VERONICA LEE

by Rev. Tess Pender, M. Div.

We call her Mother Earth, and for millennia She was our Goddess, our Mother, our center. Then the patriarchal revolution replaced Her with their sky gods and relegated her to the position of handmaiden.

​But still, in every corner of the world, her worship continues. Women in city apartments gather in her name. Rural communities invoke her blessing when planting season arrives. And, in virtually every community disconnected from our modern world, her devotees sing her praises. She is the Lady of Guadalupe, the Goddess in the Moon, the Virgin Mother, the comfort of the afflicted. In a sweat lodge, we sit in her womb to pray and ask Great Spirit to bless us. On a vision quest, she is the one to whom we cry for a vision, she is the ruler of the Dreamtime, and the seer.

She is the First Creator we learn to worship, and our souls cry to return to her arms! It is hard today to find Circle of Goddess worshipers, but there are pockets. There are some from Christianity who splintered to focus on the Marys. From Wicca (the ancient pagan beliefs of the Celts), spring the Dianic groups of today, a feminist version of Wicca made popular in the late 1900s. Native American tradition venerates White Buffalo Calf Woman, and the Australian Dreamtime looks to the Feminine.

The most effective way to engage in Goddess-centered spirituality is to create a coven and begin holding ceremonies. Find a group of women, buy a book (Goddess Connections: Goddess rituals for the modern priestess by Tara Reynolds, or The Goddess Celebrates by Diane Stein). Decide on some ground rules: How often to meet, where and when, how to invite new people, is this a women-only group, will food be part of the ritual, who will create the rituals, (a high-priestess or a rotation among members).

For example, one group had these rules:

• Meet monthly, second Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.​
• Meeting place rotated, the hostess was responsible for the entire ritual, including creating an altar, creating and leading the ritual, and providing the feast (thus avoiding a monthly potluck).
• The group size limit was no more than 13 members. Guests could be invited once but had to be accepted as members to return. All members had to agree before admitting a new member.
• Eventually, there was a ritual in February to initiate new members. The group hosted a co-ed ritual twice yearly at Winter and Summer Solstice and invited spouses and friends.

This group started with only two women (each one invited one or more), continued meeting for over a decade, and the members stayed close for life. The shared devotion to the Feminine Principle was a new, fulfilling spirituality that also supported growth and change. It provided a gateway to a permanent connection to the divine. Rotating the role of high priestess meant that each woman, in turn, embodied the Divine Feminine. Each claimed responsibility for the group’s connection to the Goddess and explored the many possible ways to worship.

Turning to the Great Goddess is an eminently feminist spiritual practice. It is one that leads naturally to raising children who respect and honor the feminine, who believe in their divine nature, and thus independently select a personal spirituality. Welcoming the return of the mother reclaims the inner warrior, the proud, courageous Aphrodite and Diana in every woman, and recognizes the divine aspect of every moment of life.

by Rev. Tess Pender, M. Div. 

Spring is about to arrive in the northern hemisphere! The spring equinox is one of the eight Sabbats, or festivals in the annual calendar, used by many Pagan groups (both Equinoxes and Solstices, plus each halfway point between them). It ends the time of slumber during the winter. Spring is the season for planting all that you want to nurture in the coming year.

Spring equinox arrives at 3:28 AM on Monday, March 20, 2017 for those on Pacific Time. This festival is traditionally used to set intentions and begin the process of new growth. It honors the return of the Maiden Goddess Kore (Persephone, in the Greek myth of the lovely girl kidnapped to be the Queen of Hades). It is the time to celebrate innocence, freedom, and to decide on the year’s projects.

Because of the “awakening from the dead” aspect, it is the time of Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection. Celebrations emphasize fertility, awakening, and the end of scarcity. This is the real time for “New Year’s Resolutions” to plant the seeds of intention to make changes in yourself, your environment, your activities, and your values.

