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Part III. Cycles of Our Years
I. Derceto of Syria. The Hydrophoria. Waters of Inspiration.
II. Pallas Athena of Greece. The Athenaea. Wisdom from Experience.
III. Mahadevi of India. Wesak. Spiritual Illumination.
IV. Astarte of Syria. The Cone of Astarte. The Reception of Divine Power.
V. Muth of Egypt. Opet. The Sacred Marriage.
VI. The Kore of Greece. The Eleusinian Mysteries. Vision of the Shining One.
VII. Brighid of Eire. Samhain. Communion of Spirits. Initiation.
VIII. Frigga of the Norse-lands. We Enjoy the Fruit of the Tree of Life.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
I. THE GODDESS DERCETO OF SYRIA
The Hydrophoria. 1st - 2nd February. Waters of Inspiration
Priestess: (Invocation) Most beautiful Goddess Derceto, Queen of the Oceans, Whose fish’s tail hath the stars of our galaxy for Its shining scales, come to us with Thy gifts of prophecy and love, vision and ecstasy.
Oracle: From the rushing waters of tempests, and through the still calms of tranquil seas come My gifts. For there is no joy without happy emotion, no vision and no heaven without love. The love I bring is the union of twin souls, for water joins with water in perfect harmony. Every soul thirsts for love. This secret longing is cunningly concealed under long words and the maze-like ploys of the intellect. It is masked by obsession for power and riches. Yet though great nations and empires pass, and worldly treasure is lost in the transient tides of life and death, there is no death for those who love. Oblivion comes when the soul is dried up with material cares. It can only be revived through love.
The love I bring is deep and true and is not the pretense of a premeditated emotion. It springs as easily in a deer seeking a mate, in a seal feeding her young, as it does in two human lovers finding ecstasy in union. The God Dagon hath His sea-tail coiled through the depths of the ocean as Mine coileth about the Milky Way. Yet are We both in union. All goodness comes from harmony, and a joyful chorus of peace springs from love. Music is the utterance of the heart and colour is its aura. The greatest gift of the Goddess is love for another, and this love overwhelms the isolation of the separate self. In like manner when the soul returns to the everlasting Mother, it is as a river that finds its goal in the all embracing sea. For the Father orders and rules justly: it is the Mother to whom the soul turns for comfort. When all worldly ambitions fail, when striving for success falters, then the eternal bliss of true fulfillment is found in My starry arms. There you will enjoy content in your eternal haven. For when a soul hath bravely overcome the storms of unruly emotions, My sign, the rainbow of harmony, joins earth with heaven, and My love brings the olive branch of peace.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
II. THE GODDESS PALLAS ATHENA
OF GREECE
The Athenaea. 21st - 24th March. Wisdom from Experience
Priestess: (Invocation) Pallas Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, come to me now that I may be inspired by Thy Divine Spirit! Endow us with Thy Wisdom and Thy Might that Thy ancient glories may once more shine before the world!
Oracle: It has been written that the Iron Age should prevail o'er the earth bringing with it suffering, toil and evil, through neglect of the Deities. Its darkness is not the holy night of the Owl of Wisdom, but the limitation of ignorance. Its light is the transient glow, that comes from superficial knowledge gained from curious probing rather than the spiritual illumination that emanates from the Deities. It was not necessary for the world of men to choose the Age of Iron; but Destiny that the choice be offered. For what goodness is there in worshipping the Gods and Goddesses when They reveal Themselves easily to all? It is simple to satisfy curiosity, but the labour of years of experience to gain wisdom! Sentiment is pleasant but passing: the warmth of love is ever-renewing.
Understand the meaning of what I am, and you will gain comprehension of your own lives and destiny. I am not divided against Myself. Bright Pallas with her Spear of Light does not war with the Dark Owl of Night. Nor do the terrible flames of the Inner Sun that are Veiled upon My shield attack Athena, the Teacher of philosophy and the arts. I am Holy. Be Ye Holy. Be at peace within yourselves and cease from your philosophical warring! In verity the catastrophes of the Iron Age are due to deep division between mortals and the Deities: between mankind and nature: and between differing ideas which are but the quivering reflections of absolute truth.
The veil upon My Shield is beginning to wear thin, and the glory of the Rays of Medusa become apparent to earthly gaze! The inner power of the atom has been violently exposed, and reduces the physical body to the shadow which in verity it is. My Spear of Light brings Divine Inspiration to the mind, while My owl carries messages of warning from the dark Rulers of the universe, which will be known to be what it is: whole and perfect. On your troubled earth mortals struggle and learn through harsh experience to put on Immortality: which in truth is latent in each creature. A bird knows more of Elysium than doth mankind! Do not reject any aspect of the universe, but recognise it as part of a glorious pleroma in which even suffering and evil are transformed through wisdom into good. Listen for My Voice. I speak in the silence.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
III. THE GODDESS MAHADEVI OF INDIA
1st - 2nd May. Wesak. Spiritual Illumination
Priestess: (Invocation) O Great Goddess, Mother of the Trimurti, the Holy Trinity, soul of every being, how can we extol Thee? By Thee even Mahadeva, the Almighty God is put into trance that He may make worlds. Thou art Maha-Sarasvati, Maha-Lakshmi, Maha-Parvati. Triple Goddess, guide us on our path to Enlightenment that we may awaken into eternal bliss.
Oracle: Look within your Self and you will find the Light of Truth, Buddhi, the Jewel within the Heart of the Lotus. Invisible it is and yet shineth in every creature. It is the dewdrop hanging from a blade of grass: it sparkles in the eyes of eagles and fast-flying swallows: it flows in rushing rivers and rests in rocky snow-capped mountains. The bliss of Nirvana is not in the past nor the future: so no vain regrets nor ambitious struggles in religious practices will bring it to you. No strivings for the reputation of saintliness can ensure your awareness. Rather it is in the moment that Eternity rests, awaiting you in a smile, sudden laughter, tears of compassion. If you could experience one second of enlightenment, it would be yours for ever! Time slips by like a passing landscape to the traveller, who appears to journey with it. But in reality the true Self is at rest at the hub of the turning wheel of life. Place yourself at the centre of this hub in total awareness, and you will be in a position of strength to control each of your lives as they revolve in cyclic reincarnations.
True knowledge brings good feeling, thought and activity. Control is essential. Yet how can you control yourself in alignment with your true Self, if you are swayed by passing passions? Free Will is to be earned not by extreme asceticism nor by selfish indulgence. It is attained by continual exercise of conscious choice between good and wrong behaviour. As you develop, you will observe that the choices both become more difficult and more subtle. Rejoice then, for you draw nearer to Self-realisation! if you could live for one minute in a truthful, compassionate manner, you would transform your day and your year and your life! Do not strive for too much: otherwise you will reach for the stars and fall upon your face! Rather combine spiritual practices with an enjoyment of Mother Earth. It is pious to memorise the myriad Names and Attributes of the Gods and Goddesses: it is also good to remember the names of your neighbours and their children, and to respect the attributes of animals, birds and plants! As I am the Universal Mother, these are your brothers and sisters and children. The mind conveys knowledge: intuition and conscience combined with experience produces wisdom.
I am without: I am within: I am the Lover and the Beloved: I am the Knower and the Known: I am the Harmony that reconcileth all things. Know Me.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
IV. THE GODDESS ASTARTE OF SYRIA
Astarte and Adonis Festival. 21st - 24th June.
The Cone of Astarte. The Reception of Divine Power
Priestess: (Invocation) Divine Astarte, Queen of Heaven, Virgin of the Sea, we invoke Thee! Thou Who art Venus Urania, Goddess of Fertility and Love, replenish our hungry earth. Bring us hidden knowledge for our use from past aeons, Who art Mother of the Titans.
