Before time was, there was The One; The One was all, and all was The One.
And the vast expanse known as the universe was The One, all wise, all pervading, all powerful, eternally changing. And space moved. The One molded energy into twin forms,
equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and God from The One and of The One.
The Goddess and God stretched and gave thanks to The One, but darkness surrounded them.
They were alone, solitary save for The One. So they formed energy into gases and gases into suns and planets and moons; They sprinkled the universe with whirling globes and so all was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and God.
Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns. The Goddess and God, satisfied by their works,
rejoiced and loved, and were one. From their union sprang the seeds of all life,
and the human race so that we might achieve incarnation upon the Earth. The Goddess chose the Moon as her symbol,
and the God the Sun as his to remind the inhabitants of Earth of their creators.
All are born, live, die and are reborn beneath the Moon and Sun; All things come to pass thereunder, and all occurs
with the blessings of The One, the Goddess and God, as has been the way of existence since before time was.
Written by: Scott Cunningham
Source: http://www.wicca.com/celtic/wicca/before.htm
Goddess
Goddess in Wicca is the Great Mother. She is the foundation of everything existence: she is Mother of all things. She is the Creator, but also the destroyer, she is double sided, which creates balance. She also represents the balance - the balance of nature and the balance between life and death. She is Earth Mother, Moon Goddess and Star Goddess at the same time, just like she is queen of the Earth, Queen of Heaven and Queen of the Underworld.
Her many faces we see in the many goddesses. She is the virgin Artemis and Aphrodite seductress, she is Isis, the woman over the power of words; She is Cerridwen, Fortryllersken by its boiler; She is Hecate, Mistress of Magic and the Dark Moon. She has all the goddesses, and all goddesses are part of her. She is also the triple goddess, maiden, mother and the Old Wife (Maiden, Mother, Crone). These concepts are derived from human experience, which is subject to time and death; Goddess is eternal: always changing and always self-renewing. She is so young and so old as she wants.
As a Virgo, she is the Creator, Star Goddess, Queen of Heaven, gives the inspiration and the one who inaugurates. She is Artemis, the moon shape and the Wild Thing. She is always virgin, and therefore no wife. Sunrise, spring, new moon, Venus as Morning Star and Evening Star and the start of a new growing season is her. She is enchanting, seductive, gentle, and thriving as she reigns over growth times. Her sacred colors, white and blue and the title "Queen of Heaven" was borrowed by the Catholic church to the Virgin Mary and the Catholic Church had thus Statue live on through the Virgin Mary. In the year cycle and the goddess, she follows the Old Woman, after the winter, death and darkness. She represents hope, light, life and rebirth of spring, life back to nature, animal babies are born and growths appear. She is forever young part of us that takes delight in life's wonders and possibilities lengths. She is raw and untamed material that we can shape, and the young potential. In her aspect as mother protector of life, the woman of growth and fertility, the bride and the Goddess of Sovereignty. She rules over the flocks and herds, the country's fertility across the field and love, and full moon, summer, dinner is her. She is the queen of the earth, and through the sacred marriage with her that God has allowed to ascend the throne. Her sacred color is red or silver.
In the year and goddess circuit, she follows the Virgin, after spring. She is the lush nature through the summer and harvest. She brings food and shelter for her children. As a wife she also protects married women, just as she watches over mothers and children.
The Old Woman is the last aspect of the Goddess. She destroyer, Woman of Lower, weakness and death, goddess of the night and the underworld goddess. She tells us that everything that is born must also grow old, decay and die, so it can nurture new life. For life always gives birth to new life. She watches over caves and tombs, and she is born again Goddess. Wisdom is hers, and she knows that patience brings all the answers. She knows the mysteries, and waning moon, the dark night, shadows silence, midnight's crossroads, winter and widow's wail her. She is the wise woman, who touched in his big black kettle, and she is the old woman who lives in the woods and can learn many secrets from him. The power of solitude and silence her, and she knows how to use it. In the year and goddess circuit follows her mother, as winter follows fall. She is growing dark, but she also represents peace in the darkness of night and death. It is time for learning, and one must also accept his dark part. She also reigns over our subconscious and dreams of empire, and she can help us to complete a cycle. Her sacred color is black.
