Lesson four: More Beliefs
Merry Meet. In this Lesson we will talk more about the basic of Witchcraft beliefs. One basic belief is the 13 goals of a Witch. Now I understand some Witches don’t follow this, but for new Witches, it can be a good tool to use to guide yourself thru your path.
Thirteen Goals of a Witch
I Know yourself
II Know your craft
III Learn
IV Apply knowledge with wisdom
V Achieve balance
VI Keep you words in order
VII Keep your thoughts in order
VIII Celebrate life
IX Attune with the cycles of the Earth
X Breath and eat correctly
XI Exercise the body
XII Meditate
XIII Honor Goddess and God
Now some of these, like I said don’t apply to some Witches. For example, the Witches who just practice the Craft for Magick, and not religion, they would not set a goal to honor the God, and Goddess. XI Exercise the body, now some Witches, have disabilities, and can’t do some exercise, so for some, they have to watch this one. X Breath and eat correctly. Different Witches will act differently for this one. I love food!! It’s all the same to me. If it tastes good, it’s good for me! See what I mean!! And also some people have breathing problems, so we have to be careful about that one. I have Asthma, and wow! But the others are good for all Witches.
Ok, now we move onto our relationship with the Lord, and Lady. The first thing I want to do is tell you that we do not worship the Lord, and Lady. We do not bow down to them, and beg for there forgiveness because we are sick, and unholy. They are loving, and kind, and want our love, and company, as much as we want theirs. What we Witches do, is honor them. We show respect for them. As they in return show respect for us. And us, they honor us in return too. We don’t have to see them as these big giant beings that watch us from the skies.
Are more then just the two? Well yes, and no. They are known by many names. Many, many names. The concept, of they are all one, but different, applies here. Each name is different. A different role of the Goddesses, and God, but yet they are all one. I will cover this in lesson five, when I talk about the God.
Let’s go over some names of the Goddess. We will cover the God, in the next lesson. The reason for this there are many works on both of them that I wish to talk about.
One Goddess I want to bring special attention to is Aradia. She is a Goddess known the Queen of the Witches. She is the daughter of Diana, and Lucifer. (Not the christian’s Lucifer, but the real one.) She was born of the Mother of the Witches. (Diana.) She was taut Witchcraft, and sent down to earth, to teach it to the poor, and slaves, and etc. I will now give you a list of the most popular Goddesses
Agriculture: Gefion (Norse), Pamona (Roman)
Air, Sky & Wind: Aurora & Eos (Greek)
Arts: Arachne (Roman), Gratiae (Roman)
Birth: Anukis (Egyptian), Bes (Egyptian), Carmentes (Roman), Deverra
(Roman), Eileithyia (Greek), Lucina (Roman), Taweret (Egyptian)
Creator: Iusaas (Egyptian), Nu Kua (Chinese), Nut (Egyptian)
Dead & Underworld: Ammut (Egyptian), Arianrhod (Celtic), Hel (Norse), Morta (Roman), Styx (Greek)
Earth: Iord (Norse), Maia (Greek)
Fate: Ananke (Greek), The Fates-Atropos, Lachesis & Klotho (Greek), The Norns (Norse), Parcae (Greek)
Fertility: Abundantia (Roman), Amaunet (Egyptian), Demeter (Greek), Divona (Celtic), Egeria (Roman), Freyja (Norse), Ma (Cappadocian), Macha (Celtic), Rhiannon (Celtic)
FIRE: Brigid (Celtic), Vesta (Romon)
Guardian & Protection: Clementia (Roman), The Disir (Norse), Securita (Roman), Wosret (Egyptian)
Guardians of Children: Cunina (Roman), Edusa (Roman), Volumna (Roman)
Hag or Crone: Cerridwen (Celtic), Hulda (Norse)
Harvest: Kore (Greek), Ops (Greek), Sif (Norse)
Healing & Medicine: Meditrina (Roman)
Hearth & Home: Hestia (Greek), Lares (Roman), Vesta (Roman)
Horse: Epona (Celtic), Rhiannon (Celtic)
Hunting: Artemis (Greek), Diana (Roman)
Immortality: Idhunn (Norse)
Justice & Law: Dike (Greek), Nekmet Awai (Egyptian), Nemesis (Greek), Themis (Greek)
Knowledge & Wisdom: Athena (Greek), Cerridwen (Celtic), Metis (Greek)
Lightning & Thunder: Tien Mu (Chinese)
Love: Aphrodite (Greek), Hathor (Egyptian), Siofna (Norse), Venus (Roman)
Luck & Fortune: Ekajata (Buddhist), Fortuna (Roman), Magha (Hindu), Tyche (Greek)
Magick: Gullveig (Norse), The Pancaraksa (Buddhist)
Maidens: Artemis (Greek), Gefion (Norse), Persephone (Greek), Pudicita (Roman)
Marriage: Hera (Greek), Juno (Roman)
Messenger: Iris (Greek/Roman)
Moon: Anna (Norse), Caelestis (Carthaginian), Diana (Roman), Hekate (Greek), Luna (Roman), Mani (Norse), Selene (Greek)
Mothers & Motherhood: Ceres (Roman), Dictynna (Cretan), Don (Celtic), Frigga (Norse), Gaia (Greek), Isis (Egypt), Leto (Greek), Maeve (Celtic), Meter (Greek), Semele (Greek)
Night: Nott (Norse), Nyx (Greek)
Order: Eunomia (Greek), Maat (Egyptian)
Poetry, Speech & Writing: Brigid (Celtic), Cunda (Buddhist), Sesat (Egyptian)
