An Archetypal Understanding Of The Daughter In Filianism

I have struggled for many years to make sense of the Daughter in the Filianic tradition. I think it is fair to say that many of my issues with the doctrines of Christianity carried over into my understanding of the Filianic teachings. I could not accept what appeared to be the teaching of “original sin” and the necessity of a sacrificial savioress. While reflecting on my understanding of this Faith and how it has changed over the years, I came across some tidbits I wrote from a personal correspondence many years ago:

I consider myself as Filianic, but I really only worship God as Mother within the Filianic Tradition. God as Mother alone is my personal bhakti.

As far as the Sacrificial Death of the Daughter goes, I would caution against throwing out something with significance that is beyond our understanding. I don’t currently “believe” in the Sacrificial Death of the Daughter, per se, because I do not really understand it at this time, but I don’t think throwing it out of the thealogy entirely without exhausting the possibility of it having no deeper spiritual meaning would be appropriate either.

 I suppose one could more accurately have described my path as Déanic as opposed to Filianic. As stated on Chapel of Our Mother God:

Filianists, indeed, regard themselves as Déanists. An often-used formula is: “All Filianists are Déanists, but not all Déanists are Filianists”.

However, most Déanists have at least some relation to the Filianic faith, and in practice the separation between the two is less clear-cut than it might seem. To understand this, we must realize that Déanic/Filianic thealogy is much less “literalist” than Christian theology.

My return to the Faith after a long hiatus (during which I explored general esotericism outside of the context of Filianism) has brought with it a fresh perspective. I’m really grateful to have made peace with the Mythos of Creation and God the Daughter

I came across an interpretation of the Creation Mythos that describes “the fall of maid” not as a moral failing that left all future descendants punished with the taint of original sin, but rather as a necessary separation from the divine perfection of Dea inherent in the condition of manifestation and its unfolding process. The “fall of maid” likewise was not a singular event. There have been various degrees of manifestation through Creation’s process, from the ethereal Satya Yuga to the profane Kali Yuga, each degree more bound to the material world. These degrees progress in a cyclical fashion as opposed to the linear conception of reality promulgated in the modern West. The processes of creation and destruction follow one another. Creation and destruction coincide on a continuous basis and range in magnitude from the Great Inspiration and Expiration at the Beginning and End of Creation to the daily death and birth of the individual cellular units that together form our bodies. In this beautiful matrix of Being is a sign for those who reflect on Her Mysteries.

While the Mother is the Creator, the Daughter is the Sustainer. The Daughter understands the immortality of the unmanifest and the mortality of the manifest simultaneously, for She carried Her Mother’s Light into the dark depths of death and was saved from Hell through the shedding of Her Mother’s tears. She is the union of polarity, the fulcrum balancing Creation and Destruction simultaneously in the powerful moment of the present.

I believe that Dea is ultimately One. Filianists use the language of Mother, Daughter, and Absolute Deity to describe the nature of Her Ultimate Reality in the form of unified polarity understandable to maid. I also believe that Dea and the created are intimately connected through a direct link in the form of the Higher Self. Every created being has a Higher Self through which the unique experience of being an individual is mediated and reconciled via alchemical processes into reunion with the Creator. This relationship is the purest form of Love. I understand the Daughter as this reflection of the Mother in manifest creation. The Higher Self is none other than the spark of the Daughter’s light, a lantern inviting the humble maid into Holy Communion with Her Divine Light:

As it is performed above in the spirit, so is it reflected below in the body and the soul, and through the reflection do earth’s children have part in the Real.

(The Mythos of the Divine Maid, 7:24)

Blessed is She who is the saving grace of maidenkind.

.Sources:

http://www.mother-god.com/filianism.html

http://www.mother-god.com/original-sin.html

“The Sacred Myths and Rites of the Madrians”

“The Gospel of Our Mother God”

Out With The Old, In With The New

For many, this is the time for spring cleaning, and many cultures have spring cleaning embedded into their traditions.

