February Goddess: Aphrodite

February Goddess: Aphrodite
February 20th, Friday 6:30pm
Church of Spiritual Light
1939 Park Meadows Dr. #1
Ft. Myers, FL 33907
Rev. Renee Bledsoe
239-560-6314
Donation: $10

Aphrodite, otherwise known as Venus and the Goddess of Love, is one of the most important divine feminine archeytpes to get to know. For she is already a part of each of us as we invoke the Lover within, for she is the mother of Eros or Cupid. As we explore and perfect our ability to love and become fully human eros or divine sensuality is a very important energy to understand and honor. For if you we do not honor it, at best life will seem dry and lackluster and at worst we will be ruled by hedonism and addiction.

Aphrodite is the gorgeous, perfect, eternally young woman with a beautiful body. Her Girdle, which has magical powers to compel love is her symbol. Her strengths are her potent sexual attractiveness and dazzling beauty.

Aphrodite's parents are Zeus, King of the Gods, and Dione, an early earth/mother goddess. More commonly, she was believed to be born of the foam in the sea which bubbled around the severed phallus of Ouranos when Kronos slew him. Aphrodite rises from the foam of the waves of the sea, enchanting anyone who sees her and inciting feelings of love and lust wherever she goes. She is a contender in the story of the Golden Apples, when Paris chooses her as the fairest of the three goddesses (the others were Hera and Athena) and Aphrodite decides to "reward" him for giving her the Golden Apple (the prototype of most modern awards) by giving him the love of Helen of Troy, something of a mixed blessing that led to the Trojan War.

Some other notes of interest about the myth of Aphrodite is that she, the fairest of them all, was married to the most hiddeous man and was then the lover of the one of the most beautiful Greek Gods, Adonis, whom by the way, she had to share. Whew!

So what is the story of Aphrodite trying to tell us? Sex is bad, Beauty is bad and Love is bad? Is this really all we think or care about? On first glance it might appear to be so. But let's go all the way into this golden apple. After all she did win the reward and was chosen from amongst the most powerful Goddess archetypes in history, known for their heavenly nurturing (Hera) and wise strength (Athena). So what does this say about what we value and what seems to take the prize over these qualities? Seductive beauty wins out? It does seem that way doesn't it at times.

So what if a woman was the embodiment of all three of those Goddesses? What if she was heavenly, nurturing, wise, strong AND beautiful? Are we not being given a peek into our own psyche as we go into resistance with these notions? For there is no doubt that the mass consciousness is compelled toward beauty. To us beauty is such a powerful connection to the divine that it is irresistable to us. Yet, what if we find the power within to let Eros (her offspring), the enlivening creative force that puts the juice in the apple and makes us want to bite down, to work for our wholeness. For Aphrodite lives within us all, but so too does Athena and Hera.

Aphrodite says...
Any woman, no matter what size, shape or background can invoke my power, the power of Aphrodite. You must first come to terms with your desirability and your own charisma. This is why it is so important to know thyself. If you take yourself seriously, if you are a queen in your own right (as Hera) and a force to be reckoned with (as Athena) then you are safe and free to express yourself in complete power. Think Catherine Zeta-Jones. You have created the safe container for your beauty. And you may bask in your own beauty and gift it to the world.

Think not of how you look, as to how you feel, the energy of your stance, the tilt of your head, the seduction of your smile, the fit of your clothing, the focus of your simplicity and the mystery of your secrets. An Aphrodite woman knows how to sculpt and create her persona. Know that you can beguile and enchant those who seek love and ask to drink in the beauty of the divine feminine. If you walk with me you will not lose yourself. You will become one with your soul. For inside of every woman is a being of unspeakable beauty, adored and adoring.

Now, especially now, that you have purified your desires, that you are in service to the Light, that you have a deep abiding love for this earth and all her inhabitants...especially now that you know about the magic behind the Universe and you understand how manifestation and form work...now do you understand your right and your desire to be beautiful is an expression of God/Goddess interplay. For it is in this being that your inner essence is reflected out to the world and brings joy to its beholders...not from a vapid, I've got to look good or nobody will notice or love me stance...but from allowing your beauty to manifest as a result of the beauty that lives within.