Oracle: Restlessly you look backwards and forwards in time and outwards to the stars for a world of power and love, whereas it is all around you now! The lost Paradise is as near as head and heart and is enjoyed by children and simple people living in woods and wild pastures. The gifts of the Tree of life shine within the earth and within each creature. Yet you have lost the Power to use them. For experiment as you will with the forces known to your five senses, the greater part of the physical world, the Etheric Plane, is lost to you! Yet it is from there that all health and energy come. Etheric Power comes from greater planes to animate the earth and your own bodies, through the Power Centres within the earth and yourselves. In Paradise the felled forest still stands and the parched river beds flow with life bringing waters. Nature Spirits enjoy the lovely land of Ether which is visited by beings from beyond the sun and by the Adepti.
You can have little real effect on earth through dreaming in the astral realm of gentle love and beauty, until you can understand and experience the etheric part of the physical plane. It is from thence that Apparitions of the Goddess manifest to Saints and the Gods show themselves to Hermits. From that plane miracles are mightily manifested through the Life Force which animates all existences on earth. Yet this very part of the physical world may be a place of fear to you when your souls leave your bodies on death. Not understanding its true nature, the etheric realm may become a limbo for earthbound spirits. However, know that any evil force in this realm is very Transient because it cannot subsist there on its own, but has to draw its existence from plasm produced by unpleasant emotions. But force for good can exist there because it draws its Power from Spheres of Light and Power.
Every day a dawn and dusk each of you should become aware of your own etheric Body of light, with its many-coloured centres and flowing lines of life force. Pray to Me to help you, for I am Mistress both of the rising Earth Force and of the descending Light emanating from greater planes. When these two forces meet within yourself, Love and Truth are one in Harmony and you will attain Illumination. Even in your first attempts you should gain health and happiness, understanding and a kindly love for all. As you progress you will become a beacon Light for all who accept your rays of goodness.
Each woman can be her own original manifestation of the Goddess: and every man individually should show forth the God. But first you must surrender selfishness and arrogance. Be receptive with humility to the Deities, and then you yourselves can give forth the Light.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
V. THE GODDESS MUTH OF EGYPT
Opet. 23rd - 3rd August. The Sacred Marriage
Priestess: (Invocation) Divine Muth, Mother of all beings, come to our hearts! Inspire us with wisdom and compassion, so that at the last we may dwell in Thy everlasting habitations overshadowed by Thy Wings.
Oracle: In verity the two lands of earth and after-life are one. They are only separated by the blindness of the ignorant. Day and Night are One. Sun and Moon are One, Man and Woman are One. The inner sun which shineth within the depths of the earth is One with the Sun in Heaven. Every heart is united with all hearts through the spheres with the warmth of Love, Yet every being and atom calleth to the others through unique quality that is its essence.
But discord destroys peace and joy through this very Love, when it becomes distorted into obsessive passion. It strikes through narrow devotion to family and nation, but it is at its most evil when it consumes the soul with religious fanaticism. Devotees so deluded will torture and kill those who will not accept the object of their worship.
My children of ancient Egypt saw Deity in the Many. They recognised innate divinity in cats and dogs and hippopotami, through beetles and crocodiles and rivers. As the intellect brought separation of man and nature, men found the Path of the One Light: they acknowledged the Many as emanating from the One. This satisfied mind and heart. Both ways of approaching reality have brought many to everlasting joy. Yet both have caused great evil, through abuse by overemphasis. Those who worshipped the Many in a mindless way degenerated. They became dissipated and lost strength of directed mind and purpose. After them came the followers of the One, whether the One God or Mind: these through unbalanced ideals killed millions of their fellows in the name of love and justice.
The Deities always provide an antidote to poison. And the antidote to obsessive devotion, whether to a person or to a country, to a religion or to an ideal, is to face the truth. This is not easy. If facts contradict long-held feelings and opinions, a man would rather die than accept them. Such people regard Truth as ugly and shun it. They are terrified of the unknown. For them the Goddess is shrouded in black night. Yet if they had the courage to unveil Her, they would see the beautiful countenance of Truth. Instead they pursue Love, thrusting aside all that stands in their way. Inevitably they are consumed by violence and insanity. Love must be approached with humility.
