Tabula Rasa Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 Mother of Darkness, Mother of Light, earth beneath us, soul in flight, guide us to our hearts. Mother of Darkness, Mother of Light, earth beneath us, soul in flight, guide us to our hearts. Mother of Darkness, Mother of Light, earth beneath us, soul in flight, guide us to our hearts. We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return. Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean. We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return. Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean. Hoof and Horn! Hoof and Horn! All that dies shall be reborn. Corn and grain! Corn and grain! All the falls shall rise again. Sage and crone! Crone and sage! Wisdom is the gift of age! We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return. Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean. We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return. Like a drop of rain, flowing to the ocean. Charge of the Goddess Whenever ye have need of any thing, 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 She, who is 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 She teach things that are yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in Her praise. For Hers is the ecstasy of the spirit, and Hers also is joy on earth; for Her law is love unto all beings. Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside. For Hers is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth and Hers is the cup of wine of life, and the cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. She is the gracious goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon earth, She gave the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, She gives peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor does She demand sacrifice, for behold, She is the mother of all living, and Her love is poured out upon the earth. She who is 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, calls unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto Her. For She is the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. from Her all things proceed, and unto Her all things must return; and before Her face, beloved of gods and men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite. Let Her worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinkest to seek Her, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, She has been with thee from the beginning; and She is that which is attained at the end of desire. Here's some Youtube vids of the chants. Charge of the Goddess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight-mindwanderings Posted March 17, 2010 Share Posted March 17, 2010 On a related note, I used these kinds of chants while in labor. I had the charge of the goddess on my mp3 player along with the we all come from the goddess chant and an elements chant that goes: Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, fire my spirit. These were all extremely important in my pain management plan and helped me go through the birth without any drugs. The charge was especially useful because it was the night of the full moon when I was in labor, finally delivered at dawn. These chants are much more meaningful to me now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MultifariousBirdLady Posted March 18, 2010 Share Posted March 18, 2010 Thanks for the chants, Tabula Rasa! On a related note, I used these kinds of chants while in labor. I had the charge of the goddess on my mp3 player along with the we all come from the goddess chant and an elements chant that goes: Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath, fire my spirit. These were all extremely important in my pain management plan and helped me go through the birth without any drugs. The charge was especially useful because it was the night of the full moon when I was in labor, finally delivered at dawn. These chants are much more meaningful to me now. This is wonderful! I know the chant you're referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Thank you for posting the links to the youtube vids also. I've been looking for things like that but didn't know where to look, or even what to search for. Beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smellincoffee Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Not pagan in beliefs, but sympathetic: I enjoy listening to a song about the elements. The Earth, the air, the fire, the water return return return The Earth, the air, the fire, the water return return return I ay I ay I ay I oh I oh I oh I oh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabula Rasa Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thank you for posting the links to the youtube vids also. I've been looking for things like that but didn't know where to look, or even what to search for. Beautiful! No problem. I sometimes feel as if I'm being compelled by some sort of mysterious divinity, who I'll only guess is female, but as to who she is, I dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheild Maiden Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Hello all, I'm a recently de-converted Christian, but I've always been interested in magic and witchcraft ever since I was a little girl. Luckily my parents allowed me to read Harry Potter, Narnia, Redwall, fairy tales, etc even though their devout Christians. I've wanted to learn about the