Aphrodite says....let your radiance shine, beautiful one. Put on pearls, dress your soul in finery to reflect the spiritual heights of your thoughts and beliefs. Heal your beliefs about beauty. Love women and men who project outward beauty, even if you think they are shallow. Do not throw out the baby with the bathwater! Hold their beauty in your heart and do not reject it. It's OK to be beautiful. It's OK to shine. In fact it is your birthright to do so and you inspire others to be beautiful when you embrace your own beauty. Know this, my lovely one. Also know that loveliness is more than just classical beauty or sexiness. Let us see the real you, the heart and soul of who you are...that is where your beauty resides.

Aphrodite Affirmations
I am beautiful.
I am adored and cherished.
My beauty comes from within me and expresses outwardly in the way that I love and care for my body.
I dress and adorn myself in beauty every day.
I walk in beauty from moment to moment.
I am purified by the Light.
I am a being of Light.
My angelic self merges with my physical body and I am whole.
I tap into the omnipresent wisdom of my Higher Self.
I channel divine grace for healing of self and others.
I am a radiant Light unto the world.
I am a Light worker and a healer.
My countenance is holy and sacred.
I am worthy of the highest forms of love.
I am a vessel for the Light.
I am sacred, divine love in the flesh.
Every aspect of my life is sacred.
My love for humanity and all creation transcends time and space.
My soul has been set free.
I am that, I am.
My entire life is a prayer, a worship and a sacrament.
I am in bliss and gratitude of the beauty and splendor of this world.
I call to Aphrodite to inspire me to express my true beauty.

January Goddess: Eve

January Goddess: Eve
Jan 22, 2010

We will be honoring and dispelling some myths surrounding our mother Eve. Pathworking with the Goddesses is a powerful exercise in exploration and requires an open-hearted desire to truly come to know more about ourselves at the deepest levels; body, mind and soul. We must be unafraid to question and discover once hidden truths. For Eve is all grown up now and so are we!

Save the date as this circle will reveal a great deal about the mystery of woman.

The woman within us all is burgeoning to come forward once again. As we have been ever seeking to become more whole brained functioning, the divine masculine and the divine feminine archetypes and energies are becoming increasingly understood.

We now know that knowledge without wisdom and understanding is useless at best and can be downright damaging to the delicate, etheric and sometimes fragile symbols of the psyche that houses our deepest and highest creative, prodigal forces.

Take away any and all sexism. Understand with the wisdom of the ages that Eve is that part of us as the Master Mind, the Oversoul of humanity, the Living God that chose to mature and growup to experience the knowledge of good and evil. We did this in our decision to seek the becoming of creators Gods and Goddesses in our own right. Creator Gods become omnipotent because they BECOME that which they seek. They do this because they understand how to source creation. They know they are not the source, but through divine intelligence they know how to connect and stay connected. They understand the power of the aggregate, the multi-dimensional beings that inhabit the cosmos. In short they understand the power of TEAM.

Adam, representing the divine masculine force, that part of us that seeks to be free quickly and easily followed Eve's lead. Both of them, our first human mother and father, dropping bread crumbs along the way for us to remember (as we so easily do) in the very right brained activity of STORY. It matters not at all what actually happens in the phyhsical, what matters is that we remember the path. And when you fully understand how manifestation works, we then know that once something is set in motion with intention and surrender, that it is all but impossible to stop it from manifesting.

Humanity chose to leave the Garden of Eden. Eve, that part of us that houses our subconscious, the part of us that holds our beliefs, the container of our psyche our soul and all we hold dear, as well as all that we fear drives that train. She ever seeks to create and be a vessel, a container with which to house that magical, fantastical, sparkling and quicksilver divine masculine energy. This is why masculine energy unbounded always leaves. It must. If it cannot be contained, then God cannot experience itself and be the cause of joy to others...only itself. But that is only an illusion, because there is no true joy from only causing joy to the self, when compared with experiencing the bliss of the diversity of God's free will manifested in the here and now.

Eve allowed us to leave the oneness temporarily and to go under the veil, so that we could individuate in the womb of mother earth and set about remembering who we are and becoming something born of the synergy of spirit and Spirit... Something as limitless and eternal as what we sprang forth from.

When we realized that we were separate we became self conscious. It is this very self consciousness, even with all the pain that this wrought that we become Self conscious. That is aware of the Higher Self, the part of us that is hidden to the physical eye. But as this painful self consciousness plays out, it ultimately breaks us open to a more complete knowledge of who and what we really are.

Now we are not under any delusions that we, our individuated self is all that there is. We alchemically transform this individuated self into the limitless being of Light that seeks to manifest in the physical. The booster rockets fall away and we take flight.

This is the gift of the woman within...Mother Eve.

