is holding the lion’s head upwards, with its opened jaws. The Lion Power is thus arising through her body, and appears as five sun rays ascending from the crown of her head. Her hat is shown as two forces, in a figure of 8, one blue, one white. So the Western tradition also knows of the Kundalini force which they called “The Melusina Dragon.”

Priest Alchemist: I see you are ready for your ordeal! You may enter trance. We shall be with you psychically, but may not help you.

Trance Journey

Aiden: I climb up the hill to the Zodiac Temple – I almost run! I enter and honour the ever-living flame in the centre. As Elaine said, the Portal of Leo in the South-West is easily found. But I notice that the figure of Nefertiti is with Akhenaton. I pass through the doorway, wondering what I shall find.

What greets my eyes is a vast expanse of starry constellations. Indeed, these extend below my feet as I stand on a rock – I feel dizzy. I have never seen so much deep space. But I seek Ishtar. She I know is Lady of fifteen, of the eight-pointed star. Below me is the moon and her silvery feet are resting upon it. The whole Divine Figure begins to manifest in response to my prayer.

“Divine Ishtar,” I pray, “Who are surrounded by your starry girdle, the Milky Way, come to me! I adore you from far away. I would reach you and hold you. I see your form arising from the depths of the seas of space. Your breasts shine whitely as the stars of Gemini. Incomparably higher, sublime and pure, is the constellation of Virgo, guarded by the lion, Leo. A veil hides your face, but through it I see the white star, Spica, above your head. I must reach you – to have and to hold forever!

I am overcome by longing – so I throw myself upwards, so I may see your divine face – even if to raise your veil means my death!”

To my horror, this happens. I fall from the rock into an abyss which opens beneath me. I circle as I fall and what is most terrifying is that there seems no end to my fall – even a merciful death. I remember in some long distant past a prayer offered to the Lion Goddess Allat! “Allat! Save me!”

Talk of from the sublime to the ridiculous! I fall with a bump upon the earth floor of some sort of pub. Or may I dignify the place by calling it a tavern? Yes, this would do – because I am in the Middle East.

Then I really get a shock. There are bombs falling and people are huddled together here for shelter. It’s not a pub – it is some sort of café underground. The air is thick with smoke and a few families are living here. Then there is still further horror. There is a rumbling below us – an earth tremor. A hanging lamp is shaking to and fro.

I hear weeping, and a woman is huddled in a corner trying to stem the blood pouring from her forearm. At once I manage to treat her and say, “I am a doctor.” I don’t know why – but I want to explain why I began bandaging her arm. I am accepted in this capacity, for I must look a stranger.

Maybe it is the courageous playing of a flute by a boy seated on a bench by a fire, or the soft touch of the woman’s cascade of long black hair – but I feel strangely drawn to her. As she gazes into my eyes and thanks me – the miracle happens. I have sought love all my life but somehow it always dissolves. But this feeling is different. I know! I’m thinking about this woman and not me! And she is thinking of the people around us. Before she was wounded she was giving them small loaves of bread.

How amazing! Bombs are falling – the earth is shaking – I am stuck in an overcrowded refuge – and I am more happy now than I ever have been in my life before! The woman suddenly smiles – and though she is not conventionally beautiful – she is lovely. And she says: “I am happy.”

Then to my alarm I find I have forgotten my name, and where I come from. Why am I here? Premature dementia? Amnesia?

I ask the woman what is her name. She looks upset. “It must have been that bomb,” she says. “I can’t remember my name or where I am from. Perhaps I’m losing my mind.”

Then I take courage and say. “It doesn’t matter. I like that flute music. I’m Man of the Flute. And you were giving bread. You’re Woman who gives Bread!”

We hold hands and I say: “I like this place with no window and lots of people and danger. For me with you it’s heaven. And she says: “Strange! I also like it. It’s the best room in the world – even if we die here!”

Then there is a shattering explosion and part of the roof falls in. I clasp the woman in my arms. Suddenly light comes through the roof. An old woman towers over us and she raises us to our feet.

“Know Me as Allat,” she says, “Ruler of these realms. You both have found love within my earth as man and woman. Now Know yourselves and ascend to your starry spheres. You, My sister, are The Goddess Ishtar, of Virgo; you, my brother are Tammuz, Leader in Aries of the starry Zodiac. I have my starry mansion in Leo, the Lion. It is time for us to leave. My Blessing remains with these people. They shall attain heaven.”

We rise above the earth, beyond the sun and we reach the stars. And we bring with us the green earth in our hearts.

Aiden recovers slowly from trance and looks very happy. All agree that he has attained his degree - he has found love veiled within the earth. Reports are shared and rays of love for lonely people are sent forth. Thanks are given to the Deities.

Sources: “Babylonia Liturgies”edited by Maspero, Frazer, Hooke, Sandars. “The Story of Ishtar and Tammuz,” Colm O’Loughlan. Irish publication. Illustrated. “Babylonian Religion & Mythology” Budge. “Larousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology”, Moreaul & Cie. “The Goddesses of Chaldea, Syria & Egypt,” Durdin-Robertson, Clonegal Castle. “The Rite of Rebirth,” FOI Liturgy

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