This is the description of the Goddess in outline. But to understand who she is and what she stands for, come all by itself, as one reads more and more and even looking for her. There are some texts that I feel gives a glimpse of her, too, and although I did not know where they originally come from, I would still share them here.
Source: http://www.enchantedforest.dk/wicca/
The Charge Of The Goddess
Whenever ye have need of anything,
once in the month and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place,
and adore the spirit of me, who am Queen of all witches.
There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets;
to these will I teach all things that are as yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign that ye be truly free, you shall be naked in your rites;
and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.
For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all beings.
Keep pure your highest ideals; strive ever towards them,
let nothing stop you or turn you aside. For mine is the secret door which
opens upon the Land of Youth, and mine is the cup of the wine of life,
and the Cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Vessel of Immortality.
I am the gracious Goddess,
who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon earth,
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 sacrifice;
for behold, I am the Mother of all living, and my love is poured out upon the Earth.
I am the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars,
and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man. Call unto thy soul, arise, and come unto me.
For I am the soul of Nature, who gives life to the Universe.
From me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return;
and before my face, beloved of gods and of men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded,
in the rapture of the infinite.
Let my worship be within the heart that rejoicest, for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Therefore, let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinketh to seek for me,
know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not, unless thou knoweth the mystery;
that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, thou wilt never find it without thee.
For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.
Source: http://www.controverscial.com/The%20Charge%20of%20the%20Goddess.htm
Song of the Goddess
I am the Great Mother, worshipped by all creation and existent prior to their consciousness. I am the primal female force, boundless and eternal.
I am the chaste Goddess of the Moon, the Lady of all magic. The winds and moving leaves sing my name. I wear the crescent Moon upon my brow and my feet rest among the starry heavens. I am mysteries yet unsolved, a path newly set upon. I am a field untouched by the plow. Rejoice in me and know the fullness of youth.
I am the blessed Mother, the gracious Lady of the harvest. I am clothed in the deep, cool wonder of the Earth and the gold of the fields heavy with grain. By me the tides of the Earth are ruled; all things come to fruition according to my season. I am refuge and healing. I am the life giving Mother, wondrously fertile.
I am the Crone, tender of the unbroken cycle of death and rebirth. I am the wheel, the shadow of the Moon. I rule the tides of the oceans and of women and men. I give release and renewal to weary souls.
I am the Goddess of the Moon, the Earth, the Seas. My names are many, yet know that by all names I am the same. I pour forth insight, peace, wisdom and understanding. I am the eternal Maiden, Mother of all, and Crone of reckoning, and I send you blessings of limitless love.
The Legend of the descent of the Goddess
Now our Lady the Goddess had never loved, but She would solve all the Mysteries, even the Mystery of Death; and so She journeyed to the Underworld.
The Guardians of the Portals challenged her: "Strip off thy garments, lay aside thy jewels; for naught mayest thou bring with the into this our land."
So She laid down her garments and her jewels, and was bound, as are all who enter the Realms of Death, the Mighty One.
Such was her beauty, that Death himself knelt and kissed her feet, saying: "Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways. Abide with me; but let me place my cold hand on thy heart."
She replied: "I love thee not. Why dost thou cause all things that I love and take delight in to fade and die?"
"Lady," replied Death, "tis age and fate, against which I am helpless. Age causes all things to wither; but when men die at the end of time, I give them rest and peace, and strength so that they may return. But thou! Thou art lovely. Return not; abide with me!"
But She answered: "I love thee not."
Then said Death: "An thou receivest not my hand on thy heart, thou must receive Death's scourge."
"It is fate - better so," She said. And She knelt, and Death scourged her tenderly. And She cried, "I feel the pangs of love."
And Death said, "Blessed Be!" and gave her the Fivefold Kiss, saying: "Thus only mayest thou attain to joy and knowledge." And he taught her all the Magicks.
For there are three great events in the life of man: Love, Death, and Resurrection in the new body; and Magick controls them all. For to fulfill love you must return again at the same time and place as the loved one, and you must remember and love them again. But to be reborn you must die and be ready for a new body; and to die you must be born; and without love you may not be born; and this is all the Magicks.
Source: http://www.paganlibrary.com/stories/legend_of_descent_of_goddess.php
The Charge of the Dark Goddess
I have chosen to include this "dark" version because I want's to show her duality, which I consider very important.
