Sunday Service August 27, 2006

Before you on the altar is one of the well renowned beautiful Russian icon eggs. We have spoken of the symbolism of the egg in the past, but it is well worth revisiting, for the egg is a universal symbol that transcends all the different levels from the terrestrial to the cosmic. It is said that within the egg is all potentiality. It is the germ of what is, what is becoming, and what will be. It is also the germ that is sustained when there is no life but there is the awaiting for the new birth, the new creation of life. It represents eternity, regeneration and wisdom. Often times you will see the egg in relationship to the Ouroborous, the serpent eating its tail. It is also said that in a mysterious way the egg contains within it and around it the seven elements - the four natural elements and the three hidden elements. In fact, in every tradition, even hidden in the Christian tradition, and certainly going back to Gnosticism which was one of the earlier founding aspects of the Christian tradition, is the understanding of the egg in relationship to the Virgin mother. It is that which holds the spark of Divinity, all potentiality, from which the Christ emerges. There is also the recognition that we are the microcosm of the macrocosm, and if indeed the Cosmos is birthed and expressed in the spherical form of the egg, so we too are the egg. There is the reference to the aura of our bodies as being spherical in its relationship to ourselves so that we ourselves are the embodiment of the expression of all potentiality. We are the manifestation of regeneration and of wisdom and we carry that germ of the savior, of the expression of Light to be made manifest, within us.

Also upon the altar there is a depiction of the Virgin with the child. This is Our Lady of Czestochowa from Poland. This is an aspect of the manifestation that is hidden, in the form of the Dark Goddess. The Dark Goddess is traditionally the aspect of the Virgin that expresses itself through healing, through the deep introspective teachings, and through the gathering of Gnosis.

We are in the astrological sign of Virgo. There are many in the Mystery traditions that associate the word Virgo with the Atlantean race. It is a hybrid of a root word that came out of Atlantis that is associated with the matriarchal. Now I would remind you that we are oftentimes challenged to not impose our modern-day perceptions on what this means, because in truth the matriarchal does not mean separation because we all carry the Divine Feminine as well as the Divine Masculine, as well as the expression of the Christos Consciousness in all of our potentiality.

The sign of Virgo was said to have a relationship to this matriarchal energy, and it is actually said to have carried through it three different aspects. The first is what we would associate with Eve, which is the mental aspect, with Eve seeking knowledge; the second is the aspect of Isis, which is the emotional nature that turns into aspiration. I remind you of the story of Isis who, when she finds that her husband-brother has been chopped into pieces, seeks him out throughout the world, and her desire is so great that she refuses to give up her search. And her desire and her magic is of such a level of aspiration, that not only does she bring her husband’s pieces back together, which is the reunification of Osiris, but she breathes life back into him so that the child Horus, the Christ child, may be brought forth. So we have here in Virgo the energy of Eve, that which seeks knowledge and wisdom; we have the energy of Isis, which is desire turned toward one-pointed aspiration; and the third aspect is that of Mary, the mother of Yeshua, the expression of the Christ that is brought into the physical plane and made manifest.

And in this time of astrological Virgo energy which we are in I would like to propose a fourth aspect, which is the aspect of Mary Magdalene. It is no small wonder how the world has brought forward into acclaim and attention the energy of Magdalene, both in popular fiction and the occult mystery schools. But we have to remember that what Magdalene brought forth was actually sought after in the early expression of the Christian Church. In fact, Mary Magdalene is believed to have been a very strong expression of a form of Gnosticism of the early Christian teachings and there's actually an Hermetic title for her of Miriam. And remember that Miriam is a title, just as Mary is a title, and as Mara is a title.

All of these are associated with the primordial seas, with all potentiality, because you see the egg of life is manifested out of this primordial water. If the egg is all potentiality, then it is the styptic fire[i] that activates the germ, and then through this the egg emerges to protect and encompass the germ until it is ready to spring forth into life and express itself. And that also is an aspect of this Virgo energy, because that is part of the charge that Mary Magdalene received when she was called to be the “Apostle of the Apostles”, which was to protect this germ, this potentiality, and to awaken in those who were ready to give birth to this germ the expression of the higher gnosis of the Christ, and to protect those who are not yet ready. Now that is an aspect of the Mary Magdalene energy that many of us have perhaps not always explored, and yet in all traditions it is the role of the Savior Goddesses, of those who carry the savior energies. They have always been placed in charge of not only nurturing the life of the Christ within themselves and bringing it into expression, birthing it into the world, but also helping to bring forth that energy into their children, who are the children of all of humankind; and for those who are not ready, to protect that energy. For Yeshua was called to be a peacemaker. What is peace, but harmony?

