Meditation: Visiting the White Goddess at Lammas , Goda

Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our members' consciousness. Below is our Lammas meditation. It takes place at the Southern Gate of the compass, the place of earth and noontide .  It is the home of the White Goddess, whom we know as Goda. To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Meditation: Visiting the White Goddess, Goda

You open your eyes to see bright sun glinting through a leafy canopy above you. The sun is high in sky, and the day is hot and humid. You hear a buzzing of insects at the verge of the forest where the treeline gives way to the verdant farmland. Birds and small animals of all sorts fill the day with a hum of life that you can feel all the way to your bones.

You rise and look to the south, across the deep green corn field that stands just outside of the little woods. The corn is high, but you can see a hillock some distance away, and you know you want to go there. Gathering yourself together for the walk through the corn, you set your feet into the fertile soil. It is loamy and almost black in its richness.

The corn is taller than you, now that you are trying to find a path between the stalks. The smell of the soil and the chlorophyll fills your nostrils as the sun warms your scalp. You fill your lungs with the warm, earthy scent of life and lift your face to the sky. Two swans fly overhead, honking as they go.

You continue through the cornfield, following the straight tracks of the plentiful land until you hear a plodding clip-clop coming from your right. Curious, you adjust your course until you are walking in a small lane. An unbridled horse stops in the path and looks over its shoulder at you. You approach the horse, speaking in a low, soft voice. It allows you to pet its side and neck. Then, surprisingly, it bows low for you to mount it, which you easily do.

Seated upon the horse, you can see ahead on the path much more clearly than you had even from the forest’s edge. You certainly see much more than you did amidst the cornstalks. The path you were taking would lead through a grove of trees before climbing the hillock that you had set as your destination. A glimmer of sparkling water told you there was a stream or pond near the hill, as well.

Riding this horse will bring you to your destination faster, but it also gives you more opportunity to revel in your senses while you make the journey. You take some time to touch the horse’s short, bristled hair and feel its massive muscles moving under your legs. You smell its sweat mixed with the perfume of summer field and the approaching orchard. You see the vibrant and varied shades of green, laid with a foundation of deep brown and accented with colorful flowers and birds in the distance.

Soon, you are within the boundary of the Apple orchard. The trees are old, thick and twisted. The branches are full of both fragrant blossoms and ripe fruit. The horse bites an apple from one of the trees, and you pluck one, as well. You bite into it. The skin is firm and the flesh is juicy and sweet.

The land slopes upward and the path spirals around the hill. The horse bows again, and you dismount. You walk the path together. The orchard hugs the base of the hill on one side, but as you come around to the other side of the small Tor, you see that a stream caresses that edge. The two swans you saw in flight earlier are now gliding on the glittering ribbon of blue water.

When you have almost reached the top of the hill, you see a curious gate – two large rock pillars. You must pass through these twin standing stones in order to reach the zenith of the hill. You can’t see beyond this strange gate, because of the shape of the land. You cannot walk around this door.  You must either go through it or turn back.

The horse whinnies and stamps one hoof into the ground, urging you to choose. The stones are carved with strange markings and symbols. Some are unfamiliar to you, but others have deep meaning in your mind. (Pause.) You see a pentagram carved into one of the rocks along with the Apple tree rune, a horse, and a swan.

A woman is singing and laughing somewhere beyond the two stones, and you step up and through. Once you are over the hump of the hill, you clearly see the woman whose voice you heard. She is voluptuous and beautiful, her body curving and ripe and delicious. She dances naked in the sunshine, her hair loose around her shoulders. Round wooden platter filled with fruits and grains surround her – some set on the ground, others on large rocks. A few round wooden discs are sitting on their sides, with heraldic designs and family emblems painted on them in vibrant colors. You recognize some of these symbolic devices.

The woman stops singing and dancing, but laughter is in her voice and the air around her seems to shimmer as she greets you. “You’ve had a taste of Elphame. Would you stay for the sacrificial feast?” She holds a red-handled blade toward you.

“This place is Life Overflowing. Every living thing revels and quakes in the awesome rush that is this bounty. The beauty and love and life and joy that are here for all to claim with both hands are splendorous magics, and ones that are so easily overlooked and undervalued.” (Pause.) She holds one of the discs up as a shield. “Guard what is yours.” Taking another shield that is filled with food, she gestures for you to take what you want. “And be generous with the bounty of Love and Life and Beauty and Joy that are given to you.” She give you a round shield of your own, and a design appears on it. (Pause.)

