Wicca 101 Lesson 4

The God and Goddess

As Wiccans we share a believe in divinity as being plural, both male and female, God and Goddess. The way in which divinity is expressed through different beliefs and philosophies - Wiccans may be henotheistic (all Gods and Goddesses are part of a greater whole); polytheistic (there are many Gods and Goddesses) or pantheistic (Divinity is present in and inherent in all life on Earth, animal, mineral and plant). Or indeed any other number of or combination of -eists! All Wiccans believe in a female Deity, The Goddess, who is worshipped/celebrated alongside Her male companion, often seen as the Horned God. In Wicca, the Goddess is usually represented by the Moon and the God by the Sun, there are however many different pantheons from which Deities might be drawn from. . Wiccans often personify the changes in nature as different aspects of the Goddess and God. So for example, we celebrate the rebirth of the Child of Promise, the Solar God, at the Winter Equinox (Yule) and we celebrate the return of the beautiful Goddess of Life at the Spring Equinox.

Exercise 1
Spend some time thinking about your own beliefs again. Then answer the following questions: 1. What images of the god did you hold as a child? 2. How have these childhood images influenced your understanding of the divine today? 3. Are the images of god that you know actually representative of god s fundamental nature? 4. Are images of god important? Why? 5. What is the purpose of believing in deity? 6. Do we cheat ourselves at any level by characterizing god through image? Why? Why not? 7. Does it bother you to see the word god not capitalized in this lesson? Why? 8. Does the word god need to be capitalized? Why?

Polarities
The whole world comprises of polarities and is relevant and applicable to every aspect of our lives. Try to name anything that does not have an opposite. Everything has an opposite ranging from our emotions, to temperature, to seasons, to light and other physical things around us.

Look at the following examples of opposites:

Good White Up Front Body Cold Man Attract Alive Hard Evil Black Down Back Soul Hot Woman Repulse Dead Soft

Creation Movement

Destruction Stagnation

Polarity, Duality
Everything in the universe is dual. Everything has two sides. It is like a coin. If you are only looking at the one side you see only half the picture. And this is exactly what Christianity has done with religion the past two thousand odd years. By just acknowledging the God side, only half the picture was portrayed. We can also put another name to the polarity concept. Lets call it duality. Men are not just masculine and women are not just feminine. The right sides of our bodies are masculine and the left side is feminine. This energy is just an electrical current and manifests in a natural balance of waves and thoughts. It reveals itself as light and dark, cold and hot, life and death. The Chinese describe it as being Yin (feminine) and Yang (masculine). As witches we symbolize our understanding of this energy as the Goddess and God. The most common axiom in witchcraft is as above so below thus witches understand that nature is a direct reflection of spiritual energy. We see nature in all of its manifestations as an expression of the One. We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity as masculine and feminine and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship. A bit of background should be covered here to fully explain the complexities of the deceptively simple concept. The Higher Power, Creative Force, Collective Unconscious, Divinity, or by whatever name you refer to it, is a vast expanse so unfathomable that the human mind could never truly comprehend it. After all, consider the vast expanse of our solar system, then our galaxy, and now our universe. Not easy to fully fathom, and yet the Higher Power is still beyond all these things. To cope with connecting to a Higher Power with no gender, face, or determining factors, human beings have assigned these things to it instead. How hard would it be to pray to a vast expanse of energy with no form or delineation? We connect to the divine by seeing it the way we see ourselves, or as what wed like to become. We assign names, features, and stories to aspects of divinity to help us connect. As Wiccans we perceive the Divine as manifesting through polarity, masculine and feminine aspects, or a God and a Goddess. Now this particular theory has sparked a hot little debate in the Pagan world. There are certain sects that only revere the Goddess while neglecting the God and vice versa, and there are some that claim the idea of polarity is sexist and unfriendly to the gay and lesbian communities, but both of these ideologies have major issues. The first of these issues being that Creation cannot exist without opposing complementary forces, i.e. masculine/feminine, yin/yang, active/passive. The Goddess could not exist without the God, nor could the God without the Goddess. Both are necessary for creation. Without one there is no other, only stagnation. Thus we strive to value neither above the other, recognizing their unique roles in the creation cycle. Meditation Exercise 1. Count yourself down to your meditative state. If you have a particular personal attribute you want to transform think of it now and hold that intention for a few moments. In your minds eye visualize a set of hanging scales, like the scales of justice. The scales will appear unbalanced, mirroring your own imbalance. See yourself shifting the weights until your scales balance. The weights represent objects and issues in your life that need to be balanced`. Some will need to be discarded, some replenished. Generally the left side of the scale will be emotional and personal aspects of self, the right side logic and public issues. Once you have balanced your scales return yourself to normal consciousness, counting up and giving yourself clearance and balance. Ground yourself

The Polarity of the Sun and Moon

The sun and moon symbolize the mystical polarity of the god and goddess energies. Not only does the sun and moons interplay maintain life on earth, but it also symbolizes the basic truth that all life exists in a state of interdependence. The sun radiates energy and vitality. Without the sun there would be no light. If we did not have light there would not have been life on this planet. The suns light gives life to our plant brothers and sisters, and in turn the plants give life to the animal world.