Iranians celebrate the New Year festival (Nowruz) on the day of the vernal equinox (March 21st). Two weeks prior to Nowruz, a ritual called khaneh takani (“shaking the house”) is undertaken in preparation for the new year and the welcoming of spring. Every corner of the home is dusted, scrubbed, and scoured. Jewish custom also has its own spring cleaning tradition before the holiday of Pesach (celebrated in March-April), which celebrates the Hebrew people’s emancipation from slavery in Egypt. Slaves in Egypt were fed unleavened bread, and so the Hebrew’s descendants kept this tradition as a reminder of the subjugation they had overcome. Keeping leavened bread in the house during Pesach is prohibited, and even leavened bread crumbs must not be left within the home. To ensure that no bread crumbs have been overlooked, Jews thoroughly clean their houses before Pesach every year.

This time of year is not only for a physical cleaning of the home, however, but also a time of spiritual cleaning (although a physically clean environment certainly helps to promote spiritual cleaning). By spiritual cleaning, I mean purifying the mind, racinating the image sphere, and living more in line with one’s true self. A fair assessment of one’s mind and soul is the first step in this process so that we know what our short-comings are and can take steps toward correcting them. I must emphasise here that making sudden, drastic changes are the quickest way to failure. It is one matter to form a solemn commitment to not back-track into old ways that no longer serve our souls, our families, our communities, or our world. It is another mater entirely to try to accomplish everything in a day. Set small goals for yourself, for even one step toward truth is one step out of the darkness. For example, one of my goals this spring is to start praying before meal time. A fairly simple goal one may think, but after going years of eating meals without praying beforehand, it can be a challenge to remember to thank Dea (I also thank the plants/animals that died in order to provide me with sustenance). Sometimes I remember, sometimes I remember only when I am already chewing on the first couple of bites, but I always try, and if I fail I keep trying.

In the Islamic tradition, this is known as the Greater Jihad (not to be confused with the Lesser Jihad, or Holy War, which is the more common understanding of the word’s meaning here in the West). The concept itself is not only limited to Islam, however, but is a universal call of action to people from all faith backgrounds. According to Mr. John Heit:

Jihad is the effort to purify oneself from within, to purify oneself of selfish appetites–the intention behind the action is important to the action itself…The greater jihad is further divided into three types of struggle:

 1) Jihad of the Heart ( the struggle for moral reformation and faith)

2) Jihad of the Tongue (the struggle to proclaim God’s word abroad; right speech)

3) Jihad of the Hand (doing good works in accord with the will of God)

When I speak of image spheres, I speak of everything which we surround ourselves with: art, music, films, television shows, the decoration of our homes, the clothes we wear. Are we surrounded by profanities that encourage our lowest natures or are we surrounded by reflections of a higher spiritual Order that encourage an upliftment of the soul? I am a firm believer in the effect of our surroundings on our minds, and by extension, on our words and deeds.

Recent findings in psychology and the research into neuroplasticity support this notion. A research study conducted on the link between childhood and adolescent aggression with profanity exposure in media found a posititve coorelation between the two. As stated in the findings of this study in the research paper “Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression”:

The use of profanity also is related to aggressive behavior. For example, profanity use has been associated with more-hostile personalities, as well as other forms of aggression. Profanity use often is included as an item on problem behavior scales for children and adolescents. Furthermore, other studies have found that exposure to profanity can induce a numbing effect on normal emotional responses. Researchers also have shown that, when profanity is used with the intent to harm or to belittle another, the offender subsequently is less disturbed by exposure to profanity in general.

Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Valerie Voon also discovered that the brain scans of people suffering from pornography addiction experience the same changes as the brain scans of drug addicts. As summarised by Mr. Norman Doidge:

 Until recently, scientists believed our brains were fixed, their circuits formed and finalised in childhood, or “hardwired”. Now we know the brain is “neuroplastic”, and not only can it change, but that it works by changing its structure in response to repeated mental experience. One key driver of plastic change is the reward centre, which normally fires as we accomplish a goal. A brain chemical, dopamine, is released, giving us the thrill that goes with accomplishment. It also consolidates the connections between neurons in the brain that helped us accomplish that goal. As well, dopamine is secreted at moments of sexual excitement and novelty. Porn scenes, filled with novel sexual “partners”, fire the reward centre. The images get reinforced, altering the user’s sexual tastes. Many abused substances directly trigger dopamine secretion – without us having to work to accomplish a goal. This can damage the dopamine reward system. In porn, we get “sex” without the work of courtship. Now, scans show that porn can alter the reward centre too. Once the reward centre is altered, a person will compulsively seek out the activity or place that triggered the dopamine discharge. (Like addicts who get excited passing the alley where they first tried cocaine, the patients got excited thinking about their computers.) They crave despite negative consequences. (This is why those patients could crave porn without liking it.) Worse, over time, a damaged dopamine system makes one more “tolerant” to the activity and needing more stimulation, to get the rush and quiet the craving. “Tolerance” drives a search for ramped-up stimulation, and this can drive the change in sexual tastes towards the extreme.

In essence, we become what we surround ourselves with. Our surroundings can either uplift or debase us. I have personally experienced this in my own life, for as I have cut away the thorns of khear by reducing an eliminating my exposure to unwholesome media, I have become more at peace and more in tune with not only my true self, but also with Dea. I will not pretend that this path is easy. I have fallen back into old ways more times than I can count. It is difficult to break bad habits. I have also lost friends who I have outgrown because we simply no longer have the same interests and outlooks on life. But at the same time, I have opened a space up for better habits and better friends.

Our separation from Dea is like a wound. When caring for a wound, it is important to first remove the damaged and dead tissue before new tissue can grow. The process of debridement can be very painful (as I have learned from the procedure of wet-to-dry dressing changes in nursing school!) but it also promotes wound healing, which is what we are striving toward. The same process happens when we make a solemn decision to repair our spiritual wounds, the chasm that separates us from Our Mother. As Mother Iulya says:

I do not mean to pretend that the Gentle Way is easy. It is simple, but it is not easy. We shall be tempted often away from the path of gentleness and simplicity; we shall be tempted away from kindness and purity and assailed by anger, greed, idleness, pride, carnality and the spirit of joylessness and complaining; and sometimes we shall fall. But if we pick ourselves up with meekness and humility and ask Dea to set us back upon the path, all the work of the grumms and darklings in tripping us up will have been for nothing. The Gentle Way demands discipline and a strong will to overcome the lower self. But it is the way by which we may enjoy all the glories of the world; and the practice of moderation and a little asceticism will only make them the sweeter. As we live upon the world as our Lady’s little child-servants, we begin to learn that there is only one Enjoyer of the world, and that is our Lady Herself. She who is perfect has perfect enjoyment, and therefore to enjoy the world through Her is the best way, and in the end the only way, to enjoy it. That is why She wants us to follow this way — because She loves us even more than we love ourselves.

Resouces:

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-hints-tips/cleaning-organizing/spring-clean-in-spring.htm

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/heit/whatisjihad.html

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/5/867.full

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/26/brain-scans-porn-addicts-sexual-tastes

http://gopherproxy.meulie.net/sdf.org/0/users/ladywillow/filianic/educational/historic/aristasia/gentle-way

 

The Filianic Gender Question

A recent question came up in The Elegant Lady Feminine Seminary by Miss Brythwen Sinclair regarding the issue of gender that the Filianic community, and especially myself, has been grappling with for some time now. Some key points she makes that I would like to share in part here are:

If all that is comes from Dea’s hand and serves as a vision of Her in miniature, the masculine gender is some how woven into the great Whole….I struggle with this. I do not see what reason there is to dismiss the masculine half of the species. All are children of Dea, regardless of gender, race, or species. Do not all children resemble their parent? The physical world, does it not bear the hallmarks of the spiritual in all places? If so, then simple logic would have it that the masculine has a place in the cosmos. If that was not so, then the masculine would not exist.