Let Love and Truth be brought into that Sacred Marriage which bringeth forth harmony.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
VI. THE GODDESS KORE OF GREECE
The Eleusinian Mysteries. 22nd September - 1st October
Vision of the Shining One
Priestess: (Invocation) Holy and most pure Kore, embodiment of Truth and Justice, Compassion and Joy, bring to us Thy gifts of Love and Wisdom.
Oracle: Behold, rivers spring from the dark earth and flow into the sea, and the sun draws them into the sky as clouds; from hence they fall as rain and form new streams. In like manner do I manifest, in changing form appearing, but ever the same. Whenever evil predominates over good, I come among you, that free choice may be restored. During the age that is now departing, I taught withdrawal into monastery and nunnery, that the virtues of faith, chastity and humility should prevail with men drunk with violence and cruel tyranny. Enclosed within walls, penitents attempted to submit their obsessive passions to a spiritual goal. When many failed, religious persecution stained the age of faith, and women drew veils about themselves to protect their growing souls. From many men and women there came a spiritual harvest of lovely saints who grew as water-lilies in still lakes.
Now a new era is dawning and the humble must learn to rule, the gentle to defend the weak; women should stand forth and enact the Mother's Will. Lo, I am come! Hear My call. Defend our children, the animals. Protect our woods and waters. This lovely earth was entrusted to the human race to help all its creatures and plants in the evolution of life through its myriad forms. Instead, ignoring the Goddess of Nature, you have become tyrants over Her realm, destroying those you should care for. You are laying waste Her sacred earth. I am Her Daughter, My Mother and I are One. Some of you hear My voice in the silence. Many see My face. From Me you learn ideals that shall come to pass. You learn that you are kin with every being on this planet; for though you prevail with intellect and dexterity, every creature and thing has its individual spirit in the Divine World. And I am Sister to all.
So bring the eternal Sphere of reality into manifestation into this shadow world which reflects it. For alas, the image has become distorted. Unity of Heaven and Earth is attained not through duality, through opposing forces, but through wholeness. The Ideal expresses itself through Nature as we love, each and all and honour Truth.
Do not forget happiness and laughter, and even kindly tears! These show forth My Presence. I rejoice with children and young animals and birds. I am with you in music and poetry and the dance. Birdsong is Mine and the gentle falling of rain is My transparent veil. Look also above at the stars, for from thence I come in fullness.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
VII. THE GODDESS BRIGHID OF EIRE
Communion with the World of Spirits. Initiation.
Samhain. 31st October - 2nd November
Priestess: (Invocation) Triple Goddess Brighid, Maiden Bride, Great Queen, Enchantress, we would awaken our souls to commune with the World of Spirits. For we know that inevitably we journey to that land where dwell those who have passed though the Veil to the Great Unknown. Draw us to Thy Haven of everlasting joy and goodness.
Oracle: The division between these two worlds is only in your mind. In verity you travel to other spheres while your body sleeps. It is only at dawn and at twilight, at Beltaine and Samhain, that the veil is drawn aside for those who seek greater consciousness. All spheres form part of one mighty spiral of Time travelling through Space. Consciousness expands with size. The Magi learn the art of ascending and descending the spiral not by a journey round the sun through repeated rebirth, but through entering the very hub of the Cosmic Spirit. There, centered in all-pervading Deity, they may experience all spheres at will.
It is I Who bestow on newly arrived souls the waters of baptism which bring Vision and inspiration. It is My fiery Wheel that enflames creative artists, all those who would transform this world for greater good. And at last with a touch of my serpent wand I draw the soul away from material existence through the Dolmen Gateway to the world beyond the grave.
