Ritual and Reparations

Dear Ones,

Last week, the Temple hosted a 7-day Vespers series called “Madonna Holy Week” in which we examined 7 different epithets related to the Virgin Mary. We tipped traditional understandings of Mary over and looked at the ruins of the matriarchal ancient future foundations beneath them, much like archaeologists excavating the Goddess temples so often found buried beneath modern churches and cathedrals. We also shared heart stories and devotional aspirations during our daily ceremonies, which gave us all opportunities for deep healing.

Many of us expressed our experiences of frustration at moments of injustice in our lives and in the world, and prayed for miraculous healing of issues related to poverty, abuse, racism, systemic inadequacy, and more. As our week went along, we also gained a deeper sense of agency around the miracles we would not only like to see in our world, but which we would like to help co-create.

As a member of a multi-racial family, who has time and again witnessed both subtle and overt racism directed toward my siblings, I have long held the belief that reparations and restitution are not only a good idea...they are completely necessary if we wish to begin to rectify the imbalance of power and dignity that has occurred for over 400 years toward people of color in this country. Reparations are defined as “the making of amends (usually financially) for harm one has done.” It seems like a fair enough proposal that in this country, we would be able to find institutional and personal ways to contribute to balancing the scales of racial inequality through reparations. Yet I have often encountered resistance to the idea of reparations when I’ve brought it up. Some of the more common arguments I’ve heard against reparations are as follows:

• That they are only a drop in the bucket and could never really work to balance the scales. To which I reply, “We don’t know that. We have not tried. Why not try and see?”

• That we don’t know exactly who is descended from enslaved Africans, and therefore can’t know who deserves the reparations. To which I reply, “Then why not create a foundation to support projects that benefit people of color in general? Those who apply for the funding can detail instances in their lives when they have been subjected to racist attitudes, danger, or prejudice, and their stories of suffering would certainly be proof enough that they deserve reparative funding?”

• That impoverished white people should not have to pay any kind of reparations tax because they are suffering, too. To which I reply, “Reparations should not be an added tax for individuals, especially those struggling with poverty. It should be the willing and compassionate effort of good-hearted individuals who understand and empathise with the need for an act of rebalancing; it should come from the government, re-allocated from weapons spending; it should also be funded with special tax placed on corporations that make above a certain profit margin.”

I don’t know if me writing these arguments down will change anything. I’m not suggesting anything that hasn’t been mentioned by someone else before, after all. But I do know this: that reparations can create a potential wave of healing that would free something currently blocked and bound in the hearts of both people of color and white people...and everyone in between on this complicated spectrum of human genealogy.

So, during Madonna Holy Week, it became clear to me what to do about this, at least here in our Temple.

On August 26, the feast day of Our Lady of Częstochowa, I will be re-igniting the flame of the Order of the Black Madonna, https://orderoftheblackmadonna.com, a project which has been on hiatus since 2018. Formerly a more elaborate membership association with multiple levels of training, in its new form the revived Order will simply be focused on two things: 1) offering a monthly Madonna ceremony, in which we lift the petitions that have been submitted through our web site, and 2) gathering membership dues as reparations to help fund the “Black Woman Is God Joy Resistance Retreats” that I’ve been dreaming into being. My ideal is to begin with one retreat by the end of 2020, with two retreats in 2021, and quarterly retreats in 2022 and beyond, so that many Women of Color can have this experience. I have already been discussing this idea with several Women of Color artists I know, and they are beginning to think about the activities that will be nourishing and joyful for them, such as sourcing all of the food from a Woman of Color-owned farm, and having a professional photographer on hand to create Goddess portraits.

I know that if we dedicate the monthly dues from the Order of the Black Madonna to this project, it will grow over time into the kind of sustained, ritual replenishing reparations that can create a wave of positive change, at least for women in our little corner of the world. And in time, more projects may emerge for the Order, as inspired by the Madonna herself.

I’ve set the dues for the Order of the Black Madonna Tier of the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple’s Patreon at $15 per month. After Patreon’s fees and charges, and a $3-per-month membership fee to fund the maintenance of the Order’s website and activities, the remaining $10 of each donation will go into the Reparations Fund every month.

If you are a member of the Temple at the $5 or $10 level, or thinking about joining, I invite you to consider becoming an Order of the Black Madonna member, and contributing your dues to our reparations project.

If you are a member of the Temple at a higher level, and you’d like to allocate a portion of your monthly dues to the Order of the Black Madonna reparations fund, please contact me and let me know. I’d love to facilitate this for you. You can reply to this message or you can text me at (510) 355-7912.