Eve says....
Stand in the mirror and look upon my face. Stare into my left eye and you will encounter me. I am within you and I am the container for all that you can become and create and imagine.

Do not fear the woman within. Do not fear the man within. We are divine forces, opposing in our nature, but complimentary in our bliss. When you heal your relationship with the sexes you will heal your relationship with we who reside within. Or you can heal your relationships from within.
Talk to us, speak your heart. Look us in the eye. As you can see I cannot speak of one without the other. It is not possible, for we are one now.

The Christed One said that when the two become one then you will be as Gods. Whenever two or three or more are gathered together there is God. Let me remind you that there are two within you, and possibly three if you are inspirited with consciousness. Wherever you are there is God.

But we cannot look on God's face directly. Do you know what that means? Think about it. What is the only face in the world that you cannot look directly upon? It is your own!!!! Your own face is the only one you cannot gaze directly upon. Your own eyes must be reflected in a mirror....that is until you can see each other as God. When you can see the divinity within all that is, then you may direct your gaze at any moment in time.

When you invoke the silent witness, the Higher Self you may begin the relationship of the ages. This is the doorway to Divine Union. For within you is a divine template of man and woman, housed within your one body. No matter what your sexual orientation or preference, it matters not, there is nevertheless these forces within you. And they are seeking to be made known, to you and to this world.

The Lovers are within your heart, laying dormant and active within your psyche, your soul. When you heal your heart, you bring the lovers together. When you heal your psyche you activate the power to bring them into the physical in joyful creative expression.

Pure sexuality, divine sacred love, twin flame union, the divine compliment are the outpicturing of such an inward occurance. This reunion of Adam and Eve, the divine feminine and masculine back into the Garden of Eden is what our souls are driven to. The Middle Pillar up the Tree of Life, with the knowledge of good and evil and the transmutation this knowledge brings us the pathway to this ecstatic marriage. It brings us to Shamballa, to perfection, where perfection means wholeness. It brings us to Heaven on Earth.

I bring you a luscious, sweet, red, delicious apple. Isn't it lovely? Will you bite into it? Will you bite into life? The choice has already been made. To rebel against this and to remain a child only brings immense suffering. Yet it is this very suffering that invokes the archetypes within that mix and mingle and counterbalance to create the synergy of all that you will become....the Divine Human, the Shaman/Healer, the Boddhisattva, the Savior, the Devotee, Prophet, Oracle, the Priest, and the Prodigy: A Being of Light.

Yes, you might be mad at me for causing us to grow up, but it is only because you may not yet know what we are and what we are becoming. Our maker made us in perfection, with a love so perfect, so complete that we can scarcely comprehend it. Think on your love for your own child and you may have an inkling. Know this, Trust this and Allow the Light to move you forward to your destiny.

The Garden didn't leave...you did. Now return from whence you came.

Eve's Affirmations
I release all shame that unecessarily binds me and honor that which guides me.
I allow myself to be one with the divine masculine and feminine within me.
I acknowledge and embrace the divine feminine force within me that made the choice to create something new.
I see and honor the woman within.
I see and honor the man within.
I allow myself to experience life with gusto.
I relish life and receive abundance of all things needful, both spiritual and material.
I love life and life loves me.
The Universe is conspiring on my behalf.
I seek to know myself.
I see the presence of God in the eyes of the world.
I bite into life and seek to have a full experience of all that is.
I seek divine, intimate union with God and Goddess.
I am open to creating beauty through the expression of my soul through the eyes of my Higher Self.
I am an advocate for my Higher Self and my Soul.
I feed my soul the food of the Gods: love, light, beauty, joy, tranquility and mystery.
I am the embodiment of Adam and Eve.
The divine feminine creator lives within me.
I am one with Mother Earth and Father Sky.
I return to the Garden of Eden as a prodigal son returns with new eyes.

December Goddess: The Madonna

December Goddess: The Madonna/Mother Mary
December 18th

Join us as we celebrate the holi-day season and the winter solstice with the honoring of The Madonna.

The process of purification is seldom easy, but this is the great work required in all mystery schools, which Mary had long since accomplished beyond that attained by the many. For she had come as all persons do, through many lifetimes of sorrow, hardship, work, play and experience, but had been able to arrive at a greater place within her true Self. That is, she had received God-Realization.

Mary, or Mare, is interpreted by the Spanish as "The Star of the Sea." Esoterically, the sea is the desire nature, and the star is the spirit which rises above the lower nature, even as Grecian mythology portrays Venus, the goddess of love, rising star- crowned from the sea, being symbolical of the separation of love from passion.

