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Freedom and Freewill

Posted in Astrology, Current Events, Spiritual Growth, Transits, tagged , , , , , on April 12, 2020| Leave a Comment »

There have been a lot of fairly strident posts on social media recently about the need for personal freedom, not being told what to do, being restricted etc. This was probably to be expected that these issues would surface as the situation continues. (see the end of the blog).

I am writing this at the end of week three in the UK lockdown.

We have government who is being vague, lying and deceitful. We have those working for the government directly as in spin-doctors, most of the UK media and interestingly, by agitated posts on social media, who are who are churning up fears, insecurities and paranoia.

‘Rules are for people who cannot trust themselves’ (HH Namkhai Norbu)
Rules are for people who cannot trust themselves to do ‘the right thing’.
Rules are for people who cannot be trusted to do ‘the right thing’.

‘Bondage is all in the mind.’ (Swami Muktananda)
Therefore freedom is all in the mind.

1. People believe they are being stripped of their rights and being controlled.
At the moment, yes, inasmuch as there are restrictions on travel and meeting in groups.
The flip side of this, given that we have a virulent contagion in the population, would be if we each took responsibility for ourselves and had compassion for the wellbeing of others, we would not be doing that anyway.

So maybe we aren’t being stripped of our rights, we are being asked to be fully responsible for our actions.

The appearance of being ‘controlled’ is because there are those in society who have to be given rules to behave responsibly. It is apparent, at the moment, that even with rules, that is not happening.

2. Liberty (Are the present restrictions setting a precedent for loss of liberty?)

This raises lots of questions? What do people think of as freedom?

For example….Is it being able to do what you want, when you want?
That sounds fine ……as long as self-responsibility comes with it.

In the present restrictions, consider the desire…. ‘I want to go and see my friend who lives 150 miles away!
…..with the knowledge that you might be taking the virus with you, or picking it up along the way.
…..with the knowledge that your friend’s health and those they are close to may therefore depend in you.
….. with the knowledge that if you have a car accident along the way, that you might get taken to A&E, using up valuable NHS time and resources.
….. with the knowledge that even though you might have had CV19, people have been shown to get re-infected.
….that you might bring the virus or another strain of the virus back with you…….. and then infect others.
So, one could argue that if you are prepared to take responsibility for all that and other unseen consequences, then why should you not go? Most people, thinking this through thoroughly, might opt for a WhatsApp call or a SKYPE session as safer and cheaper.

3. Freedom. (Are the present restrictions setting a precedent for loss of freedom?)

Those who think they have freedom tend to be those who have choices……..
-choice in where the live and being able to move somewhere else
– choice in where they sleep
– choice in what or when they eat
– choice to spend money or not
– choice in feeling safe and secure
-choice to do something or not

If you feel you don’t have freedom, you need to realise that you still have choices… and that you may have made choices in the past that might have restricted the freedoms you now value so much.

A vast percentage of the population of the planet have few, if any, choices. They therefore could be construed as having no freedom.

So when people shout …… “they are taking our freedoms away”.……what freedoms are those, exactly? Are they freedoms or are they options, choices?

So if someone is laying down the rules and asking you to follow………determine why and make sure that you are not kicking against what a responsible person should be doing anyway………………… make sure you are not kicking against something that is actually a privilege or choice afforded to a few.

4. Manipulation

If someone is laying down the rules to manipulate……then think it through.

If manipulation is involved, it means ‘a game is afoot’…. the infamous Drama Triangle/Karpman Triangle has been activated. (Psychological pattern interweaving, blame, victimhood and rescuing)

So, if you buy into the ‘we are the victims’, ‘they are the villains’……. then you have fallen for the ruse…..you are playing the game, you have been fooled into joining it.

The only way is ‘not to play’.

This doesn’t mean you don’t agree/disagree, but it means you don’t get involved.

By getting involved you automatically give your power away.

The more you play, the more power you give to the oppressor/manipulator/villain. It is a deadly game, but when you play it is endless, it is self-perpetuating.

