Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Witches Next Door

Home
Pagan
The Goddess That Showed Up And What Happened Next

The Goddess That Showed Up And What Happened Next

Last updated on: April 3, 2019 at 1:26 pm by Gwion Raven

The Goddess That Showed Up And What Happened Next 2019-04-03T13:26:12-08:00 Gwion Raven

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I remember the moment, the exact instant, when Her name was called and She was there. She stood behind me, wrapped Her enormous feathered cloak around my body and completely engulfed me. There’s no describing what happened next, except to say I lay inside of Her for an interminable length of time. I clearly saw the ritual circle. The flames of the bonfire and the other participants going through their own processes were evident. And yet, I was somewhere completely “other”, exploring the worlds with the goddess that showed up.

The Goddess, the Bonfire, and me – CCO Pixabay

Breakfast With The Goddess And Everyone Else

Over the next three days, I walked between the worlds. My feet firmly planted here and there and everywhere in between. I was absolutely present, interacted with people, ate breakfast, and made perfect sense. I carried on conversations about toilets or whatever mundane topics we were all discussing. I was utterly not present too. Or maybe it’s better to say I was also present elsewhere. And She was there with me, as real to me as anyone I’d ever met.

I’m not sure there’s actually a word in English that quite captures well enough what I encountered. Perhaps it’s “intimate” or “harrowing’ or “ecstatic”. When one calls to a goddess and they come, it’s like no other experience I can think of. My life was forever altered.

Nobody Puts The Goddess In The Corner

I’ve participated in many rituals. More often than not the goddesses and gods are called by name, like Cerridwen or Hera or Isis. At other rituals they are called as unnamed Mysterious Ones, or the purposely ambiguous Lady and Lord, or as natural forces like the wind or the sea.

Occasionally, calling the gods isn’t much more than reciting their names out loud. It’s more of a polite invitation to attend a tea-party. The gods are asked to sit in a corner and eat cucumber sandwiches and not bother anyone too much while the magickal working takes place. Which, to my way of thinking, is impolite. Imagine being invited somewhere and then being completely ignored by your hosts.

The times they do come through though! Such power and presence it’s almost too much, too precious, too…well, they are the gods and it’s just too god-ish like for words. Yes, I made up the term god-ish like and I’m sticking by it. Those rituals stay with me and give me chills to this day.

Nobody puts the goddess in a corner – CCO Pixabay

Arrested By The Goddess

I’ve spoken with Deists and Humanists and Agnostics and Animists and most folks tell me they’ve experienced presences beyond words. Maybe it’s the goddess at their dinner table or the spectacular sunset over a picture-perfect vista or an unexpected encounter with silence.

Regardless of belief systems, there are moments that arrest us and connect us humans to something else, something larger than ourselves. And often these moments alter our lives completely. I’m largely unconcerned if you hold that the gods are real or are archetypal images or are mere reflections of the inner human landscape, trying desperately to reconcile our futile fight with mortality.

I am interested in supporting, growing, shaping and learning from the work that folks in the various Pagan communities are undertaking. The “gods are real” vs. the “oh no they aren’t” debates leave me saddened. Not because there aren’t well-reasoned arguments or mildly entertaining tempests in teacups – I like a good soap opera as much as anyone – I’m disturbed because these fruitless arguments debates take the focus and energy away from the tremendous contributions people are making in their communities.

If the gods inspired you to donate your time and energy to a cause, Excellent. If you just felt in your bones that supporting Tulip Moonbeam’s Go Fund Me was a grand idea, awesome sauce. Let’s celebrate what we do together, not argue about which invisible things we believe in.

Was It A Goddess Or A Weird Quirk Of Being Human?

Truly? Who cares? I don’t. I had my experience. It was weird and wonderful and terrifying and comforting. You can’t explain it any better than I can and that’s perfectly fine. I can tap back into that feeling and the memory of my “meeting”. The encounter serves to fuel my magickal work today which, to me, is the most important part of the story.

working with goddesses

Working with gods

Working with the gods

Previous Post

March 20, 2019

Messages from Spirits of the Land

Next Post

April 7, 2019 Weekend Witchery: It Ain't All Spells & Rituals

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ancestor Work Art and Magic Athena Autumn Equinox Being a Priestess Being A Witch Being Pagan Belatane Beltane candle magic Cauldron Cernunnos cerridwen Choosing a magical name Circle Casting Community Coronovirus Coven Curious about magic Daily Practice Deity Depression Earth Ecstatic Practices Elements of Magic Every Day Magic Fae Food Magic Goddess Grounding House Magick Imbolc Ritual Kitchen Witch Knot Magic Lammas Life Ritualized Mabon Magical Healing Magical Practice Magical Teachers Magickal Tools Making Altars Many Gods West Mountain Magic Nature Witch New Year's Tradition Omens Pagan Books Pagan Camps and Festivals Pagan Food Pagan Gods Pagan History Pagan Holidays Pagan Humor Pagan Humour Pagan leadership Pagan Marriage Pagan Music Pagan Parenting Pagan Relationships Pagan Rituals Pagan Rules Pagan Tattoos Pantheacon Peaceful Home Pearl Pentacle Personal Power Politics Ritual Cleansing Ritual Drumming Samhain Samhain Practices saturnalia Skyclad Spells Spiralheart Witch Camp Spirits of Place Spring Equinox spring magic Summer Solstice Tarot The Magick Of Food Time Magic Uncategorized Winter Solstice Witch History Witch Words WitchCamps Work Magic Year End Review Yule

Select a Month March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz