The Circle of Goddesses

This in no way, shape or form takes away from the validity of Jesus life and message as he came to embody a sacred archetype.  He epitomized the resurrecting shepherd king and his teachings are an important aspect of my life yet it is his followers who worry me.

A man from Tarsus, the son of Jewish converts, became a Roman citizen and changed his name from the Hebrew Saul to the Roman Paul. This Jewish citizen of the Roman empire (from Turkey) set himself up to terrorize the rebellious group of Jews in and around Jerusalem. It is said that Paul persecuted Christians, and while this makes for a lovely story contained within the book of Acts, it is not possible. There were no Christians at the time. The first few chapters of Acts should be read gingerly as they are propaganda designed to make us think the early church was always Christian; but it belonged to an era where the word Christian was simply a nickname for a sect of Judaism.

If we think about it logically, without overly emotional fundamentalism and from the historical perspective  :-D  the followers of Jesus remained Jews after his death, as did those of Jesus brother James the Just. They did not become members of Pauls new Christian religion. Christianity was a cult developed by Saul of Tarsus to attract pagan converts throughout the broader Roman Empire people who were already inclined toward nature based dying and resurrecting Gods. These pagans are the Gentiles that are referred to in the New Testament. The word Gentiles has become respectable in Christian thinking because it is taken as being a Jewish description of Christians, but it meant no such thing at the time. It was a word the followers of Jesus and James used to describe those who did not believe in the God of the Jews.

Paul was not intimate friends with Jesus original followers, students or family. Paul and James the Just quickly fell out with each other. The story Paul spread was based on Roman tastes in theology and barely related to the actions of Jesus and his followers. I have often pondered what Jesus actually thinks about all this, converting, evangelizing, smiting and killing in his name I am sure he is impressed (not). In Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey and Rome it was Pauls followers who scribed the Gospels. In Israel the people that Jesus had once led became followers of James, who opposed the Pauls new religion. The NT tells the story of Jesus from the perspective of Paul, and it tries to establish the idea that the followers of the crucified Jesus were Christians in their churches. They were not = they were Jews.

The Mediterranean and the Middle East are full of ancient stories of dying ~ resurrecting gods, who dies annually in order to “renew” or bring “salvation” to the people with his blood.  He returns later in the year, this being called the Myth of the Return.  He is born to us each year at the Winter Solstice in the form of the Divine Child, when the sun is “re-born” each year and the light returns to the darkened winter world and the days become longer.  Then in the Spring, He dies so his blood can save us.

Pauls new religion of the Risen Christ was easy for pagans to accept it was far from original and built upon well established traditions. This new cult of Christianity was squarely rooted in the Canaanite peasant theology of dying and resurrecting nature gods. The nature cult created in the name of Jesus came less from the beliefs of his real followers than it did from Pauls own upbringing in Tarsus. Every autumn, the young Saul would have watched the great funeral pyre on which the local god was ritually burnt. God was now dead, but he would arise again in the spring (Easter). The idea of blood was horrific to all Jews, and blood was something to be avoided at all costs, yet Pauls concept of Jesus rested on the power of his spilt blood, and of course on the sacrificial impulse which had driven the worship of Mithras. Even today we ritually drink the blood of Christ.  This concept of drinking ritual blood of a sacrificial human victim was as far removed from Jewish thinking but was well accepted practice among the pagans.

• He is God made flesh; the savior and ‘Son of God’
• His father is God and his mother is a mortal virgin.
• He is born in a cave or humble cow shed on the 25th of December before three shepherds.
• He offers his followers the chance to be born again through the rites of baptism.
• He miraculously turns water into wine at a marriage ceremony.
• He rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while people wave palm leaves to honor him.
• He dies at Easter time as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
• After his death he descends to Hell, then on the third day he rises from the dead and ascends to heaven in glory.
• His followers await his return as the judge during the Last Days.
• His death and resurrection are celebrated by a ritual meal of bread and wine which symbolize his body and blood.