You avoid playing by observing, not getting stoked up or angry, but by seeing it for what it is.

ogyenmenlasmall

The Astrology:

This was always going to be an interesting time…..astrologically lots of planetary cycles have been creating patterns, coinciding with a Pluto/ Saturn conjunction, aided by Jupiter – all in Capricorn. From Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn the scene was being set.

Pluto cycle is 247 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 247 year ago was the USA war of Independence
Neptune cycle is 164-5 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 165 years ago was the Crimean War
Uranus cycle is 84 years with a 42-year sub-pattern – 84 years ago saw the build up to WW2, far right parties and activities dominant
Chiron cycle is 49-50years – 50 years ago saw the UK join the EU, 100 years ago saw the Spanish Flu epidemic
Saturn cycle is 28 years – Balkan wars
Jupiter cycle is 11-12 years – 12 years ago saw the banking crisis 108 years ago saw the start of WW1

Saturn brings restrictions, limitations but deep teachings about freedom.
Pluto simply upends anything that does not have a basis in truth.
In Capricorn – the negative is manipulation, coercion, over-regulation – the positive is understanding of responsibility, duty, compassion.

As Saturn slowly moves into Aquarius, we need to learn the lessons of Capricorn:

In the end we can only change that which is in our power to change.
We cannot ‘fix’ that which is not ours to fix.
Care for ourselves, each other, our families and expand that into the area where we live, if possible.
Taking responsibility for our own actions…is an act of love., not just for ourselves, but for others too.

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Adventures with Preseli Bluestone

Posted in Preseli Bluestone, Spiritual Growth, Uncategorized, Visualisation, tagged , , , on May 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Someone on a Facebook group page asked today for ‘stories’ about working with Preseli Bluestone………. so here goes…….

My first experience “travelling” with Preseli was in 2004. We had been asked to investigate its healing properties by Liz and Colin. we were getting ready to ‘try it out’ on some students, so I thought I had better first, see for myself.

“Late in evening I laid down and instinctively put a small piece of Preseli on my upper forehead, at the little Soma chakra.
I just relaxed. Nothing happened for a while and then I found myself on a hillside, at night looking downhill towards a small village. I was dressed in a long, grey cloak and held a small coronet in my right hand.
As I looked down on the village, I thought ‘why am I here?’. There was great reluctance to put the coronet on, though I knew it belonged to me. I asked what healing was needed. I was drawn to absorb my ‘today self’ with the me I was aware of from the vision. I also had a good look around me, especially at the landscape.”

Nevern

The next year, we went to visit the Mynydd Preseli. We stayed in Felindre, just on the edge of the hills themselves. We dutifully climbed up towards Carn Menyn and collected water from a stream running off the hills to make essences. We also did other ‘touristy stuff’ – we climbed up to Foel Drygarn, visited Pentre Ifan and the Little Folk in the woods nearby. We ate lunch in Newport (Trefdraeth ), near the beach and visited the bleeding yews of St Nevern’s Church. We also went onto the headland beyond Nevern…….. Ah…..the land of my vision with Preseli bluestone…….. I knew this place and it knew me!

 

Another experience with travelling with Preseli happened several years later when an old back injury returned. This was probably brought on by a mixture of loss of hormones that keep tendons and muscles flexible (menopause) and lifting lots of cut wood for the fire. My back muscles went into spasm and again, a vertebrae went out of alignment. (This had also happened when I was seventeen following a session on a trampoline.)

The trouble is, 50 or so years on, the body is less forgiving. It took a couple of weeks of various sorts of painkillers, one month of four-times weekly osteopathy then a further two months of twice-weekly osteopathy to get me back on my feet.
Being so immobile and in pain gives you a lot of time to think. One thought was, ‘I wonder if this is an old injury?’ So I decided to use Preseli to find out.
Getting comfortable and then placing a small piece of Preseli on the Soma chakra, I started my journey.

Working with Preseli in this way is pretty consistent. Nothing happens for a while and then suddenly, like a quick film or tv replay, the memory comes.