I agree entirely with the above sentiments, and they echo my own thoughts on the Filianic answer on the gender question. I must confess that my on faith in Filianism has been wavering to the point that I am not sure if I can continue claiming Filianism as my religion.

Several issues on the gender question in Filianism trouble me. First, Filianism and intermorphic beliefs as espoused by the Aristasians/Cheoluranyans seem nearly inseparable at times. Apologist explanations attempting to maintain consistency between the Filianic belief that the material world reflects the spiritual world and the denial of masculine spiritual nature fall back on these intermorphic cosmic perspectives. As Bishop Georgia says:

The Filianic view of the Aristasians, Madrians, and Daughters of Shining Harmony is consistent (neither contradictory or misguided) within a Cosmic perspective in which the two materially manifested genders are both “feminine”, ie. chelani and melani.  “As above” (the spirit or soul) is “Feminine” and “so below” (the material forms) are “feminine”.  That is the perspective from which the Filianic Scriptures is written.

I am a perrenialist and believe that all traditional religions lead to Truth. My own personal perspective of Filianism of being one of many paths to the Divine leads me to conclude that worship of Our Mother is my personal bhakti, the way in which I best worship God. I don’t discredit religions or people who feel the need to worship God as only Father or worship God as Mother and Father. My own personal beliefs are not threatened in any way by theirs. In the perennial sense, no religion is universal or the one and only path to God, but I find that explanations justifying the Filianic Scriptual and metaphysical perspective seem to advocate the superiority of intermorphic cosmology and beliefs, leave out those of us who do not identify as intermorphs, and limit Filianism’s validity to the confines of an alternative, intermorphic universe.

Furthermore, the Madrian Catechism includes  tenets of belief  stated in “The Quest of the Soul” that include the following:

70. Are souls both female and male?

+ No, all spiritual creatures are female, for maleness is a thing of the material world.

71. Do male creatures have souls?

+ Yes, male creatures have female souls.

These teachings would not be problematic if one wished to divorce Filianism from its earlier Madrian roots, but even in the Scriptures themselves that we hold dear, verses such as the ones I will share below from the Heart of Water only serve to further reinforce Filianic misandry:

32. Let the brother obey the sister, and the younger sister obey the elder. Let the child obey the mother and the husband the wife.

I came to Filianism out of desire to worship Our Mother in a beautiful, pure, traditional manner, but my increasing frustration with the Filianic answer to the gender question pushes me further and further away from the faith. Can I trust the Filianic Scriptures in their entirety as infallible spiritual guidance, given that the only mention of the male gender in the entire Scripture is to direct men to obey women? Can I pick and choose the verses and teachings we like and leave behind the rest? Can I leave behind the intermorphic cosmology and principles of Filianism while remaining true to the faith? I don’t know anymore. All I know is that I will continue to worship my Heavenly Mother, in the context of Filianism or outside of it, one way or another.

Resources:

The Sacred Myths and Rites of the Madrians, edited by Phillip P. Jackson

Celebrating the Harvest: Feast of Divine Life

I hope everyone had a happy Feast of Divine Life/Cuivanya/Mabon/Autumnal Equinox this past weekend! While most Filyanis celebrated the Feast of Divine Life on the 21st of September, I held my celebration yesterday on the 22nd due to work schedule conflicts. Today I will be discussing my thoughts of the Feast of Divine Life, its personal meaning and significance for me, and how I celebrated it.

The Feast of Divine Life is a celebration of both life and death simultaneously in the Filianic tradition. As a harvest festival, the symbol of this holiday is the sickle or scythe, and its spiritual significance is explained in the passage below from the Chapel of Our Mother God:

“The central symbol of Cuivanya (Feast of Divine Life), the autumnal equinox Harvest Festival, is the scythe or sickle. This is a symbol that represents both life and death. It symbolizes the harvest and the abundance of the earth, the coming to fruition of all the good things that have been planted and tended, both materially and spiritually. At the same time it represents cutting-down and death. The death of the individual, and ultimately the death of the cosmos itself, when all creation is in-breathed back into Absolute Deity, the Dark Mother who out-breathed the cosmos in the beginning.”

