My Virtual Ritual

The Goddesses of Shining Light gathered on the etheric plane. We won't meet physically during the pandemic.

I dressed in the nearest I have to autumn colours: long, russet skirt and top and coppery jewellery (plus my usual silver pentacle). Although this wasn’t Equinox, April’s still autumn [in the Southern Hemisphere]. Adding my magenta cloak, I felt wrapped in the arms of the Goddess. 

I used the room where I usually perform magic or give psychic readings (aka spare bedroom). At 12 noon — one of the magical hours — I used my cleansing wand, first to clear the space, then my aura, then imagined doing the auras of all present, using physical actions, as I envisaged them arriving in their coloured cloaks: blue, red, purple, aqua, burgundy, orange, forest green. Laying aside my wand, I walked around the room in a circle – a very small circle, in that fairly small room – visualising the space expanded and the others with me, chanting a song we always use.

With my crystal-laser-tipped athame (witch’s dagger) I brought in the elements / directions. I spoke our traditional Light Ritual, with the requisite actions. I have great love for it, and I like the continuity of having worked with it for years, building that energy. 

Thereafter, I followed a procedure we’d been emailed, including bringing light to each of us around the circle, in all our various physical locations, and to those loved ones we’d called into the centre. 

This time we omitted the singing and dancing we normally do. Circle dancing does need a physical group!

On my iPad, I tuned into Goddess Elizabeth singing her inspirational song, ‘Lifting the Veil’, knowing others did too. 

I spoke aloud Section 1 of our Shining Vision*, with focus and intention.

I recited our closing prayer.

I thanked the beings who had come to be with us — clear that it was us, not just me — and opened the circle.

Finally I sang aloud, ‘May the circle be open but unbroken ...’ three times.

Later I took a selfie, still in my cloak, to mark the occasion. Then I changed back into everyday wear and went about my day, feeling at once grounded and uplifted, calmed and elated.


*To hear Our Shining Vision (with preamble). 


Note: 'The Goddesses of Shining Light' is not a group of witches, although there are witches among us. We are women of all beliefs (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, New Age, agnostic ... and yes, Pagan) and all ages (from 3 to 93) living in and around a particular locality, who seek to embody the qualities of the Divine Feminine and to spread our light to the community in ways both practical (e.g. feeding the homeless) and energetic. Our monthly gatherings are also occasions for taking time out of our busy lives to nourish ourselves.

Bast, the Egyptian Cat Goddess

Text of my talk to the Wisdom Circle of the Goddesses of Shining Light, Murwillumbah NSW (Australia) 14 March 2017

Image from the public domain

First, a bit of background about me. 

My personal spiritual path is Pagan, which many people think of as being specifically Celtic, and indeed it is. But it’s wider than that, too, and I’m eclectic in my practices. Some people think we should stick to just one pantheon to avoid confusion, and I can see what they mean, but eclectic works for me. I have both Celtic and Hindu ancestry, I have been contacted by both Australian Indigenous and Native American beings in spirit, for various kinds of energy work, and I have strong, apparently past-life connections with Egypt. So today I’m focusing on the Egyptian connection.

[I would just like to note that there are many variations of the names we assign to Ancient Egyptian deities, places, etc. I’m going to use the ones I know best, which are usually the most widely-used today, even if they might not be the most strictly correct.]

Bast is the Egyptian cat goddess, also widely known as Bastet. She originated in a city known as Bubastis (which is the best-known variant of the name) in Lower Egypt, which was the northern half of the country. (The terms Upper and Lower referred to the direction of the Nile, which begins in the south and flows northward.) However she was worshipped throughout the whole country.

She was a warrior goddess – a protector – and was first depicted with the head of a lioness, which is how the Goddess Sekhmet is also portrayed. However Bast is not a version of Sekhmet; they are sisters, both daughters of the supreme God in the Egyptian pantheon, whom we call Ra. Sekhmet was a goddess of Upper (or southern) Egypt.

As well as a daughter of Ra, Bast was also his consort. We would regard that as shockingly incestuous, but the Egyptian deities were credited with complex family lives, due to the many functions each one acquired over time, which then needed to be added into the story. The Pharaohs also accepted such arrangements, for dynastic reasons. (As for cats, they are a different species, unaffected by human morality.)

