Temple Precepts

1. Unity

Our Temple is founded upon Unity - the All-Oneness which informs the universe.

Our Temple is a community of people (women and men) whose primary experience of this spiritual reality is through their relationship with the Great Goddess and Her many aspects.

We are united by our experience and understanding of Goddess as both immanent and transcendent. Consequently, we share a reverence for the sacredness of all life, which is balanced by a respect for the cycles of life, death and renewal, in human life as in all of nature. Likewise, we recognise that reality extends beyond the tangible world of the physical senses, and we endeavour to practice respect for those non-physical beings whose paths cross with our own.

The primary purpose of our temple is to facilitate worship, both public and private. We believe that worship, like any form of love-making, is an exchange of energy. Through worship, our own divine nature can be awaked, transforming us so that eventually we come to embody the divine qualities of our deity to the benefit of our whole community. An important element of our reason for being is to contribute to the public visibility and positive public image of Goddess-worship in wider society.

Our physical temple premises are the expression in form of our collective relationship with Goddess, a sacred space made available to those who wish to experience and celebrate Her mysteries.

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2. Diversity

Within the unity of our foundation vision and values, the Temple embraces a diversity of Goddess traditions, personal paths and expressions-in-form of the spiritual impulse.

A variety of goddesses and gods (both ancestral and emerging) are engaged with and celebrated, for we recognise them to be (as we all are) diverse expressions of She Who Is One. We believe that our gods are worthy of being worshipped, and that through our worship we can become more like them. We practice reverence for the sacred shrines and statues which are endowed with their living presence.

Our temple thrives upon the various contributions of artists and craftspeople, dancers, musicians, teachers, healers, administrators, gardeners, ceremonial leaders, and volunteers of all kinds. We actively seek to involve children, youth, adults and elders in our collective life.

We acknowledge the vocations of those within our temple community who have dedicated themselves to the service of specific deities, as well as those who serve as ceremonial leaders within particular traditions and spiritual groups. We affirm their right to call themselves priestesses and priests. In addition the temple community may recognise the vocation and contribution of specific individuals by ordaining them as Priestesses or Priests of the Temple of the Goddess.
 
 
 

3. Balance

We endeavour to find sustainable ways to meet the needs of our community and to live in harmony with each other and the Earth.

In our dealings with each other and with the wider world, we seek to appreciate what we're given, to give back something for what we receive, and do our best to be generous with what we have.

We believe that our desire to embrace diversity must be balanced against the need to maintain our integrity as a community of worship. When considering potential uses of temple premises, the needs and desires of specific groups or individuals must be balanced with the need to care for the well being of the whole community.

Given the interconnected nature of community, we believe that solutions which meet the needs of some individuals at the expense of others are not sustainable in the long term. Consequently we will endeavour to find creative, synergistic solutions to conflicts which may arise. Nonetheless, we acknowledge the right of any community, including our own, to refuse to accommodate needs of specific individuals or activities where it is felt that this will compromise the integrity and well being of the community as a whole.

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4. Transformation

In the face of rampant consumerism, wholesale destruction of the planetary environment, and ever increasing levels of human anxiety and depression, we are advocates for the restoration of the sacred to the centre of daily life.

We know that none of us got into this mess alone, and we will not get out of it alone. Transforming the patterns of damage within our personal, family and communal lives is a collective project that will take several generations.

Celebrating Goddess and aligning ourselves to the flow of spirit in our own lives, we are moved to reach out to the world around us in simple ways, according to our own gifts and callings. It is our fervent prayer that our temple, and the various webs of community which it focuses, will become a cauldron of spiritual nourishment and transformation for the battered spirit of humanity as it endures and grows through the present era of cultural and planetary upheaval and distress.
 
 
 
 

The Perth Temple of the Goddess is envisaged as a triangle where each side supports and sustains the other two.

Its three sides are:

1) Premises

The physical temple is the expression in form of our love and devotion. It is the house of the Goddess - and is to be accessible to all who seek Her.

The Temple premises are to be set up to accommodate the various needs of public and private worship, teaching and healing.

Ideally, the premises should include a large indoor ceremonial space for public worship, several smaller spaces for use by groups and individuals - including dedicated spaces for private meditation, healing, and women's mysteries - and a sacred outdoor space surrounded by gardens. However, we are content to begin in small ways as we gradually build our resources.