“There I was, an old man, a former warrior, left in a village to protect the women and children whilst the men went off to fight. The enemy came. They rushed in and I picked up my shield to protect two small children to my right. The enemy sliced me through, shoulder to groin on my left. Needless to say, I started to die, but the children were safe. Then I realised the child nearest to me was a close relative. The emotions were overwhelming. Then I remembered that feeling. Nine years ago, I stayed at my daughter’s over the time she gave birth to her second son. Whilst driving home I started to cry. I had left him again. There was a deep bond there, but not one, this lifetime, of parent, but nevertheless I recognised it as very old. Whilst some consciousness was still in my vision if the old man, I talked to him and told him all was well. The child is well and living again within the family. It all got very peaceful and I found myself quickly back in the Now.

I am still very protective of those I consider I have been given care of, whether it is people, animals, the Land. I know I have paid the price for that in the past and that continues to this day. It is part of who or what I am. Part of who or what I am, is still the reluctance to ‘wear the coronet’. I still prefer to work behind the scenes, creating stability, good lines of communication, though I can be ‘at the front’ if needed………… So I guess the gestalt from Nevern is still working its way through.

PresliFlatsBig

The book ‘Preseli Bluestone’ Healing Stone of the Ancestors’ by Simon & Sue Lilly is available.

Published by Tree Seer ISBN 978 1905454082, £9.95 + P&P

Click Here

 

 

 

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Kundalini – what it is and what it is not

Posted in Kundalini, Shakti, Uncategorized, Yoga, tagged , , , , on August 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »

There is a lot of information on the web and a lot of chatter on social media about kundalini and related subjects. It is also becoming a selling, peddling and marketing description for workshops, crystals, energy healing tools and spiritual exercises. Many people also are very keen to ‘awaken’ their Kundalini, as it is understood to be a sign of spiritual progress and development.
Responding to a request, myself and a few friends have put together this short information sheet to help clarify what it is and what it is not.

What is Kundalini?
‘Kundalini’ was a word first used in the 7th Century and it was used to describe the creative force of the universe. In its original usage, it was closely linked to written Sanskrit and the power of language and sound.
Nowadays the name has become synonymous with the energy that most people describe as lying dormant or in a quiet state near the base of the spine. The word itself means ‘coiled up’. In traditional texts there are two energy flows that are important – a downward flow, often referred to as ‘Shakti’ or upper Kundalini and a lower one or red Kundalini that flows upwards.
It may help if we look at the subtle channels in the body according to Vedic tradition.
Many people are familiar with the chakras. The main chakras are only part of a much larger complex of subtle energies that go to make up the human being. There are many other chakras throughout the body, all of which are expressions of different kinds of consciousness and energy.


Intersecting each chakra are channels of energy or ‘nadis’ that interact with the rest of the body. (These nadis do have a relationship with some aspects of the autonomic nervous system and also with the meridian channels, but they are of a much finer subtle substance.) There are said to be, in total, seventy two thousand nadis. Three are of prime importance: the ida, the pingala and the sushumna. These three main channels run parallel to the physical axis of the spinal column. The sushumna is the central channel. Ida, the left channel, carries a lunar energy that is nourishing and purifying. Pingala, the channel on the right side of the sushumna, carries the solar energy, that is activating. They can be represented in two different ways, the first has all three channels running parallel to each other, the second shows the solar and lunar channels weaving between the chakras until all three meet at the brow chakra.

The lower Kundalini energy remains dormant until activated. This would normally happen after the person experiences a descent of upper Kundalini or Shakti from the crown chakra down to the root chakra.

What is Shakti energy?
‘Shakti’ is the name given to a type of cosmic energy that is given or transmitted to an individual via another person or energy archetype. Traditionally this is accompanied by the ‘laying on of hands’. This process is not tied to any particular belief system or religion. It can be referred to as the ‘Descent of Grace’ or ‘Descent of the Dove’ (in Christian traditions) or ‘Shaktipat’ (in Vedic Traditions). This descending energy compresses and activates the lower kundalini, sustaining and supporting its progress. The ‘Shakti’ energy and lower Kundalini energy need to unite to move up the central channel.