Spring cleaning clears the fields – eliminate the old to make room for the new. An old spiritual principle is that nothing new can attract where there is no room for it. If your goal is to form a loving, lasting relationship, you must first let go of any “old standby” lovers you keep on call. If a new wardrobe, the closets must be empty. It is true that “nature abhors a vacuum” and will rush to fill the empty spaces – but will NOT try to squeeze in where there is no room. So grab a broom and make space for your dreams!

Choose the crop to plant. Decide on a clear goal; remember the mnemonic SMART for goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. A SMART goal for a year of seeking a relationship might be: go out on two dates each month (Specific and Measurable), With people met on an on-line dating site (Achievable and Realistic) every month in the next year (time-bound). Note that this goal focuses on the process, not the outcome.

Now provide the food to bring your crop to maturity: sunlight, water, and food. Shed light – perhaps announce your goal to a supportive person or group, and create a healthy environment. Using the relationship example, join a dating service, respond to requests within 24 hours, meet everyone who asks for coffee. You may also want to create a vision board to help you visualize the desired outcome (made by creating a collage of magazine pictures that symbolize the desired outcome).

Do not pull up your crop to see if there is growth! (Pulling up the crop by the roots is done by giving free rein to your judgmental side “everyone on those sites is not looking for a relationship” and talking yourself out of doing the work that is needed!) Just follow that process you’ve set out, and trust that the universe will conspire with you to make your goals a reality!

One more example:
Overall crop: Accumulate a new wardrobe that expresses my personal style.

Clear the field: Ruthlessly donate or discard anything that 1) has not been worn in the past year; 2) doesn’t fit; 3) doesn’t fit the style you want to establish. At the end of this process, your closet should be nearly empty!

SMART goal: Buy one piece of clothing every month (Specific) that fits my desired style (Measurable), that fits me correctly (Achievable) within my budget (Realistic) every month this year (Time bound).

Fertilize the crop: Read fashion magazines to develop the desired style, find appropriate shopping outlets (style, size, price range), and visit them at least monthly, create a notebook or collage to document your personal style choices.

The fastest way to destroy a garden is to plant too many, competing crops. Choose the most important goal(s), develop a plan, then go to work. Everyone who has ever tried a self-improvement bombardment (lose 20 pounds, redecorate the house, start school, and change careers) knows that these goals only last a month at most before the overwhelmed crash of all the plans! Limiting yourself to one (at most two) goals is to seize the opportunities presented by the Spring Equinox, and go forth to meet the Goddess with love, ceremony, and trust!

by Rev. Tess Pender, M. Div.

How can political activism be a path to know God? What do those words even mean?

From dictionary.com:
Activism - 1. the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other goals, sometimes by demonstrations, protests, etc.
2. Philosophy. a) a theory that the essence of reality is pure activity, especially spiritual activity, or process.

From Wikipedia: Modern spirituality is centered on the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” It embraces the idea of an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality. It envisions an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being.
Activism is a means of expressing and living one’s highest values. Once a person understands and adopts a spiritual belief system, the next step, traditionally, is to reject the trappings of the former life, and devote one’s self to living in alignment with the new system. Jesus preached his “good news” in every town, offering a method to reach salvation. For those who are not born the Redeemer, we need another path. That path is to live a life guided by moral principles – and that means be active politically.

A simple example is the belief in the value of all human life. The believer can give away all worldly possessions, but this carries limited effect. A more universal act is to change the system so to meet all individual basic needs. The political activist can feed the poor in violation of local laws, can work to pass universal care policies, or can work on providing minimal “life support” (food, shelter, health care) to everyone. All these are political activities designed to change society to align with spiritual beliefs.
Most spiritual and ethical systems start with respect and care for others, so, unless you have adopted Ayn Rand as your spiritual mentor, the next logical step on the path is to work for societal improvement. The most effective way to do that is to get active.