These attributes not only fit into the life of Jesus, but into the myths associated with Mithras, Adonis, Dumuzi, Hercules and Osiris. Adonis and Dumuzi ~ Middle Eastern fertility gods who died every year during the Spring planting season to fertilize the crops for the “salvation of all.”  Adonis’ death was mourned in a special cave shrine in Bethlehem where legends also said he was born.  Tammuz ~ was ritually resurrected each Spring after a three day descent into hell.  He was buried each year in a garden tomb.  A priestess, representing his wife, would go alone to the garden tomb and find it empty. Worship of Tammuz is mentioned in the Old Testament. Hercules was born of a heavenly sky-god (Zeus) and a mortal woman.  His official title was “Prince of Peace.”  Jesus was born of Yahweh, sky-god of the Hebrews, and a “mortal woman,” Mary. Osiris is connected to the annual cycle of fertility and renewal of the spring flooding of the Nile. His loyal nurturing mother is the goddess Isis. Hmmmm, interesting stuff.

Paul, and his writings, influenced all of the early church fathers, who more followed the teachings of Paul than those of Jesus.  Some of the teachings Paul has brought us include:

Women = Bad.  Jesus has to be celibate, even though all other Jewish Rabbis were required to be married. Most of the Gnostic texts that detail Jesus human side and relationship with the Magdalene were systematically destroyed by the church fathers. Why? What were they trying to hide?

Salvation. We are horrible humans and unworthy of life and must wash ourselves in divine blood just as Roman soldiers would ritualistically wash themselves in the blood of Oxen at Mithraic temples.

Hell:  Pauls teaching also helped invent hell. This was unknown to Jesus and the Hebrew religion.  The Christian church fathers misinterpreted the Jewish parables of Gehenna, a shadowy “void” place of soul transition and departing, and turned Gehenna into Hell.  

The Devil:  The Church fathers created the image of a horned Devil, giving him horns like Kernernos, the pagan God of harvest and forest, who wore horns as a mark of his kinship with the deer, and other animals with horns. The Church of the Middle Ages, facing stiff competition with the pagan religion, “demonized” these gods.  They gave Satan, (whose name comes from Shatan, the Hebrew angel of death, “adversary,” and “obstacle”) horns like the pagan gods, hoping to totally stamp out their worship.

In 62 CE, James was murdered and Paul died soon afterwards. According to the historian Josephus, the Jews rose up against Rome in 66 CE. Rising up against Rome was never a good idea, and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE. Before this time, there was no Jewish orthodoxy, only disparate groups of Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Zealots and Christians. It took another 200 years before Christians ceased to be just a strange variety of Judaism and the greatest story ever sold began to flourish. Almost three hundred years after Paul, the Roman Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity, merged it with his favorite pagan religion, Mithraism, and made it the official Roman Catholic Church.

The Christian bible is made up of old and new testaments. The first covers the history of the world from the creation through Malachi, the last of the prophets who spoke of the return of Elijah, the forerunner of the coming Messiah. The NT covers the period from just before the birth of Jesus to a period about 75 years later, when the Jewish war broke out. So the bible chronicles Gods interaction with His chosen people for all time right up to their near obliteration at the hands of the Romans. After that the Bible simply stops. WHY?  It did not stop being written: in the same way that the Dead Sea Scrolls were lost, so the ongoing story just did not get bound into the official versions and more discoveries of these hushed texts will be found.

The families who considered themselves to have a special relationship with God continued to document their journey. The bloodlines that produced the high priests survived and continued to record their progress towards creating the kingdom of God on earth. Many escaped to Europe, as members of the Diaspora, there to found many of the families that would become pre-eminent throughout the Middle Ages.  In France, these families came to control Anjou, Champagne, Normandy and Burgundy and from France comes stories of the Knights Templar, the Cathars, the troubadours, the works of Chretien de Troyes and the san grail, the blood royal the grail.

