World Goddess Day

28 Vaskaras 3336

Dear friends,

Today is World Goddess Day, a day of solidarity between Goddess worshippers and interfaith celebration of Her. While we arguably do not have much in common with most ‘Goddess religions’ (a topic I have discussed in the past), I think it is important that we acknowledge our siblinghood with them. We all worship the Divine Feminine, albeit in a different way.

I was planning on doing something small for this day, like talking a walk along and finding somewhere to sit in a park with my scriptures, but unfortunately my awful sleeping cycle and a cold got in the way of this. However, I wanted to make a quick post about this day, since I find it to be a wonderful idea.

“THE WORLD GODDESS DAY PROJECT emerged in 2014 to unite the Mother Goddess’ worshipers world wide through their many expressions and manifestations and held more then 50 events around the World. In 2015, the held more than 80 events. And for 2016 the celebration of the Wolrd Goddess Day will be still bigger!

The purpose of the Project is grant to the Goddess one day of visibility to share Her many myths, stories and worship diversity, so everyone will remember or will know that the first religion of humanity was the Worship of the Goddess.

For many historical reasons the names of the Goddess and her myths have been forgotten and were relegated to mere folkloric curiosity in the Western world by many. The force and power of Her names were lost. Ancient temples are in ruins, ancient chants and invocations are not recited anymore. The many myths of the divine Goddess were set aside and now are part of the fairy tales,  losing its sacredness and becoming mere stories only seen by a psychological prism or as sillys legend of ancient people.

Nowdays, the Goddess is reentering into our modern life and bringing back all Her vitality, power, wisdom and healing through the many Pagan traditions that are revitalizing Her worship.”

– World Goddess Day Website

I hope that the souls seeking Dea in this world find Her. While our faith is not for everyone, knowing that there are many others out there who worship Her in some shape or form gives me a great deal of hope.

Madria Erin

The Day of Werde

16 Vaskaras 3336

Hello!

Today is the Day of Werde, a day in which Deanists examine the spiritual direction we are taking in our current lives, and how they will affect things in the future, both for us and others around us. The Three Werdes (similar to the Three Fates in Greek Mythology) weave the web of fate, and we can altar that web with the things we do and say each and every day. Many of us are familiar with ‘the butterfly effect’. A butterfly flapping its wings in the desert might start a hurricane elsewhere, and one kind action can prompt the receiver of your kindness to perform a kind action towards somewhere else, and the chain continues.

One of my favourite animated movies, The Prince of Egypt (which tells the story of Exodus from the Torah and the Bible), has a lovely song called Through Heaven’s Eyes, which has some lines that sum up some of the key principles of this day:

“A single thread in a tapestry, though its color brightly shine
Can never see its purpose in the pattern of the grand design”

“If a man lose ev’rything he owns, has he truly lost his worth?
Or is it the beginning of a new and brighter birth?”

“No life can escape being blown about by the winds of change and chance
And though you never know all the steps, you must learn to join the dance”

I would like to share some of my personal goals this Day of Werde:

• Go vegetarian again some time in the next couple of months. Though I am only one person, me becoming vegetarian may prompt others to (as others and Dea’s direction have prompted me to) and thus save more animals and help our sister Earth heal from the wounds she has received due to the farming industry.
• Becoming more spiritually active. I tend to go through cycles of faith. My faith in Dea is always there, but I often find myself becoming spiritually apathetic during the times when I need Dea the most. I want to stop ignoring Her and reaching out to Her more, and performing my duties as a priestess better. This affects my werde my bringing my soul closer to Her, and helping me move forward in future lives.
• Spending more time with loved ones. I got back from holiday last Saturday with my mother and sister, and it made me realised how much I love spending time with them and how I don’t do it enough. Also, my grandmother lives ten minutes away, and I don’t see her as much as I’d like to. I want to make an effort to see her more, since her health is deteriorating as of late due to smoking and she has been very depressed.
• Be more charitable. My cities homelessness rates are some of the worst in the country, and while I sleep comfortably in my bed, there are people who are lucky to find a sheltered spot outdoors to sleep in. I walk past these people all the time and even when I have spare change to give them, I often do not, for one reason or other. If I can help these people just by buying them a sandwich or giving them money to get to a shelter, that’s one positive little wave I’ve created in the ocean of the universe, and that’s what the Day of Werde is all about.

If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear some of your goals this Day of Werde!

Madria Erin

 

Trinitarian-Deanic Godhead Diagram

14 Vaskaras 3336

I’ve seen diagrams like this for religions with non-polytheistic but complex Godheads such as Gnosticism, and I thought it was a really good way of explaining things. I tried to make one for trinitarian Deanism/Filianism, at least how I understand it. I do not speak for all Deanists.

The names for the Janati are names I came up with myself. Of course, any appropriate names for them can be used.

Madria Erin

Daily Spiritual Practices

14 Vaskaras 3336

Hello,

In our very busy day-to-day lives, it can be hard to make time for Dea. Most Deanists will say a little prayer at night and perhaps in the morning, but understandably, we often fail to pray, listen to Her or call on Her any other time of the day (other than on feast days). I am awful for this. Some days I’m even too busy and stressed that I feel like I don’t have the energy to pray, but ironically, those are the days I need Dea the most.