The Feast of Divine Life is also a time of year that we can give thanks to Our Mother for the food we have on our tables. However, unlike many modern ideas focusing solely on the materialistic meaning behind a harvest festival, Filyanis see the harvest as a physical reflection of a higher spiritual order. As also stated on the Chapel of Our Mother God:

“Again, the idea of a Harvest Festival is often seen by modern people in purely materialistic terms. It is seen as “primitive” people, dependent on agriculture, giving thanks for their material survival and for the harvest that will permit them to eat. They then (so the “evolutionist” narrative imagines) invent “gods” (or for the first many millennia “goddesses”) as a sort of imaginary addendum to the physical realities of life. In fact the reverse is true. Our honored Ancestresses lived far closer to the Spirit than we do. Everything they did was spiritual first and physical second. The transition to agriculture was fundamentally a spiritual phenomenon. It was a part of the increasing materialization of maid: her becoming more and more a creature living on the physical plane.”

On a microcosmic, personal level, during this past year I parted ways with my old life in favour of a better one. I still struggle with following my inner true self over my false self, but I have come to at least the awareness of having a true and false self and can therefore correct myself when I find that I am gravitating toward the false and away from the true. In this way, I ended a period of many years in my life of blindly following my passions without any regard for their fundamental truths (or in most cases, lack thereof). With every ending comes a new beginning, and this is true on a personal as well as universal level. I feel that the Feast of Divine Life is a time of endings as well as new beginnings.

I celebrated the Feast of Divine Life yesterday by reconsecrating my altar and imagery of Dea, as I had felt a lack of spiritual energy around my altar in recent days and wanted to rededicate myself to Her. I then made a batch of honey cakes (which turned into a disaster when the batter rose and overflowed the muffin tins onto the bottom of the oven, where it burned and charred), apple fritters, and a dish of sauteed chicken, assorted vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, etc.), and rice. Below I have included the recipe I used for the apple fritters. This recipe can also be done with pears, which were also ripe in my area this time of year.

Apple Fritters

Ingredients

-1 egg, beaten

-1/2 cup milk

-2 tsp. sugar

-1 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1 cup sour cream

-1 cup self-rising flour

-3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced horizontally, about 1/4-inch thick

-oil for frying

-powdered sugar, optional

Directions

Combine in bowl the beaten egg, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and sour cream. Mix well and add flour. Dip apples in batter and carefully place in hot oil. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove fritters and drain. May sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Miss Kathi has also included a lovely recipe for baked apple slices on her blog, Shrine of the Gentle Way. Check out her recipe by clicking on the link below:


http://aedismitisars.tumblr.com/post/61999252960/feast-of-divine-life-suggested-readings-and-activities

I also performed the Rite of Sacrifice and prayed the Filianic Rosary, as is customary on Holy Days. I ended my celebrations by asking Dea for spiritual direction through a Celtic cross tarot divination done with the question of my spiritual progression over the course of the next quarter (til Nativity and the beginning of winter). Below I have included some ideas if you want to start planning for next year’s festival!

Ideas for Celebrating the Feast of Divine Life

-Prepare a feast! Traditional foods include apples, cider, and seed cake. Fruits and vegetables that have ripened at this time of year are also appropriate. Don’t forget to thank Dea for the food on your table and all the many blessings She has given you!

-Decorate your shrine with the fruits of the season, especially apples, as they represent the golden apples of Avala! A brief summary of he symbolic significance of the apple and Avala is given below:

Avala is the Earthly Paradise, for although beyond this physical world, it is still below the level of pure Spirit as the resting place for spiritually awakened but still imperfect souls. The Tree of Life, at its centre, bears the golden apples of life eternal. The word “paradise” comes from a root-word meaning “orchard”. Avala and Elysium both mean “apple-land”. In many traditions, from the Sumerian and Greek to the Aztec, this paradise has been pictured as a mountain-top orchard which, in all earlier and most later accounts, belongs to a “goddess”. Thus the Sacred Mountain is Her mountain; the golden apples Her apples, for Hers is the gift of eternal life.