Many of us pray for a certain thing to happen. God I want a new car. God, I want a new job. God I want to be in a relationship with Suzy and I will do whatever it takes to have her. Some of us even bargain with God…I really want Billy to get back together with me and I promise I will be good and I will go to church every Sunday, just please let me have him back. When Billy does not come back, Sally assumes God has not answered her prayer.

NEWSFLASH!!! Perhaps the answer is “NO”. Perhaps that relationship, possession or job, is not in the best interest for the progression of your soul during its journey on the earthly plane. Perhaps your focus should be on something else.

I remember speaking with a woman once who told me she was mad at God because her boyfriend did not get a promotion although they had been praying daily that he would. I remember telling her something like this: Wow, where did your sense of entitlement come from? You know it is not ALL ABOUT YOU! God is sort of busy right now, a hurricane just hit New Orleans and thousands of people are dead or homeless…there is war in Iraq, people all over the world are starving, and you are upset because your boyfriend did not get a promotion? I also remember telling her that God is not a vending machine.  Several weeks later she emailed apologizing because the promotion and raise did come, it was just delayed. The point here is two fold. Sometimes the answer is ‘no’ but sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes things have to unfold according to the divine plan – the timing of the Universe.

When we pray, we have to wait for a response. Sometimes we become so impatient that we repeat our prayers night after night, petitioning the same requests over and over. Guess what? God is not deaf. S/he heard you the first time. Once is enough. After you say your prayer, it is your job to sit back and wait. Yep. Patience. Let me spell that out again P A T I E N C E. This is kind of like hitting the elevator button over and over while you impatiently stand at the elevator doors. Even though the light is lit, you push it over and over, thinking it will make it come faster. What a waste of time, and finger energy – once is enough.

Today’s society is so geared toward instant gratification, we want things and we want them now. Well, take a number and get in line because God is sorta busy right now. When we pray God/dess does hear our prayers. But we, as humans, must then step back from the desire and wanting (and asking) and allow things to unfold.

When we are constantly petitioning we can’t hear the answer. The answer often comes in the silence of meditation or mindfulness…in the silence, s/he whispers to us the answers that we seek….and we have but to recognize them. Prayer is when we speak to God ~~~ meditation and connecting to the divine source and waiting for the response, is when s/he answers. When we stop asking and start listening… we will hear that soft, still voice. Listen.

It seems that right now, on planet Earth, life has become difficult for most folks. The rich, the poor, the privileged, the few, the proud – no one seems to have come through the difficult financial times of the past 18 months unscathed. These times of trial are great opportunities for spiritual growth, after all – that is why we are here on planet Earth!

When you are feeling a little low, though, you can bring yourself up with some positive affirmations and prayer like the one listed below. Try saying this out loud, everyday, and claim your birthright as  child of the Creator….

I release fear of any kind regarding my success in life. I know the God within is the source that provides my every need. God provides in great abundance. I have a birthright to happiness. Every cell in my body works in perfect order because it was created by God. I relax and release and allow the God to flow through and around me in a circular motion of great abundance and perfect health. I know that my life and those I love are well taken care of before I even contemplate a need. After all, the Creator of all, created me. It is God’s delight to give to me richly.

Amen

All is well.

Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation only good will come. I am safe!

I can accept whatever I am feeling today.

Without resistance my feelings pass and I am then open to experience whatever is next.

I am exactly where I am supposed to be today. Everything about this day,

this place, this moment is perfect. Everything about me is perfect in the moment.

I listen with love and gratitude to my body’s messages. My body helps me learn about myself.

Love fills me and heals me as I open to connect with the people God has placed in my life.

Today I can handle whatever comes up, knowing that I am surrounded with all the positive energies of good and love in the universe.

I have the courage to look without fear at what needs to be changed in my life.

At this moment, I am safe in mindfulness.

Every experience is perfect for my growth process.

I am safe. It is safe to feel. My feelings are normal and acceptable.

Today I am letting a power greater than myself remove all my fear. I am now free to look within for answers.