Many Deanists have written prayers that are to be said multiple times a day, facing certain directions, calling on various mysteries, etc. I would love to be able to do that, but for some people a system like that just isn’t possible. So, I’m in the process of coming up with little spiritual practices that can be done throughout the day without taking up too much time and getting us in trouble with our bosses etc.

• Morning Prayer: In the morning, welcome in the dawn with light ring of a bell. This will clear negative energies from your aura and help you call in the Spirit. Make the pentacle or fora or another holy symbol upon yourself. Morning prayer may just be petitioning Dea to help you walk through the day as She would, being a mirror of Her grace and love, and thanking Her for the new day.
• Grace Before Meals: When in public, praying before meals can cause feelings of anxiety. In this day and age doing so may make those around you view you as some sort of ‘religious nut’ and they may make assumptions about you and what you believe. A Mormon missionary once told me that when in public around non-Mormons, he does what he calls a ‘migraine prayer’, crossing your hands over his slightly bowed head to silently thank God for his meal. I like this approach a lot.
• Images of Dea: I can’t remember where I read this but I know one Deanic website (possibly Mother-G0d) suggests bowing before statues of Mary etc as they are representations of Dea. I ADORE this, but for the reasons I touched on above, this can be hard to do for many people. Instead, consider bowing your head and greeting Her silently to yourself, or simply put your fingers to your lips and extend your hand towards her, as a symbol of reverent love.
• Head Covering: Many Pagans, Goddess worshippers and a few Deanists cover their heads as a sign of devotion to the Divine. I cover during ritual and the month of Moura. Head covering doesn’t have to be a large veil covering all of the hair, it can simply be a wide headband or a hat.
• Listening: Most of us are familiar with the concept of prayer. It’s when you talk to Dea. But when was the last time you listened to Her? Sometimes we get so caught up in the world around us that we forget that through the Daughter, Dea is an imminent and active force in our lives. In the silence, through music, by reading scriptures, we can hear Her voice. She can give us counsel, comfort, and advise us on day to day issues.
• Daily Scripture: Not all Deanists use the Filianic/Madrian scriptures, but for those that do, simply reading a passage a day and meditating on it is a great spiritual practice. Simply pick one at random and think about what it means to you as you go about your day. Deanic Christians may use the Bible, Gnostic Deanists may use the Nag Hammadi scriptures, etc.
• Night Time prayer: Unless we have had a particularly busy day, night time may be a time we can spend a little longer communing with Dea. Light candles at your altar, say longer prayers, pray the rosary. I like to stand at my altar, light candles, pray and then sit in the silence and take deep breaths, letting Her calm me before I sleep. I imagine Her singing me to sleep and wrapping me in a warm blanket like an earthly mother would with her little child. I find this helps a lot with my insomnia.

I really hope this helps, and I’d love to hear about your spiritual, every day practices!

Madria Erin

The Future of Deanism

13 Vaskaras 3336

I am so sorry for the lack of posts on this blog as of yet! I’ve been busy, and there is still unfinished business in my life I need to take care of (nothing serious but still) so I may not be very active for a while, but I wanted to finally make my first post on here since moving from DaughterOfDea.

There is another reason I have been so inactive in Deanic circles lately.

Like many, I sometimes feel hopeless and worry that our religion has no real future. It is very, very hard to start a religion in this day and age. We are at a point where in society where people do not want religion, and not without reason. Religion has done a lot of harm. Those who do like the idea of being religious tend to want to join older, established ones rather than new ones. They want on-the-grounds communities that will give them a job and a purpose. They want easily accessible resources and a solid theological basis.

This makes Deanism inaccessible for some people. When people ask me about my religion, I find it hard to direct them to resources they will understand. Most of the Deanic resources are from the Daughters of Shining Harmony/Aristasians, and while I do love the Mother-God website, it can be hard for people to distinguish which is simple Deanic thealogy and which is Aristasian. While I personally like some of the Aristasian teachings, there is a lot I disagree with. As a third wave feminist I find some of their gender politics in conflict with my own beliefs, and I also envision Deanism as being a religion for all, not just hyperfeminine women.

However, I refuse to give up hope for the future of this small religious tradition.

I use social media to post about Deanism as well as other things in my life (my day to day activities, my interests such as books and video games, activism, etc) and this has lead to me informing others about the faith without even realising it. In the past few weeks I have seen about three of my Tumblr followers begin to identify as Deanists, and that makes me absolutely overjoyed. People are interested in this faith because it offers something they haven’t seen before. I receive quite a few messages on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter from people who are interested in learning more. And while it can be quite hard to find appropriate resources and explain new thealogical concepts sometimes, it’s totally worth it.

I will continue to teach of Dea’s love to all those who want to know it. I will teach my children of Dea, but if they grow up and want to join a different religion or none at all, that will be okay, too. And I will carry on praying to Her, worshipping Her, and loving Her.

Madria Erin