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2) People

The people are the Temple. Without people willing to contribute their time and money to support our purposes there can be no temple.

The Temple organisation is envisaged as a democratic collective, made up of a variety of groups and individuals practicing various forms of Goddess-centred spirituality. We are united in our desire for shared public premises which will make Goddess spirituality more accessible to the wider community.

The organisational structure must meet the requirements for incorporation under the Associations Act, with elected representatives coordinating the management of temple premises and community activities. In addition, the community may appoint one or more paid administrators to assist in the day to day running of Temple affairs.

Membership of the temple organisation is primarily about a commitment to furthering the work of the Temple.

Benefits of membership may include:

3) Public presence

A primary purpose of the Temple of the Goddess is to provide a public focus for Goddess worship in Perth. This will facilitate networking between groups and individuals who practice a Goddess-centred spirituality, and the development of a stronger sense of community. A programme of open worship, teaching and healing activities will also help to make Goddess worship more accessible to those people who are still searching for their own spiritual path.

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4) Priestesses and priests

Within the Temple community there are individuals who have dedicated themselves to the service of specific deities, and some who serve as ceremonial leaders within particular traditions and spiritual groups. We acknowledge their specific vocations and affirm their right to call themselves priestesses and priests.

In addition, the Temple of the Goddess may choose to acknowledge the vocation and contribution of particular individuals by ordaining them as Priestesses and Priests of the Temple of the Goddess.

These are individuals, from a range of Goddess traditions, whose lives are dedicated to the service of Goddess and community. They serve the Temple, its community and the wider public as healers, teachers, counselors, oracles, ceremonial leaders and/or temple caretakers according to their own particular gifts and capacities.

Those so appointed make a commitment before Goddess and community to uphold the vision and values of the Temple, and to serve both their immediate community and the wider public in their daily lives. They are answerable to the community through the management structures of the incorporated association.

The Temple will support the work of its appointed priestesses and priests in ways which are appropriate to the needs of those individuals and it's own current circumstances and resources. Financial remuneration for time and energy expended is only one possibility.

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Perth Temple of the Goddess (Inc)

Overview of Proposed Incorporated Assocation

1. PURPOSES

That we form an incorporated association for the purposes of --

5) The usual procedures for renewal, resignation and expulsion -

from the sample constitution given out by Corporate Affairs.

PROPOSED MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

1. Management of the association through a "Temple Hub" of elected representatives, appointed for a two year term with half of the positions becoming vacant at every AGM

2. Temple Hub has the power to appoint paid staff, eg. a temple administrator to assist in managing the day to day business of the temple.

3. That the "Hub" consist of

5. "Hub" to establish Working Groups to coordinate specific activities of the association and/or suggest policies, eg. Temple stewardship, Public programme, Newsletter. Such working groups to be composed of at least two members of the elected Hub (including one of Convener, Curator or Exaltor) and additional volunteers coopted from the general membership.

6. In the absence of a paid administrator, the three office bearers be empowered to handle money on behalf of the association, with the Curator carrying the ultimate responsibility to ensure that the assocation complies with financial accounting and audit requirements.

DECISION MAKING PROCESSES

1. Decision making at general meetings be determined by a majority vote, as described by sample constitution provided by Corporate Affairs.

2. Decision making in meetings of the temple Hub be by a formal consensus process with recourse to divination if required.

3. Quorum for general meetings to be one quarter of the general membership (present in person or by proxy).

PRIEST/ESSES

1. Priestesses dedicate themselves to the service of the Temple's purposes and membership

2. Priest/esses of the Perth Temple of the Goddess to be nominated for ordination by at least five members (excluding the individual concerned) and the appointment ratified by the membership at a general meeting.

3. Appointment is for one, three or seven years, renewable. In exceptional circumstances a priestess may resign her role (for personal reasons) or be expelled from membership of the association (for misconduct) within this period.

3. Responsibilities and rewards of the role - as determined by the membership from time to time. Ordained priest/esses are anwerable to the membership through the management structures of the association.

4. Ordained priest/esses are eligible to bear office within the Temple Hub.

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