Reincarnation: Cerridwen (Celtic)
River: Boann (Celtic)
Seas & Oceans: Amphitrite (Greek), Doris (Greek), Leukothea (Greek), Ma-zu (Chinese, Nereides (Greek)
Spring: Ostara (Germanic)
Storms: Ran (Norse)
Sun: Mor (Celtic), Ostara (Germanic), Sol (Norse)
Travel of Children: Abeona (Roman), Alemona (Roman)
Vengence: Bastet (Egyptian), The Erinys (Greek), Nemesis (Greek)
Victory: Nike (Greek), Victoria (Roman)
War: Alaisiagae (Norse), Athena (Greek), Discordia (Roman), Minerva (Roman), Morrigan (Celtic), Sakhmet (Egyptian), Valkyries (Norse)
Water: Naiades (Greek), Tegid Voel (Celtic)
Winter: Cailleach Bheur (Celtic)
Youth: Hebe (Greek), Juventas (Roman)
Buy all means this is not all of the names of all the Goddesses. Oh no! LOL! No one has that list. And if you find someone who does, don’t believe them! They are pulling more then just your leg!! LOL! I say this because there are so many names, that it is impossible to have them all. Not to mention, it would take years, and years, and one would have to travel everywhere to find them. It’d be nice to have a complete list though. I had a friend who had a book with about 5,000 pages, nothing but Goddesses, and Gods, still not all of them, just to give you some idea of how many names there are.
Now we move onto some of the works on the Goddess. The Goddess has moved many people to write some really beautiful things. One of my favorite works is the Charge of the Goddess. Now there are many, many rewrites of the Charge. This is due to the many different paths of Witchcraft. But I will put the original here.
Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valiente
Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who was of old also called Artemis; Astarte; Dione; Melusine; Aphrodite; Cerridwen; Dana; Arianrhod; Bride; and by many other names.
Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month, and better it be when the Moon be full, then ye shall assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all witcheries.
There ye shall assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery, and as a sign that ye are really free ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.
For mine is ecstasy of the spirit, and mine also is joy on earth; for my Law is Love unto all Beings.
Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever toward it, let naught stop you or turn you aside.
For mine is the secret door which opens upon the Land of Youth, and mine is the Cup of the Wine of Life, and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of Immortality.
I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the heart. Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice, for behold I am the Mother of All Living, and my love is poured out upon the earth.
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess, she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven; whose body encircleth the Universe; I who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white Moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the heart's desire, call unto thy soul. Arise and come unto me.
For I am that Soul of Nature who giveth life to the universe; from me all things proceed, and unto me must all things return; and before my face, beloved of gods and mortals, thine inmost divine self shall be enfolded in the rapture of infinite joy.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence, within you.
And thou who thinkest to seek for me, know that thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, unless thou know this mystery, that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
I love the Charge of the Goddess. It brings me such peace when I read it. The Goddess to me is much more then a Goddess. She is our giver of life. Amazing isn’t it? What a person can do when they get inspired! There are other versions, and I want you to seek them out. All the others I have read are just as good. The same meaning is behind it. I think each path as their own Charge. Heck, I think each author as their own version!!
This next work, is also The Charge of the Goddess. But, it is The charge of the Dark Goddess. Now, Dark is a metaphor, type word here. Dark as in, Goddess of the night, not as in evil. I love this Charge. It gives the warrior side of the Goddess. I don’t know where I found this at, so I can’t give credit to the author. I was just looking for different versions of the Charge, and came across it.
THE CHARGE OF THE DARK GODDESS
Hear now the words of the Dark Goddess who stands within the crossroads, whose torch illuminates the Underworld, who is known to us as Kali, Hecate, Cerridwen, Lilith, Persephone, Fata, Morigan, Ereshkigal, Arianrhod, Durga, Inanna, Tiamat, and by a million other names:
Hear me, child, and know Me for who I am. I have been with you since you were born, and I will stay with you until you return to meet the final dusk.