-Perform the Rite of Sacrifice

-Pray the Filianic Rosary

-Read passages from the Filianic Scriptures. The scripture passage for the Feast of Divine Life is found in The Crystal Tablet, Verses 12-29, as given below from the Lux Madrian version:

12. Life is the life of the spirit-the first principle; beyond being and unbeing. Life was before existence. Life is the cause of existence. 13. How shall the soul live in Life? 14. Let her realise the truth of herself and the Truth of the Absolute. Let her know that her life is beyond even her existence, that the Absolute Life, the Life of the Goddess, is beyond all existence. 15. Let her not be held from herself or her Goddess by anything that exists, for all the things that are have come from nothing and to nothing shall return. But the Divine Life, and her life within it, Was ever and ever shall Be, though time itself shall only last a space. 16. Let her not trust the ground her feet are set upon and doubt the Ground upon which that ground stands. Rather, let her doubt the sea, the sky, the fingers of her hand, and the breath of her mouth; for all these things may be illusions, as in some sense they are. 17. But let her know Life Divine as the Truth beyond truth and the Faith beyond faith and doubt. 18. Life is pure force, or energy, or delight. It is the joy of the Goddess, and Her breath and Spirit. 19. Light is the outpouring of Life into existence. All things that exist come from Life; they are made and sustained by Light. 20. Though an existing thing appear never so solid, yet its body is made of light. All material things are but consolidated force; and the vibration of force is the whole of their being. 21. Yet material things are far from the Source of Light. They have become subject to consolidation and restriction. 22. Pure light knows no bounds, but is perfect joy, and breathes its own perfection. 23. How shall the soul approach to Light? 24. Let her make her every act a resplendent creation, and let every outpouring of her energy be a well-made gift for her Lady. Let her not fall into dullness, but be ever creating herself anew in the delight of her energy. 25. Let her not seek for reward, but only for her own perfection; thus shall the action itself become perfect. Let her turn from the transient and find delight in the Eternal. 26. For every earthly action is the shadow of some higher form; and the soul must choose whether in her act she shall approach that form, or sink from it into deeper shadows and the morass of illusion. 27. She who rejects the light of the Spirit in this world shall, beyond death, be plunged into darkness and the confusion of bodiless echoes. 28. But every act that is performed in dedication to the Mother is an expression of the soul’s true self, and loosens the chains of her bondage. 29. If the soul live in Light, no thing shall be impossible to her, for her will shall become one with the will of our Lady.

You can also add other passages to read as well, if you feel called to do so.

Resources:

http://aedismitisars.tumblr.com/post/61999252960/feast-of-divine-life-suggested-readings-and-activities

http://aristasia.info/mountain.html

http://www.mother-god.com/autumnal-equinox.html

The Colour Silver: Symbol and Scripture

If Filianism had a sacred colour, it would be silver. The colour silver appears in the Filianic Scriptures fourteen times. All but one of these references to silver are found in The Holy Mythos. Below I have included the scripture passages in which silver is mentioned, followed by a brief commentary on each one and its context within Scripture:

For each peal of Her voice became a silver fragment, broken from the whole and yet complete in itself. And She loved each fragment with all the joy of Her being, and Her hands were wisely skilled. (1:1:5)

Silver is a feminine colour that is both intuitive and mysterious, calming and purifying. It is traditionally associated with wisdom, as the hair becomes a silver colour as one ages. Its reflective qualities are of primary interest in connection with Scripture.

And each fragment was filled with Her delight, and therefore was living. And some grew in the deep earth, and were plants and trees; some ran about the ground or flew above it; and those first-made that had no place to be set down became the fishes and creatures of the sea. And everything was silver. And She laughed. (1:1:8)

Everything at the beginning of the Creation was a pure reflection of Dea, and everything lived in harmony with Her and all other things.

