Please memorize the "Charge of the goddess" as follows:
| Whenever ye have need of anything, once in the month,
and
better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of Me, who am Queen of all witches. There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will I teach things that are yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise. For min is the ecstasy of the spirit, and mine also is joy on earth; for my law is love unto all beings. Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside. For mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth and mine is the cup of wine of life, and the cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. I am the gracious goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon earth, I gave the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice, for behold, I am the mother of all living, and my love is poured out upon the earth.
I who am the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man, call unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto me. For I am the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. from me all things proceed, and unto me all things must return; and before my face, beloved of gods and men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite. Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinkest to seek me, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire. |
When you have completed the memorization please write an essay describing your intellectual analysis of the message contained herein. Then please describe what your "gut" reactions are when reciting it.
HINT: The easiest way to memorize this is to read it aloud prior to a daily meditation for a full 28 day lunar Month. You will find the memorization is automatic. Keep a daily journal while doing this exercise and the essays will be no problem!
Barbara Crumb
The "Charge of the Goddess" is one of the most beautiful and meaningful pieces of writing that I have ever found. In its lyrical and rhythmic flow, in but a few words, it manages to condense the concept of the ultimate mystery of the perceived physical world to a form which touches the inner nature of anyone reading or hearing it. In the initial lines, one immediately sees the direct linkages between the witch and the powers of an ultimate creative force encompassing areas beyond those that may be perceived from our common mode of existence. The link to this power becomes apparent in the phrase "to these will I show things that are as yet unknown." In this link, we begin to perceive that the physical world that is manifest about us represents only a single facet of the ultimate of all reality. We perceive that there are powers and forces surrounding us in every phase of our lives, which are imperceptible through our physical senses alone. Further, the Lady reveals to us that these powers and forces are accessible to those who are able to attune themselves to Her and follow Her path. In Her reference to freedom from slavery, and being naked in Her rites, She is letting us know that to follow Her path, we first have to separate ourselves from the restrictions of the world, and remove the barriers that we use to hide our true selves from the scrutiny of others.
From this original concept, the Lady goes on to define what is expected of those who wish to follow this path to enlightenment. Traditional thinking and traditional religions have attempted to define acceptable behavior in terms of proscribed actions - from the "Thou shalt not ---" of traditional religions to the "It shall be a felony to ---" of the legal structure. The Lady, on the other hand, defines Her expectations in purely positive terms of love, pleasure, joy, and a willingness to more closely attune ourselves with Her ongoing presence in every thing around us, and with the concepts of oneness that She represents. She makes it clear that Her presence is actually and actively among us, and surrounds us in everything we do, unlike more traditional beliefs that separate their deity form from themselves in an unattainable and incomprehensible otherworld.
Within the Charge, the Lady makes it clear that by attuning ourselves with Her concepts of love, of joy, and of pleasure in the world around us, and by linking our innermost selves to a union with Her ongoing presence in everything surrounding us, we will be able to tap into those other levels of powers that perhaps we once had, but that have become latent within us due to our preoccupation with the conscious, logical mode of thinking. She gives us the key by advising that we must come to know Her and see Her in all of nature that surrounds us in which She manifests Her presence within the physical realm. And as we develop our ability to accomplish this, we can reawaken within ourselves the abilities to tap into these powers and mysteries that surround us, and use them for our own purposes. It also becomes clear that by linking to these latent powers, we can begin to take an active role in the mysteries of the Lady that surround us, and that by linking ourselves to these powers and these mysteries, we can and will be receiving those gifts that the Lady has made available to us. Finally, the Lady makes clear that we will not be limited to a single lifetime, but that we will be returning again and again to continue to refine our linkages, and thus enhance our ability to attune ourselves with Her.
The words of the Charge then provide us with a somewhat more detailed description of the Lady, clarifying Her involvement in all the natural world surrounding us. Also, this linkage with the natural world around us is further tied in to planes and levels outside our perceived physical world. She is therein described as the various elements surrounding us - earth, moon, water, and desire (which could easily be identified with fire). However She defines Herself not as being physically part of those elements, but rather as their essential, inner nature. Beyond this, She defines Herself in Her role as the source, as well as the ultimate destination of all that exists within the physical plane. She denies the need for sacrifice. In fact, sacrifice would only appear to be a means by which we attempt to play Her role in the cycle of existence. Within Her definition of Herself as an integral part of all of existence, we find the possible link through which we, through Her path, may be able to ultimately envision the totality of all the universe, on the non-physical, as well as the physical planes.
Having established this link, what, then, should be the means by which we attempt to strengthen it to arrive at a closer relationship with Her aspects? Our link to Her is developed through the way in which we relate to Her - in fact, the way in which we recognize these powers we cannot see. She directs us within the Charge to worship Her in the context of Her law - that is, with love, joy, and pleasure, and to worship Her in a manner that recognizes our comprehension of all that we are and all to which we may attain. Further, She defines the standards and ideals to which we should aspire to remain truly focused on Her path. These standards - beauty, strength, power, compassion, honor, humility, mirth and reverence - are the standards which will awaken and nurture the powers within us, and will maintain our actions within Her laws.
Finally, one of the Lady's most basic secrets is clearly stated - one that has been implied though not specified, in all of the preceding sections. That is, since the Lady is an inherent part of all existence, She is an inherent part of us, as well. Therefore, in order to follow Her path, each of us must start at our own beginning - that is, the spark of the Lady that rests, dormant in too many cases, within each of us. If that initial spark is not found, we have no means of locating the start of the path to follow. However, we are assured that if that starting point is found, we have the path and the access to power necessary to ultimately reattune ourselves to Her.
Barbara Crumb
The "Charge of the Goddess" does not easily lend itself to a purely logical explanation and analysis. It's real strength and power lies in its ability to get inside anyone that reads or speaks its words with an open and receptive spirit. To fully appreciate its strength and beauty, the reader or speaker must be able to move beyond their logical, analytical side, and feel the full, throbbing sensations that lie behind the outer facade of mere words. And precisely because those sensations are beyond words, they continue to defy any type of detailed explanation or description. However, to the limited extent that I am able, I will try to describe those feelings and sensations to the best of my ability.
First, I have felt that in speaking the Charge, the words seem to be emanating from outside myself. I have felt this so strongly that, when speaking the Charge for practice, I've made it a point to affirmatively state at the onset that I am reciting it solely for practice purposes. It seems that if the Charge is truly spoken, not from memory, but from a deep understanding of its message, that it becomes the Lady, Herself who is making the statement. Further, the throbbing sensation referenced above is a real sensation - in my case, emanating from the mid-area of the brain and spreading down through the lower abdomen. As an experiment, I spoke a portion of the Charge in the third person, using "She" and "Her" as opposed to "I" and "Me/My". I found that the sensations that I felt within my own body were greatly reduced in this manner, but that I also felt myself to be at a greater distance from the Lady.
I found the experience of using the third person version to be more closely akin to a recitation of some of the prayers I was taught within the traditional religious formats, rather than a real awakening of the powers of the Lady within me.
Therefore, I would have to describe my "gut reaction" to the Charge as an awakening within myself of powers and abilities that must totally pre-date any logical, conscious form of thinking. That reaction is something so deep that it is beyond the power of the logical conscious mind to comprehend, but it seems to have the ability to communicate with those powers and forces that are beyond and above our level of rational thought.