Many interpretations have been given the name Mary, so common to women in the gospels, never used before in the Scriptures unless it is a diminutive of the Hebrew Miryam, the sister of Moses. The meaning of Mary is sometimes given as "bitter," sometimes "exalted of the Lord," but the most simply correct is said to be "My Lady." Indeed, that sounds most like her -- Madonna, as one who was high-born and blessed.

The Firstborn of God should open the womb from within outward, having been conceived on the inner realm. It could not receive seed from the outside to be built upon and then emerge again having an earth foundation. The seed was received and developed inside to show that the Christ can only be born within us, and cannot enter from without to be born.

God took a rib from Adam's side to make woman, who became imperfect; then He brought forth from the perfected woman's womb a perfect man. Having first created man alone, at Creation's dawn, God now worked with woman alone, with Mary, (though He eventually gave to each a partner). From the substance of her body was fashioned the mold which would receive the Spirit of the Son.


Mother Mary - Madonna
No other woman in the world reveals the truth as deeply and dramatically as the Virgin Mary for the template of how to be in the world, but not of it. She is so profoundly inextricably tied to the raising of the Messiah that it is all but impossible to think of one without the other. This is by design.

Madonna says...
I am the embodiment of the purest essence of the divine mother that resides within each of you. Within your heart and soul there is a woman, a mother, a perfect mother who has never left you and can never leave you. You have only to call for her and to receive her blessings, her love and her nurturing.

Inside of each of you is the babe, the orphaned child, born apparently and physically fatherless. And in order for you to find your father, you must first allow your mother's embrace to comfort and protect you. She loves you so much. I, says the Madonna, am the eternal emblem for the almighty power of mother and child. My child, my fatherless child, raised the Messiah within and reached the crowning achievement of ascended consciousness and re-united with his heavenly father.

This is your template. This is your design. You and he are one and the same. He showed the way, now you must follow. You must not be afraid, for I am here. Please accept my loving embrace. Do not allow the hurt you have experienced at the hands of impure hearts, including your own, to affect your ability to connect with me. I am your salvation. I am the one who can lead you to the Messiah, to the one within who is your savior.

The savior is you. He sits in the middle of your body, in your solar plexis at the seat of your soul and he guides you endlessly with radiant light, raw instinct, ancient memories and divine purpose. The christ consciousness must be allowed to infiltrate your entire body. You must allow it to move from your head, down into your heart.This is what will bring you to the place of divinely guided action. This is what will bring you to your absolute genius and help you deliver your gift to the world.

I am your blessed mother. I purified and purified my being to bring the Savior into the physical. My vessel is not unclean, my energy is clear, my conscience is intact. I do not wallow in denial. My body is a powerful channel for divine love. My body is your body.

We are all one. All of us are within you, moving through you, moving you. We are the unseen forces at work bringing you to your ultimate purpose, your ultimate salvation.

Your mother loves you. You father is waiting for you to recognize him. He sits within you, brilliant and blazing. She cups Her hands and shields you from his fiery countenance, so that one day, when you are ready, you will be strong enough to turn you gaze on the brilliance of the unknowable, unfathomable magnificence of all that you are. The Trinity is within thee.

Shine my star, shine!


Madonna Affirmations

I am the mother and the mother is in me.
Women are kind. I am kind.
I see the divine mother and call to her to be with me.
I allow myself to experience the pleasure of beauty and truth.
I activate the Savior within.
I carry the imprint of the Messiah within my blood, bones and breath.
The mother and the father and I are one.
I am that I am.
All that I am, you are.
I am a healer of the earth.
I nurture and care for my body, mind and soul.
I allow my heart to open and expand into divine love.
I receive agape now.
I am filled with the love and light of our creator.
I am my brother's keeper.
I am the greatest realization of my Father.
I work for the greater good of all humanity.

November Goddess: Pocohantas

Goddess: Pocahontas
November 20, 2009

Pocahontas, which was her childhood nickname, is perhaps one of the most enigmatic women in history. Born, Matoaka, and later taking the name Lady Rebecca, Pocahontas, as she is most well known was a bridge between two worlds: the New world and the "olde" world, in more ways than one. She holds a fascinating place in the evolution of not only a country, but of potentially all humanity.

Settlers looking for religious freedom came to America to create a new society, brought here under the steam of territorial and wealth expansion minded monarchies and were met with a network of indigenous civilizations that already had a claim on paradise. This had no where to go but to implode and that it did.

