Inanna/Ishtar as the Warrior Goddess
Please post here your insights on Inanna/Ishtar as the Warrior Goddess. Two myths which explore this facet of the Goddess are Inanna and Ebih and Ishtar and Saltu, or the Agushaya Hymn, for example, and both are in Gateways.
I also recommend a much later text by Dion Fortune and Gareth Knight here in Gateways called the Weapons of Gebuhra (Severity in the Kabbalah).
Eager to see your insights on this topic!!!
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being I
Perhaps one of the most complex, seldom understood although very much praised as well, the Warrior in Women/Goddess is one of the least discussed of the archetypes in women psychology, and in Inanna/Ishtar in special. This is reason enough for us then to dive into the dephts of the Warrior in Inanna/Ishtar to try and disclose some of the gifts the young Warrior Goddess has to offer to us still today.
Basically, the Warrior is a frightening archetype because S/He is both the Skilled and Justified Hero in His/Her shining form, as well as the Terrible Tyrant, the Sadist/Masochist, in Her/His rage and outbursts of violence.
Yet our politically correct times try to ignore aggressiveness is an innate characteristic of our species -- for men and women alike -- which in his/her justified guise, represents an attitude of awareness and gusto for life that has been responsible for many achievements of our culture. Some scholars suggest that the razor-sharp clarity of perception that the archetypal Warrior stimulated in the post- Hellenic Assyrians is what gave rise to the Ego. Aggressiveness is not synonymous with rage or violence: these are expressions of overstimulated aggression. The Warrior, properly accessed, can do a great deal to empower us to live our lives, make our worlds, and protect, provide and create a just order on a perilous planet.
While capable of killing when necessary, the Warrior knows that the real war is within. A wo/man appropriately accessing his/her Warrior draws on enormous resources of focus and self-discipline that enable him/her to live an empowered life in the service of his/her fellow creatures. The Warrior is an energy source that permits us to be assertive about our lives, goals, needs and causes. He gets us moving again after a period of stagnation.
Self-discipline, loyalty and determination are the hallmarks of the Warrior. The Warrior is a destroyer of what must be no more. S/He destroys the enemies of the true Self. He attacks whatever is wounding and damaging, whatever causes despair, depression, injustice, oppression, whatever is cruel or discouraging or making abusive demands. The Warrior’s destruction clears a space for renewal and a new, more just order. The final and most important, "seventh degree" of initiation of a Warrior is the honoring of a pledge -- a commitment to steward this power for the good of an inclusive community, for peace with justice.
Besides, in Mesopotamia, Inana the Warrior is the standard-bearer and the protector of the kings and heroes of the land. Or do you think that pale and conformist damsel could make kings instead????
Any thoughts on this??
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being II
One of the main characteristics of the Justified Warrior is the heart that shows a healthy appetite for life in a much larger scale, because the Warrior is the Protector of the Land, the trained and skilled individual who is ready to sacrifice his or her life for the life of his/her people. S/He does so out of a desire to preserve and maintain order, sustained by the will to face whatever comes up one´s way. The Warrior has a deep code of honor imprinted in his/her soul, and trusts in him/herself to fulfil the promise to establish order for his or her people.
A Warrior´s attitude to face life shows the virtues of courage to face the vicissitudes of one´s circumstances, loyalty, respect for hierarchy and values. A warrior is also skilled in physical prowess, or the one who can save him/herself when need be
The Warrior is also a fighter, and it is not in the figther´s code of honor to submit without marking his or her presence even by force if need be.
Now, when I started my training in the Mysteries, much before I found Mesopotamia as my life path, I used to define myself as an Amazon Priestess. I would add very much Geburhic these days...
The way I use to live the Modern Warrior archetype is... information. I use Words or the Sword of Knowledge to open new grounds with integrity and passion.
How you live the Warrior archetype and integrate it in your lives, is a great mystery.
Enjoy your Quest for the Warrior within to manifest Him/Her without!
Yeah, I am having lots of fun in exploring the Warrior, especially because Feminine Justified Anger is hardly touched the way it should. I would call it a non-victim stance towards life. For man and woman should be seen not as Opposites, but Complements who were created by the gods to continue for them the Workings of Existence.
Remember. Athena leads armies, but has no partner. Sekhmet is half-lioness. But Inanna is triumphantly feminine and surely can be veeeeeeeery angry and display it for all to see...
From Lishtar... who just looks errrrrrrrrr... sweet and girlish but has always run with lionesses...
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being II
from D. J. Conway´s Lord of Light and Shadow, page91:
"The god in the aspect of Hero and Warrior shows us the way to honor the connectedness between ourselves and the rest of creation. He also points out our spiritual virtues to be courted in our search for spiritual growth and enlightenment.
The Hero/Warrio is a man or woman who has learned self-achieved submission to the work of the God and Goddess. It is through our victories in life that the works of karma are bought about. Through these victories and the balancing of karma, we are regenerated."
Two great short paragraphs!
Have a great day!
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being III
I am using the classic King, Warrior, Magician and Lover - Rediscovering the archetypes fo the Mature masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, 1990, Harper Collins for this post.
The Warrior in His/Her Fullness
Aggressiveness as one of the Warrior´s characteristics is a stance toward life that rouses, energizes and motivates. It pushes us to move out of a defensive or holding position about life´s tasks and problems. The samurai advice was always to leap into battle with the full potential of ki, or vital energy at your disposal. The Japanese warrior tradition claimed that there is only one position in which to face the battle of life: frontality. And it also proclaimed that there was only one direction: forward.
How then do we know tht aggressiveness is appropriate under the circumstances? Through clarity of thinking, through discernment. The warrior is always alert. S/He is always awake. S/he is never sleeping through life. S/He knows hot to focus his/her mind and her/his body. In the North American tradition, s/he is the Hunter. As a function of his/her clarity of mind, s/he is a strategist and tactician. S/he can evaluate his/her circumstances accurately and then adapt him/herself to the situation on the ground, as we say.
The warrior differs from the hero/ine in the sense that the warrior knows his/her limitations: the hero/ine is romantic about his/her invulnerability, whereas the warrior knows clearly his/her limits in any given situation.
Clarity of thinking and the precise use of force, inner and outer strength to obtain the best results is obtained by training both at individual and group levels. The person who is a Warrior is defined by action and self-discipline achieved through the exercise of self-discipline.
The warrior energy is therefore concerned with skill, power and accuracy with control, both inner and outer, psychological and physical.
More later today...
Am at work so need to get back to spreadsheets.
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being IV
A person accessing the warrior archetype has a deep awareness of his/her own imminent death, and far from being depressed by this reality, s/he lives life as an intense rewarding experience. Every act counts. Each deed matters. There is no time for anything but meaningful acts, because somehow the warrior lives with death as the eternal companion.
Thus, the warrior in his/her positive guise engages in life and never withdraws from it. On the other hand, the warrior doesn´t think too much because much thinking can lead to doubt, and doubt to hesitation, hesitation to inaction. Inaction can lead to losing the battle. Thus, a warrior is also defined by actions and discipline of rigorous training, which become his/her second nature.
Note: remember that these notes on the warrior archetype are concerned with the idea of war and combat that preceded September 11th 2001.
Wars used to be fought by those who came into battle at least in nominal terms fairly matched for combat.
Only cowards kill workers who went about their businesses and normal lives empty-handed.
(drums) to be continued...
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being I
Lish wrote:
>Aggressiveness is not synonymous with rage or violence: these are expressions of overstimulated aggression. The
Here, here!! I totally agree with this. As a woman, I know to what extent we in patriarchal cultures have been socially conditioned to NOT be agressive and to exert the force of our wills.