After Lower Egypt was conquered by Upper Egypt, Bast began being portrayed with the head of a domestic cat, and her nurturing qualities were more emphasised. That's also when the name Bastet became used. Both are well-known, but I originally encountered the older form, Bast, and so that’s the name I call her.

As a protector, she was originally considered the warrior-protector of her father, Ra, and hence of every Pharaoh (who represented him on earth). This then extended to protecting everyone. For instance, people would keep statues of her in their homes as protection against thieves. We are told that she also protected houses against rats and snakes – a thing ordinary cats do too – and so ensured the health of the occupants. 

She became seen in the role of mother-protector, like a mother cat defending her kittens.

And she became the patron goddess of fire-fighters, due to the Ancient Egyptian belief that a cat running through a burning building would draw the flames out behind her.

She also became a goddess of sensual pleasure, and of fertility. Young women wanting children would buy amulets with figures of Bast and her kittens – the number of kittens showing how many children they hoped for.

She was associated with perfumes, because of similarities in the respective hieroglyphs, and she carried a special rattle called a sistrum, which linked her with music and dance. She also carried the ankh, symbol of life. In common with Sekhmet, she was considered to embody the all-seeing eye of Ra.

The Greeks likened her to Artemis, and so connected her with the moon and with children. In Egypt she was a goddess of sunrise, too.

Her worshippers gave her offerings of jewellery and other precious objects. Also they offered her, in huge numbers, the mummified bodies of cats who had died. I want to make it clear they did not sacrifice these cats. Egypt, as we know, was a society which esteemed cats very highly. There were severe penalties for injuring or killing one. They were given to Bast after they had died of natural causes. In addition to her protective role with humans, Bast was also, of course, the protector of cats.

It is said that her strengths were: as a protector; in her sensuality; and in being a caring mother figure. Her weaknesses are said to be that she was chameleon-like, and fierce when threatened. Personally, I’m unable to perceive those qualities as weaknesses!

It may be more useful to consider her aspects from the point of view of archetypes: Warrior and Lover. Warrior qualities are physical strength, and the protectiveness which enables you to fight for your rights and those of others. The shadow side includes the need to win at all costs, and abandoning your ethics for the sake of victory. The Lover shows both passion and selfless devotion, and includes what makes our hearts sing, e.g. music, art, nature. The shadow is obsessive, unhealthy passion. It is said that Bast had many lovers, but there is no record of unhealthy obsession – which I think might be un-catlike in any case.

I have two statues of Bast in my house: a traditional one on an altar, and a big black plaster cat presiding over my oracles and Tarot decks – which is a depiction of Bast because I say it is and hold it as being so. She was in fact sometimes portrayed as an actual cat rather than a cat-headed woman. (The one on my altar is that too, as you see; but in that case the maker also intended it as a representation of Bast.)

It was in her protector role that I first met Bast. At a time in my life when I thought I had some reason to be afraid, my friend Ridge who was a powerful magician, introduced her to me as someone to call on for magical protection. We can do that by calling her name, either aloud or mentally, or we can visualise the Hebrew letter Bet, the letter with which her name begins. If you’ve studied QBL, you’ll know it, but otherwise it looks like this:

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedlicense.

Of course, the language of Ancient Egypt was not Hebrew, but we understand that the Semitic languages are closely related; and Ridge was a Hermetic magician, which meant his training was Cabalistic.  

The meaning of the name of the letter, Bet, means House. If you forget what the letter looks like, you can visualise a child’s outline sketch of a house instead, and that'll work. You can use her name and the visualisation together, or either one on its own. It’s handy when you need to call on protection quickly, in the moment.

Whenever I have done that, the dangers I feared did not come to pass; also I experienced a beautiful sense of reassurance, which felt motherly. 

I also felt empowered. This cat-mother goddess expects that her children will mature into strength and competence, able to take care of themselves. But, like all mothers, she will never regard us as too old to help if we call on her.

To sum up: as a role-model, she is both soft and strong; protector and nurturer. She knows how to enjoy the sensual pleasures of being alive; and she is practical and efficient in looking after the health and safety of those in her charge. She is a worthy representative of Great Mother.