The upper Kundalini can also be stimulated through traditional spiritual practices.

Without activation of ‘Shakti’?
Sometimes the lower Kundalini energy gets activated without the descent of the Shakti energy. This can happen through specific meditation or visualisation, use of drugs (recreational or pharmaceutical), acute stress, types of physical activity or extreme situations.
There are two problems with this:
1. There is no connection to a teacher or archetypal energy that would support and guide the process.
2. Without the Shakti energy to help to clear the energy blocks on its way down, when the lower kundalini starts to rise up the central channel it hits energy blocks.

These energy blocks or samskara are the subtle scars we carry from previous actions, memories and habits.

When Kundalini becomes active without Shakti, its upward movement brings problems that need to be resolved. This can be a difficult process as the ‘scars’ or blocks are moved or try to be moved. Many people in this situation find their mental and emotional well-being becomes very delicate. If life experience has included particular stress, abuse or negative habits, these will become pronounced. This creates vulnerability and can create psychotic breaks. It leaves a person open to those who would manipulate, both physical people and subtle entities. Over stimulation of the lower Kundalini adds more energy into the process and can aggravate the situation. Even well-meaning friends sending absent healing can make things worse.
Pro-active steps need to be taken to integrate energy, to ground. Therefore, doing daily, physical chores can help to deal with the situation. Sometimes a complete withdrawal from spiritual practices of any sort may be the only way to cope with the effects of premature Kundalini activation until the energies have settled down.

Traditional spiritual paths prepare the person for Kundalini activity by basically dealing with samskaras. This takes time, maybe even lifetimes. These days, few people are attracted to this slow, but safe process of clearing the central energy channel.
There are three areas or ‘knots’ where the progress of kundalini is naturally checked -the solar plexus, heart and brow chakras. With the descent of shakti, these are loosened. When no Shakti activity has occurred when the lower Kundalini energy gets to these chakras there are major issues to be dealt with before the energy moves on. Each chakra’s correspondences will reflect the energies to be resolved.

Clients and Students
People working as therapists need to be aware of spontaneous, temporary stimulation or ‘flashes’ of Kundalini activity in their clients. Similarly tutors of energy work need to be aware of the same thing in their students.
If this happens, grounding is vital. Get them to eat something sweet can bring the energy back to a manageable state.
This temporary stimulation is not the same as a permanent awakening.
Anybody might experience a temporary stimulation but this is not something to be encouraged, sought after or set as a goal. It can only be of use as a result of the body naturally clearing the central channel.

Worldwide
All spiritual traditions have their own words to describe this process. We have used the Sanskrit here as most people use that terminology.
Different traditions have different ‘flavours’ of shakti, so a spiritual seeker may experience several types of energy descent to ease or manage the progress of Kundalini rising.
“There are no secret teachings or activities that will awaken you faster. All the steps to take are already outlined in all the major spiritual teachings. – Gopi Krishna”.

Sue Lilly, Simon Lilly, Swami Prakashananda Saraswati 2017

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New Moon/Solar Eclipse, October 2014

Posted in Astrology, Dark Goddess, Dragons, Spiritual Growth, tagged , , , , , , on October 19, 2014| Leave a Comment »

It has been a while since I left a blog here, but I often say to my clients and students…’life happens’!

So it did for Simon and I. Earlier this year everything turned on its head in the space of a few days. It was the start of an emotional rollercoaster that began with the full Moon on Valentine’s Day and followed the New and Full Moons thereafter until the New Moon on the 26th July when we completed the purchase of our first house. By the Full Moon on the 10th August we had fully moved in – us, the cats and the trees!

We now find ourselves living in the Land of the Red Dragon – Wales – exactly 2 degrees of latitude due north of where we lived in Devon and 170 miles away, by road.