>While capable of killing when necessary, the Warrior knows that the real war is within. A wo/man appropriately accessing his/her Warrior draws on enormous resources of focus and self-discipline that enable him/her to live an empowered life in the service of his/her fellow creatures. The Warrior is an energy source that permits us to be assertive about our lives, goals, needs and causes. sHe gets us moving again after a period of stagnation.
>Self-discipline, loyalty and determination are the hallmarks of the Warrior. The Warrior is a destroyer of what must be no more. S/He destroys the enemies of the true Self. He attacks whatever is wounding and damaging, whatever causes despair, depression, injustice, oppression, whatever is cruel or discouraging or making abusive demands. The Warrior’s destruction clears a space for renewal and a new, more just order. The final and most important, "seventh degree" of initiation of a Warrior is the honoring of a pledge -- a commitment to steward this power for the good of an inclusive community, for peace with justice.
I usually don't like long copying of previous messages, but what you said here Lish, bears repeating. Your words seem especially poignant given the events of 9-11 (as we write it)/ 11-9 (as it is written in Europe and in other countries). They remind me of the wonderful contributions by Islamic scholars who inform us that this wanton killing of innocents is NOT true Islam. They have informed us that there are several different meanings of jihad the word that here in the U.S. has universally been interpreted as "holy war". And isn't it amazing that Lish's explanations above are almost exactly word for word their definitions for the word jihad.
The "greater jihad" is the battle with the self!! And then there is the "jihad of the hand" which actually means working towards making positive changes in the world.
Finally, the "seventh degree" she explains above is what at home here we say is the fundamental and most basic source of our power for doing magick in the world - honoring a pledge, being true to one's word.
Isn't it wonderful to see that the foundations of the Warrior Archetype, which had its origins in our beloved Mesopotamia with Inanna, was seen as essential in a religion that came along more than 3000 years later - Islam. Getting back to our Mesopotamian / Sumerian roots - That's what we're all about!!
Shamhat / Melissa
In a taunt is its taunt; in a curse is its curse, (such is) the constant renewal of destiny. Sumerian Proverb
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being I
Sometimes when I have to get a card to a friend or to my very proper mom, I stop speechless at the bunnies with aprons and grey-haired plump ladies... aaaaaaaaargh!!!
Mom does not qualify for a bespectacled grey-haired plump lady... yeah, she is a bit plump but ooooh commands attention and her broche is..... a leopard!!! Surely you know who gave it to her????
I luv cards though. And spend a loooooooong time choosing the right ones to the people I love.
One of my fave cards is inspired in the Trump of Strength in the Tarot, which I gave to my sister. It is a lady sitting on a prairie in bloom, sided by a Lioness. Her hand rests on the golden furr of the lioness. Both are relaxed, yet veeeeeery on the alert
It is an image of power, strength, energy and ... lovingly peaceful!!!
Lionesses can surely roar... but I guess you will all agree with me that they prefer to purr...
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being I
The warrior energy also shows what we can call a transpersonal commitment. His/her loyalty is to something - a cause, a goal, a task, a nation - larger than individuals, though that transpersonal loyalty may be focused through an important person. The ideal of chivalry established the bond in the Middle Ages for the Galant Warriors, who were also bound to protect damsels, the young and the old as well.
This transpersonal commitment reveals a number of other characteristics of a warrior energy. First, it makes all personal relationships relative, that is, it makes them less central than the transpersonal commitment. Second, it justifies the slight dettachment or cold feet warriors feel for relating profoundly in the personal sphere to lovers in special and offspring. Have you noticed that the Warrior heroes in movies normally have a dead girlfriend or wife or daughter dead either in the end or the beginning of the story??? and sighs
This is why frequently the warrior energy should be integrated by archetypes of the Lover (the energy of connectedness/relatedness) and the King/Queen, or the Sovereign who encompasses the ideals of Justice and Balance in him/herself.
Tomorrow, we start our approach to the Shadow of the Warrior archetype.
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
The Warrior´s Shadow: the Sadist and the Masochist
The Warrior energy´s dettachment from relationships leads to real problems, when the person becomes depreciating, critical, commanding, cruel and distant from others, especially family members.