“Life comes from Life. These bodies bring forth life while they live, and yet again when they perish and rot.” She smiles, lifting her arms. “There are deep Mysteries that lie hidden in their nakedness beneath the noon-time sun. Search them out.” She pulls you into an embrace and speaks a message just for you.  (Long pause.)

You thank her, and she releases you, turning back to her dance and song. Knowing that the time has come to leave, you turn and walk back to the stones.

You pass out of the standing stones and wind back down the Tor, led once more by the horse. You hear the swans leave their stream as you leave the orchard. You cross the cornfield and bid the horse farewell. Sitting down again in the warm forest floor, you close your eyes and breathe deeply, coming back to yourself.

Meditation: Visiting the Black Goddess at Imbolc

Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our members' consciousness. Below is our Imbolc meditation. It takes place at the Northern Gate of the compass, the place of air and midnight.  It is the home of the Black Goddess, whom we know as Kolyo. To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Meditation: Visiting the Black Goddess, Kolyo

You awaken in the darkness on a windy, snow-covered plain. The frozen ground crunches beneath your hands and feet as you rise and look to the North, trying to make out the shape of the gate you know must lie ahead in the darkness. A gust of icy wind greets you, making your eyes water.

The plain is nearly barren in all directions, with the exception of a naked Willow tree, its branches sparkling in the cold, clear starlight. You walk carefully through the frozen landscape, having made the tree your first goal.

When you arrive under the drooping branches, you find a staff leaning against the trunk. You examine the markings and decorations on the staff and then continue along your northward path, now utilizing the staff for greater stability on the sometimes treacherous and slippery earth.

A movement in the shadows catches your eye and you turn your head just as it reaches your side and brushes your leg. The cat stands for a moment, its back arched and looking up the path you are walking before lifting its face to look at you. It meows. You reach down to touch the friendly animal, but it bolts forward, just out of your reach. It meows again and takes a few steps forward. You follow, and the cat picks up the pace, jogging on its silent, padded paws.

A night bird swooshes very close to your head, startling you. You can see the faintest paleness of its wings, but you can hear no evidence of it, even as you watch it fly ahead. Far away, you think you hear the hoot of barred owl.

Looming ahead of you is a stony archway – two large rock pillars capped by a third massive stone. A dolman. Beyond this strange gate, you see nothing but more of the same night-covered and frozen plain. You could easily walk around this dolman door, but instead, you walk right up to it.  The cat rubs its side against one of the pillars, and you can see that the owl has perched on top. The dolman is covered with strange markings and symbols carved into the stones. Some are unfamiliar to you, but others have deep meaning in your mind. (Pause.) You see an owl with large eyes carved into one of the rocks along with the Willow tree rune and a cat.

Your ears perceive a whistled tune as you pass beyond the arch, and your eyes search the darkness for the one who is blowing the eerie music. You can see so little that you must trust to your hearing instead, and you follow the sound until you are aware of a small, darkly-cloaked figure standing just a few yards away. You are close enough now to hear her breathing.

The small figure holds up her hand in warning. “Come closer, Child. But be wary of your footing.” You walk forward more slowly, using your staff to judge the safety of each step. As you breech those last few yards between you and Her, you are aware of a wind that seems to come from the ground, and you realize that you are standing together at the edge of a steep and treacherous cliff. You brace yourself and know that you are secure, even at this height.

Turning your attention to Cloaked One, you can see very little of her face, as it is shrouded in both her hood and the darkness of the night. Her out-held hand is gloved. You cannot clearly see the color of her hair, although you can see an interplay of light and dark in the strands. She holds a staff, and sometimes it seems she leans upon it. At other times, it seems like a weapon she is holding at martial ease.

Her voice is clear and ageless.

She speaks to you. “This is a place of knowledge, of wisdom, and of strategy. It is a place of contemplation, a place of counsel. It can be bitterly cold here, and the Truth that you seek can be both illusory and fleeting.” (Pause.) She hangs a lantern from the end of your staff and lights the wick. “But knowledge and thought are not always cold comforts. They can be the light one needs on the darkest nights of the soul.”

She lashes a sharpened metal tip onto her staff, transforming it into a spear. She pulls a single arrow from the quiver at her side, removing the arrowhead and feathers. She holds the newly fashioned wand in one hand and holds up a single finger of the other. “Weapons are tools wielded for either attack or defense. But they are just tools. The most useful tools can be used in both peace and war.” She pokes you with her finger. “And the greatest tools are the ones that lie within.” She gives you the wand, grasping your hand for a moment and whispering a message only for you. (Long pause.)

You thank her, and after a moment more of looking at you, she turns back to look over the cliff. Knowing that the time has come to leave, you turn and walk back through the darkness.