It could be said that the Native American cultures were the keepers of paradise, and as such after it's fall became the keepers of this memory. Pocahontas, whose very life from birth was infused with a deep communion with manito aki or the sacred law of the earth, took this memory which was embodied in her very being and became a part of the then modern society of Great Briton.

In her book Pocahontas (HarperSanFrancisco, 2003), Paula Gunn Allen says that Pocahontas’s tribe was the Mattaponi, one of several belonging to what natives called the tsenacommacah, or the Powhatan Alliance: and Powhatan was a name both for people of the dream-vision and also a title for Wahunsenacawh, the chief and chief dreamer of the alliance, and a member of the Pamunkey tribe. (There seems to have been overlapping tribal memberships.)

Wahunsenacawh, or Powhatan, may have been the biological father of Pocahontas or only the group’s leader and father figure. According to the Mattaponi oral tradition, he was her father and she was truly his favored child. In the oral tradition it seems important to understand thier relationship in order to make sense of some of the historical events. Powhatan had many children as was the custom of the time for chiefs to take multiple wives in order to propogate the race, however, it is said that Pocohantas's mother was Powhatan's true wife, the one he had chosen out of love. When she died giving birth to Pocohantas, the babe what all Powhatan had left of his beloved wife and so for this reason he had a very deep and special connection to her.

Paula Gunn Allen, a professor emerita of English and American Indian Studies at UCLA and an American of Laguna Pueblo/Metis descent, also says that Pocahontas had a secret name, Amonute, possibly used for sacred ceremonies. Gunn Allen suggests the pervasive nature of spirituality—manito aki, the spiritual world—in native life, and sees Pocahontas as a girl with a special place in native life, as someone being trained to be a beloved woman or priestess.

Some of the events surrounding Pocohantas that are not disputed is that she was in fact Native American and was born into and lived with her people until her early teens. She was then, either by force or coercion taken to live with the settlers, for reasons not completely known, but which are tied to overtures of peace by manipulation. During the time that she spent with the settlers, it is said that she learned to speak english, to read and write and was converted to Christianity. She then ultimately traveled to England, held an audience with the Queen and was introduced to "polite" society. It is here that perhaps, Pocohantas fulfilled her ultimate mission; showing the inhabitants of Europe that the Natives or naturals as they were sometimes called, were highly intelligent, sensitive, artistic human beings that deserved to be treated with respect.


Pocohantas says...
It is possible to walk between both worlds. We are of the earth and we are of the sky. We can walk down paved streets and we can walk on the soft grassy knowls. We have the ability to marry our left brain and our right brain, the scientist and the artist and become a third thing with the synergy that is born of this marriage.

Pocohantas having become "civilized" by "uncivilized" means is the keeper of the memory of paradise, the innocent part of us that will always mourn our loss of innocence. But as we fully mature, we find ourselves back at the place where we first began and we can become as little children again. It is possible to reclaim our innocence and to become one in our hearts and souls with the earth again. We do not need to forsake technology. We need to allow it to help us bring in the high energies, so that we can protect our mother earth.

Pocohantas reminds us that we can walk the earth, sit amongst nature, commune with animals and plants any time we want to. We have our freedom. For most of all these ancestors have fought for the freedoms that we now enjoy. We must receive and allow this freedom to operate in our lives now, to honor the sacrafice of our ancestors and to carry forward the mission.

We are the ones the ancestors have been waiting for. We are the seventh generation of the seventh generation. We are the Rainbow children. Our blood is mixed and we have joined together to receive the abundance of this earthwalk. It is here and now that we can fully enjoy the diversity that is the smorgasboard of life that is set before us. Unity in Diversity. When you walk in the shoes of another, that is when you can know what is in their heart.

Pocohantas did just that. She showed us that we can be anything we want to be. She showed us that we can refine and evolve ourselves and yet still retain our connection to the earth. She showed us that a motherless child will surely perish, just as she did when she was first taken from her human mother and then from her earth mother. She stands for all time as a reminder to return to your mother, no matter how far you go, no matter how fast you get there, no matter what you create, without love, without the love of Father Sky and Mother Earth that we are no thing and no where. Couched within the story of Pocohantas's life are bread crumbs that can lead us to wholeness. If we will start tracking, listening and learning we can find our way home.