Thank you all for considering this invitation.

Our monthly Madonna ceremonies will be on 4th Wednesdays at 7pm, starting with the inaugural ceremony on August 26, and continuing thereafter. They will be open to all members of the Temple who feel called to attend.

May this working be blessed with the success to do its part in repairing the damage that might stand in the way of women bonding together to create a beautiful future for all beings 🙏🏼

Blessed be,

Yeshe

Supporting Black Mothers

The Mt Shasta Goddess Temple is committed to honouring the Great Mother through acts of spirit, beauty, and service, and we embrace opportunities to help shape a better world for women. Our annual devotional cycle dedicated to Goddesses from many world cultures invites our membership to reflect on the diversity of the female divine, and our practices and teachings inspire women of all colors, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds to discover the divinity within. In our Temple, we believe that every woman is an earthly embodiment of the Goddess.

June is the month of the Black Madonna in our Temple, and we are listening with compassion and concern to the cries of Black Mothers who have lost their children to police and institutional violence, to racist medical practices that place communities of color at higher risk during this pandemic, and to the ongoing issues of Black infant and maternal mortality in a nation with the technological and institutional wherewithal to do better.

The Madonna of Black Butte by Priestess Holly DeFount is the Temple’s devotional representation of the Black Madonna. Situated in the Temple’s Siskiyou County landscape, against the backdrop of Black Butte (a satellite cone of Mt Shasta), the image includes iconic details in homage to several different historical Black Madonnas: the scars from the cheek of our Lady of Częstochowa, the rays of light emitting from Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the colourful robes of Sara-la-Kali. At her feet is a rattlesnake native to our region, not being trod upon or treated as evil, but curled in a harmonious infinity symbol at the feet of the Great Mother, symbolising her eternal love for the Earth and all of its sacred creatures. On her right side, red roses grow, and on her left are white Shasta lilies. The two flowers alchemically represent the sun and the moon, or the red and white tinctures that ultimately give rise to the Philosopher’s Stone.

From now until August 1, the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple will dedicate the proceeds from print sales of this image to Black Mamas Matter, an organisation addressing the needs of Black mothers today. From their website: “Black Mamas Matter Alliance is a Black women-led cross-sectoral alliance. We center Black mamas to advocate, drive research, build power, and shift culture for Black maternal health, rights, and justice.”

*Please note: due to COVID-19 labor shortages, print fulfillment may take longer than usual. Current estimate is 2-3 weeks from date or order. Thank you for your patience!

How to Contribute Peace: Part II

Contributed by Sr. Marie Intégrité

Anyone can do this practice, and I encourage you to do so. Words are power. Power that can lead to actions. Like a candle, your light is bright, and it spreads. Imagine a world filled with candles lit by peace, and all the light radiating from them filling the world. THAT is the purpose of this working.

No prayers, candles, or incantations can bring back the dead, But for those whose spirits are aching, it's a start. And for those feeling helpless as to what to do, it's a start. Hopefully this practice will inspire you to take actions to create change.

You will need:
White 7-day, glass-jarred, novena candle (easily found in grocery stores).
Red string or ribbon
Print out a copy of the prayer below.
*add anything else you'd like to the practice*

What to do:
1. Wrap the red string/ribbon around the candle.

2. On the candle, with a sharpie, write the words "Bringer of Peace" (or any other words of power you'd like. Could be the name of your deity, another prayer, or a sigil you've crafted)

3. Daily, light the candle and repeat the prayer. I like to do these things at the start of the day, but it's your choice. Sit for a few moments, visualizing light emanating from your core and going out into the world. Continue the visualization to see millions of points of light over the world, all expanding. Lighting all the dark corners. Casting out shadows. Stay with your visualizations for as long as you need.

Prayer
Contribution to Peace, found at the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose, CA

I contribute to Peace when I strive to express the best of myself in my contacts with others.

I contribute to Peace when I use my intelligence and my abilities to serve the good.

I contribute to Peace when I feel compassion toward all those who suffer. 

I contribute to Peace when I look upon all as my brothers and sisters regardless of race, culture, or religion.

I contribute to Peace when I rejoice over the happiness of others and pray for their well-being.

I contribute to Peace when I listen with tolerance to opinions that differ from mine or even oppose them.

I contribute to Peace when I resort to dialogue rather than force to settle any conflict.

I contribute to Peace when I respect nature and preserve it for generations to come.

I contribute to Peace when I do not seek to impose my conception of God/Goddess upon others.

I contribute to Peace when I make Peace the foundation of my ideals and philosophy.

So Mote It Be.

