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| The Lovers |
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the Divine
again, after reading a blogpost by Kerry from Neopagan Priestess about incorporating the male aspect of divinity into
your practice.
Although
the God of my childhood is a Father, nowadays in my spiritual practice God is Feminine; a Mother. But
sometimes I wonder if perhaps I am forgetting
or neglecting a major part of my God(dess).
Since it is
almost Beltane I am not surprised this subject is asking my attention now. I've
always struggled with this Sabbat, because I never knew what to do with a god
and goddess in love. It feels strange to me, although I know it’s just a myth, but still ….
How could I
research this aspect of the Divine in a creative way without diving to deep in
all sorts of mythologies, which can be ever so confusing. Although I love to
read them, in my opinion the gods are described often as being too human, to
really satisfy my quest for understanding Divinity on a more spiritual level.
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| The Hermit |
I had suggested Kerry to name the masculine
aspect of the Divine using the tarot, the same way as I have done with the femine aspect.
Trying this out for myself I came to the conclusion
it didn't really matter which personal pronoun I would use in these naming
exercises. Even if the character in the depiction was male or female; it didn't
make any difference for me:
The Hermit: The Keeper of Knowledge, who comes to
me in silence and sheds his/her light over my hidden wisdom
or
The Light Bearer,
who takes me by the hand and illuminates my way in the darkness
Strength:The
One who perseveres and is strongly committed to protect those who are in need
or
The Patient
One, who teaches me to reach deep within for my own inner strength
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| Strength |
God can be
as nurturing, gentle and creative as Goddess and Goddess can be as fierce, militant
and lustful as god. They are all the same. Every Goddess is an aspect of the Divine
and every God is an aspect of the same Divine too. Since I don’t feel comfortable with
aggressive warlike Gods, I turn to Kali or Sekhmet who are both fierce goddesses to
defend and protect me in times of need. So we are free to reach out to the Divine
in whatever form we feel comfortable with. Recently I've started calling Her Amma
(thank you Sycamore). With this name, which
sounds a lot like “mama” (Dutch for mom) I can see Her as all encompassing and at
the same time very approachable to build a personal relationship with. She is every God
and Goddess for me. She is Spirit. She is Nature, She is Everything. I just choose
to call upon Her as female instead of male
For me this
was another step closer to what I belief to be God(dess). More and more I come
to realize that All is One and the freedom which emerges from this is so
liberating.
I am even looking
forward to Beltane now J
(The cards
are from the Druidcraft Tarot by Philip Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington)
I searched high and low trying to find a name for god that I could be comfortable with; in Islamic tradition, they have 99 names for Allah:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam
Though some of these are fine (The Guide for instance), some of them make me cringe (The Controller). At one point I tried out the Judaic name HaShem (literally "The Name"), but it felt too impersonal. Like you, I finally realized that this power really didn't have to be or him or her but could incorporate both. I love your posts by the way!
Thank you my dear friend
DeleteI love how my perception of the Divine gradually shifts and adapts along the way. In that way it stays vibrant and alive and I get a feeling of change and perhaps even growth. It seems we are walking parallel roads :)
What a nice post, Ellen! I use the term "God" because that's what I grew up with, but in my heart it's not exclusively a male reference. God is everything. I like the term, Amma, that's lovely :) And I know what you mean about calling on feminine warriors for protection and strength- I find I tend to do the same!
ReplyDeleteThank you Olivia
DeleteSometimes when I'am really troubled I call on the Father of my childhood too. It feels comforting and familiar. But in daily life this perception is too much stained by dogma and intolerance.
The name Amma gives me this secure childhood feeling
I love the Druidcraft Tarot, it always feels so alive and bright. Beltane is a tricky Sabbat because sometimes finding the way to connect can be really hard. How do you celebrate it? What does it mean personally? I struggle with this idea with some of the Sabbats because the traditional meanings don't always resonate.
ReplyDeleteBeltane isn't my favorite Sabbat either,but I guess this year I will focus on the balance between the feminine and masculine energies of God(dess). For me it is also about creativity which doesn't only require intuition and talent (feminine) but also the masculine goal oriented aspects like willpower and determination.
DeleteAnd of course I will celebrate the seasons splendor which is a result of these creative energies