Pocohantas Affirmations
I am free as the wind.
I walk between the worlds with grace and ease.
I have the knowledge of the ancestors within my body, mind and soul.
I am thankful for all who have come before me.
I have the strength and the courage to explore this world.
I have the will to expand and grow.
I am a free spirit.
I am one with Mother Earth and Father Sky.
I am a child of nature.
I allow technology to take it's rightful place in the world.
I have come full circle with myself and see the possibilities of life.
My body is a vessel of Light.
I am filled with Thanks Giving.
I am totally abundant in all things spiritual and material.
I receive the blessings of this earth.
I see with new eyes the bounty of this earth.

Totems
Racoon, Dog, Butterfly, Deer, Turkey, Compass, Medicine Bag

Stones
Red Jasper, Turquoise, Abalone Shell, Pearl

October Gathering: Selene- Goddess of the Moon

Selene/Luna
Goddess Gathering
October 16th, 6:30pm

It is not possible to talk about the powers of the moon goddess Selene without discussing the powers associated with the goddess of the moon in many ancient cultures. Many of them have characteristics in common with each other, especially with Selene or as she is also known, Luna.

Selene was the ancient Greek goddess of the moon. Though there are many mentions of Selene in poetry from the Athenian era, it is obvious that her worship was mostly confined to common folk by the time writers like Hesiod and Aristophanes talked about her. Selene is said to be one of the Titans, the gods who came before the 12 Olympians. Her father was was Hyperion and her mother Theia. She was the sister of Helios, the Etruscan sun god, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn.

The Romans called her Luna, and we know of at least two temples to Luna in Ancient Rome. In later years, Selene became associated with Artemis just as her counterpart Luna became associated with Diana, and the aspect of the virgin moon goddess assumed the powers of the moon goddess Selene.

The powers of the moon goddess Selene were derived from her association with the moon. In ancient times, the sun and the moon were often equally powerful deities. The moon was most often depicted as a goddess because the moon appeared to become pregnant and give birth to a new moon each month. As the goddess of the moon, Selene was the patron of the feminine. She was believed to have the power to ease childbirth and inspire love. Selene also was believed to have the power to mask reality and, conversely, to pierce illusion.

Among other powers of the moon goddess Selene awakens intuition and spark psychic visions. This most likely stems from the association of night and the moon with dreams. That association may also be why Selene is often considered to be the patron of solutions, which often come to people in dreams when the subconscious mind has a chance to process information that has not been consciously acknowledged.

Selene is often depicted as a young woman with a pale face and a shining halo in the shape of a crescent moon. She is nearly always clothed in a flowing white robe, and sometimes has long white wings. She sometimes drives a chariot pulled by pale white or silver horses, or by a pair of white bulls. Other times, she is depicted riding a white bull through the night sky. She can be distinguished from depictions of the other moon goddesses because her face and form are usually depicted as rounder and more feminine.

Selene is sometimes thought to be just another name for Artemis, but this is not true. She is one of three faces of the triple goddess who is seen in the waxing and waning moon. The powers of the moon goddess Selene are at their fullest during the full and dark of the moon (new moon), which were times of the monthly cycle sacred to her worship.

Selena says...
Come into the night, and allow my soft glow to soften your hard edges. Reveal yourself to yourself and at this time, only to yourself. This is your time to go within to find deep, deep peace. When you can look at yourself in the mirror and simultaneously know that you are both beautiful and ugly, you will know my power. When you know that these thoughts are all illusions and wax and wane just as I do, then you will know the peace and serenity of floating in a boat on a full moon night with not a care in the world. When you can look on your life and accept and know that all of it has been serving you, bringing you to your greatness and that your pivotal point of power is TODAY, RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW, then you will know what true love is. The truth will be revealed to you.

Find this place within and then find it out in nature. Find your power place and go to it often. It may be the beach or a park or a pond or your porch. Make it YOUR sacred space. And go there not only during the day, but see this place from all angles under the light of the moon. See the different perspectives and do not be afraid to examine the dark side of the moon. Open up your psychic, intuitive channels and learn to trust your higher self. Allow yourself to connect regularly to your soul and your spirit by sitting in my illumination.

Drink water that is infused with my reflected light. Place a crystal decanter of purified water on a mirror and sit it out under the dark of the moon to create something new in your life, use my fullness to let something go!

Full Moon – October 4, 06:10
Last Quarter – October 11, 08:56
New Moon – October 18, 05:33
First Quarter – October 26, 00:42

Full Moon Names and Meanings

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full Moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the Moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes fromNew England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. Since the lunar month is only 29 days long on the average, the full Moon dates shift from year to year. Here is the Farmers Almanac's list of the full Moon names.

