Dea, Rites and Mysteries of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Dawn: Rite of Abundance
Ritual no. 2
ORACLE OF THE GODDESS AMA-TERASU-O-MI-KAMI
Invocation: When I look on the august sky, whence there standeth forth, its manifold fence of clouds which conceal Her, the Great Sovereign who rules us tranquilly, for myriads of ages; say we, may it ever be thus thousands of ages too, may it ever be thus. With deep reverence we serve Her; with profound obedience we would serve Her. Great Goddess of the Sun, bestow upon Your devotees Your grace as You rise, and give us Your bounty throughout the cycles of days and lives.
Oracle of the Sun goddess Ama-Terasu-O-Mi-Kami
through her Priestess
"You gaze upon My golden orb and wonder:
You bow before My glory and feel as nought:
You see Me in the heavens and never find Me:
The heaven you seek is deep beneath your feet.
With glorious deeds you honour Me:
You make wings and fly towards Me:
You offer Me your soul:
Yet am I within your heart.
The earth conceals My splendour:
In its blackness is My bounty:
Within smallness is My greatness,
Within its creatures glows My spark.
The earth is sun in making:
Wings hide in chrysalis:
The void of space My robe is.
Who am I? I am Love."
On the altar let there be a small stone, a vessel of grains, a cup of water, incense and oil. Let there be a plant of flowers.
Devotee: Blessed art thou, O Ama-Terasu, thou who didst make the millet, wheat, and the beans, the seed for the dry fields, and the rice Thou hast made for the water-fields. Thou didst appoint the Harvest God who forthwith sowed for the first time the rice seed in the narrow field and in the long fields of Heaven. That autumn, dropping ears bent down, eight span long, and were exceedingly pleasant to look on. Great Goddess of the Sun, bestow on us fertility, peace and abundance, and all joys of earth. Share with us Thy eternal happiness, Thy bright laughter this dawn, that our day may be radiant with Thy grace.
Invocation to Ushas, Goddess of the Dawn
Devotee offers grains to the Goddess.
Devotee: "Let hymns rise up, let prayers rise up together,
The fires have risen, clad in flaring splendour,
The brilliant Dawn displays the lovely treasures,
Which had been hidden by the night and darkness.
Come to us, Ushas of the Golden Dawn."
Devotee offers incense.
Devotee: "Fair as a Bride, adorned by loving mother,
Thou showest forth Thy form that we may see it,
Auspicious Dawn, shine forth more wide and brightly,
No other Dawn hath ever reached Thy splendour.
Shine Thou upon us, Dawn, Thou swift to listen.
May we and all our liberal comrades prosper."
Devotee offers plant or flowers to the Goddess.
Devotee: Greetings to You, Goddess Grainne, Sun of the seasons, as You travel the skies on high, with Your strong steps on the wing of the heights; You are the happy mother of the stars. You sink down in the perilous ocean without harm and without hurt, You rise up on the quiet wave like a young queen in flower. We rejoice at Your rising in the sky of mornings.
Devotee rings bell and is silent receiving communion with the Goddess. At the end of the meditation devotee rings bell twice and drinks water.
Devotee: I accept water from the Goddess that I may share Her happiness this day.
Devotee places hands on altar stone: I accept the gifts of earth from the Goddess through this stone, that I may be blessed with the treasures of the earth.
Devotee holds out hands: May all beings and all existences be blessed with Happiness and with Abundance, today and for ever more.
Thanksgiving: Thanks is given to Ama-Terasu-No-Oho-Kami for the Sun. Thanks is given to Ushas for the Dawn. We on earth praise the Mother.
"The earth receiving the moist drops of rain,
Bears mortals,
Bears food, and the tribes of animals.
Hence She is not unjustly regarded,
As the Mother of all.
In Her are we Blessed."
Sources: "Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697", translated by W. G. (William George) Aston, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1956. Vedic Hymn from "The Goddesses of India, Tibet, China and Japan", Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, Cesara Publications, Clonegal Castle, Ireland, 1976. “Scottish Gaelic Folk Prayer” and “11th Century Poem”, anonymous Irish author, “A Celtic Miscellany", Kenneth Hurlstone Jackson, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1967. Verse fragment, Euripides, Ambroise Firmin-Didot, Paris, 1875.
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