And every peal of Her voice became the image of a silver fragment of Her Spirit. (1:1:13)

This passage clearly demonstrates the reflective quality of silver in symbolism. Silver is also used in making mirrors, on which the back surface is coated with silver to produce a reflection of the true image. The reflection is dependent upon the true image, not the other way around.

But there was one that had not been shaped by Her, and that was neither Her daughter nor a creature of spirit. But it was the space between the fragments and the nothingness that had been before things were. It had neither power nor delight, but only weight. It had no shape, but could only coil and uncoil itself about the things that were. It was the snake, and it was not silver but black. (1:2:1)

The Fall of Maid is a tale that I have never quite wrapped my mind around, as it is difficult for me to imagine Dea as an all-encompassing being and yet for there to exist something that does not emanate from Her and is not a part of Her. For that reason, I will not attempt to examine this particular passage except in noting the contrast between the silver nature that is of Dea and the black void that is not of Her. The colour black traditionally carries negative connotations, especially in Western cultures where it is the colour of death and mourning. It should also be of no surprise that black is also associated with rebellion, as is seen by its adoption by various subcultures like punks and bikers.

Further commentary on this Scripture passage by those who are more knowledgeable about it than I may be left in the comments below.

And whereas all things had been silver, now they took on every hue and colour, and the world was beautiful; but it was not so beautiful as it had formerly been. (1:3:2)

While silver is a reflection of Dea, the world after the Fall of Maid is now coloured with many shades and hues. Although still beautiful on a material level, the purity of the reflection and connection with Dea is lost.

“But I shall keep watch in the heavens by night, and there shall be a silver light that there may never be complete darkness. By this I shall govern my movements of the waters, and the earth may never again be flooded; and when you look upon this light, you will remember the time when all things were silver.” (1:3:4-5)

This celestial light is in reference to the moon, which is a symbol of the Daughter. The Lunar Daughter is also an intermediary between maid and the Solar Mother, who is too bright to look upon. As stated by the Encyclopedia Cheoluranya:

 The Lunar realm is the realm of imagination and also of mental activity. The word “mind” comes from the same root as “moon”. While the pure Intellect which sees Truth directly is by nature Solar, the reflected Intellectual light which is our earthly reason is lunar (mental or moon-like), as also is our imagination.

The moon’s governance over bodies of water on earth is also mentioned here in speaking of the Great Flood, a legend which has appeared in cultures all over the world.

The second princess held neither so much land nor treasure, but she was a maid of deep wisdom and profound meditation. Her crown was of pure silver; and as she took it from her head, the light of the star fell upon it, and it shone with a loveliness yet lovelier than that of the golden crown. (1:5:25)

The connection between wisdom and silver is made clear here in this verse. Following this verse, the archangel replies to the second princess “It is good that you bring your crown, for you have great wisdom, but the Holy Child is the Daughter of Wisdom Herself.” (1:5:27)

The Maid took up the great moon-axe, whose silver blades were the crescent of the moon, in symbol of Her light, and went alone into a desert place. (1:7:1)

Here again we see the connection between the Daughter, the moon, and the colour silver. In this passage, the moon spoken of in its crescent phase. Whether the crescent moon is in a waxing or waning phase is not specified, although by my understanding of the Madrian tradition, it seems that both  waxing and waning crescents were related to the Daughter and were celebrated by offering the Rite of Sacrifice. The great moon-axe mentioned in this verse is later hung above the Daughter’s corpse by the daughters of the dark queen “in symbol of the greatness of the deed.” (1:8:19)

And the Maid gave the silver circlet into her hands and passed through the gate. (1:8:6)

Circlets are headpieces that are similar to tiaras. In this passage, the Daughter gives up the circlet adorning her head to the second gatekeeper during Her descent into the underworld.

And She came to a sixth gate and the gatekeeper said ‘”Give me the silver girdle about your waist and you may pass.” And She unbound Her silver girdle and passed through the gate wearing only Her white robe. (1:8:10)

The silver girdle referenced here is more likely a girdle belt as opposed to the word’s more common definition as lingerie that aids in shaping the torso. After unbinding Her girdle, the Daughter is left only in Her white robe. White is not only a colour of purity, but it is also associated with death, especially in Eastern cultures like Japan where the dead are traditionally dressed in white kimono. This association is made clearer in consideration of the impending Death of the Daughter following Her arrival into the Underworld.

