Dea, Rites and Mysteries of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
The Mystery of the Spheres
Ritual no. 9
ORACLE OF THE GODDESS NUIT
Invocation: Mother of the Gods the Great Deep the celestial Abyss, Nuit, protect us as we face the Mysteries. Aid us who dread the Unknown: wrap Thy starry mantle about us, Thou who archeth the heavens with Thy body that holds the Milky Way as Thy veil. As Thou art great, pity our littleness: as Thou art mighty, strengthen the weak: as Thou holdest all time and space in Thy darkness, bring our souls into their true fruition of Eternity.
Oracle of the goddess Nuit
through her priestess
Fear not the unknown: for I am the Unknown. From Me riseth suns and their children the planets: and when suns reach their appointed time, I take them to Me in My dark embrace: for I am both Birth and Death. And the sun that loses its brightness in My Abyss, returns to greater life in other spheres: for I am Mistress of the Spheres. I am the space within each atom: from its heart I give birth to new galaxies. I take to Myself that which is to be transformed into greater life.
So is it with yourselves. I need each sun, each tree, each one of you: for without the least of you My starry body is incomplete. I know you. Learn to know Me.
When you honour Me as the Earth Mother, you face My Abyss with the confidence of children turning to their Mother, source of all good. As you grow in activity and thought, I put you from Me. I withdraw from you, first aiding your steps: then, I leave go of your arms, and you walk alone. You walk in pride of your new found skills and conquests, and you forget me. And this is my will. You walk into the light of day. You turn to the Father. From Him you learn laws and how to enforce them.
When you reach the end of your schooling and turn from the Father, you turn to Isis. She lures you with strange enchantments to the magical Sphere of the Moon. And Queen Persephone draws you to the World of the Shades and teaches you mysterious arts. The shining Sun Goddess Grainne brings you a longing for the Divine Marriage of twin souls indeathless Love.
Yet when darkness falls and cold winter comes, you face the grim twin pylons that guard My Abyss. And you know that I long for you, as you long for Me. In My azure arms I hold the Mysteries. In My sleep of death is your awakening. Come to Me!
Mystery of the Spheres
On the altar in the west let there be placed a cup, silver wand and two candles. Nearby let there be a crown of red flowers and a rod with three golden spheres or bells hanging from it, or a sistrum. The Priestess wears a black cloak with two silver bands. The Neophyte has his head and face covered with a white linen cloth and holds a branch, preferably of mistletoe. Participants hold unlighted candles. The Priestess makes the sign of the Ankh, south.
Priestess: (makes the sign of the ankh, south) I invoke the Goddess Isis, daughter of Nuit, Queen of Heaven.
Priest: (makes the sign of the Hyperboreans, the circled equal-armed cross, west) I invoke the Goddess Frigga, Queen of the Hyperboreans.
Priest: (makes the sign of the Greek Key, "Omega", north) I invoke the Goddess Persephone, Queen of Hades.
Priest: The dark moons of winter bring initiation to the soul who would penetrate the Abyss, and so learn the occult knowledge of the Tree of Life which bears the Spheres as its fruit. Know that the Comte de Saint Germain faced the Initiation of Demophoon, through the two Goddesses Demeter and Persephone. He found himself at the edge of the crater of Vesuvius, doorway to the Underworld, Hades, ruled by Queen Persephone.
Neophyte steps forward.
Neophyte: "It was night. The moon, veiled by dark clouds, cast but an uncertain light on the crags of lava. My head covered with the linen veil, holding in my hands the Golden Bough, I advanced without fear towards the spot where I had been ordered to spend the night. Lightning flashed through the night and gave to the flames of the volcano a blood like appearance. I placed the mysterious bough on the altar. (Neophyte places bough on altar.) "I pronounced the formidable words. Instantly the earth trembled under my feet, thunder crashed. The hallowed bough was ablaze."
Priest lights a candle.
Neophyte: "Wrapped in darkness I descended into an abyss. I found myself in a square chamber, in the middle of which shone a Crystal Star. On the North side was a painting representing a woman. She was naked to the waist. Black drapery fell over her knees and two silver bands adorned her garment. On the altar lay a cup and a lance-head. In her hand was a rod which she placed against the forehead of a man facing her."
Neophyte goes on one knee, north. Priestess removes his veil with one finger and touches his forehead. Candidate rises. Priestess gives him a drink of water from the cup.
Priest: The Candidate has received the Initiation from the Goddess Persephone in the Underworld. So can he see and acknowledge the hidden wisdom of the Depths. His heart is awakened so Truth is combined with Love in Harmony.
Priestess: Nonetheless it is necessary that the Initiate must return by the way he has come, and so experience the music of the spheres beyond. He now finds himself within the crystal he had first seen in the centre of the square chamber.
Candidate: "The hall into which I had just entered was perfectly round. It resembled the interior of a globe composed of hard and transparent matter, as crystal, so that the light entered from all sides, my robe had changed its colour. It had been green when I entered the hall but now changed to a brilliant red. I remained three days in the hall. After that time I entered a large place surrounded by colonnades. In the centre stood a bronze pedestal supporting a group representing a warrior whose majestic head was covered with a crowned helmet. A blue garment showed beneath meshes of golden armour. In one hand he held a white staff bearing certain characters, the other he extended towards a beautiful woman. His companion wore no garment but a sun radiated from her breast. Her right hand held three globes joined by golden rings; a coronet of red flowers confined her beautiful hair."
Priestess removes her cloak and places on her head the crown of red flowers. She takes the rod with golden spheres.
Priestess: "She sprang into the air and lifted with her the warrior; both were borne up by the clouds above them. On the capitals of four white marble columns were set four bronze statues; they had wings, and sounded trumpets."
Neophyte picks up white wand and touches gold spheres on the Priestess's rod.
Neophyte: "I touched a golden sun, which turned to dust. Then each molecule become a golden sun similar to the Original Sun. At that instant a loud and melodious voice exclaimed: "The work is perfect."
Priestess: So may it be within us all.
Priest lights candle and hands it to Neophyte. Each Participant lights a candle from this flame. As this is done, these star names and others may be spoken aloud for each flame: Polaris: Aldebaran: Capella: Betegeuse: Spica: Regulus: Vega: Altair: Castor: Pollux: Deneb: Sirius.
Priest: Let us meditate on the Mystery of the Spheres.
Meditation
Priest: May we send forth good to all beings and all existences. We say the names for those for whom we pray and link them with the Star Name.
Priestess: We give thanks to Isis, to Frigga: and to Persephone for their Blessing through the Mystery of the Spheres.
Source: "The Most Holy Trinosophia", St. Germain, edited by Manley P. Hall, The Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, 1962.
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