Cruelty may exist with passion and without passion. Cruelty without passion can be seen in the behaviour of the human bombers of September 11th 2001 towards the people in the World Trade Center Towers and in the Pentagon. Hijackers had no regards for the human lives they were sacrificing, no connection with the fact that they murdered civilians who could not defend themselves. Human lives of normal people in the West for the human bombers were therefore turned into objects to be destroyed mercilessly. *shivers
On the other hand, human bombers show passion for the cause they embrace, once they do not see themselves as suicide killers, but as the ones who sacrifice themselves for their cause. It is important to point out that in their desire to self-destruct themselves, there is no commitment to the preservation of life, to the continuous efforts required to make life and progress bear lasting fruits. And most of all, needless to say that it is most alarming to see that many boys and adolescents in Islam identify with them. Let´s put the case of human bombers into their real perspective: they are sadists and fanatics who take pride into the dance of universal destruction, offering no further alternative to the construction of peace and progress on a day-by-day basis.
Forget not that the Warrior as avenging spirit in fact somes into us when we are very fightened and very angry. A kind of bloodlust comes over in stressful situations, such as in combat. Radical muslims created therefore human killing machines in the lack of tanks and weapons. The human bombers were/are angry at the West, at the ways of freedom and technology. And the masterminds of Islamic jihad are Sadistic Warriors, whose cruelty takes pride in destruction.
Unfortunatelly, I am not done with this horror. Along with this passion for destruction and cruelty goes a hatred for the weak, or the infidels in the case of the Islamic jihad fighters. Women and children in special. Have you seen the way they treat women, covering them up from toe to hair and prohibiting them from working outside the home????
more later. I am at work and need to get back to my spreadsheets.
best,
Lishtar
To be continued...
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being IV
>A person accessing the warrior archetype has a deep awareness of his/her own imminent death, and far from being depressed by this reality, s/he lives life as an intense rewarding experience. Every act counts. Each deed matters. There is no time for anything but meaningful acts, because somehow the warrior lives with death as the eternal companion.
YES, YES!! With Ereshkigal as my beloved personal companion goddess (sends a loving kiss her way), and as one who has had several underworld death/rebirth experiences in my short lifetime, I have come to understand the tremendous power that comes from having a deeper understanding of death and of the purposes and patterns of the underworld. IMHO, until we become intimate and make peace with our shadow side we have access to, at most, only half of the power and wisdom available to us.
This is the error I see in the beliefs of many of the "fluffy bunny/white light" new agers/pagans: they aren't balanced!! Plus, they are missing out on the wonder, awe, and sense of wholeness that comes from the world of essense that gives birth to form, the source of all that is!!
Ok... this is my bandwagon As you can see, I am a liiiiiiittle bit passionate about this topic *giggle*
In Love, Laughter, Light and Darkness,
Shamhat
In a taunt is its taunt; in a curse is its curse, (such is) the constant renewal of destiny. Sumerian Proverb
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being IV
Dearest Melissa, you are absolutely right about the power of the Shadow and the treasures it may bring into our lives.
This is why it is so very important to understand that the unbalanced warrior´s cruelty should be faced upfront for what it is: violent emotionalism and desperation which causes immense destruction.
sighs
Later today I´ll finish these gloomy notes...
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: Understanding the Warrior Archetype or Mode of being IV
Now, there is a facet of the Shadow Warrior that is more subtle but equally complicated to live with, especially in the workplace or in the personal sphere. This involves compulsive and obsessive disorders of the personality. Compulsive personalities abound, and they are the workoholics of all spheres, the perfectionists, the ones who live their lives criticizing others for all great and small faults "because they know better" or mean so well all the time that we all could do most very well without so much "care" and dedication. In actual fact, such care and dedication normally is a disguise for fantasies of control and power over for an alleged "greater good".
