NMR ISSUE 45

Activating Miraculous Success
Astrological Forecast 45
Basic Wiccan Knowledge
Brigit's Well
Delores Ashcroft-Norwicki
Dolphin Magick
Editorial 45
Esoteric Symbology of the Tarot
How to Celebrate Yule
Journey Down the River A Pathworking
Letters 45
Maat Magick Nema
Other Editorial 45
Oxford's Shiel-Na-Gig
Ritual in Light
Solitaries & Gatherings
Spelle of Contagion for AIDS Research
Spiritual Vampires Marty Raphael
Stonesong
The Call Goes Out from the Earth's Cetaceans
The Circle
The Faery Faith
The Goddess in Motion
The Sacred Pentagram
The Sun Ritual
The View from Handscrabble Creek
The Ways of Old
Thelema and Wicca
Tiger
Vireo, Glowworm and Manta Ray/Stingray
Winter Circle Shawn E. Danahoo
Within My Heart

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The Goddess in Motion

By Katelyn Sky

What is `the Goddess,' anyway? In my experience, this seems to be the most common question to arise in discussion with my Christian friends regarding my spiritual beliefs. What is She? Who is She? And how can I prove it? What they seem to be seeking is a specific answer: a single, definitive label, an individual name, an answer I cannot possibly provide, because my Goddess is a creature of change. Her presence in my life is constant, but Her form exists in a continuous state of flux. She is whatever I need Her to be at any given moment, and Her aspects are far too many to even begin to count.

The question itself leads me to consider our varying perceptions of the Goddess, both within the Pagan community at large and, on a more personal level, from one believer to another. The image each of Her children carries in their heart of the Mother sometimes varies greatly, as well it should. Every one of us is a unique soul, carrying its own personal history, its own individual set of needs, values and beliefs. That some of those values and beliefs are similar enough to allow us to walk a common path is cause for celebration. It is not, however, a reason for any to attempt to mold a shared deity into a fixed or rigid form. Life is an ever-changing force, and so is She who bestows it.

The image of God worshipped by my friends is one drawn from a single book; this tenet is one I find very difficult to reconcile with my own view of the divine. The spiritual tradition I follow, Wicca, does not rely heavily upon one source, but rather takes its form from a wealth of resources. The emphasis is on truth coming from within the heart of the individual, not from the printed page of some text. I own quite a few books that present different aspects of the Goddess. Some help to reinforce my own convictions, while others, because they are at odds with my particular perception of Her, remind me of the sheer beauty of the notion that we share a Goddess who is as different for each of us as we are from one another. I shudder at the thought of Fundamentalist Pagans. (Though I've never met any myself, they're probably out there somewhere.) I realize that the title may be something of a contradiction, but nonetheless, there may be those who attempt to do to the Goddess what some Christian sects have done to their God: tried to compartmentalize the divine, to shape Him into their own perceived form and force that belief in a limited picture onto others.

I say some Christian sects because I have a very healthy respect for many among the Christian community. So many of their beliefs and traditions are echoes of our own that some areas between the two are indistinct. And even though most draw their information from the same book, their interpretations vary wildly. Indeed, readers may even find the same story told in different ways upon examining two consecutive chapters of the Holy Bible. It is not, then, truly surprising to find denominations (or even separate churches within the same denomination) that focus on very disparate aspects of the same God. One church follows a judgmental God, the next a kind and forgiving one, one church worships a strict and fearsome figure, another prays to a loving father, and so on.

I find it sad that, rather than celebrate the differences that arise, many focus on them as bones of contention, issues to be argued and debated with inflexibility and self-righteous anger. Perhaps this is why some of my Christian acquaintances find it so very difficult to understand my explanation of the countless faces of the Goddess. While they too may see their deity in a variety of ways, either as individuals or as whole congregations or denominations, they still primarily insist that there is one God, and only one. If that satisfies them, fine. I have no intention of ever trying to alter anyone else's beliefs, (which is most likely an exercise in futility anyway). I do, however, offer them an explanation of the basis of my beliefs, if they are open-minded enough to try to understand. (And yes, thank Goddess, some of them are!)

My concept of the Goddess is best shown in the old cliché the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. She is the whole, and the parts are the Elements that make up all of life: Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. None of these is limited to a single form, and none is immobile. Of the first four, Water is, to me, the best analogy of the Goddess, simply because I harbor a very strong personal affinity with that particular entity. Water is always moving and changing, flowing into new and different forms. To maintain its strength and purity, it must move. This is seen in everything from ocean waves set in motion by the ageless tides to aquarium water circulated by an artificial pump. Unmoving water becomes stagnant and bereft of life, as do inflexible beliefs. Air moves and constantly changes form, sustaining life as a direct result of this change. The continuous re-creation and exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide is evidenced each moment in breathing and photosynthesis. Fire is motion incarnate. Have you ever tried to hold a dancing flame still? Part of the beauty of Fire lies in the knowledge that it must be treated with careful respect to be a helpmate and that carelessness in relation with it may easily bring tragedy and destruction. Indeed, this principle applies to each of the Elements, even as it does to the Goddess Herself.

Some people experience more difficulty envisioning the remaining two Elements as mobile. Earth, at first glance, seems solid and unmoving, the very antithesis of the principle this Wiccan is endorsing. As a society, we tend to buy into that stationary picture. Hence, images of strength are evoked by familiar phrases such as rock of ages, rock of Gibraltar and get a piece of the rock. The wonder of Earth is that it is an entity of constant motion, so slow and subtle that we are virtually unaware of the action taking place. Erosion is a gradual but continuous shifting of earth. The planet itself rotates on its axis and at the same time travels in a never-ending journey around the sun. Spirit, too, calls up ideas like steadfast and immovable. Yet the spirit is the Element called upon most to change to meet a variety of needs. The spirit of one individual may be required in the course of a single day (or a given hour, in some cases!) to shift from serene patience to lighthearted playfulness to righteous indignation to inner strength. And where did the familiar phrase restless spirit originate? Certainly not from a world in which the spirit is inanimate.

These are the parts. The Goddess is all of them, and so much more. Taking Her form from these Elements (and giving it to them as well), She is as much a living, moving force as they are. She is an integral part of each of Her Children, of all Witches, everywhere. As part of Her we are all sacred, and must thus treat one another and all life as we would treat our Mother with respect, with reverence, with love.

I do not offer in my explanation a name for my Goddess, for She has many names, all of them right depending upon the given moment or situation. Another reason I refrain from naming Her is that I cannot speak for all Her followers, but only for myself, and while we may share some common beliefs about the Mother, our terminology can be as different as wind from water. To us it is not so important specifically what we believe, but rather that we believe and we do.

In Her Light & Love, Katelyn Skye

1992, S. Shallcross