• Full Wolf Moon - January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January's full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.

• Full Snow Moon - February Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.

• Full Worm Moon - March As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

• Full Pink Moon - April This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

• Full Flower Moon - May In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon.

• Full Strawberry Moon - June This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. However, in Europe they called it the Rose Moon. Also because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June . . . so the full Moon that occurs during that month was christened for the strawberry!

• The Full Buck Moon - July July is normally the month when the new antlers of buck deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, for the reason that thunderstorms are most frequent during this time. Another name for this month's Moon was the Full Hay Moon.

• Full Grain Moon - August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes

and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

• Full Corn Moon - September This full moon's name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon.

• Full Harvest Moon - October This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering.

• Full Beaver Moon - November This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

• The Full Cold Moon; or the Full Long Nights Moon - December During this month the winter cold fastens its grip, and nights are at their longest and darkest. It is also sometimes called the Moon before Yule. The term Long Night Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.

Selene's Affirmations

I am filled with luminous energy.

I am a beautiful being of Light.

My entire being is divine, as is all that is.

I am a mysterious creature.

My thoughts and feeling are indicators of my state of mind.

I honor the cycles and rhythm of my body as my energies wax and wane as the moon.

I am open to the fullness of the moon and allow her to help me release that which does not serve.

I am open to the newness of the moon and allow her to help me in my new beginning.

I go within where I can commune with my soul in stillness.

I am willing to accept my own darkness with compassion and love.

September Gathering: Mary Magdalene

September 18th, Friday 6:30pm

Join us for this sacred gathering to honor the Goddess energies that are available for us to work with. This month we are working with Mary Magdalene, the quintessential feminine spiritual healer, metaphysician and minister.

MAGDALENE'S POWER
Mary Magdalene is perhaps one of the most enigmatic women in the world. At once she evokes thoughts of the devoted, loving favored disciple of Christ and the prostitute whom Jesus drove seven devils out of. No matter what you might believe, due to the information that has been placed into the mass consciousness both of these thoughts tend to come to mind when you say her name. This begs the question, why? Why is her story so shrouded in mystery and filled with contradictions, missing texts and innuendo? And in that word "mystery" perhaps we may begin to track the answer.

The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a fifth-century papyrus codex. The most complete text of the Gospel of Mary is contained in Berolinensis 8502, but even so, it is missing six manuscript pages at the beginning of the document and four manuscript pages in the middle. As such, the narrative begins in the middle of a scene, leaving the setting and circumstances unclear. Theologian Karen King believes, however, that references to the death of the Savior and the commissioning scene later in the narrative indicate the setting in the first section of the text is a post resurrection appearance of the Savior.

As the narrative opens, the Savior is engaged in dialogue with his disciples, answering their questions on the nature of matter and the nature of sin. At the end of the discussion, the Savior departs leaving the disciples distraught and anxious. According to the story, Mary speaks up with words of comfort and encouragement. Then Peter asks Mary to share with them any special teaching she received from the Savior, “Peter said to Mary, ‘Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than the rest of the women. Tell us the words of the Savior which you remember - which you know (but) we do not, nor have we heard them.’” Mary responds to Peter’s request by recounting a conversation she had with the Savior about visions.

"(Mary) said, ‘I saw the Lord in a vision and I said to him, ‘Lord, I saw you today in a vision.’ He answered and said to me: “Blessed are you, that you did not waver at the sight of me. For where the mind is, there is the treasure.’ I said to him, ‘So now, Lord, does a person who sees a vision see it through the soul or through the spirit?’

In the conversation, the Savior teaches that the inner self is composed of soul, spirit, and mind, and visions are seen and understood in the mind. Then the text breaks off and the next four pages are missing. When the narrative resumes, Mary is no longer recalling her discussion with the Savior. She is instead recounting the revelation given to her in her vision. The revelation describes an ascent of a soul, which as it passes on its way to its final rest, engages in dialogue with four powers that try to stop it.

Her vision does not meet with universal approval:

"But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, 'Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of other ideas.'"

"Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them about the Savior. 'Did he then speak secretly with a woman, in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?'"

However Levi defends Mary and quells Peter's attack on her. In the text, Peter appears to be offended by the discovery that Jesus selected Mary above the other disciples to interpret his teachings.