On the other side of the scale the moon reflects the suns rays and washes our planet in a gentle glow that allows everything to rest and rejuvenate. Without the regular rhythm of the night, punctuated by the appearance of the moon, life would wither and die.

The waxing moon is when the moon grows. We all know the full moon. When the moon shrinks we call it the waning phase. When the moon is waxing we will do magick to attract things to us, full moon we can almost do any kind of magick, while practicing magick to repel things when the moon is waning. It is also a good time to start projects when the moon waxes, while ending things while the moon wanes. Align with the Sun
You can do this exercise at sunrise, or when you first get up in the morning. Face east and say: I greet you, O Powerful Father Sun, Fill my day with your brightness and warmth When the sun sets at night. Stand, face west and say: I greet you, O Powerful Father Sun And ask that your rays sustain me until I feel your warmth again

Align with the Moon

When you see the first crescent of the moon say: I greet you O feisty maiden of the moon Bless my life with courage and renewal When you see the full moon say: I greet you O nurturing mother of the moon Bless my life with your care and power When seeing the waning crescent of the moon say: I greet you O ageing mother of the moon Cleanse my life of all impurities When seeing the dark moon say I greet you O wise Crone of the moon Show me your mysteries

1. List some examples of magickal workings you would do during the cycle of the waxing moon? 2. List some examples of magickal workings you would do during the cycles of the waning moon?
3. Life events shared by Horus and Jesus 4. Stories from the life of Horus had been circulating for centuries before Jesus birth (circa 4 to 7 BCE). If any copying occurred by the writers of the Egyptian or Christian religions, it was the followers of Jesus who incorporated into his biography the myths and legends of Horus, not vice-versa. 5. Yeshua of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jesus

Event

Horus

Conception:

By a virgin. There is some doubt about this matter

By a virgin

Father:

Only begotten son of the God Osiris.

Only begotten son of Jehovah (in the form of the Holy Spirit). Miriam (a.k.a. Mary). Joseph. Of royal descent. In a cave or stable. By an angel to Miriam, his mother. An unidentified "star in the east Celebrated on DEC-25. The date was chosen to occur on the same date as the birth of Mithra, Dionysus and the Sol Invictus (unconquerable Sun), etc. By angels. 8 Shepherds. 8 Three wise men. 8 Herod tried to have Jesus murdered.

Mother: Foster father:

Meri. Seb, (Jo-Seph).

Foster father's ancestry: Of royal descent. Birth location: In a cave.

Annunciation:

By an angel to Isis, his mother.

Birth heralded by:

The star Sirius, the morning star.

Birth date:

Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the winter solstice (typically DEC-21).

Birth announcement: Birth witnesses:

By angels. Shepherds.

Later witnesses to birth: Three solar deities. Death threat during infancy:

Herut tried to have Horus murdered.

Handling the threat:

An angel tells Jesus' father The God That tells Horus' mother "Come, to: "Arise and take the thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child." young child and his mother and flee into Egypt." Horus came of age with a special ritual, when Taken by parents to the his eye was restored. temple for what is today

Rite of passage ritual:

called a bar mitzvah ritual. Age at the ritual: 12 12 No data between ages of 12 & 30. In the river Jordan. 30. John the Baptist.

Break in life history:

No data between ages of 12 & 30.

Baptism location: Age at baptism: Baptized by: Subsequent fate of the baptiser:

In the river Eridanus. 30. Anup the Baptiser.

Beheaded.

Beheaded.

Temptation:

Taken from the desert in Taken from the desert of Amenta up a high Palestine up a high mountain by his arch-rival Sut. Sut (a.k.a. Set) mountain by his arch-rival was a precursor for the Hebrew Satan. Satan. Horus resists temptation. Twelve disciples. There is some doubt about this matter as well. Jesus resists temptation.

Result of temptation:

Close followers:

Twelve disciples.

Activities:

Walked on water, cast out demons, and healed the Walked on water, cast out demons, and sick, restored sight to the healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. He blind. He ordered the sea "stilled the sea by his power." with a "Peace, be still" command. Horus raised Osiris, his dead father, from the Jesus raised Lazarus from grave. 10 the grave. On a mountain. On a high mountain. Sermon on the Mount; Sermon on the Plain. By crucifixion. Two thieves.

Raising of the dead:

Transfigured:

Key address(es):

Sermon on the Mount.