Wisdom and empowerment are the gifts of the Dark Goddess of Transformation. She is known to us as Kali, Hecate, Cerridwen, Lilith, Persephone, Fata, Morgana, Ereshkigal, Arianhrod, Durga, Inanna, Tiamat, and by a million, million other names:
Hear me child, and know Me for who I am. I have been with you since you were born, and I will stay with you until you return to Me at the final dusk.
I am the passionate and seductive lover who inspires the poet to dream. I am the One who calls to you at the end of your journey. After the day is done, My children find their blessed rest in my embrace.
I am the womb from which all things are born. I am the shadowy, still tomb; all things must come to Me and bare their breasts to die and be reborn to the Whole.
I am the Sorceress that will not be ruled, the Weaver of Time, the Teacher of Mysteries. I snip the threads that bring my children home to me. I slit the throats of the cruel and drink the blood of the heartless. Swallow your fear and come to me, and you will discover true beauty, strength, and courage. I am the fury, which rips the flesh from injustice. I am the glowing forge that transforms your inner demons into tools of power. Open yourself to my embrace and overcome. I am the glinting sword that protects you from harm. I am the crucible in which all the aspects of yourself merge together in a rainbow of union.
I am the velvet depths of the night sky, the swirling mists of midnight, shrouded in mystery. I am the chrysalis in which you will face that which terrifies you and from which you will blossom forth, vibrant and renewed. Seek me at the crossroads, and you shall be transformed, for once you look upon my face, there is no return.
I am the fire that kisses the shackles away. I am the cauldron in which all opposites grow to know each other in Truth. I am the web which connects all things. I am the Healer of all wounds, the Warrior who rights all wrongs in their Time. I make the weak strong. I make the arrogant humble. I raise up the oppressed and empower the disenfranchised. I am Justice tempered with Mercy.
Most importantly, child, I am you. I am part of you, and I am within you. Seek me within and without, and you will be strong. Know me. Venture into the dark so that you may awaken to Balance, Illumination, and Wholeness. Take my Love with you everywhere and find the Power within to be who you wish.
Source: http://www.enchantedforest.dk/wicca/
Charge of the Crone
Hear the words of the Dark Goddess who stands within the crossroads, whose torch illuminates the Underworld: I am the Queen of Magic and the dark of the Moon, hidden in the deepest night. I am the mystery of the Otherworld and the fear
that coils about your heart in the time of your trials. I am the soul of nature that gives form to the universe; it is I who await you at the end of the spiral dance. Most ancient among gods and mortals, let my worship be within the heart that has truly tasted life, for behold all acts of magic and art are my pleasure and my greatest ritual is love itself.
Therefore let there be beauty in your strength, compassion in your wrath, power in your humility, and discipline balanced through mirth and reverence. You who seek to remove my veil and behold my true face, know that all your questioning and efforts are for nothing, and all your lust and desires shall avail you not at all. For unless you know my mystery, look wherever you will, it will elude you, for it is within you and
nowhere else. For behold, I have ever been with you, from the very beginning, the comforting hand that nurtured you in the dawn of life, and the loving embrace that awaits you at the end of each life, for I am that which is attained at the end of the dance, and I am the womb of new
beginnings, as yet unimagined and unknown.
Source: http://web.akasha.no/bos/chcrone.html
God
Witches god is the ancient hunting and fertility, the Horned God. He is the lord of the forest, flocks, meadows and woods, of course. This way through, he is also the lord of life and the giver of life. But just as the Goddess, he is double- folded. For he is also the one who takes life, and thus master over death and resurrection. He is not only the hunter but the hunted. He is the hunted animal soul, which filled the shaman. He is the sacrifice that must die, so the tribe can survive. But his sacrifice will not be poisoned, it is a gift from nature.
But it's not just animals that must die for others to survive - including grain is being sacrificed at harvest. Thus, he also harvest god, the spirit of vegetation in the countryside and everything that grows in the wild. But death is not final. Just as the seed goes into the earth and reborn the following spring, he finds also the peace of the Great Mother, to be reborn to her.
This is also seen in the god's function as a sun god. At Yule fed him by the goddess, and through the winter and spring growing his strength. At Litha is his power at its peak, and he has brought much to the fertility goddess and nature, but as autumn begins to approach, he loses his power. By Lugnasadh takes god's dark side over and the sun loses its strength. At Samhain draws