Fellowship of Isis Liturgy
By
Olivia Robertson
Athena - Arcadian Awakening
Alchemical Rite
7. Eire: Living in a Virtual World
Part II: The Revelation: Tir Na Nog, Land of Youth
“Ecstasy Comes with Surrender of False Self.”
In The Hidden Shrine of the Tuatha de Danann
Elaine: “In this apartment in the Land of Destiny let us create a hidden shrine of the Tuatha De Danann who dwell in eternal realms, invisible to our mortal eyes.
Sacred Painted Tapestries are placed in the Four Quarters, and Incense and Candles are lighted. All are anointed by Elaine on the brow with water from the Sacred Well of the Goddess Brigid. Dana and the Morrigan are also invoked, with their sacred gods, Manannán mac Lir, Lugh of the Long White Arm of Light and The Dagda, Divine King of Eire.
Karen is told to lie on a couch before the Altar, eyes closed that she may see better. Under the direction of Deirdre, she enters light trance, which deepens as the session proceeds. Celtic harp music is played by Elaine.
Trance Journey
Aiden: “Karen Etain, you are now in the twilight zone between sleeping and waking. Only what you yourself hold to be true and good will be accepted by your soul. You feel the golden flow of Danaan light through every part of your body.”
Aiden passes his hands over Karen's body, until the Alchemists see a golden haze. Deirdre observes that Karen's soul is a few inches above her body. She is told to return to her body, so that she may speak in half trance.
Aiden: “Karen Etain, where do you find yourself?”
Karen: “I find I am lying on the cold granite capstone of a great dolmen. It gives cold power through my body. It is increasingly cold and I find I am sinking into darkness. It is not a friendly darkness. It is as unfeeling as stone. I hear a woman’s voice: “‘Karen Etain, I am your true mother. I have lent you for a while to mortals, that you may bring many to know their own lost divinity. You will not bring pleasing astral visions which have been the joy and sorrow of this land. You will bestow the Shield of Brigid, which reflects the Truth, and Her spear, which brings justice and compassion. In your land there are many who half dwell in our lovely Land of Tir Na nOg, Land of Youth, and gain little from their earthly experience. You will bring the spiritual sphere, which unites mind and heart, dreams and activity. But to do this you must choose to do this! For too long have you crushed your true self in the delusion that your being is true to yourself. You live a lie.”
I find myself saying: “What lie?”
She replies, and I know Her for the Morrigan: “You pretend that your aim in life is honesty. It is not. You are starved for love which you are ashamed to acknowledge.”
I answer: “Great Goddess, I feel the power of your mind that far exceeds any human mind that I have encountered. How can I find this aim, which is so deeply hidden that I cannot recognise it?” She replies: “Bright girl who loves clarity, you need to go to the Well at the World’s End, and within you will find your answer.”
“Ah,” I reply. I need to drink from its waters. “Not exactly,” replies the Goddess, and her voice becomes fainter. There is a whirling like countless snowflakes and I am caught in a gust of wind. I am rising from the dolmen and enter the rainbow beauty of a lovely landscape fairer than anything I have ever seen on earth. The colours from octaves of ascent intermingle with each other in ever-changing rainbows. The trees are singing with joy as they bear fruit and flowers at the same time, as her Time is everywhere, in a Celtic design on the woven cloth of space. The music comes from the colours and the colours from the music. Here are birds that are unafraid and perch upon my fingers and I feel the soft skin of a wolf who leans against me, to look with golden eyes into my own. There are people here, but no humans. They are either what some call extremely ugly or delightfully beautiful. They read my thoughts and I read theirs. And all say: “She is for the Well.”
Suddenly I am there, at the Well at the centre of the world, a hub around which all rotates. I find long grasses at the edge of the Well twine around my ankles – suddenly they trip me up and I fall into black depths….
I find I am falling through the centuries. I have glimpses of humans, and the human lives are as transient flitting shadows – here and then gone – but their buildings remain far longer, and some are noble and others pretentious. And I can choose to project into any scene I choose. But I remember my aim, to find my destiny.
I land with a vulgar human bump. I am at the bottom of the Well, which is muddy with sharp stones. I hear a hearty laugh! And then I see my first Faery! I am surprised that he is so tall. He answers my thoughts.
“Surely you remember? We ascend through the four elements. You chose air and fire and water – I have earth and water and fire – once we have our fifth element, ether, we are on a similar level as humans – but with more Spirit as we seldom descend into matter, except for earth Initiation, as you are doing now. It’s rough, isn’t it Etain? Ready to come home?
I have fallen down a well. And now I have fallen in love. He is the most gorgeous being I have ever seen. His long hair is like a raven’s wing. His eyes are deep and penetrating. But what makes him divine is his body. It is not composed of organic matter, but created of some form of metallic, bronze coloured energy. Every muscle shows. Also, what completes his splendour for me, he has long iridescent wings that reach from his head to his feet, as colourful as medieval stained glass. So that is where artists get for their inspiration from! In the dark ages they could see into another world.
He answers my thoughts. “True. But the present race of man cannot develop without mind. You tread on one foot, feelings, and the other, cleverness. But to fly you need wings – two of them for balance.”
“I feel that I have been summoned here for some purpose,” I say.
“True. Not one of us can incarnate upon earth without a task. One is to give, the other to receive. You told your earthly friends you are at the cross-roads. You need to make a choice. Will you stay here with me, Midir, leaving your earthly body, or will you return to earth and be a Doctor? There is a Doctor who would marry you if you are not adverse to the idea.”
I say: “A medical partnership? I feel I would not be happy here with you if I neglected my work. The colours would lose their lustre and the music cease. So with heavy heart I say farewell to you for this earthly life-time.”
As I begin to move away from the lovely Land of Youth, I hear the Voice of Midir: “Don’t be so sure of your Farewell. We always have some of our children on earth”
End of Trance
Karen very slowly returns from trance, slightly smiling. She just says "Thank you" to the Alchemists, and lets down her hair, which falls about her shoulders in two raven cascades. All give thanks on the banks of a stream and have a feast. They say in making their reports that they have felt a wonderful flow of rainbow light and heard the sound of a distant Irish harp.
Recommended Reading: “Verse Plays,” W.B. Yeats. “The Crock of Gold.” “The Demigods.” James Stephens. “Songs of Leinster.” Winifred Letts. “The Real Charlotte.” Somerville & Rosse. “Finegan’s Wake.” James Joyce. "The Lamp of Vision.” George Russell AE. “The Immortal Hour.” “The Divine Adventure.” “Studies in Spiritual History.” “Iona” Fiona MacLeod. "Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race.” Rollestone. "A Celtic Miscellany." Hurlston Jackson. “Celtic Wonder Tales,” illustrated by Maude Gonne. Ella Young.
Note: These Rites may be used for meetings of the Muses Symposium and the Arcadians.
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