You pass out of the dolman and cross the plain, led once more by the cat and owl. You pass under the Willow tree, returning the staff that you borrowed. Sitting down again in the frozen field, you close your eyes and breathe deeply, coming back to yourself.

September Totems: Chicken

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree. September's totems are Pig, Vine, and Chicken.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Swine (Torc/Muc) – hunt, search, nourishment, putting up a fight
Vine (Muin) – prophesy, prediction, rebirth, and omens
Chicken (Cearc) - fertility, battle, sexuality, watchfulness

September is a month of sacrifice, blood, and feasting. All of the totemic beings for this month are associated with food (vine = wine), and they have an underlying association with death and rebirth.  Their blood is the "sea of blood" that surrounds the Castle Perilous, and theirs is the blood/wine of the Holy Grail that is the treasure of this Castle.

Chicken 

Fowl have been domesticated for over 8000 years and have a long history with man as a provider of both meat and eggs. They originated in Thailand and Vietnam and were descended from a wild bird species called the red jungle fowl.

Chickens are diurnal creatures, and while the crowing of a rooster is synonymous with daybreak, any farmer will be happy to tell you that his roosters crow all day long.

Chickens are very social and have complex hierarchies within their groups. Pair bonding is unheard of,. Yet despite this abundant promiscuity, there is tremendous territoriality and rivalry between two roosters as to who gets to mate with whom. The same applies for the hens. Both hens and roosters will get quite aggressive in defending their exclusive right to mate with whomever they deem "best." These aggressive qualities can be violent in the extreme, and farmers have to take precautions to keep adult roosters away from each other, least one kill the other.

This aggression has been exploited by the sport known as "cock-fighting." Indeed, etymologically, the use of the terms "cock" and "cocky" to describe an arrogant and aggressive male -- or his penis -- is due to the proud strutting and arching confidence of the rooster.

It is no wonder that the rooster has been seen as a mythical symbol of courage throughout many civilizations in the world. The Romans associated chickens with Mars, the god of war, owing to this aggressive and territorial behavior.In Greek myth, Ares (Mars) took advantage of the rooster's watchfulness and aggression by setting him as a guard to watch over Aphrodite while she slept, that none might disturb her.

The "mother hen" is a different sort of archetype associated with this fowl. Brooding and clucking over her young, the female chicken is a significantly maternal animal, particularly associated with the fecundity of spring -- although, in fairness, hens lay eggs all year round. She is the quintessential "nesting mother," though even she has a dark and cold side. Chickens, like pigs, are known to eat practically any organic thing that is put before them. It is common practice to feed baked and ground eggshells back to the chickens who produced them. Sometimes, though, the hens start eating their own eggs (often due to accidentally puncturing one, mistakenly eating it, and then developing a habit).

Cerridwen, who is the Silver Queen of the Castle Perilous, transformed into a hen to devour Gwion Bach when he became a grain of corn to escape her.  Cerridwen later gave birth to the bard Taliesin, who was Gwion reborn.  Because Cerridwen is both the great sow and the devouring hen, these two animals are sacred to her and the month that she reigns over in our tradition.

June Totems: Stag

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree.

June's totems are the Stag, the Robin, and the Oak. These symbols are each associated with the Oak King who falls in battle at Midsummer which is mid-June.  Also we associate Midsummer with Cernnunos, who we honor as the Oak King, Lord of the Castle of Stone.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Stag – nobility, culling the herd, call to adventure, pride, grace; Damh
Oak – security, steadfastness, primeval vigor, doorway, strength; Duir
Robin – growth, territoriality, fire; Spideog

The Stag

The Stag is the male aspect of the deer. As such, some discussion of the qualities of deer in general is helpful to understand Stag. Deer are associated with gentleness, innocence and a luring to new adventure. They are very adaptable, and they are native to every continent except Australia.

Many legends exist in which deer lure hunters and/or kings into the forest for adventures. One prominent example of this is the story of Gawain and the White Hart. Gawain followed the Hart willingly, though the pursuit ended in an unpleasant realization of Gawain’s own shortcomings. However, by following willingly and facing his darker nature, Gawain was able to confront his rage and learn to control it, making him one of the best Knights of the Round Table.

The Stag is a symbol of pride and independence. He is an example of grace, majesty, integrity, poise and dignity. These are indeed kingly qualities, so it is no wonder that there is a deer referred to as King Stag. In fact, this King Stag is associated in many ways with the Lord of the Wild Hunt, as both are responsible for protecting the herd and culling it of weaknesses.

