Rite of Abundance

Dawn in the Piney Woods

It is a few hours before sunset as I drive into the Blackwater River State Forest through the upland pine woods and scrubby ridges, meandering downhill toward Juniper creek. I can hear the sound of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker in the distance and it is easy to imagine what this area was like hundreds of years ago when the Creek Indians were the only inhabitants. I stop at one of my favorite camping areas, a bluff overlooking the water with a shaded campsite nestled under the trees. Among the loblolly pines, various oaks, dogwoods and southern magnolias I set up my tent. Overhead a red shouldered hawk rides the gentle breezes. I have just enough time before darkness covers the wildland to walk down the clay-and-sand trail, gathering deadfall from the white cedars that mingle with cypress trees to shade the sand-bottom river. As I return to camp to prepare dinner and watch the sunset, I listen to the serenade of the Pine Barrens Treefrog and I fall to sleep to the song of the bobwhite echoing around me.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/OPG/blackwaterriver/photos/BWR-PinewoodsTrail-park.jpg

I awake slowly to the sounds of the woods stirring and crawl out of my sleeping bag into the crisp chill air. Pulling on my clothes and boots I try to gather my thoughts in a mind still fogged with sleep. I unzip my tent door and step outside to gaze on the forest of pine trees, wiregrass and blueberry bushes engulfed in a soft pearly mist, the trees backlit by the light of the rising sun Goddess. Taking wood from the pile I gathered the evening before, I kindle a fire. My thoughts travel to all the women through the centuries before me who have built fires in the dawn light preparing to warm and feed themselves and their families.

Poking around I find a stone, and a small white flower to adorne my altar. I take oatmeal grains from my pack and water from the jug I brought from home. As I pour a cup, I dwell in prayer that the river-water that I gaze upon may one day again be pure enough to use in ritual. I set out candles, incense, oil, a small pottery figure of the Mother Goddess round and pregnant with her abundance, and my copy of Dea. Lighting the candles and the incense, I invoke the protection of the elements. I anoint myself with the oil and draw down blessings that I may be inspired by the words of the ritual.

I contemplate the words of Lady Olivia - “When I look on the august sky ....” and I look upon the dawn here in the Blackwater State Forest and I am filled with wonder. “The earth conceals my spendour” - I am aware that I sit on fertile ground, surrounded by magnificent forest, the river winding through it. My throat constricts as tears rise in my eyes, and I pause momentarily, overcome by profound emotion. My heart swelling with gratitude for the abundance of nature, I continue. I make offerings of grains, incense and the flower found here in the forest. My bell rings, adding its music to that of the birds and the wind. I close my eyes to meditate “receiving communion with the Goddess.” Opening my eyes I ring my bell twice more. I take up the cup of water, feeling the moisture in my throat and sharing the happiness of all the creatures of the forest. I take the stone found on the forest floor between my palms and open my heart to the “gifts of the earth”. Placing the stone back on the altar I hold out my hands and, drawing power from within, I send out blessings to “all beings and all existences”. Giving thanks I end the rite. I return to my fire to fix my morning coffee and oatmeal and enjoy this wonderful day!

http://www.fl-dof.com/state_forests/blackwater_river.html

http://www.floridastateparks.org/blackwaterriver/Photos-Park.cfm

Welcome to the Iseum of the Triple Goddess, one of the many "Hearths of the Goddess" of the Fellowship of Isis. The purpose of this Iseum is to provide a safe space to share my personal journey of rebirth and renewal and midwife for those who desire to experience their own rebirth to the Goddess religion.

Priestess/Iseum Herstory

I was born in October of 1953 to a good Irish Catholic family in the panhandle area of Florida. Several days after my birth I experienced a life threatening crisis. My mother invoked the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and dedicated me forever to Mary's service by bestowing upon me the middle name of Marie, one of Mary's many names. Although my mother was at that time and remained so to her death, a devout Roman Catholic and was unaware of the correlation, I feel that this dedication to Mary the Mother of God, Jesus, was a dedication of me to the Goddess in Her Christian manifestation. So began my life of spiritual exploration and practice.

As a child I actively participated in my family's religious practices. I was instructed by my mother, the nuns and priests in the structure and performance of ritual. I participated in the church choir, my first introduction to the art of sonic vibration. In religion classes I explored the essence of spirituality and, unknown to my family and the Catholic clergy, developed my own concepts of Divinity. (Now there was something I skipped in confession!)

In my twenties I began to explore Hatha Yoga both as exercise and meditation. After four years in the U.S. Navy as a Line Officer, I returned to my home town university to continue my education which I had begun in the field of Psychology. While obtaining my Master of Arts in Counseling, I met an agnostic philosophy student who introduced me to a wider religious dimension. He suggested I read Joseph Campbell's book, Hero of a Thousand Faces.

Now, understand that the only thing that had kept me in the Catholic Church up until this point was my belief in the miracle of the virgin birth, which, as far as I knew at the time, was a miracle only known to Christianity. I got a rude awakening on that score! By the time I was finished reading that book, I knew I was no longer Christian. But what was I? (the Catholics would call me a heretic, but I wasn't eager for THAT label!)

Spirituality was still extremely important to me, and I knew that I got a lot of deep satisfaction from the external forms of ritual. So I began to explore Pagan religions and Native American Shamanism. I was already involved in exploring my feminist consciousness and was inspired by Mary Daly's statement that "as long as God is male the male is God" and longed for an expression of the feminine aspect of Deity.



I began to practice Wiccan ritual as a solitary practitioner, guided by books I obtained from a local bookstore. In 1987 I joined the Hubless Wheel Society and participated in the building of the Medicine Wheel and a Native American-style sweat lodge. I read numerous books about women's mysteries, Native American religion, and Goddess worship. This was a time of exploration for me, and I was unwilling to leave any possible source of spiritual inspiration unsearched.

In 1987 I met an initiate in the Fellowship of Isis and a student of the Mysteries. I luxuriated in the joy of finding people of like mind with whom I could celebrate my beliefs. I had found my place. Within the embrace of the FOI, my searching through all traditions for wisdom was an asset, and I felt truly embraced by a spiritual community for the first time. I participated in Full Moon gatherings and discussed the Goddess religion with my friend, who by this time had been ordained as a Priestess of Isis. On Winter Solstice 1988 I participated in the dedication of the Temple (later to become Lyceum) Isis of Philae. I joined the FOI in July of 1989, and was inducted into the Temple Isis of Philae in the Flammae Vesta Rite in February, 1990. I became a neophyte after participation in the Rite of Rebirth in August of 1991 and dedicated my own Iseum of the Triple Goddess in July of 1992. I was ordained in October of 1992. In October of 2003 I was consecrated as a Priestess/Adept.

So in the end, what does all of this mean? It means that I have been a part of a new mystery school. I have learned more about myself that I ever thought to know, and plumbed the depths of spiritual experiences that in other frameworks would have aroused my skepticism. Experiences of past lives, relationships with people that span several incarnations, the influx of Deity into the physical form, all of these have been a part of my experience...as well as more mundane blessings. The ability to appreciate the natural world as a temple to nature's glory, the fierce beauty of a thunderstorm, the gentle flowered breath that is a spring breeze, the passion of a loving Deity for our mortal selves in the warmth of a lover's embrace, and the cycle of transformation, experienced as the death of loved ones...

All of these have different meaning for me, now that I am a priestess of the Goddess, than they would have had I remained in the Catholic religion of my youth. For myself, for my life...I think I am richer for it.