Sometimes we search and search, reading book after book and really
learn nothing but how to go through the motions of being a witch. Perhaps
it is just me but I love being close to the Goddess and feeling the part
of me that is the Goddess. Really I feel that to honor the goddess you must first learn to be a priestess before becoming a witch or a Wiccan. Intuition and experience have shown me that by learning
the Elements and by learning from the elements we can become closer to the
higher self. The Elementals love to play and so does the younger self. The
Goddess has split the world into Five main things, Earth, Air, Fire, Water and
Spirit. In each of these elements she has also instilled many attributes.
By learning these attributes from the elements we learn the Goddess;
for she is all.
Being a Priestess
Being a priestess, not a witch, not a wiccan, means feeling the Goddess every minute of every day. Knowing that when you breathe you are breathing the Goddess and also breathing as a part of the Goddess. When you reach out your hand you can feel the energy of her reach from your hand to across the room. Touching someone’s face means that you are touching a part of the Goddess, with a part of the Goddess. Realizing the beauty of all, because she is all. Honoring the Goddess every single day with song, energy and joy. Instead of praying to the Goddess to change your life, you reach inside yourself and get that piece of you that is her to help you change. Knowing that before you can heal the Earth and others, you must heal yourself. Being a priestess is not just becoming a vessel for her at festivals, but knowing that your a vessel for her at all times. For she is always with you, inside you, around you and through you. You are the Goddess and She is you.
Evening and Morning Rituals
One of the nifty things that I stumbled over was a Morning
and Evening ritual. There are some pages here on the net that give you blessings
and prayers that can be said at appointed times. Unfortunately none of them help
you create a routine. When I was just starting out I wanted to practice Wicca as
they did in Avalon. The beauty of "Mists of Avalon" captured my heart and my spirit.
So I started doing things in my practice that I thought would be practiced then.
One of them was the a Morning and an Evening ritual. Here are the ones I have written.(just follow the links below.)
I use these every day and feel it helps me feel closer to that of a priestess.
I suggest that you create your own fitting to what sings to you. After you have
looked at the rituals I will more fully explain the ideas behind each one.
The Morning Ritual is to prepare you for the day. If you had a dream during the
night that bothered you, it may stay with you for the rest of the day. This can affect
your mood and how you treat others. By completing the morning ritual you are leaving
the things that happened in the bed there.( I am mainly talking about negative things,
because if you got laid that night you really don't want to leave that there, you want
to carry that feeling of love with you all day, right!!) By cleansing the negative of
the night from your mind, heart and throat you are less likely to let those things
influence your thoughts, your emotions and your words. Thus making it less likely that
you will break the rede by harming some one, thereby harming yourself.
The Evening Ritual is much the same as the Morning. Done before bed so that the
negative things that happened during the day don't influence your sleep as much.
Those things that can cause nightmares or just the ones that you think about all
night keeping you awake.
Both Rituals can put you closer to the Goddess. Also practice makes perfect.
These are also practice for when you do Sabbats and Esbats in a group or by yourself.
As a personal testimonial I would like to say that by doing these rituals everyday I
have become calmer and take things that would normally throw me into a fit of rage
with a shrug and a smile. In the last few weeks I have noticed that when my husband
says something to provoke me I laugh and kiss him. This was not a conscience effort either.
Power Songs
Everyone has power songs. This is a song that you sing to feel the energy in yourself
and come in touch with it. The power inside you may be the Goddess, the Dragon, the Unicorn
or even the God. The power song is to help you become what it is that gives you power. I
have found several instances where I sing the power songs.
Postive Songs
The positive song is the one sung in rituals, when you are feeling a little down, or it can
be used for quick grounding (with training after finding your grounding form you associate
it with the song.) This song should be sung with as much sound as you can muster, after a bit you will be able to sing it in you head with just as much muster. Myself I use one of the Goddess Chants from Scott Cunningham's
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practioner
A-E-I-O-U
I have combined this chant with a voice warming technique I learned in High School.
Slowly it has become it's own song.