The Magi of the College of Wisdom, which exists in all lands, learn to transmute their outer selves, in changing form appearing. Thus they can adapt to many spheres of being, and so gain experience from past cycles of time, and learn also from knowledge of the future. Through metamorphosis they relive their evolutionary journey through amoeba, fish, reptile, animal, human, and know themselves as the Winged Sidhe. The good they make part of themselves: the evil they reject. By union with their true Selves such pilgrim souls touch Divine Essence. From henceforth the Gods and Goddesses may manifest through them, individually, originally, so no personality is lost.
At the Beginning of any work, the Magi face the Deity with adoration. But to accomplish the task they must turn their back on the Divinity, Who then enlightens them from behind through spiritual inflow. Hence great works are accomplished. But when these are well done, the Magi turn again to the Deity, giving thanks, and return Crown and Wand to She who gave them. So shall the Swan Children return with humility to daily existence, knowing that at dawn and dusk, spring and autumn, they may draw the earth and the World of Spirits into harmony.
Sybil, Oracles of the Goddess
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy by Olivia Robertson
Part III. Cycles of the Year
VIII. THE GODDESS FRIGGA OF
THE NORSE-LANDS
Winter Solstice. 21st December - 6th January
We Enjoy the Fruit of the Tree of Life
Priestess: (Invocation) Holy Frigga, Mother Goddess, Whose Consort is the God Odin, we invoke Thy Blessing on Your poor Earth that we may redeem Her from all the ills we have inflicted upon Her in this cruel iron age.
Oracle: Be of good heart! An Age of Starry Space has dawned, as was foretold by the Seers of old. As you imagine, so it is. When you fear Ragnarok, the general destruction of Gods and men - lo it is there, not for the Deities who live forever, but with your earthly lives. You have as yet no idea of the power of your imaginations! To imagine is to co-create with the Deities. It is through the Divine Imagination that the galaxies were formed in a swirling of light, and the stars sang and the planets turned about them, for this was the imagining of the mighty Star Deities.
It is My Will that My children should create. Artists produce works that show forth the beauty that is inherent in all things, and philosophers through mind make logical systems of thought. Master Builders produce civilizations, and religious teachers give devotees noble religions.
But the greatest of all creations and the most despised, is the Family. Mention the family, and the intelligent, the creative, the spiritual, are bored! They feel the Mother was the restriction which they endured in the womb, from which they were glad to escape into the bright light of incarnation! The Wife suggests the binding responsibilities of home and children that distract the pilgrim on his quest for eternity. Indeed, in the day of the Patriarch it was often the practice of seekers for truth to abandon their homes and go forth into the wilderness, there to seek enlightenment, During the Iron Age the way of the monk and the nun, the scholar and the scientist, was regarded as the highest and best path to Heaven. Heaven was the mind, the spirit, the alienation from both earth and the family.
But now the time has come, when austere studentship has been achieved, for humanity to discover the Divine Family. Each of us has a Divine Family, whether they are My Families, the Aesir and the Vanir, the Family of the Olympian Gods and Goddesses, the Families of Parvati and Lakshmi of India, or your own true peers. Families do not mean separation, for all beings are akin: by venerating your own mother, you honour all mothers: by loving your wives and husbands, you respect all lovers. Care for your own children, and you care for the offspring of every creature throughout the Universe.
Your Spiritual Family will be discovered by you as you tread the Path of the Wise Ones. Drink deep from the Well of Wisdom, but do not ignore the humble, but rather respect the love within them. Therefore, be particularly careful when you do find your Spiritual Family that you give even more love and understanding to your earthly relations and friends! Otherwise you will lose the rainbow bridge with your Spiritual Family, and alienate your earthly friends. The Tree of Life shines through every Being and creature. It shines through Rainbow Bridges of flowing energy, bringing in accord the Almighty Deities and the humblest child and horse and bird and plant. Your pilgrimage will bring you at long last in a spiral from earthly home to Divine Haven. Both are One.
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