Be A Goddess: Lesson Two

Merry Meet and Welcome to you magickal souls!!!!

I'm doing Lesson Two of the course within Francesca De Grandis' book titled "Be A Goddess". This lesson is all about loving my body and being cleansed by spirit, but it felt like so much more than that.

The focus is on the presence of a/the Goddess but a/the God, typically the Horned One, is always accompanying her so She always has support. I really like this because I've had some challenging experiences with maternal and paternal role models and influences.

I had a really strict and non-emotional maternal figure in my life that didn't feel maternal at all, but she came with a paternal figure who wasn't quite what they appeared to be, although I felt that in order to survive, I had to have both present in my life.

This was a really interesting lesson because it started with a prayer to accept both the light and dark. It was followed by an explanation that there is no classification of good or evil darkness because darkness can be comforting, like when we normally go to sleep, and light can be too much or too bright, like in the summer when we need eye protection (also known as sunglasses).

My mum passed when I was young so this lesson has really taken me back to feeling loved unconditionally, even if I make mistakes in my life just because I am human and I know I will make mistakes. This feeling was multiplied when I realised that the prayer was meant to also help me feel sacred as a Child of the Gods, who are inherently sacred themselves but because they created me, then I must also be sacred.

The prayer also had a purpose of removing any malicious energy or spirit from me and the area that I am in, especially trying to dismiss the idea of shame because there is no healing to be found when I hide away, feel ashamed or embarrassed. So I need to realise and keep the idea that I am sacred and therefore worthy of love at the forefront of my thoughts so that I receive the healing the Goddess' love holds.

Another couple of ideas that I need to embrace in my life are that I deserve to enjoy a good life and that I am always surrounded by the Goddess' love, regardless of which aspect She comes in. I say this because She feels more like a loving, forgiving Mother, like the Celtic Triple Goddess who also appears as the Maiden and the Crone.

Since the Mother aspect has been covered, I want to talk about the Maiden, who is more commonly given the name of Nimue, and then the Crone who is also known by the name of Ana.

But first, I'll turn my attention to Nimue, who takes the form of a 7 year old Maiden. An assignment was given to imagine nature in the hands of an intelligent seven-year-old, so that I can consider Her place in the world. When I first thought about it, I realised that She is familiar to me and appears within a Forest of Enchantment tarot card as the Child of Visions.

She's the kind of child who explores but also has as much fun as possible.

While Nimue is smiling within this card, She also has a stubborn streak, by not wearing shoes or any footwear so that She can be as close to Nature as possible and grounded within all of the energy around Her.

Nimue doesn't care that it is raining because it's making Her fun and games more exciting. She is the embodiment of innocence and comes to bring me back to that feeling of having fun and embracing my own innocence.

Within this lesson, the Crone was mentioned as being associated with Ana. While I was reading about Ana, I discovered that She is also typically associated with fertility and motherhood within Celtic mythology, but within Neopaganism, Ana is seen as the Crone.

Historically, the Crone would be an older lady with grey hair which is why I got a little bit confused as to whether this is the "right" feeling card to embody the Crone because She could easily be seen as The Wisewoman, which is the role She would have played within Her local community.

But as this card, the Nine of Spells, Ana as the Crone is the Goddess of transition and transformation as She is most closely associated with the idea of Death. Here, She is within a portal that is only available at night or in darkness (which is a friend) so that she can influence change and help me to manage the transition(s) that I face.

There are plenty of other cards within the Forest of Enchantment that I could have chosen to embody the Crone, such as The Oldest One or the Wisewoman, but this one felt right. An assignment regarding the Crone aspect was to watch for an old woman I might see around, and to imagine her as a younger woman because the younger is still within the older. This was interesting because I visited a pharmacy for some medications and got to talking to an older lady (who was actually twice my age without looking like she was), and I was sympathetic to her as we got to chatting about parts of our lives. I could feel the youthful energy within her and felt younger myself for a little while, perhaps even energised as I got some tasks done that I had been putting off.

I've re-read the prayer from the beginning of the lesson and would actually like to get creative with it so that I can always have a reminder in my home but outside of the book of how the Goddess resides within me as much as She is outside so I deserve love.

There was mention of a Book of Shadows, which is actually what I use this blog for, to make notes and ponder about my experiences so that I can return to them and learn again but also so that others have someone to learn from if they don't know or have access to the same resources I do.

I hope this has inspired you to look into acquiring "Be A Goddess". Look out for the next Lesson post!

Peace and love to all!!!!