I refreshed my memory of details with these online sources:

'Bast the Egyptian Cat Goddess’ at Goddess-Guide.com

and the article on Bast in the ‘simple English Wikipedia’

HEALING WITH THE GODDESS

(A talk I gave to a women's circle: The Goddesses of Shining Light)

Some of my sweetest childhood memories involve being sick in bed — because my mother was so good at making me feel better. She always seemed to know exactly what I needed — the best comfort foods to tempt my palate when I was able to eat; and whether to close the blinds so I could sleep or let the sunshine in and prop me up on the pillows to read a book. 

It starts when we're very young. If a small child falls over and gets hurt, they run straight to their mother, who says, "Let me kiss it better." So when we think of the Goddess as healer, it's natural to evoke Her in Her Mother aspect — the one who knows how to give us comfort, the one who can cure a hurt with a kiss, whose hugs are a haven, the one who makes everything better. It's a beautiful experience to rest and recuperate in the arms of the Mother. It can be as simple as calling on Her in thought when we feel unwell. 

Sometimes, being human, we forget that we can do that. 

We can evoke a particular Goddess, or simply The Goddess, that overall Divine energy of which specific Goddesses are aspects or representations. It may be that a specific Goddess is particularly suited to heal a particular condition. We can choose whom to call on, or be guided intuitively.

There's the Celtic Brigid — though she's also associated with poetry, so I tend to ask for Her help more often in that aspect of my life. There's Quan Yin, Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, who is connected with various healing systems, notably the Karuna Ki  energy healing modality. There's Mother Mary, whose wisdom and tenderness continue to guide many. And a number of others. Some people think that the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost — as in 'Father, Son and Holy Ghost' — is really the female aspect of Divinity, disguised in language because the early Church was so patriarchal. If you're a Christian, it is perhaps not inappropriate to ask the Holy Spirit to help when you need healing. The Reiki Master who initiated me as a Master was also a priest in an esoteric Christian church, and she believed in this interpretation.

These and other various manifestations of the Goddess as Healer are perceived as exquisitely gentle and comforting when they're in that healing role.

But healing is not always peaceful and gentle. It may involve painful surgery. It might take the form of purging to get rid of toxins. Another Goddess of healing is the lion-headed Egyptian, Sekhmet, who is associated with a system of energy healing called Seichim or Sekhem, which is similar to Reiki and has a Sufi component as well.  Sekhmet sometimes uses drastic methods, and you could find yourself undergoing a healing crisis, where you feel worse on the way to getting better. Then again, Sekhmet can be gentle too when that is needed. After all, her alter ego, the other aspect of her, is the nurturing cow goddess, Hathor. They are two sides of the same coin. So don't be afraid to call for Sekhmet if you are so guided. Trust that this form of the Divine will know and provide whatever you most need,

A simple, mental call for help will work. In an emergency, that may be all you can manage. Because you have, through this group, made a conscious, loving connection with the Goddess, your call will be expedited by that love energy. But She hears all those who call Her.

We can go further and use ritual to evoke the particular Goddess we'd like to work with. I expect you already have your own methods. Lighting a candle in an appropriate colour — or a white one, which encompasses all colours and so can substitute for any — is one simple way. Or you can be more specific. Brigid, for instance, loves flowers, so you could put an offering of flowers on an altar dedicated to Brigid. How lucky we are to live in the age of Google! It's easy to research the specific ways of honouring specific Goddesses. 

Prayer is a universal way of contacting the Deity. A mental yell of, 'Help!' Is a prayer, but if you have the time, you can make the request as long and detailed as you like. My particular path to the Goddess is through witchcraft, and I regard spells as active prayers, so I might well choose to perform a healing spell if possible. And there are many kinds of spells, some of which don't require a lot of tools or activity. Saying an affirmation is one kind, and you can do that while you're lying in a hospital bed. I might choose to cast circle — and I know that if I was lying in a hospital bed I could do that with visualisation and it would be acceptable.

Colour healing is another possibility. 'Breathe in green and breathe out pink,' my favourite colour healer once told me, when I was about to have surgery. Green and pink are the colours of the heart chakra, which again we may equate with motherly love. You can also research which colours are best for particular conditions.

Naturally I am not suggesting we ignore medical help. I'm trained in all sorts of wonderful and effective healing modalities, but I still go to the doctor if my symptoms appear serious, or they don't go away in a hurry. I see spiritual healing, energy healing, all kinds of natural healing, as complementary to traditional medicine rather than alternative. I'm a great believer in doing EVERYTHING that might work. (Which is one reason I've done so much training in so many modalities.)