The translation into English of our new address is – ‘The sacred house of Saint David, on the ridge by the wood near the Church of St Cadmarch’. We look out to the Hills of the Wild Horses to the south and the Welsh Mountains to the north. Beautiful!

Mostly settled in my new home, I am now turning my attention once more to the unseen energies of the Land.

Looking at the energies of the forthcoming New Moon and eclipse it is interesting to note that Mars hugs its biennial spot on the galactic centre (27-28 degrees Sagittarius). Hopefully this will bring wider understanding and a practical approach to the difficulties in the world at this time. This is an opportunity when a new balance could be found if people, both individually and collectively could act less selfishly.
There is still plenty to be uncovered/discovered and the truths that emerge eat away at the constructed beliefs that all are fed and many still do not question. The knack is to habitually look beyond what is obvious, to try to understand the processes that are in play.

This eclipse, at zero degrees Scorpio, is also conjunct Venus. A karmically laden eclipse if there ever was one! Venus in Scorpio needs a lot of effort to transform it from continuous lack of self-worth, deep resentment and jealousy into an insightful, powerful healing energy. Yet, at a quintile ( 72 degrees) from Pluto in Capricorn the spiritual drive is there to complete the change.

Samhain/Halloween may be less than two weeks away, but the transformation drive of the so-called ‘dark’ aspects of the Goddess are being reflected in this eclipse cycle. In her many guises she challenges us to change, to let go of what holds us back, to reassess where we are going and what we are doing. Time spent reflecting on these challenges in the next few days will be time well used!

(The solar eclipse will be visible in the north of the USA and the north Pacific)welsh dragon

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Notes from a New Moon Dragon Rider

Posted in Astrology, Dragons, Earth Healing, Goddess, Spiritual Growth, Transits, Visualisation, Women, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 1, 2014| 1 Comment »

“Stand to face the light of the atomic blast of Pluto through the New Moon in Capricorn on New Year’s Day 2014.

To the ‘mud peoples’ and those who came from the stars as protectors of this planet…… now the time has come to shield each other and protect the Earth from those whose blind greed and callous disregard would seek to subjugate and destroy.

Know who you are…. Know each other. Create lines of communication and energy between you like a web of light and dark to balance and hold both personal and collective energies.

Remember that idealism without a dose of realism is an empty dream.

Seek out where you can make a difference without becoming a victim or a rescuer as these two both require someone to blame………remember too that people are just people, being human!

Time your actions carefully to make the maximum use of the energy and resources available.

Fix your own back yard. It is always easier to see the faults in someone else’s, judge what the resolution would be and fret when nothing appears to be done.

Above all, don’t sit idly by when your neighbourhood and its people are under threat or being manipulated. Even a tiny step, a wise world or a small, but appropriate action, can be the start of something big!”

GreyDragon

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Thoughts at the Turning of the Year…..

Posted in Astrology, Spiritual Growth, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2013| 3 Comments »

LightofSamhainSmall

There have been a few posts on FaceBook in the last few weeks that have really caught my attention. These melded together when I saw an article in a small spiritual review magazine on ‘ascension’.

This article outlined the various stages of ascension, showing at as a progression, as a ladder, as something that you strive towards. This is nothing new. There have been books over the last 30 years that have echoed the same idea – lifetimes are thought of as linear, progression is a straightforward process of becoming ‘ascended’. The concept too, is that is you ‘fail’ at an level, you have to go back and start again. Mmmm…….

My first query is – what is ascension?
Most of us are aware of its meaning in a biblical sense, but in what way is it being used nowadays? The worst case scenario is that it is being used to describe a process that will get you ‘away from here to a better place’ – ‘here’, being the experience of being a human on planet Earth.