4. Say aloud "I am a bringer of peace" as you put out the candle.

Afterward
Continue this practice everyday until the candle is complete, then take the red string/ribbon and tie it on your wrist as a reminder that you ARE a bringer of peace. (repeat the prayer as often as you would like.)

You can refill the candle jar, and gift it to another person to follow the practice. Or use the jar as a vase in your home. Or dispose of it sacredly. Just don't throw it away....

Add to or adjust this to fit your needs. Any spiritual path can follow this practice. Make it your own.

How to Contribute to Peace: Part I

Contributed by Sr. Marie Intégrité

You wake up in the morning, heat the water for your tea, or make a cup of coffee. You turn on the news or the radio. Perhaps you turn to an online news or social networking app instead. You scroll through the posts of people's cats, political memes, and some kind of Buzzfeed quiz that will reveal to you which X-Men character you are most like. Whichever way you access the information regarding events happening in this world, it still hits you like a ton of bricks....

Another death by police hands. Another senseless mass killing. Yet another suicide bomber destroying the lives of innocent people... Nearly every week we get word of these horrible tragedies, and it can feel overwhelming.

I have cried tears of sorrow for these souls and their families. I have felt anxiety and fear for my family, and the families of friends. I have screamed words of rage. I have sat at my altar with wet cheeks, begging the Great Mother for an answer to my question: "WHY?"  

WHY does humanity continue to harbor hate in their hearts? WHY do we still have people who feel it is in their righteous power to kill others? WHY haven't we evolved enough to be beyond acts of great violence? WHY does this keep continuing?

I have felt lost as to what I could do to better the current situations in the world.... I could certainly protest. I could contribute money to good causes. I could do my best to educate those around me on how to be accepting of others regardless of race, gender, religion, or whom they love... While these are all noble ways to affect change around me, I felt it wasn't *quite* enough. I needed to do something more, something on an energetic level.

Not too long ago, a group of pagans made a call out on social media to hex a convicted rapist who was given a slap on the wrist for his crimes. If a group of magical people can work a hex together, couldn't a working for Peace for the greatest good be done together as well?

After the horrid tragedy at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL, I found myself crying at my altar once again. My eyes locked onto a prayer card I picked up only a few weeks prior at the San Jose Rosicrucian Museum, and I was inspired to write and post on social media a working that anyone could do to aid in spreading a white light of love and peace throughout the world. I found myself reposting this working again shortly after I heard about the horrible attack in Nice, France. I share it here with you here, in hopes that you might join me and others in this practice.

Feast of Mary Magdalen

From guest contributor Lou Florez:

Transparency as a spiritual tool and discipline has been a foundational message in terms of the ongoing work of decolonizing my personal practice. In order to engage integrity with this directive it is important to name my privilege as it relates to patriarchy, sexism, misogyny, and conversations about women and their experiences. I am a cis-gender man and by birth have been afforded rights, resources, access to power, safety, financial opportunity, as well as, structural and systemic privileges in the cultural, governmental, and family spheres. As such, my voice will be weighed and given more legitimacy than Priestesses and change makers who have been doing the work longer than I have been alive. Another foundational corner stone in my exploration of liberative practices centers itself in the intersectional analysis of systems of oppression; meaning that as a facilitator of ritual space, ceremony has to inhabit multiple points of access in terms of resources and reflections of historically under-represented populations.

Contextualizing the Ceremony:

I am not Catholic or Christian but have had a personal relationship with Mary Magdalen as a holy ancestress in the religious/magical traditions of the West, as well as, a one of the many patronesses of agency, sovereignty, sexuality, and embodied authority, divinity, and grace. Being that I work a Catholic influenced form of Rootwork and Hoodoo, the form through which I was taught to venerate and honor Spirit follows the following structure. For those who practice multiple Afro-diasporic traditions you can see the similarities. Here is the general outlne this ceremony will follow:

• Set space
• Libation
  -Offering water to cool, open, and help aide in coalescing the individual and communal consciousness to task at hand.
• Asking that any negativity be averted and the ways of communication be cleared
• Honoring/Acknowledging
  -who are you/ how do you name yourself?
  -who is in the room with you?
  -who are your teachers/ who has uplifted you/ spiritual influencers?
  -Evoking/Inviting Spirit in the room
  -who are you calling?
  -what qualities/ personality of Spirit do you want to build a relationship with?
  -what is your intention for bringing them in the space?
• Working
  -construct
  -consecrate
  -anoint
  -enact it
• Offerings
• Divination/read it
  -is it accepted?
  -in balance?
  -ritual complete?
• Close
  -acknowledge every being in the room
  -release the space with intention

