Ishtar of the Starry Heavens
Shape-Shifting of the Alchemical Twins
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Prophecy of the Raven
Ritual No. 3
Thus Spake the Raven, “Nevermore.”
The Octagonal Temple of Alchemy
Priestess Alchemist: (To Twin Apprentices, Aiden and Elaine) To face the darkness with courage, you need to invoke the Morrigan.
Priest Alchemist: I invoke the Goddess Morrigan, Maiden of Death at the Ford; Mighty Queen with Her Consort The Dagda Mor; and the Macha Crow, Raven Prophet of things to come.
ORACLE OF THE GODDESS THE MORRIGAN
Oracle: I am She Who controls the tides of space, and I light the smallest atom and the mightiest star. I breathe to you in the breezes of spring, and make you drunk with ecstasy with the heady perfumes of summer. Yet I am She whom you face when the sharp bite of autumn reminds you that you are mortal, for I am the Black Goddess of Death.
None may escape my dark embrace, however manifold are their devices to escape Me. For am I not the Black Hole that irresistibly devours whole stars? If stars may not escape Me, how can you?
But understand My Mysteries. Without death there is no greater life. You can postpone the Great Awakening by hiding in a dream repetition of stories that you call lives. But these are only projections of the soul and become more and more worthless. Inevitably your pleasures pale, your habits stultify, and death comes to you by stealth.
Embrace My Mysteries with courage and you will find greater life in ever increasing spirals of Being. Past, present and future are one. What is the secret of eternal Life? It is simple. Live now. Now is forever.
Priestess Alchemist: Thanks is given to the Goddess Morrigan for her Oracle.
Priest Alchemist: (To Elaine) You face the ordeal of facing all that men most fear, death, darkness, the abyss. Yet you as woman contain these mysteries within yourself. For out of the dark womb comes new life, even from your own body.
Priest Alchemist: Your territory will be the mystic constellation of Corvus the Crow, known also to the Ancients as The Raven. We shall accompany you, but not help you, during your trance. As heretofore, you will report as far as you are able.
Trance Journey
Elaine: I don’t know anybody who can face death with serenity. Bravado, yes, but not with peace of mind. I make my way down the spiral pathway to the Temple of the Stars slowly, with trepidation. I love living – so I hate the thought of my life ever ending – I mean, this life. I enter the Temple and honour the ever-living flame in the centre. It seems rather dark. Among the twelve portals I find in the South, the Gateway of the Crow, Corvus. The other doorways are resplendent – but this is draped with black hangings, with only a narrow opening that leads to a Stygian blackness. Above the doorway is depicted a mighty Raven, its black wings outspread, with golden eyes – its death-dealing bill is pointed downwards as if to descend suddenly on a victim. It almost seems alive and is looking at me.
I hesitate – then take the plunge and pass through the doorway *** How amazing! I am in a very large and rather dark blue globe. I am wearing what seems like a very dark blue hooded jumpsuit – and my companions, I gather women, are dressed in the same way. Once more I am in the future the same future that I keep visiting. What we are discussing is the immanent impact of some meteor or comet. We are communicating telepathically, and I am therefore finding it hard to attune to my future self. The coming disaster will be brought about by the comet landing in water. I appear to be some sort of expert in marine matters – I realise I am in some future submarine. I give my opinion: “Perhaps the water will stop it.” Then I pause. “Not enough water.”
Now I project upon the surface of the planet. Although the people are technologically advanced, I am amazed that they are not able to discover the coming comet. It is masked in some way by some other body. As usual, I am invisible to the people here, but can converse with a dark-robed Priestess in a Temple upon the slopes of a mountain. I realise she has divine powers, given her by the Dark Goddess. I find I am so angry with her. I ask her telepathically: “You can stop this happening and save millions of lives. Why won’t you?”
She replies, and I feel it is the Goddess speaking through her: “I am not an executioner. It is the people here through greed and stupidity who themselves create disaster. They find their lives so boring and meaningless they choose a slow death rather than life. We only help those who deserve it.”
I am shown a scene of men and women too obese to move, while others starve. I see people indulging in useless pastimes and ignore the warnings given by those with true vision.
Now I am shown the spirits of these people who long for release from their earthly existence. They know that the drama is ending, for the score is to be settled for their guardianship of the planet. And I see hope in a group of small children who are playing some mysterious game on a broken pavement. And I know these will survive and inherit what is left to live upon. Suddenly one of the children, a ragged little boy, points to me. “Look,” he cries: “A raven is watching us! They can talk. I wonder what she’ll say!”
I make my call: “Evermore.” Even as I realise I am a raven – I am back as a human with you all!
End of Trance Journey
Elaine returns from trance and all agree that she has received the prophetic gift of the Macha. She attains her degree, culmination of her year’s work. Thanks are given to the Goddess Morrigan. Thoughts to stimulate awareness are sent forth to all.
End of Rite
Sources: “The Raven”, a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, first published in The New York Mirror, January, 1845, first published in book form as “The Complete Tales of Mystery and Imagination,The Raven and Other Poems“, Wiley and Putnam, New York, 1845, reprinted in many different volumes over the years. “Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race”, Thomas William Rolleston, George G. Harrup & Co., London, 2nd revised edition, 1916. “Lebor Gabala Erenn: The Book of the Taking of Ireland”, in five volumes, edited and translated with notes, by R. A. Stewart Macalister, D. Litt., published for the Irish Texts Society (Volumes 40 - 44) by the Educational Company of Ireland, Dublin,1956.
Note: Used in all rites of “Ishtar of the Starry Heavens, Shape-Shifting of the Alchemical Twins” - “Star Names, Their Lore and Meaning” by Richard Hinckley Allen, first published G. S. Stechert, 1899, republished by Dover Publications, New York, 1963. The Mr. Jorkens series by Lord Dunsany (“The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens,” (1931), “Mr. Jorkens Remembers Africa,” (1934), “Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey,” (1940), “The Fourth Book of Jorkens,” (1947), “Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey,” (1954), “The Last Book of Jorkens,” prepared for publication in 1957, finally published in 2002)
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