We all know these people, who try to "save" us.... and in the process, they do instead a lot of harm. Obsessive compulsive personalities show an incredible dysfunctional warrior energy, and they can be seen as well-meaing cruzaders who get totally lost into their thirst for perfection.
Have you ever had a boss to whom nothing that you ever do is quite right, because she or he always know better? Have you ever met someone with a passion for the smallest details... who unfortunatelly loses the bigger picture, revolving the past and hardly concentrating on the future? Have you ever had a lover or a close relative who suffocates you with love... and then for your own good, prevents you from living, going out, being your own person? The lover or close relative will probably remind you of his/her sacrifice for you all possible minutes of the day... whenever necessary as well.
Now, before you lose your nerve, remember that these Shadow Warrior personalities mean well, and thus are not entirely errrrrr... horrible. To win them over, you will have to know yourself and the strategies to beat them from the standpoint of tactics and not open confrontation. For as a rule, they are masters of confrontation.
A compulsive personality who works under the aegis of the Warrior archetype is always fighting for the best, but does so out of desperation and fear.
Most of all, pay attention: any profession that puts a great deal of pressure on a person to perform at his/her best all the time leaves us vulnerable to the shadow system of the Warrior. We we are not secure enough in our own inner structure, we rely on our performance in the outer world to bolster self-confidence. And because the need for this bolstering is so great, our behaviour will gravitate towards the compulsive.
Whenever I am confronted with an obsessive-compulsive person, I think of that boring but very true saying "hell is full of good intentions".
sighs Horrible, but true.
Tomorrow, we face the Masochist, who is the passive side of the Warrior´s Shadow...
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
The Masochist as the Shadow Warrior
For women, the Masochist Warrior is usually defined as the socially soft, yielding, accomodating, domestically able and all-yes-person, whose individuality is put second always for the husband, children, the family, society.
Yes, I am aware that the above paragraph is a shocker. However, this subtle suppression of the strong, perceptive, competent feminine is at the roots of patriarchy. This is why reading and learning about Mesopotamian myths is so empowering. Patriarchy had just started to emmerge in the Land between the Two Rivers, thus goddesses could still take their partners to trial (Ninlil), condemn and kill their molestors (Inanna and Shukaletuda), descend and ascend from the Underworld (Inanna), challenge and banter with their favorite male partner (Ninhursag and Enki), etc.
However, how do you think half humanity could have endured for so long to be second always in terms of achievements and the spotlights? Only by being ruled by the Shadow Warrior, the all-enduring, self-sacrificing, voiceless mothers, sisters, lovers and wives of all times. These women (see Afghanistan) have faced silently the abuse of their fathers, brothers, husbands and lovers in the name of ideals of femininity that suppress the Courageous, Assertive, Independent, Powerful Essence of Being that is in fact a birthright to all that breathes and exists.
My mind, body, heart and soul bleed but the truth is that PEOPLE UNDER THE POWER OF THE MASOCHIST WILL TAKE FAR TOO MUCH ABUSE FOR FOR TOO LONG AND THEN EXPLODE IN A SADISTIC OUTBURST OF VERBAL AND EVEN PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, thus the disfunctional view of the witch, the mother-in-law, the widow who is wealthy and lives by her own rules... sighs
Interesting, isn´t it?
And another Gateways first.
There is a very famous Brazilian novel whose last chapter is the chapter of negatives. The guy analyses his life, and in the end said "In the chapter of the negatives of my life, there is a positive point that neutralizes all the above negatives: I didn´t have children and therefore did not left my own proof of the mysery of human condition".
Years later, when I was doing my own training for priestesshood, I came across the old lines of the literature classes of my teens and decided I would deny all denials and reverse all negatives as much as I could everywhere and anywhere, anytime.
If you are a Masochist, you will accept your reality blindingly.
You will keep the door open for human bombers of all sorts in the guises they take up in your own environment and reality. Worse still, you will forget your dreams to conform with values which may not be your own, but society´s impositions that may prevent you from realizing your True Self.