As Naisha Ashian beautifully put it a week or so back:
“Raise your consciousness and your vibration will take care of itself. High frequency does not mean “good” and low frequency does not mean “bad”.”
“When you meditate your actual vibration (frequencies of heart and brain) get lower.”
“Low frequency (for instance, 7.8 hz– which is a Schumann* resonance of the Earth) is extremely helpful to the body and assists with proper cellular regeneration (high frequency causes cellular mutation and cancer), circadian rhythms and proper cellular metabolism.”
(*Space vehicles have to be fitted with Schumann generators to keep the astronauts healthy)
Lowering your frequency helps to keep you in touch with the planet. Anything that takes you away from being here, now – is probably suspect advice.

Be here, now. Don’t try to run off anywhere else.

The second query – what is the effect that these articles, workshops and books are having on people?
Those caught up in the glamour inevitably start to see themselves as lacking in some way. The hype encourages people to embark on the ‘process’ of self-improvement mostly out of fear of being left behind, fear being the odd one out in a group or fear of being seen as a failure. Each step on the ladder is often being seen as a goal to be achieved.

You are worthy and valuable as you are.

The third query is ‘who’ or ‘what’ is ‘ascending’?
Many teachers over the millennia have tried to help us to understand that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. We have already reached ‘it’, but we are not aware that we have.
‘There is no reaching the Self. If Self were to be reached, it would mean that the Self is not here and now but that it is yet to be obtained. What is got afresh will also be lost. So it will be impermanent. What is not permanent is not worth striving for. So I say the Self is not reached. You are the Self; you are already That.’

(Sri Ramana Maharshi)

You are already ‘there’, but you may not be aware that you are.

The fourth query is – who is judging who is ‘ascended’?

The knee-jerk reaction is to see people who have a high public profile and are demonstrably spiritual people as automatically ‘further up the ladder’. Indeed some people in that category see themselves as such!

Oh….. if it were that simple!

In the grand scheme of things the differences between those who consider themselves ‘well on the way’ and those who are beginning their journey of self-awareness is miniscule.

Try not to compare yourself to others. They have their journey, you have yours.

The ‘ascension levels’ are often described as changes to the different layers of our being. As an astrologer for over thirty years I see these processes in people’s charts. There is no set order to these challenges (or initiations, if you like). You don’t ‘do’ the physical one and then move onto the ‘emotional’ one. They come willy-nilly, in the order that you ultimately have chosen for this lifetime to achieve personal goals or to gain experience. True, there may be issues that you do not complete or fully integrate and these may be carried over as unfinished business, but these are not failures. They are simply parts of the on-going process.

You do not have to strive for the ‘ascension’ levels as they will come to you at the appropriate time and in the appropriate type for you. When you encounter them, try to understand the core of what is going on and take the lesson on board.

Past or other-life issues are simply bits of you that are not in the present time. Rather than spending time wistfully thinking about or dreaming about these and what they mean, try to understand the core of the issue and embrace it.

Get as much of you as you can, into the here and now – embrace it, integrate it. The journey will take automatically you to your inner or higher Self.

Not so much an ‘as-cension’ process more if an ‘inward-cension’ or even a ‘de-scension’ into who you really are……

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Maat – The Goddess of Law and Order

Posted in Astrology, Dark Goddess, Goddess, Spiritual Growth, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

maatsmall

Maat or Ma’at, was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law and justice.

Maat was also personified as a goddess who regulated the movement of the planets and stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities. In this way she set the order or logos of the universe. Egyptians believed in an underlying unity in the universe and that proper conduct in public life upheld that (21st century politicians please note!). In short, everything, everywhere was linked to and part of Maat.

Early records indicate that Maat is the status quo for nature, society, in every dimension. Her role in and after creation is to prevent the universe from returning to chaos. Pharaohs were often depicted with the emblems or images of Maat to highlight their role in upholding the laws of the Creator.

Maat was depicted as a young woman, usually holding a sceptre and ankh. Sometimes she is shown as having wings and nearly always has a feather as part of her headdress.

Her energy is often thought of as a combination of the planet Saturn (law, tradition, stability) and the zodiac sign of Libra (The Scales). The stone Lapis Lazuli has close connections to her.