The Stag is one of the five Oldest Animals in Welsh tradition. He leads a willing seeker deeper into the Mysteries and into the Otherworld. He is a guardian of the gateway between this plane and the Otherworld and delivers messages from that realm.

The Stag’s antlers are made of bone and shed every year for 5 years. (In some species, both the male and female have antlers). The antlers start to grow in early summer and are fully developed by rutting time (late Autumn). The Stag sheds antlers around Imbolc (before birth of young). The antlers are protective by nature, and they also represent higher levels of attunement.

The Stag is a symbol of fertility and rampant sexuality, which is also related to the Lord of the Hunt and the Horned Gods.

Mankind has honored the power of Stag for centuries. Images of Shamans dressed in antlers and deer skins are often found in folklore and legend. A famous example of this is the Gundestrup Cauldron, on which we find the most familiar image of Cernunnos as an Antlered Man. To this day, we dress in antlers and skins to portray the power and dignity of the Stag.

You can learn more about our tradition's wheel of the year through this link.

June Totems: Oak

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree.

June's totems are the Stag, the Robin, and the Oak. These symbols are each associated with the Oak King who falls in battle at Midsummer which is mid-June.  Also we associate Midsummer with Cernnunos, who we honor as the Oak King, Lord of the Castle of Stone.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Stag – nobility, culling the herd, call to adventure, pride, grace; Damh
Oak – security, steadfastness, primeval vigor, doorway, strength; Duir
Robin – growth, territoriality, fire; Spideog

Oak

The Oak is the King of the Trees. Ancient Celts observed the oak's massive growth and impressive expanse. They took this as a clear sign that the oak was to be honored for its endurance, and noble presence. Wearing oak leaves was a sign of special status among many ancient European peoples.

There are accounts that trace the name "druid" to duir, the Celtic term for the oak. The actual translation of duir is "door" and lore indicates that Witches can access the ethereal planes of higher thought by using the oak as a door into magical places.

The oak is a tree of protection and strength. It has a high tannin content that makes it resistant to fungus. The wood of the oak is used in making doors and boats.

Druids met in oak groves and ate their acorns to ingest the ancient knowledge contained in them. Because of their expansive growth, oak trees often attract lightning strikes, which confer greater mystical power to them. Mistletoe grows best on the Oak and is the most sacred herb of the Druids.

The oak is associated with security, steadfastness and primeval vigor. The elemental association with the Oak is fire, and the gender association is masculine.

You can learn more about our tradition's wheel of the year through this link.

Links:
Controverscial "In Worship of Trees": Oak
Wikipedia: Oak
About: Oak Symbolism

August Totems: Horse

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree. August's totems are Horse, Apple, and Swan.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Horse (Each) – travel, power, freedom, civilization
Apple (Quert) – beauty, choices, love, inspiration
Swan (Eala) - shape-shifting, love, grace, beauty

Horse


The Horse is associated with the female Divine, the land, and travel both on the inner and outer planes. It is connected to the Sun and is a symbol of sexual desired. Furthermore, it is associated with power and freedom, divination, the spread of civilization, birth. Wind and sea foam often signify the power of the Horse.

The Horse’s skills for hauling, hunting and battle have made it an animal that has been a true partner to mankind in many respects. It has been connected to head hunting due to the fact that warriors would frequently hang the severed heads of defeated opponents about the necks of the horses. Horse gear and/or parts, like the teeth, as well as whole horses were often interred with their masters upon the human’s death. Horse bones found in the foundations of houses to bring good luck, like horse shoes today. These findings indicate a long history of the Horse in connection to the burial rites of the Celts and other cultures.

Epona, Rhiannon and Macha are all Celtic Horse-Goddesses. In some images a Mare holds a key to the Underworld or Otherworld. Rhiannon is seen riding out of the Otherworld on a white horse. A common activity at Samhain and Beltane is the riding hobbyhorses.  The Horse is often a phantom creature or provoker of nightmares, who get their name from her, as Mare is an Irish Goddess.

The Horse is associated with freedom because it allows us to move without restriction from place to place. However, this freedom often comes without proper restraints, which can lead to trouble for the rider. The connection to freedom is also echoed in the poets’ tendencies to liken horse-riding to flying.

Sovereignty is another aspect of the Horse. In Ireland the kings performed a symbolic marriage with the horse to secure their rule and connection to the land. The Horse was then slaughtered, its blood spilling upon the ground, and its meat eaten by those in attendance. This is a version of the Sacred Marriage.
   
You can learn more about our tradition's wheel of the year through this link.