Ateh Malkuth, Ve Geburah, Ve Gedullah, Le Olam. Amen.
(Yours are the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.)
In the days when we Frosts first trod the Wiccan path, we used that affirmation daily to greet the dawn. And yet ... "kingdom"? "power"? "glory"? The more Yvonne thought about the frame of mind that prompted such an affirmation, the more she felt it was unbalanced. How about equal time to acknowledge a female aspect of deity? She created for her own use the version below--not to be inflicted on anyone else, but maybe to be shared among people who felt it expressed something of their own feelings--and she has used it at each dawn since.
Lady Queen, Lady Queen, Lady Queen : (1)
Shining Maiden, strong Woman, wise Crone :
Yours are dominion, power, glory. (2)
Yours are grace, nurturing, justice. (3)
Thus it is. Thus let it ever be.
(1) Because She is Three.
(2) Fair enough, but there's another whole half of life to be acknowledged.
(3) An attribute approximating the way a human mind can perceive Her maidenly grade, Her womanly nurturing, Her justice born of age and wisdom, to balance the dominator-alpha-male attributes of the original version.
On general principles, we have made the affirmation below our shared expression of gratitude for the Guides' letting us tread the path of the Craft. Use it if you like.
We are grateful for yesterday. We are grateful for today.
We honor all the things that make our life possible and pleasant.
So let it be.
Does anyone else out there have a favorite dawn affirmation that you'd like to share?
While we are considering ritual and morning and evening activities, consider these ideas.
The full moon occurring closest to November 1 (whether before or after that date) is Samhain, the great festival of change from the Lady of Spring and Harvest to the Horned Lord of Winter and Hunting. It is the night when the Veil between the Worlds is at its thinnest. The almanac says October 26 '07 is full moon. Delightfully, during 2007 the moon will be at its closest point to this planet on the night of October 26. What a gift from the Elder Ones! Rejoice with us, in reverence and gratitude. And stay off the roads.
Full moon is a genuine and objective fact. To schedule Samhain on any other night is meaningless--indeed, irreverent. Such a travesty would make no sense, scheduling this holiest night according to some arbitrary date inflicted by Pope GregoryXIII's calendar of 1575 CE; or inflicted by Congress; or scheduling on some date that will avoid conflict with Gomer's bowling night. This is not to say that Samhain balls and other more mundane festivities should not be held on more convenient dates.
When it comes to your personal dedication and spiritual time of reverence, please do it this year as the moon reaches its zenith on October 26. We may see you on the astral.
A final word, for what it's worth : The Celts counted not days but nights.
Blessed be those who live examined lives. Gavin and Yvonne
5 comments:
Dear Yvonne & Gavin,
My morning ritual includes various prayers, petitions, thanksgivings, and acts, but here is the first prayer I say every morning:
Oh my Goddesses and Gods, I want to love you, not to gain eternal heaven, nor escape eternal hell. But Lords and Ladies to love you, because you are my Goddesses and Gods. Help me to give to you and not to count the cost, to fight for you and not to mind the wounds, to labor and to ask for no reward, except the knowledge, that I serve my Ladies and Lords.
Have A Good Evening,
David H.
Houston, Tx
Personally, I love to meditate on the sound of the chirruping of crcikets, for one example, and allow that to form a bridge between my meditative mind and the deities.
By the way, I want to add that your idea of celebrating Samhain at the Full Moon closest to the traditional date of Samhain is a brilliant one.
However, what if the New Moon is actually closer to that date than the Full Moon?
One possible idea is to consider the prospect of celebrating Samhain on whatever date the Full Moon (or New Moon) happens to fall during the period of time when the Sun is traversing the sign of Scorpio.
At the same time, I might point out that there is a reason for the traditional dates. They seem to fall on days that fall pretty much between the days of the solstices and equinoxes.
For example, Samhain is more or less halfway between Mabon and Yule.
Being on the Druid path my devotional or connection with the Gods is a bit different. This can be performed anytime
I stand with arms lowered to my side and intone the Word AWEN which is symbolic of the Druids 3 rays .. i do this 3 times, as i do i envision the 3 raysas shafts of silver light that penetrate my head and exit thru my feet and into the Earth. The Awen is representative inspiration, or Fire in the Head, literally it means spirit fire, which is Inspiration, it is the spark of all creativity , sent from the Gods to man, which the goal of Awen is to lead to IMBAS or Illumination, a Divine knowing .
I then move my arms to just above hip level and Intone the Awen 3x.
Then finally my arms extend above my head reaching out to the Gods of my Ancestors intoning the Awen.. then slowly exhale and bring my arms back to my sides.. Its pretty intense, very Grounding, an in ritual for me at least my awareness becomes acute..So thats what i do.
Greetings Gavin and Yvonne:
Grateful for the Spiritual Awareness, that your Basic Witch Craft course helped me learn.
Yvonne shared her Triple Goddess Morning tools, for starting the morning. Worked for me, and has changed with my growth.
Now each morning I watch the Red of Sun Rise, changing rapidly to Yellow Orb, Sol, The Lord. Standing with arms extended, hands together, palms facing The Sun, in shape of pyramid, with thumbs tips touching to form the base. I speak:
I honor Sol, source of our Mother Earths life energy, and all her life forms. Energize me, As I Will, So Let It Be. (I picture waves of yellow-gold power flowing into every cell of my Mind-Body, warming the cold damaged parts, and renewing them with the Fire of Youth). Power to Increase Good, and Diminish Evil.
Even on a cloudy morning, it helps to bring to life, memories of the intense Light of The Sun.
Then turn from my East facing window, and head West to prepare dark roast coffee! You Mighty Right.
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