She also had a role in Egyptian mythology as the person who dealt with the weighing of souls that took place in the underworld, after death. The departing soul (the heart) was weighed against her feather to determine whether the soul would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully. You can find a list of the questions that the soul was asked below the main text. These questions are comprehensive and anyone telling the truth would answer ‘no’ to at least one, consigning the soul to another incarnation.

Anubis/Thoth would then weighed the heart against Maat’s feather and if the scales were balanced the soul was released into the afterlife.

Maat has a temple dedicated to her in Karnak and there have been hints in documents that suggest that there were at least two others ( Memphis and at Deir el-Medina)

Having done Kabbalistic pathworkings linked to Maat when much younger, I can vouch that when working with her energy one has to be clear about one’s motives, completely truthful and honest or all hell will break lose!

Here is a translation of the 42 Negative Confessions. Some of them may seem repetitive, but this is caused by the inability to translate the exact intent and meaning of the original language.

1. I have not done iniquity.
2. I have not robbed with violence.
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have done no murder; I have done no harm.
5. I have not defrauded offerings.
6. I have not diminished obligations.
7. I have not plundered the neteru.
8. I have not spoken lies.
9. I have not uttered evil words.
10. I have not caused pain.
11. I have not committed fornication.
12. I have not caused shedding of tears.
13. I have not dealt deceitfully.
14. I have not transgressed.
15. I have not acted guilefully.
16. I have not laid waste the ploughed land.
17. I have not been an eavesdropper.
18. I have not set my lips in motion (against any man).
19. I have not been angry and wrathful except for a just cause.
20. I have not defiled the wife of any man.
21. I have not been a man of anger.
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have not caused terror.
24. I have not burned with rage.
25. I have not stopped my ears against the words of Right and Truth. (Ma-at)
26. I have not worked grief.
27. I have not acted with insolence.
28. I have not stirred up strife.
29. I have not judged hastily.
30. I have not sought for distinctions.
31. I have not multiplied words exceedingly.
32. I have not done neither harm nor ill.
33. I have not cursed the King. (i.e. violation of laws)
34. I have not fouled the water.
35. I have not spoken scornfully.
36. I have never cursed the neteru.
37. I have not stolen.
38. I have not defrauded the offerings of the neteru.
39. I have not plundered the offerings of the blessed dead.
40. I have not filched the food of the infant.
41. I have not sinned against the neter of my native town.
42. I have not slaughtered with evil intent the cattle of the neter.

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Ekajati – Dark Goddess and Protector

Posted in Dark Goddess, Goddess, Spiritual Growth, Visualisation, tagged , , , , , on May 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

ekajati2

Ekajati, whose name means ‘one single birth’, or ‘one braid of hair’ is probably one of the fiercest and most powerful of the ‘dark’ goddesses, mamos8 or dakinis9. She is found in both Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

She has a special place in the Tibetan traditions of  Bön1 and Dzogchen2 teachings as she is regarded as one of the three protectors3 or guardians the teachings. According to legends her right eye was damaged by Padmasambhava 4 so that she could help him deal with Tibetan demons.

In her Tibetan manifestation she is seen as having a chignon or bun of hair and only one eye – the latter being a nod to the legend that Padmasambhava pierced the other – but also indicative of non-dual vision, the lack of separation between the universe/creator and the self. Her single tooth shows that she destroys or eats through obstacles and the single breast feeds those who correctly follow the teachings and traditions that she protects.

Like many images of the ‘dark’ goddesses, she is depicted naked or sometimes wearing a skin (in softer imagery a tiger skin, but in more wrathful imagery – a human skin!) and dancing on the corpse of the ego. Her headdress if often composed of skulls as is her necklace. What she hold in her hands can vary – skull cup5, grigug6, khatvanga7 or  in some designs a  corpse of a perverter of the teachings as her sceptre in one hand and the heart of an enemy or betrayer in the other.

As one of the ‘21 Taras’ her energies are also seen as Mahachinatara (Dark Blue, Wrathful or Ugra Tara) and in Blue Tara (where she depicted with the head of a wolf). She is regarded as a liberator, with the power to remove fear and barriers on the path to enlightenment.

