Goddess vision lets us find the divine within us.Byline: FROM HEART TO HEART By Anna Armaiti Ophidia For The Register-Guard When I was a child, I always found the greatest solace in nature. The creeks and hills, animals and plants of the Napa Valley Napa Valley, Calif.: see under Napa. Napa Valley greatest wine-producing region of the United States. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 2990] See : Wine were my friends, and I would spend long hours alone with them. The religions of that time and that place did not call to me or offer me any comfort. They all spoke of the divine as someone else, outside of the person and outside of nature - "someone" in charge of doling out punishment and retribution RETRIBUTION. 1. That which is given to another to recompense him for what has been received from him; as a rent for the hire of a house. 2. A salary paid to a person for his services. 3. The distribution of rewards and punishments. for misdeeds. My parents were not particularly religious people, and my closest friend at that time was an atheist ATHEIST. One who denies the existence of God. 2. As atheists have not any religion that can bind their consciences to speak the truth, they are excluded from being witnesses. Bull. N. P. 292; 1 Atk. 40; Gilb. Ev. 129; 1 Phil. Ev. 19. See also, Co. Litt. 6 b. , so I didn't have much exposure to other ways of devotion. Over the next 30-odd years, I tried many paths, but nothing filled my heart. I was working at jobs I didn't like, caught up in unfulfilling relationships. I was also dealing with my mother's suicide several years before. She and I had not been close, and I had no spiritual resources to deal with my emotions around her death. It was then I came upon a celebration in a Berkeley park Berkeley Park is a neighborhood located in northwest Atlanta, GA, west of Midtown and south of Buckhead. The neighborhood was established in 1921 and was for a time considered a part of Underwood Hills. . Women, students of my first teacher, were holding a graduation ceremony and ritual, and offering workshops on various shamanic sha·man n. A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a medium between the visible world and an invisible spirit world and who practices magic or sorcery for purposes of healing, divination, and control over natural events. and Goddess practices. There I took my first guided journey, lying in a tent, surrounded by gentle yet powerful women, priestesses of the Goddess. The women covered my eyes with cloth, so it was dark. They used visualization to help me begin my journey. During this, I had a vision of the Goddess. Appearing out of a stone wall above a creek, she told me I was her daughter. I could feel the overwhelming love of the Goddess for all creation - not just human people, but all the animal people, the plants, the rocks, everything in the world, everything in the entire universe. And the most amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. thing was that I was one with this Goddess presence. At first it was hard for me to accept and understand the love that I had felt. It meant I had to also accept my mother as a child of the Goddess, and I had been angry at her for a very long time. I began to realize that her anger and verbal abuse verbal abuse Psychology A form of emotional abuse consisting of the use of abusive and demeaning language with a spouse, child, or elder, often by a caregiver or other person in a position of power. See Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Spousal abuse. came out of her own unhappiness and spiritual illness. Over time, with ceremony and ritual, I was able to release my mother's spirit to the One, and learn forgiveness in the process. The Goddess tradition is a path of mindfulness, of honoring the divine in ourselves and in nature. I know that there are many people who are afraid of the Goddess and Wiccan traditions, who think that those of us who practice the rituals, spells and ceremonies are doing harm to others. This is not so. "Harm none" is one of the most important concepts of these traditions. Following this path has helped me discover the sacredness that exists within me and all around me, and this knowledge has filled my heart. Blessed be. Anna Armaiti Ophidia is a local singer and songwriter of pagan music, and has led workshops and rituals celebrating the Goddess tradition for the past 17 years. This column is coordinated by Two Rivers Two Rivers, city (1990 pop. 13,030), Manitowoc co., E Wis., on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Twin River; inc. 1878. Two Rivers is closely associated with its twin city, Manitowoc, both of which are highly industrialized. Interfaith in·ter·faith adj. Of, relating to, or involving persons of different religious faiths: an interfaith marriage; an interfaith forum. Ministries, a network of more than 35 religious and spiritual traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-5693 |
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