I release, I relax and I let go. I am safe in the here and now.

I am safe in Life.

I trust my inner wisdom. I listen to my own guidance. My intuition is always on my side. I trust it to be there at all times. I am safe.

Today is full of miracles!

There is a great difference between spirituality and religion.

Spirituality is a study of all things that deal with the evolution of your soul and your souls journey as you travel your earthy path. It cannot be justified or explained to anyone outside of yourself, it just IS. It is that subtle knowing that wells up from deep within that allows you to know you are on the right path which ultimately leads to the evolution of your soul. This is the reason why we are here on this planet enjoying our human incarnation.the perfection of our souls. We hold ourselves accountable to ourselves and live life at the soul level, not the level of the ego. Ego was once defined as Experiencing God Outside ~ when we live from our ego, it is difficult for us to embrace the divine spark that defines the very essence of who we are. Following our spiritual path provides us the opportunity to experience a one-to-one relationship with the divine through daily meditations, etc., that bring us into intimate knowledge of our divine purpose.

Religion is based on politics in an attempt to organize masses of people into believing one thing. It is generally aimed at individuals who are not quite ready to live a spiritual existence but would rather be taught and told what to think, feel and experience through religious dogma. Religion deals mostly with trying to coerce people into doing what they want you to do and instill fear into you to make it so. Remember the Dark Ages, they came up with the notion of hell to instill fear into the masses as a way to control them and guess what folks it worked. What better way to control than fear.

Somehow it appears that we are still living in a Dark Ages of sorts where we are told by the powers that be that unless we believe a certain thing and are saved, we are going to hell period. Historically speaking, there was no record of hell until the Dark Ages came around, a place of fire and brimstone where our souls would be banned for all eternity with no chance of escape unless we did as we were told and of course gave money to the church or bought indulgences to secure our way out of purgatory. Yeah, OK…

But what IS hell? In my mind, hell is a separation from God, and is that not what we are experiencing here on Earth? Perhaps this is hell and based on what I see in the world sometimes, I feel so. But, if God is love and love is God where does the God of fear come into play? Just another thought to ponder.

Furthermore, on the topic of being savedwhat are we being saved from?  I passed a church once and the marquee outside said.. WALMART IS NOT THE ONLY PLACE FOR SAVING. I mean, really, WTF is up with that?  Are they really trying to save our souls or increase their membership, because with more members they make more money, and so on. I hate to think that the message Jesus brought has sadly become The Greatest Story Ever Sold and I dont believe that was his intent.

To see what organized religion has done to his teachings saddens me. He came to teach a spiritual message, one intended to bring LOVE back into a very much patriarchal religion that was based upon the worship of the war god, Yahweh. War God? Where did that come from, you ask? Well think about it. Look at the Old Testament. They were smiting and fighting and stoning and conquering many lands so the people had a place to call home. It came with much warring and destruction of entire cities and populaces. The people who worshipped Yahweh were very much a nomadic tribe and they were looking for a place to call home – they conquered, killed and destroyed to get it.

I believe Jesus came to show the way to heal, to teach, to bring us back to love. Sadly, most people missed it. He had the power to heal with the touch of his hands. His message is there is inspire those with ears to hear and eyes to see if we understand the inner mysteries of His message. As he hung on that cross he could have laid waste to the Roman legions, to the Sanhedrin, to the Jewish race, Pontius Pilate because he had the power to heal, he had to power to destroy. The point is, he did not. He let them mock him, he let them torture him and he let them kill him in the most degrading way.and he FORGAVE them while they did it. This IS the message people LOVE unconditional love. His path was a spiritual one, in becoming one with the divine, he is divine.

If we follow a spiritual path where we can become one with the divine there is no separateness from God.  After all, are we not all spiritual beings, having a human experience?

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I will guide you along your path and provide guidance to help you attain the desires of your heart in matters of love, life and career. I will assist you in finding balance in your spiritual, personal and professional life as well as attain peace of mind and the right path for your future.