Mantras and practices linked to Ekajati are kept secret or only released after an initiation process as many teachers accept that working with her energy can be destructive if a practitioner does not have the capacity to handle the effects. Disrespect, carelessness and laziness will be dealt with by her destroying egos and pushing a practitioner onwards to ultimate realization. This may sound like something one would aspire to, but the effect, without appropriate guidance and support would likely be fatal!

Notes:

1Bon: is the native, ancient Tibetan practice that has its roots in shamanic and animist traditions and now runs parallel with later Buddhist practices.

2Dzogchen: translated from Tibetan as ‘The Great Perfection’, sometimes also called ‘Atiyoga’

3Protectors: Ekajati is generally considered one of the three principal protectors of the Dzogchen and Nyingma lineages. The others are Rahula and Dorje Legpa.

4Padmasambhava; also known as the ‘Second Buddha’ and Guru Rinpoche. He introduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet.

5Skull Cup: Implement used in ritual to remind the practitioner of the impermanence of life.

6Grigug: Implement used in ritual to represent a knife used to remove skin from a corpse

7Khatvanga: a long staff with depictions of 3 skulls and ribbons of the 5 colours of the elements

8Mamos: Wrathful goddesses, usually pictured as furious, ugly women. They can be dakinis acting as protectors. Ekajati is their queen. If reacted to negatively, mamos appear to be aggressive, destructive and wreak chaos.

9Dakini or Khandro: Energy beings often but not exclusively in female form, messengers, bringers of wisdom .

ekajati

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The Goddesses who Spin and Weave

Posted in Dark Goddess, Earth Healing, Goddess, Spiritual Growth, Visualisation, tagged , , , , , on May 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 The Goddesses who Spin and Weave

The weaver and spinner goddesses come from many cultures and traditions. ‘Weavers and Spinners’ are those energies that activate and guide events in our lives that help us develop our own individuality and disentangle us from becoming blind followers of what is considered ‘normal’- no sheep or lemmings here! This process of individualisation is often accompanied by change, transformation and challenge that are seldom comfortable. The processes help us to understand the relationship we must have with life itself and the balance we need to have within ourselves to move forward.

 These archetypes themselves and the effects of working with them, bears a close relationship with the facets of the dark goddess from Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu philosophy. Contacting these goddess energies directly can be a terrifying experience unless well-prepared. Touching the underworld of our souls is not for the faint-hearted!

In Greece the ‘Fates’ – Clotho (spinner), Lachesis (allotter) and Atropos (unturnable) were the three crones who controlled the destiny of an individual by spinning their life with a spindle and distaff. Athena was also linked to spinning and condemned the arrogant Arachne to life as a spider. Ariadne, from Crete, helped Theseus escape the labyrinth with thread she had woven after he had killed the Minotaur.

Neith was the goddess of weaving in Egypt prior to the dynasties we are all familiar with. She was renowned for her wisdom but is most widely identified as a goddess of war and protector of women.

Ragnell comes to us from a 15th century English poem as she who seriously challenged Gawain (one of King Arthur’s knights) with the classic question …..‘what is it that women desire?’.

(The answer to this question is subject of the song mentioned in a previous blogpost on March 13th 2013 ‘King Henry’ by Steeleye Span). Ha!

 The tales of the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm – ‘The Three Spinning Women’, Rumpelstiltskin (Mr Gold in TV’s ‘Once Upon a Time’) and the poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson – ‘The Lady of Shalott’ all remind us of the pitfalls of spinning and weaving.

 Pulling the whole imagery of the weavers and spinners together, brings into question how much freewill we have or think we have – and how much of our lives are at the whims of ‘fate’.

 When we know we are ‘stuck’, repeating the same patterns, with the same responses and recreating the same problems – what do we do? The ‘dark’ aspects of the Goddess might be a way forward….. but make sure you have a good guide! Few of us are as innocent and honourable as Gawain!

weaversmallred

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