Method of death Accompanied by:

By crucifixion. Two thieves.

Burial

In a tomb.

In a tomb.

Resurrection announced Women. by:

Women.

Future:

Reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium.

Reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium. Yeshua of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jesus Saviour of humanity. God-man. Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. Christ, the anointed one. Associated with Pisces, the fish. Fish, beetle, the vine, the shepherd's crook.

Characteristics

Horus

Main role: Status:

Saviour of humanity. God-man.

Common portrayal:

Virgin Isis holding the infant Horus.

Title:

KRST, the anointed one.

Zodiac sign:

Associated with Pisces, the fish.

Main symbols:

Fish, beetle, the vine, shepherd's crook.

The Goddess
The Goddess She is of the Earth and Moon. She is the stars and the universe. She is water, lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. She is fertility, beginnings, growth, and potential. She is wisdom, power, magic, and prophecy. She is love and forgiveness, anger and punishment. She is war, destruction and vengeance. She is death and darkness.

The triple Goddess The three aspects of the goddess is the maiden, the mother and the crone. These three aspects are the three phases most women go through in their lifetime. They are also the three symbols that represent the internal stages of consciousness. Attributes commonly ascribed to the Triple Goddess' aspects: Maid - Childhood, adolescence, beginnings, purity, virginity, independence, courage Mother - Motherhood, protection, fertility, growth, sexuality Crone - Old age, wisdom, change, transformation, death, rebirth, banishing

It is similar to the Trinity in Christianity in that it is an embodiment of 3 in one; however it is different in that the triple aspect in the Goddess comes in phases. She is not all three things at the same time but rather goes through these phases throughout her existence. The number three itself has great significance in Wicca and Paganism in that it is a powerful number. There is the "Rule of Three" in which it states that what you do to a person comes back three-fold, which generally is a code for practicing Pagans to not do harm to others. Certain spells involving Witch Bottles and Charm Bags also require an uneven number of objects to be placed inside such as 3, 5, 7 or 9 objects. It is no wonder that the Goddess is represented in 3 phases. The moon itself has many phases and is a powerful element in Paganism and Wicca. The Goddess is represented by the moon whereas the God (the male entity in Wicca) is represented by the sun. The Triple Goddess is represented by 3 moons, the waxing crescent moon, the full moon and the waning crescent. This symbol is often found in tattoos, jewelry, T-shirts, artwork, other adornments or decorations and even store logos. In emails on or message groups it is symbolized by a closing parentheses, a capital letter oh, and an opening parentheses like this )O(. Charge of the Dark Goddess Listen to the words of the Dark Mother, who of old was called Hecate, Nuit, Morrigan, Banba, Erda, Macha, MotherNight, Sekhmet, and many other names: Whenever you seek wisdom, at the time of the Darkening Moon, come together in love and trust and learn of Me, who am the Wisest of Crones...Ye who search the mysteries of the Earth, the secrets of Air and Darkness, of Blood and Fire, the silence of the uttermost stars, come unto me, and I shall whisper to you in the depths of midnight. Ye shall approach Me in silence, and as a sign that ye are free from fear, your breast you shall bare to My blade...for fear has no place in My mysteries, and that which you seek of me will destroy you if you fear it. For I am the dolmen arch beyond which stretch the mysteries of infinity. I am the silence before birth and after death. I am the clouded mirror in which you scry your own soul. I am mist in the twilight, the vast and starry sky of midnight, shadows on the Moon. All things come to Me in the end, and yet I am the beginning of all. I meet you at the crossroads; I lead you through the darkness, My hand you grasp in the passage between the worlds. To those that toy with Me am I an instrument of self-destruction. yet to the true seeker do I bring knowledge beyond mortal comprehension. Of you shall I demand the utter truth of all that you are, and in return shall I give you all that you may be, all that I am. For My wisdom is beyond the Ages, and knowledge of My Secrets is power over self, over fear, over death. Nor do I demand aught of you which you cannot give. For I am the Mother of Mysteries, and as you know Me, so shall you learn to know yourself.

Practical Assignment: How to attune to the triple Goddess

Step1 Wait until night has fallen and the moon is visible. Go outside where you won't be disturbed. If it's difficult to find such a place near your home, an open window where the moon is visible will work. Step2 Bask in the moonlight, concentrating on the energy of the moon and the goddess. Let her fill your spirit as you reach out to her. If the moon is full, visualize the goddess in her guise as Mother. If the moon is new, visualize her in her Maiden aspect. If the moon is dark, visualize her as the Crone. Step3 Chant or pray. Use a memorized prayer to focus your concentration or just speak, pray or chant from the heart. You also may use a combination of both. Continue this exercise as long as you wish and repeat for each of the moon's phases to attune to all of the goddess's aspects. Step4 Notice the changing of the earth and reach out mentally to any wildlife you may encounter. Pay attention to animals which are under the domain of the goddess, such as birds, bees, cats, foxes, horses, rabbits and mice. See the goddess in all things and people, in all forms of nature and beauty. Feel her with you, in you and around you. Step5

Perform a ritual before bedtime. Light a white or silver candle (representative of the moon and the goddess) and concentrate on the female energy of Deity. Visualize the goddess as she has revealed herself to you and let her fill you. Chant or pray to help shift your consciousness.