Scholars do not always agree which of the Marys in the New Testament is the central character of the Gospel of Mary. Arguments in favor of Mary Magdalene are based on her status as a known disciple of Jesus, the tradition of being the first witness of his resurrection, and her appearance in other early Christian writings. She is mentioned as accompanying Jesus on his journeys (Luke 8:2) and is listed in the Gospel of Matthew as being present at his crucifixion (27:56). In the Gospel of John, she is recorded as the first witness of Jesus' resurrection (John 20:14-16); (Mark 16:9 later manuscripts).

De Boer compares her role in other non-canonical texts, noting "in the Gospel of Mary it is Peter who is opposed to Mary’s words, because she is a woman. Peter has the same role in the Gospel of Thomas and in Pistis Sophia. In Pistis Sophia the Mary concerned is identified as Mary Magdalene." The final scene in the Gospel of Mary may also provide evidence that Mary is indeed Mary Magdalene. Levi, in his defense of Mary and her teaching, tells Peter "Surely the Savior knows her very well. That is why he loved her more than us." In the Gospel of Philip, a similar statement is made about Mary Magdalene.

So, let's assume for a moment that through all the cross referencing of these ancient texts (sort of helps you understand the importance of journaling, doesn't it!) that at the very least Mary Magdalene is the disciple of Christ, was with him when he died and witnessed his resurrection. But, what if he did give her special teachings and her function as a disciple went beyond telling stories and speaking to the masses as the other disciples. What if Mary's role was a little different? What if she was a mystical healer, who could see energy and receive visions from other dimensions? What if Mary was a cross dimensional, metaphysical healer in human form? What if Mary was a shaman or medicine woman?

Even if you have no belief in any of this as actually happening, there is a great deal of information to receive from the life of Mary. She embodied the hidden, mysterious element of humanity called, woman. She used the mind to heal and she could see energy. These are the skills of any spiritual healer. And once again in yet another ancient text by the Master Healer himself, Jesus Christ, we are given information about the power of our mind and therefore our thoughts.

If divine masculine energy is the backing of the human will, and the divine feminine energy is what gives it form...it seems to me that there isn't much that one can do on earth without these two forces working in tandem. When we break the two apart, we are left with a mystery. We are left with raw life force power with no focus, only overwhelming power and the glory of God is no where and everywhere all at once. And perhaps this is the very mystery we are meant to solve, to work out way back to wholeness. Perhaps this is how we are to evolve, for when we ask why, we are as seekers.

So, as we continue to track the mystery and we understand the power of mind, the absolute key to manifestion, does it not seem a little odd, that if thoughts become things and Jesus Christ was the embodiment of the divine son of God, Holy Spirit and master healer that his divine union would not have created divine union for him in the manifested world by virtue of the law of equanimity, "as above, so below"? If the mind is the petri dish, and the gateway to the field of pure potential then wouldn't it be impossible not to manifest every single thing your heart desires? Why would someone as powerful in the mind, as focused of intent as Christ for healing, happiness and wholeness want to block this unstoppable force of manifestation? It does not make sense. And this is why Mary Magdalene isn't going anywhere.

Mary is the embodiment of the divine feminine force within us all. She takes the mystery and gives it form. She is the creator. He is the spark, the will. Together, they co-create what manifests first in the mind. She claims the human gift of sight and embellishes it to go beyond the physical. She is not afraid of the unseen and for this she is richly rewarded with the re-unification of what she holds most dear. She helps us to find what we have been separated from. She helps us bring down what is in the heavens of our mind, to earth.

What if it's all just a big game of hide and seek and this is the tournament of all tournaments? Or more like the treasure hunt of all time. Mary Magdalene, the mysterious one, show us your mysteries and lead us to the treasures. We are seeking the riches of our soul in the recesses of our mind and we ask to be made whole.

MAGDALENE'S AFFIRMATIONS
I am the embodiment of the divine feminine.
I see across the veils of my mind.
I open myself to the full power of being human.
I allow myself to receive the Light.
I am purified by the Light.
I receive the gift of second sight.
I see the unmanifested world.
I trust in the Light of God.
I accept the will of God into my life.
I see the wisdom and the perfection in the will of God.
I surrender to Love.
I am a devoted disciple for the Love of Man.
I love myself unconditionally.
I am open to communication with my Guides and Guardians.
I am a spiritual healer.
I am grounded and free.
I annoint my body with sacred oils and cherish this vessel.
My body is a holy temple.
I am the divine union of masculine and feminine energies.

MAGDALENE'S SYMBOLOGY
Sacred Oils and balms, Alabaster, Red, water, ritual washing, purification rituals

The Shadow Effect