Perform the Ritual

• Set Space
   
• Libation- Pouring of Waters
  Cool Water, Cool Road, Cool House, it is the Owner of the Day we respect. It is the Spirits of the East we respect. It is the Spirits of the West we respect. It is the Spirits of the North we respect. It is the Spirits of the South we respect. It is the first medicine holders and diviners we respect. It is the first Mothers, Wise Mothers, Mothers who fly on the right we respect. It is the Spirit of the Earth we respect. It is the Spirit of the Divine Messenger of Transformation we respect. It is the Spirit of those who live in the Realm of the Ancestors we respect. We give respect, we give respect. May it be so!
   
• Removal of Obstacles
  Let illness be averted from our path
  Let poverty be averted from our path
  Let confusion and frustration be averted from our path
  Let our enemies not find our door
  Let witchcraft be made impotent at our feet
  Let death never see us
  Mothers, Fathers, hear these words and let be so!
   
• Naming those present at ceremony
  I come before this altar today (state your name)
   
• Naming teachers and those who inspired you
  I respect all those teachers who have taught me the ways of medicine and spirit. I recognize and honor my lineage of blood and affinity (name names)
   
• Ancestral Recognition
  Ancestors I call you. Ancestors I call you. Ancestors I call you. I call you three times. Ancestors who have preserved the mystery of featherless flight. You create the words of reverence and Ancestors you are welcome at this house. Please come today. Ancestors you are welcome at this house. Come and accept our offering. Whatever good things are eaten in the Realm of the Ancestors please partake. If the earthworm pays homage to the Earth, the Earth shares Her abundance. If the child honors their parent they never suffer from neglect. All respect to the powers of the Praise to the Fathers. Praise to the Mothers. Praise to the Fathers. Praise to the Mothers. Praise to the Ancestors, we ask for your help and give you thanks. Ancestors we ask for good health and we ask for the power of transformation from the Realm of the Ancestors and we give you power. Please come today. Ancestors you are welcome at this house. I give thanks. I give thanks. I give thanks. I respect all those teachers who have taught me the ways of medicine and spirit, living and dead. Ancestors, I am greeting you my friends. When I do not know which road to follow I will turn to the wisdom of the Ancestors. May it be so.
   
• Evoking the Creator (light white candle)
  I give honor to the Womb of Creation, Monarch of the first Messengers I praise. Eldest Parent of the Ancestors. The Ruler who never faces death. Spirit of the Earth, I praise you with your praise names. You mold the light to create all things. Owner of the Mystery of Nature, whose words are the Queen of Creation. Keeper of the unknowable Mystery. Source of all the Heads in Creation. Chief Diviner of the Light who will always be praised in the sacred Grove be present in this ceremony.
   
• Evoking Mary Magdalen (light red candle)
  Saint Mary Magdalen, Our Lady of the Ecstasy of Creation, hear our prayers. Apostle of Apostles, first witness of the act of transcendence through grace, it is you who up lift us. Saint Mary Magdalen hear our prayers, Great Lady who tramples the injustices of misogyny, hear our prayers. Honored Wise Woman, Blessed Queen who forsook the ignorance of man and claimed her divine right as the living embodiment of the Womb of Creation, hear our prayers. It is you who have been denigrated through sexism and it is you who uplifts all those who have been violated by the patriarchy, Our Lady hear our prayers. We pray for all Women this night and uplift all those who have been wounded and are in sorrow, Saint Mary Magdalene hear our prayers.
   
• Working
  In a group, all women present take turns recounting their experiences, struggles, joys, hardships, prayers for each other. Light a tea light on the altar for each participant to uplift their lives and their prayers to heaven. All men present, witness, be silent, don’t take up space, and support.
  
  If you are doing this ritual by yourself, light tea lights and pray for the upliftment of all women in our lives and in the world. If you are a woman, recount your experiences, struggles, joys, hardships, and prayers to Mary Magdalen herself.
   
• Offerings
  Present the shrine with flowers, honey, incense, wine, perfume oils, and images of beauty and love.
   
• Divination
  Divine a messages from Saint Mary Magadelen for the group or individual. Ask through divination (tarot, runes, oracle cards, etc) Receive message and contemplate it. Then, ask: i this complete? If not what needs to be given? Listen to spirit or use futher divination to help you receove all information needed.
   
• Close
  Speak words of reverence and gratitude, then close the ceremony in your own words.
  
  This liturgy was inspired by the works of St. Hildegard, St. Theresa, as well as English translations of Oriki by Awo Falokun.