Many of your answers will be found in accessing the Justified Warrior in you. S/He will teach you to be courageous, enduring, persevering and loyal to some greater good which will also bring you personal gain that will work for the transpersonal as well. Life for the Justified Warrior is war-making and peace-keeping for the creation of the new, the just and the free.
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
The shadow warrior as the Virgin Mother of the Saviour
I had already started my training for initiation into the Mysteries and by these strange circumstances, I was invited to a Christian celebration. In the beginning, I was reluctant to approach Mary, the Goddess of the hour.
Suddenly, I thought of the Annunciation. Mary had never defined herself. Picture what it was to be a teenager, and be told that she was going to be the mother of the Dying King of the Land. Think of the wonder and hesitation of a girl when confronted with this reality.
Thus, my interpretation of the Annunciation passage is:"Do unto me according to Thy Will, because it is the Highest Will in me to bring up this Baby. I can have this baby and bring him up Well."
Quite different from the tame girl we were forced to swallow. And probably much closer to the truth. At least if she is supposed to be "the one, who alone from all her sex, pleased the Lord"...
Yeah, I know a bit of the Bible... and just quote the minimum necessary of it!
Having thus realized Mary could be much more than the powerless teenager of this holy writ, only then I could approach the altar and pay attention to the ritual... as an initiate-to-be, paying my respects to the deity of the place on behalf of my tradition and inner guides.
Had Mary spoken her view of this story, I guess she would certainly provide us with a much wholer Mirror of Womanhood than the one the fathers of christendo(o)m allowed us to see.
Interesting, isn´t it?
Inanna and all Ladies of Power, Wit, Passion, Magick and Joy of Mesopotamia be forever praised!!!
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
warrior in general
Daryl here. Couldn't log on with my other name so made a new one.
The initiation into Geburah is energy and courage. However given its location upon the Tree of Life one doesn't gain the initiation of Geburah until after one gains the initiation of Tiphareth. Balance. . Look at New York and America's reaction. Both are rather unbalanced. Nothing exists in a vaccum. The way of the warrior is a balanced approach, justice tempered with Love. Not the sappy Hallmark love but unconditional Love.
Traits and Qualitites of the Warrior
Trust in yourself
Relax with discipline
Let go of doubt and embarassment
Appreciate life
Where you are is a palace
The body is a basic extension of goodness
Respect your body and your life
Tell the truth
Speak gently
No self deception
Unconditional basic goodness
Unconditional confidence
No more neurotic attachment-youare the child of no one
Share with others
Respect mundane life
Simplicity
Don't struggle
Courage: To live in the world without self deception and with tremendous kindness and caring for others
Create harmony in the environment-with awareness and attention to detail
Non aggression, humble
No habitual patterns
Never needs time off
Inquisitive
Love yourself, expanded vision
Celebration of life
Wealth: Create a godlike situation in your life, manifest riches
Care for your world
Act when necessary
Silence
Re: warrior in general
What a great post, Daryl! And an even better lunch break for me as well...
We are "on our contacts" too because for the last two days I have been thinking a lot about my own table of correspondences in my training for initiation. I was working with the goddess as the Measurer and Kepper of Boundaries. This was one of the most difficult aspects of the Goddess for me to deal with. Her temple for me was a wild garden with the Tree of Knowledge in the middle, and amongst Her attributions, I associated Her to an elastic rope and the scales.
One of the deepest lessons from working with the Measurer and Keeper of Inner and Outer Boundaries for me was the understanding that balance is never static, because it is the neverending effort towards fruition and wholeness, about integrating that which should be integrated, discarding that which must be discarded. Therefore the elastic rope and the scales which can be stretched or shrunk according to the circumstances at hand.
Love to think of the positive/integrated warrior as the one on the alert yet capable of acting decisively to stop nonsense.
Great post ... as always!!!