The God
He is of the Sun and Planets. He is the forest and mountains. He is of the wild animals and the outdoors. He is the hunter and the hunted. He is the Summer, the heat and the crops. He is death and rebirth. He is war and retribution.

Practical Assignment Aligning with the God

Things Youll Need: y A place of solitude y Spare time in the early morning y Gold or Yellow taper candle Step1 Wake at dawn and go out of doors, somewhere where you won't be observed or disturbed. If you live in a rural area, this will be quite easy. If you live in an urban area, you can use a patio, balcony or even stay indoors near an open window where you can watch the sun rise. Step2 Bask in the rays of the dawning sun, concentrating on the energy and warmth of the God. Feel him fill your spirit and most importantly, reach out. Visualization is an important skill. Visualize the God as virile and strong, perhaps in his youthful or fatherly guise. Step3 You may wish to chant or pray. You can use a memorized chant to help focus your concentration or just speak/chant/sing from your heart. Continue this exercise as long as you wish. Step4 Throughout the day, notice the abundance of the earth around you and reach out mentally to any wild animals you encounter. See the God in all things and all people. Feel him with you, in you and around you. Step5 At night before bed, you may want to perform a small ritual in his honor. If you have a shrine or altar, this is a good place to perform this rite. Light a yellow or gold candle (representative of the God and Sun) and concentrate on the male energy of Deity. Visualize the God as he has revealed himself to you and once again, let him fill you. Chant or pray to help shift your consciousness. Step6 Perform these simple rituals as often as you like, preferably on a daily basis, to attune with the God. Eventually, you will grow closer and closer to Him. Observe the changes in the seasons and see the God's hand in all of nature's moods. Enjoy your growing relationship with the Great Father!

The Charge of the God

The Charge of the God is a newer more recent addition to Wiccan ritual. No one charge has risen above the others yet to gain popularity so you will hear many different ones based solely on which God and which attributes of the God the Wiccan wants to invoke at a given ritual. Below are some of my favorite ones. Since true Wicca is about balance between feminine and masculine energy, I think a Charge of the God is very appropriate when invoking both Deities. Charge One Listen to the words of the Great Father, who of old was called Osiris, Adonis, Zeus, Thor, Pan, Cernunnos, Herne, Lugh and by may other names:

"My Law is Harmony with all things. Mine is the secret that opens the gates of life and mine is the dish of salt of the earth that is the body of Cernunnos that is the eternal circle of rebirth. I give the knowledge of life everlasting, and beyond death I give the promise of regeneration and renewal. I am the sacrifice, the father of all things, and my protection blankets the earth." Hear the words of the dancing God, the music of whose laughter stirs the winds, whose voice calls the seasons: "I who am the Lord of the Hunt and the Power of the Light, sun among the clouds and the secret of the flame, I call upon your bodies to arise and come unto me. For I am the flesh of the earth and all it's beings. Through me all things must die and with me are reborn. Let my worship be in the body that sings, for behold all acts of willing sacrifice are my rituals. Let there be desire and fear, anger and weakness, joy and peace, awe and longing within you. For these too are part of the mysteries found within yourself, within me, all beginnings have endings, and all endings have beginnings." So Mote it be!

Make a list of the characteristics you feel most represent the Goddess you honor and revere? Make a list of characteristics you feel most represent the God you honor and revere? To get an idea of which pantheon you may be attracted to look up the pantheon of a chosen culture you are attracted to. Read all the names of the Deities and the descriptions of their names, do any match your list from question one? Which ones? Write down the attributes of each of the following

Egyptian Gods
Osiris Anubis Isis Horus Bast Geb Thoth Greek Gods Aphrodite Appolo Atremis Athena Dionysus Hades Hera Hermes Poseidon Zues Norse Gods Odin Thor Freya Freyr Tyr Loki Heimdall Skadi Frigga The Norns Hel Baldur Roman Gods Jupiter

Juno Neptune Pluto Appollo Diana Mars Venus Cupid Mercury Minerva Ceres Proserpine Saturn Uranus The Celtic Gods Aine Aonghus Badh Erui Boand Brigit Cerrunnos Dagda Danu Ler Lugh Macha Medb Morrighan Nuadhu Ogma