I am the Queen of Magick and the Dark of the Moon, hidden in the deepest night. I am the mystery of the Otherworld and the fear that coils about your heart during your darkest hour. I am the Sorceress who will not be ruled, the Weaver of Time and the Teacher of Mysteries.
I snip the threads that bring My children home to Me. And I slit the throats of the cruel and drink the blood of the heartless. Swallow your fear and come to Me, and you will discover true beauty, true strength, and true courage.
I am the glowing forge that transforms your inner demons into tools of power. Open yourself to My embrace. I am the chrysalis in which you will face that which terrifies you and from which you will blossum forth, vibrant and renewed. Seek Me at the crossroads and be transformed, for once you look upon My face, there is no return. For I am the fire that kisses the shackles away.
I am the Healer of all wounds, the Warrior who rights all wrongs in their Time. I make the weak strong. I make the arrogant humble. I raise up the oppressed and empower the disenfranchised. I am Justice tempered with Mercy.
Most ancient among Gods and mortals, let My worship be within the heart that has truly tasted life, for behold all acts of magick and art are My pleasure and My greatest ritual is love itself. Therefore, let there be beauty in your strength, compassion in your wrath, power in your humility, and discipline balanced through mirth and reverence.
Most importantly, child, I am you. I am part of you, and I am within you. You may seek to remove My veil and behold My true face, but know that all your questing and efforts are for nothing. For unless you know My mystery, look wherever you will, it will elude you, for it is within you and nowhere else. Seek Me within and without, and you will be strong. Know Me. Venture into the Dark so that you may awaken to Balance, Illumination, and Wholeness.
For behold, I have been with you from the very beginning, the comforting hand that nurtured you in the dawn of life. I am the loving embrace that awaits you at death. I am that which is attained at the end of the dance, and I am the womb of new beginnings, as yet unimagined and unknown. I am the One who calls to you at the end of your journey. After the day is done, My children find their blessed rest in my embrace. Take My Love with you everywhere and find My Power within.
Well, I’m ready to rumble!! No, this is more up, and fiery , and mysterious. It gives the Goddess a more aggressive, and fiery attitude. It gets my blood pumping every time. It is indeed a great work. Another good work, is Moon Goddess, by Lady Cumina.
Moon Goddess by Lady Cumina
When the cycle of the moon is divided, it is divided into four phases: the new moon (when no moon is showing in the night sky), the waxing moon (when the new moon turns into a crescent and grows larger each night), the full moon (the three days the moon is round and full), and the waning moon (the moon that diminishes night by night after the full moon). Each of these phases of the moon represents a different phase of the Moon Goddess. Some traditions combine the phases of the Crone and the Dark Goddess, making the Triple Goddess only Maiden, Mother and Crone. Others say the Triple Goddess is Maiden, Mother and Crone, and the Dark Goddess is hidden.
Maiden Goddess of the Moon
She is the new moon in the sky. She is the virgin, the beginning, youth, adventure, creativity, curiousity, inspiration, and the powerful huntress with the crescent moon shaped like her bow. She rules Spring in her White robe of innocence. She is Diana, Artemis, Blodeuwedd, Brigid the Maiden, Branwen, Eriu, Kore and Epona. She rules the Magick that increases and grows.
Mother Goddess of the Moon
She is the full moon. She is the nurturer, motherhood, emotion, psychic powers, love, life, and creation. She rules Summer in her red robes of life's blood. She is Luna, Selune, Demeter, Lucina, Arianrhod, Danu, Mene, Gaia, Aphrodite, and Isis. She rules the Magick of creation, nurturing, and healing.
Crone Goddess of the Moon
She is the crescent moon which diminishes each night. She is the old wise woman, spirituality, knowledge, and shrewdness. She rules Autumn in her robes of brown. She is Brigid the Crone, Hulda, Levanah, and The Cailleach. She rules the Magick of banishing and reversing.
Dark Goddess of the Moon
When She is here, the sky is empty. She is the one who brings us to the Summerland after death. She is transformation, renewal, the underworld, and death. She rules Winter in her black robes of mystery. She is Hecate, Morrigan, Cerridwen, Circe, Nehellania and Kali. She rules the magick of bindings.
What do you think? Moving huh? They move me. I wanted to share these works with you to show you a little about how the Goddess is. Fun, kind, and full of love. Not mean, and crabby. Well, during that time of the month, she can be! And yes I am serious. I’ve gotten my share of slaps in face from her!
I close with this thought, the Goddess is in us all. It is our choice wether or not to accept her. I urge you to find yourself. And hope you do along these next few lessons. The God will be our next Lesson. I hope to see you there.
Blessed be, Elder RavenFire
©All rights reserved-2007- The words expressed here are the sole property of Elder RavenFire, and may not be copied, reused or reposted without the consent of Elder RavenFire.