So far I've focused primarily on one's own need for healing if illness or injury should befall. That's important.

We can serve the Goddess in many ways, and we don't necessarily have to be well to do so — but for the most part being well is more practical, and enables us to do more good for others. Not to mention the fact that it makes one's own life much more enjoyable. The Goddess is in favour of joy! So yes, make it a priority to take care of yourself and keep your energy replenished. Remember the saying, 'You can't give anyone a drink out of an empty glass'.

However, we can also call on the Goddess to help with the healing of others. We had an example of that only this week, when we received an email asking us to hold one of our members in the light as she underwent surgery, and in the days of her convalescence. Group energy is indeed very powerful, as we know from our meditations here when we send out light and healing,* and it doesn't necessarily require the members of a group to be physically together — though of course it's wonderful when that happens, as we are together now. 

Holding someone in the light is effective, and particularly suited to this group, as we are the Goddesses of Shining Light. When we send light to surround one of our own, naturally it is done with love. Projecting Love energy towards someone is always the most powerful thing you can do, in a group or as an individual. Easy when you happen to love someone in everyday life, but what if it's a stranger? What if it's someone you don't like very much? 

You are not obliged to give healing to anyone, and it might be better not to if you have mixed feelings about it. But if you do want to go ahead for altruistic reasons and you have trouble summoning up a feeling of love, one way is to project white light to the person, identifying that light as the energy of Unconditional Love. Another way is to put the person into the care of the Goddess with a formal declaration that you are doing so. You can speak to the Goddess concerned — 'Dear Sekhmet (or whoever), I place X within Your care in order to be healed' — or you can inform the Universe: 'I give X into the care of the Goddess to be healed.' It's nice to have someone bear witness, so you could state it aloud in a group, or to a single individual. Or you could say it, either aloud or silently, with no-one else present and ask the Earth or the Universe to be your witness.

Though I've focused on the obvious connection between healing and mothering, the Crone aspect of the Goddess, with her wisdom, also has a place in healing. While mothers are the obvious nurturers, grandmothers can also be very nurturing, sometimes in less obvious ways. They're good for a cuddle, but they may also encourage their grandchildren's self-reliance, intuition or creative thinking. In those difficult conditions which doctors have trouble explaining, it could be helpful to ask a wise Crone goddess for assistance. 

Old age leads to death, always. The Crone may transform into the Dark Goddess — Kali, Lilith, Hecate, the Morrigan. As my Reiki Master used to remind us, healing and curing are not necessarily the same thing. 'Death,' she used to tell us, 'Is the greatest healer.' 

On this plane we can't always see the bigger picture. Miracles do happen. People with terminal diagnoses don't always terminate. But sometimes it is indeed a person's time to go. This can happen at any age, with or without warning. A friend of mine in Melbourne recently lost her son to a quick and unexpected cancer. He was still a young man. She's an extraordinary woman. While deeply grieved, she has also been in touch with him since his death and understands that in his last few years of life he had lost connection to his own soul, and he needed to die in order to recover it. I hadn't seen him since he was a schoolboy, so I don't know how his soul got lost. But I trust the mother's insights because she's always been highly spiritually aware.

Death is hard on those left behind, but it may be a joyous blessing to those who move on. In that case, as healers we can seek to keep the person's quality of life as high as possible, as long as they have life, and to ease the transition when that time arrives. We can also recognise that our primary healing role in such a case might be to comfort and strengthen the bereaved.

You may be familiar with the practice of 'drawing down the moon', which witches sometimes do on full moon celebrations. It means that we invite the energy of the Goddess in Her Moon aspect to enter us and fill us for a time, to empower us in our magickal workings. 

We can all do that at any time, with a request. We can most certainly do it for healing, so that the Goddess works through us as we speak to a sick person or touch them with soothing hands. When we are done we can say thank you to the Goddess and ask for the energy to withdraw, or simply let it fade as it will over time. 

Above all, remember that the Goddess is available to you at all times. If you or anyone else needs healing, ask. A way will be found.

Perhaps there is no healing that does not come from the Goddess.

* When the circle meets, healing is sent not only to individuals who need it at the time, but also, always, to the whole planet — and in particular to places where there is disaster or conflict.