While the mystics who separated from the world to live in seclusion and prayer may be admirable for their devotion, they did not change society. Feeding, educating, delivering health care and shelter are the actions that demonstrate love and compassion on this plane. Hence, it is impossible to care for a soul driven from the body by starvation or illness!

by Rev. Tess Pender, M. Div.

7 Steps to Awakening
It is easy to fall into the trap of a spiritual bypass. We find one easy explanation early in addiction recovery. It is common for newbie recovering addicts, however, learning of a “higher power” to throw themselves into spirituality.

They sit in tattooed glory, coffee in one hand and cigarette in the other, and smile soulfully while sharing their newly discovered spiritual superiority. They never lose their tempers, harbor no thoughts of revenge, never judge anyone (except those who haven’t attained enlightenment). The only others to exhibit this behavior are Catholic-school products raised on “Lives of the Martyrs.”

The danger of this spiritual bypass is relapse. Adopting a guru instead of doing the work of spiritual growth builds no foundation. The chakra system is one road map to spiritual growth. And each chakra has traps and hooks for those in a rush to enlightenment.

The first, or root chakra, is the center of security. Its hooks are fears about safety and survival. Hooks in the first chakra were installed early. The panic of the food addict facing an empty refrigerator, the safety beckoning to the gambler by the score – we must, therefore, face these to escape the clutches of the first chakra. The work is to understand and believe that safety only lies in one’s own grounding, the commitment to self. This isn’t a single, “once done and over” step, but is the basis for the “three-step waltz” familiar in early recovery.

The second chakra rules emotions, sexuality, creativity and the sense of self. The hook is evident in sex and love addicts’ behavior, falling for the same “bad boy” in different clothes. Thus, the work is to be at peace with emotions – welcome them, name them, learn that they are not all-powerful. Reclaiming the sacred self from the ravages of “needing love,” from emotional orgies, and sensual desires is a steep part of the mountain – and normally has many slips down the side.

Related to the second chakra is the third – the place of boundaries and will. Learning to set and hold boundaries is difficult, but possible. The real trap comes in learning to respect others’ boundaries, to allow them to be themselves! The slogan associated with the third chakra is “What you think of me is none of my business.” This sneaky trap explains why co-dependency is harder to overcome than addiction – and why it kills people sooner than any drug. The work of the third chakra is to develop a functional adult persona – a challenging task for every “stuck in adolescence” addict!

After the work of the lower three chakras, the path to spiritual awakening starts to get hard! The fourth chakra is the heart center – the home of love and compassion. During a spiritual bypass, the seeker thinks the job is to love and accept everybody. Sorry, but no – the work is to love the Self, embrace the Self with all its flaws, and shower yourself with compassion. This is the step of coming out of the closet – taking to the streets to declare, “I Was Born This Way!” with Lady Gaga.

The fifth chakra rules the throat and demands truth. This is also where pleasant lies stop – the lies to yourself, the white lies to others. One trap is confusing rudeness with truth. There is no need to share passing thoughts or judgments! Learning that one’s thoughts are not the truths the world needs to hear is a shock to the ego, and a necessary step on the road to enlightenment! The work of the fourth chakra is facing the truth about one’s own self, by “coming out of the closet” of self-deceit.

The third eye (between the brows) is the chakra of knowing. The work is claiming one’s knowledge, recognizing the truth seen, and letting go of all the little denials that make life easy (‘he loves me, even when he’s mean to me’). The work is to claim one’s intuition and release denial and hiding. Another trap is getting too impressed with knowing, and believing in a “unique gift”!

​Finally, the crown chakra is the connection to the universe, to infinite truth, to God, however, you envision our source. The work is to surrender to God’s plan – whoever your god is and however frightening the plan! The traps are many – the “spiritual bypass” (deciding that being spiritual allows one to skip all the work of the other chakras), becoming a guru who tells others how to live, becoming a sacrifice who has no wants or because you are so “sacred”.