Can we have more pleaaaaaaaaaaaase???
love,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: warrior in general
I guess some explanation on my training for initiation with John and Caitlín Matthews are due here. They encouraged us to work with nine archetypes of the Divine Feminine, such as the Energizer, Measurer, the Protector, the Initiator, the Deliverer, the Weaver, the Preserver, the Empowerer, etc Brief profiles were given on These Ladies, and an outline of Them is provided in the book The Elements of the Goddess, by Caitlín and published by Element Books, UK. This was the starting point for the Work with the Goddesses.
For me, the Measurer and Keeper of Inner and Outer Boundaries was quite difficult. Why so? Because I never really believed in limits. There is always a Way where there is a Will in all worlds. So the wild garden with the Tree of Knowledge at the center was a temple in the Natural World which has no boundaries although circumscribeb by space, time and event. It was therefore a thing of wonder to realize the importance of Balance and Boundaries to proceed. Since then, I have learnt to ask the gods to take me to my limits ... one more time!
The second most difficult aspect of the Goddess to me was the Deliverer, the Goddess of Severity that cuts out whatever does not have a strong foundation for us to proceed. Her Temple for me was built upon the highest mountain on earth... which I never knew I would be able to reach it... but would try to climb to its heights, one more time.
Balance protects, balance is never static. Balance is the Centrepoint, that all sees, assesses and therefore chooses wisely.
Strange to see that the two aspects of the Goddess I had most difficulties to deal with were the ones closer to my inner self.
The Energizer was the easiest!
Enjoy your weekend!
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
Re: warrior in general
Had some brilliant meditations on the power of Silence this weekend. Mind you, silence for me can be several things:
a) the hour before sunrise, or the time that is required before venturing other shores. Sometimes it seems that nothing happens, but we are wrong. There is a time for preparation before the onset of every journey, every important step. Think of a baby, who needs nine months to come out of the womb. Thus, the Power of Silence is a pre-condition to gather inner and outer strength to act;
b) the power of Silence also relates to secret times of Joy. Like resting one´s hand on the knee of the beloved while we ride in night, or holding hands while we sightsee or do simple things together.
I am quiet myself
c) Silence of companionship, when one reads on the couch while the other is doing ... anything that needs to be done!!! I find this kind of silence heavy with meaning... in South Brazil, we also express it through the local saying of doing nothing together... when anything and everything goes!!! The greatest silence of companionship is... after the orgasm when one holds on to the beloved and both do not let go...
And the fourth kind of silence which is d) the inner experience of joy. I will write more about this when I write about Joy soon. Just a taster now: when we feel that we are the cup that overflows with joy, it is a good thing to evoke the feeling in silence, to dive into its depths and hold eternity within for some precious minutes. Practice will make you extend the minutes into ... hours...
Instead of mindlessly speaking about the experience to others... who may sort of contaminate the moment...
hmm... I normally do something physical in times of joy. How so? Buy a full supermarket trolley to the hospital that treats severely handicapped people.
I only kept the time of joy for myself last week instead of giving to the handicapped. Thought I needed to restore my inner balance lost on September 11th.
In Silence and deeds, let´s keep praying for peace and dignity to return to the women, the children and the old of Afghanistan, for the protection and defense of the ideals of freedom and love, light and laughter in all worlds and spheres!
In the loving and understated service of Everlasting Mesopotamia,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
The Experience of Power...
is the Spiritual Experience of Gebuhra in the Kabbalah.
But one of the deepest Mysteries to me included in the Spiritual Experience of Power is... to empower others.
Empowerment is also at the roots of magickal training. For I truly believe we don´t teach anything to anyone. We just show the Neverending Enthusiasm for the Quest for Self-Transcendence and ... cross our fingers, toes, arms and legs and all the crossable that the others will do likewise ...
Thus, we are back to the Power of Silence.
We bow to the Spirit we serve under His/Her 10,000 Names the same way that we bow to the Mystery that our companions along the Path show to their Soul Companions in whatever Path they honor.
Tomorrow, probably I will start analysing Inanna and Ebih.
best,
Lishtar
From the Depths and To the Heights to share in all spheres
best,
and sighs
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