Section 1 LORE The Goddess~ Now that we have gone through several pantheons, we can begin to get a glimpse of the true nature of the Goddess. She is like a vast and incredibly complicated gem, each name, each personification reflecting one facet of Her total nature. By studying the faces She has worn over the millenia, we can begin our never ending journey to comprehend Her. Mother, sister, daughter, wife, young, old, creator, destroyer, avenger, comforter. She is warrior, priestess, lover, queen, temptress, virgin. Each name highlights another of Her aspects and each name is a symbol of Her and by understanding Her names we begin to give those symbols power and form. She is within us, around us, beside us, beneath us, above us. She is intrinsic in the largest galaxy and the smallest atom. Her love binds energy into matter and shapes the physical laws of our universe. She gives birth to us and accepts us back into Her when we die; and all along the way, She is part of us and everyone and everything around us. She is the spark that makes the seed push upward through the Earth in spring, She is the nurturing soil and the falling rain. She is the living ocean and the moving air. Everything is within Her and part of Her, there is no place where we can go that She is not. To Invoke the Goddess is to awaken Her within ourselves, to call Her names is to bring those qualities that She embodies into our lives. Understanding this, let us look at the Charge of the Goddess. "Listen to the Words of the Great Mother, who was of old called Artemis, Isis, Demeter, Melusine, Aphrodite, Ceridwen, Diana, Arianrhod, Brigid and by many other names: Whenever you have need of anything, once in a month, and better it be when the moon is full, you shall assemble in some secret space and adore the spirit of Me who is Queen of all the Wise. You shall be free from slavery and as a sign that you be free you shall be naked in your rites. Sing, feast, dance, make music and love, all in My presence, for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit and Mine also is joy on earth. For My law is love unto all beings. Mine is the secret that opens the door of youth, and Mine is the cup of wine of life that is the Cauldron of Ceridwen that is the the holy grail of immortality. I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal and beyond death I give peace and freedom and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice, for behold, I am mother of all things and My love is poured upon the earth." "Hear the words of the Star Goddess, the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven, whose body encircles the universe: I who am the beauty of the green earth and the white moon among the stars and the mysteries of the waters, I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the soul of nature that gives life to the universe. From Me all things proceed and unto Me they must return. Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold--all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals. Let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And you who seek Me, know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not, unless you know the Mystery: for if that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without. For behold, I have been with you from the beginning, and I am that which is attained at the end of desire." Next Lecture: The God

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