Then in the darkness after the second day, a silver star appeared in the heavens, whose brightness was too great for them to look upon. (1:9:8)

This is an interesting passage, as silver is typically associated with lunar cosmology and the Daughter. Both of these associations link silver to being an intermediary between the maid and Dea, as since the Fall of Maid, she can no longer look upon Dea’s brightness. However, in this verse the silver star is a sign of the Mother who has come to seek Her Daughter and save Her from Death and the Underworld.

And your dearest joy must ring as a silver bell that has a crack; sweetly, but never in perfection. (3:4:12)

This is the only verse outside of the Holy Mythos of the Filianic Scriptures that mentions silver. In this context, the Daughter is speaking to humanity of its own imperfection from the moment that maid turned away from Dea. One can easily see how this verse relates to everyday life, as even the most joyful of occasions and celebrations are marred by imperfection, and even in times of contentment, life often falls short of the expectation of what it should be. The Daughter cautions us from arrogant hubris in the following verse by saying: “Oh, do not say that you are perfect, for then you can not understand the world or your own selves.” (3:4:13)

Resources:

http://chelouranya.com/encyclopaedia/index.php?title=Sai_Candre&action=edit

Modern Goddess Spirituality: Self-Worship

When I first learned about the modern Goddess worship movement, I felt intrigued by the idea. A modern religion built upon Goddess worship seemed wonderful, especially since I had believed before that the sacred practice had been relegated to the pre-patriarchal history books. Then I delved deeper into learning about the “religion” and became more and more disillusioned. Every article about “empowering the goddess archetypes within” felt less about religion and more about feminist self-help. I found myself shaking my head at the treatment of Goddesses in group introductions and creeds, such as this one taken from the group “Within Every Woman Is a Goddess:

“We will join together in sacred
space to honor ourselves and empower the Divine Feminine in each of us.  All
women are invited from all walks of life; we do not follow any particular belief
system other than the fact that every woman is a Goddess.
We will work with the Goddess archetypes mined from the myths of societies
across the globe and across the millennium and will use meditation, dance,
drumming, and/or craft work to guide and assist us on this journey.
Be prepared to drum, to dance, to howl, to find your real inner wild woman
essence!”

What stands out to me in this treatment of the Goddesses as “archetypes”, describing them as “mined from myths of societies cross the globe and across the millennium”. I think it’s important to focus on the word “mined”, with the connotations of an object being extracted from it’s home for purposes of human consumption. This seems to be the attitude of modern “Goddess spirituality”, that the Goddesses exist for women’s personal needs and desires rather than as Deities (or in Filianism, different Janyati stemming from One Deity) worthy of honour and worship. Traditional Jungian archetypal concepts of God of course focus more on “God within the psyche” rather than cosmic intelligence. Modern “Goddess worship” (more like woman worship) simply hi-jacked Carl Jung’s psychology work, added a feminist twist, and climbed on the Neo-Pagan bandwagon.

I’m of the opinion that we, as well as all life and all humans, not only women but men as well, have a spark of Dea within us. After all, we are all Her children and we are all her Creation. The miracle of Life itself demonstrates this beautiful truth. Our True Self is in perfect harmony with Dea, although unfortunately in this Tamasic world of ignorance and darkness, it is overshadowed more often than not by the False Self. What modern Goddess spirituality’s self-worship misses out on is connection with any higher principle other than one’s self. When we listen to pseudo-spiritual hippie gurus for spiritual guidance in matters of “embracing the Goddess within”, we become more and more enmeshed in our narcissistic, materialistic, contemporary culture and politics, rather than liberating ourselves with universal, timeless spiritual truths.

Resources:

http://www.meetup.com/Within-Every-Woman-is-a-Goddess/