100 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
100 lines
4.7 KiB
Plaintext
Descent Of The Goddess
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Copyright 1993 Durwydd Mac Tara
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(With special thanks to G. B. Gardner, Freydis Vasa and Julia Phillips)
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In ancient times, our Lord, the Horned One, was (as he still is) the
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Controller, the Comforter. But men know him as the dread Lord of
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Shadows, lonely, stern, and just.
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But our Lady the Goddess would solve all mysteries, even the mystery
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of death, and so she journeyed to the underworld.
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The Guardian of the Portals challenged her: 'Strip off thy garments,
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lay aside thy jewels; for naught may you bring with you into this
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our land, for it is written that your True Self is the only fitting
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adornment for those in the realms of Death.'
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So she laid down her garments and her jewels, and was bound, as all
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living must be who seek to enter the realms of Death, the Mighty One.
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Such was her beauty that Death himself knelt, and laid his sword and
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crown at her feet, and kissed her feet, saying: 'Blessed be thy feet
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that have brought thee in these ways. Abide with me; but let me place
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my cold hand on thy heart.'
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And she replied: 'Why do you cause all things that I love, and
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take delight in, to fade and die?'
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'Lady,' replied Death, 'it is age and fate, against which I am
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helpless. Age causes all things to wither; but when men die at the end
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of time, I give them rest and peace and strength, so that they may
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return. But you, you are lovely. Return not, abide with me.'
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And she replied, 'Nay, I love thee not and I am needed in the world
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of the living.'
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Again Death knelt, and kissed her knees, saying: 'Blessed be thy
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knees that kneel before the Altar. Abide with me; let me place my cold
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hand on thy heart.'
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And she replied, 'Nay, I love thee not and I am needed in the world
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of the living.'
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Death (still kneeling), and kissed her on the womb, saying:
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'Blessed be thy organs of generation, without which none of us would be.
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Abide with me; let me place my cold hand on thy heart.'
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And she replied, 'Nay though I feel the beginnings of love for
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thee, I must return to those I fully love in the world of creation.'
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Death then stood, and kissed her on the breast, saying: Blessed be
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thy breast, formed in strength and beauty. Abide with me; let me place
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my cold hand on thy heart.'
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And she replied, 'Nay though I feel love for thee, I must not
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abandon those I am responsible for, in the world of creation. I cannot
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do this thing, better you would return with me.'
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'Lady,' replied Death, It cannot be so. If I were to leave my
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realm, and abandon those who seek their comfort and rest with me, then
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the Wheel would no longer turn. Age and weakness would overtake those
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whom you love, and they would have nowhere to find rest, and peace, and
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reunion with those who have gone before. As age and debility overtook
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your creations, there would quickly be no room for the new, only the
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withered, the tired, and the stagnant.' He then kissed her lips, saying:
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'Blessed be thy lips, which shall utter the Holy Names. Abide with me;
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let me place my cold hand on thy heart.'
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And she replied, Let us BOTH lay our hands, each unto the heart of
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the other, thereby claiming and uniting each unto the other. In this
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way may I rule my kingdom of birth, creation, and life; yet share with
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you your kingdom of death, rejuvenation, and rest. United in Perfect
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Love and Perfect Trust, that the Universe may be whole and the Wheel
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turn smoothly.
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Death replied, 'This is indeed WISDOM, So Mote it Be!' They
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embraced, thus pledging their eternal love.
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And he taught her all his mysteries, and gave her the necklace which
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is the circle of rebirth. And she taught him her mystery of the sacred
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cup which is the cauldron of rebirth.
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They loved, and were one; for there be three great mysteries in the
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life of mankind, and magic controls them all. To fulfil love, you must
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return again at the same time and at the same place as the loved ones;
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and you must meet, and know, and remember, and love them again.
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But to be reborn, you must die, and be made ready for a new body.
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And to die, you must be born; and without love, you may not be born.
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And our Goddess is ever inclined to love, and mirth, and happiness;
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and guards and cherishes her hidden children in life, and in death
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she teaches the way to her communion; and even in this world she
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teaches them the mystery of the Magic Circle, which is placed between
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the worlds of men and of the Gods.
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And thus we are taught of the beginnings of the wheel of the year
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wherein the Lord and the Lady share their rulership of the year, and the
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basis of that sharing.
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