Pagan holidays that the Christians used for their own good, like Yule. I only started researching Paganism last week. I don't know if there's one Pagan religion or multiple ones. Is the Goddess similar to Mother Earth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabula Rasa Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Hello all, I'm a recently de-converted Christian, but I've always been interested in magic and witchcraft ever since I was a little girl. Luckily my parents allowed me to read Harry Potter, Narnia, Redwall, fairy tales, etc even though their devout Christians. I've wanted to learn about the Pagan holidays that the Christians used for their own good, like Yule. I only started researching Paganism last week. I don't know if there's one Pagan religion or multiple ones. Is the Goddess similar to Mother Earth? Welcome Sheildmaiden! From what I understand, Gaia, the name some people use to refer to Mother Earth as, is one of the names of the Goddess. Here's a link you may find helpful:Internet Sacred Texts Archive This site has over 1'400 books online about religion, mythology,philosopy,and folklore. About every belief system you could think of, and some you might not have. As for your question, there are many different kinds of paganism: Wicca, Asatru(norse gods), Hellenic(greek gods), Ceremonial Magic,and Chaos Magic just to name a few. The great thing about paganism, is there's no dogma you have to adhere to. Pagans are free to believe what they want. I'm not certain what runs the universe, but I know for sure, it's not an a mean old desert god named Yahweh. Good luck in finding what works for you, Tabula Rasa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Welcome Shield Maiden! Ah, the ever-present "what is a pagan" question. Brief (as I can keep it) history of the word. Comes from a Latin word used in the Roman Empire to describe "bumpkins" from the countryside who hadn't heard about Jesus yet, since Christianity spread fastest in the cities. So it was kind of like an ancient mix of "redneck" and "infidel." Then it came to mean anyone not Christian, regardless of what they were. These days, it's taken back from being pejorative, to mean a variety of Earth-centric spiritualities. It's also applied to reconstructionist traditions/religions that have brought back some of those beliefs that got people called "hicks" by those ancient people in the first place. One can find Druidic gatherings, or Kemetic Orthodoxy (Ancient Egyptian State religion reconstructed) if one wanted to join such an organization. Some also throw Afro-Diasporic religions into the "pagan" bag, for lack of anywhere else to put them. It's a huge, crazy, mixed bag, so it can often seem like "anything goes", but there are debates even within that world. Believe me, I've been in the middle of PLENTY. But the crazy grab-bag works for me. Some stick with one tradition. Gotta find what tickles you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheild Maiden Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Welcome Shield Maiden! Ah, the ever-present "what is a pagan" question. Brief (as I can keep it) history of the word. Comes from a Latin word used in the Roman Empire to describe "bumpkins" from the countryside who hadn't heard about Jesus yet, since Christianity spread fastest in the cities. So it was kind of like an ancient mix of "redneck" and "infidel." Then it came to mean anyone not Christian, regardless of what they were. These days, it's taken back from being pejorative, to mean a variety of Earth-centric spiritualities. It's also applied to reconstructionist traditions/religions that have brought back some of those beliefs that got people called "hicks" by those ancient people in the first place. One can find Druidic gatherings, or Kemetic Orthodoxy (Ancient Egyptian State religion reconstructed) if one wanted to join such an organization. Some also throw Afro-Diasporic religions into the "pagan" bag, for lack of anywhere else to put them. It's a huge, crazy, mixed bag, so it can often seem like "anything goes", but there are debates even within that world. Believe me, I've been in the middle of PLENTY. But the crazy grab-bag works for me. Some stick with one tradition. Gotta find what tickles you. Wow, that's a lot of paganism! Thanks, I'm looking into Ásatrú at the moment, and reading Celtic and Norse mythology, it's all really interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheild Maiden Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 As for your question, there are many different kinds of paganism: Wicca, Asatru(norse gods), Hellenic(greek gods), Ceremonial Magic, and Chaos Magic just to name a few. The great thing about paganism, is there's no dogma you have to adhere to. Pagans are free to believe what they want. I'm not certain what runs the universe, but I know for sure, it's not an a mean old desert god named Yahweh. Good luck in finding what works for you, Tabula Rasa Thanks, I'm lucky I found this site so soon after my de-conversion, it's help me stay away from my fundie parents . I love that there are so many different ancient religions, my European ancestors were so different before Christianity ruined them. *sigh* I hear Sweden is getting back into Ásatrú recently (I'm half Swedish) which should be fun if I ever travel there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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