And in the teachings that came forth in the Gospel of Mary, which is one of the teachings out of the Nag Hammadi, Mary Magdalene calls for the training of Gnosis, which we have discussed before, and I won't go into this at length in this particular service; but I want to emphasize another part of the teaching that came out the Gospel of Mary, where the Teacher of Teachers called for a change of perception. It is only through a change of our perception that we can achieve the higher Gnosis, the truer knowing, and we can also be the space between the worlds, even as we hold the space of both worlds simultaneously. But it is also the call to hold the harmony in the midst of disharmony. And what is harmony but peace? To be the peacemakers, the harmonizers; to go into our inner world and to create harmony in the place where chaos may reign; to hold that harmony when the world around us seems to be full of chaos; to truly turn the other cheek. And what is that but a change of perception, a change of vision, a change of view? The Christ consciousness transcends the laws of time and space. It exists both within and without.

It may be true that for some the germ of Christ Consciousness is still contained within what Mary Magdalene would say is sin, but in the teaching it is not a sin that is inherent in matter; it is the sin that is caused as a result of a wrong viewpoint, sin as in “missing the mark”, sin as in misidentification. For it is stated very clearly in the Gospel of Mary that she was told by the Great Teacher that we create our own sin. We not only create it, but we nurture it. What was it that Paul of Tarsus, the mystic who had the great vision of the Christ, taught? He stated that we seek harmony, but we choose disharmony, or sin, over and over again, and it is our choice, our perceptions.

Magdalene was called to a task that some people have perceived to be passive in nature, but in actuality was extremely active, which was to hold the space for inner transformation; to be the alchemical container, and to bring forth that manifestation of alchemical change and express it. There are stories that say that when she went down into the caverns where it was said that she lived for thirty years, and from where she taught, that she created such an inner state of awareness that her sense perceptions changed to the degree that she could walk through these underground caverns seemingly without any source of external light, for she had become light herself. And at dawn every morning she would go up on the hillside at the rising of the light, and she would be lifted up by Archangelic forces, and in the rays of the sun that were touching the land and bringing forth the light, there would also be emanations from her for all of the seen and the unseen.

It is not a passive process to carry the Light. It is not a passive process to be the birther of the Light. It is not a passive process to turn the other cheek. It is not a passive process to be the peacekeeper. It is not a passive process to transform and regenerate. One of the things that has been realized is that, in the Beatitudes of Matthew, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall achieve peace”, the correct translation of this is “Walk forth peacemakers . . .” It was an active call. “Walk forth.” Walk forth out of your sense of imprisonment. Walk forth out of your self-identification. Walk forth out of your own agendas. Walk forth out of your own self-pity. Walk forth! That was the message that Yeshua said over and over again, in all of teachings that came through. That was the message of Eve. And by the way, just as a little side note, Lilith said it too, “Walk forth”. Lilith was the founder of the matriarchal understanding that expressed itself in the great time of Atlantis, and it was her teachings that raised this to its height. Why do you think they had to throw her down so hard? Because she was an expression of the Virgo energy, the Virgin, Virgin being an adept, the creation and the manifestation, holding the germ of Light and bringing it forth into fruition.

And so too Eve walked forth when she called Adam - and thus us - into wisdom. And so Isis went around the world so that Osiris could be regenerated. And by the way in the Egyptian system, and in many of the earlier systems, the female principle was active, the male principle was passive. Osiris was a passive aspect from the standpoint of polarity. As a result of the regeneration of Osiris there was the promise that life would continue. Isis brought back into wholeness and right order the pieces that had been disassembled by the energy that Seth represented, which is chaos, and she did this through her desire turned to one-pointed aspiration. And so we too are called to walk forth, to bring forth one-pointed aspiration. We are called by Mother Mary to bring forth into the physical world that which the world does not understand and does not want. Walk forth! And we are called by Magdalene, around whom there was so much fear that she was maligned, and still is. Be they seek to defile you, be they seek to degrade you, walk forth!

It is said that the keynote of this time in Virgo is that we have taken the energy of Leo, Kingship, and we hold that kingship, the hope and the glory. I have said to you before that you are the hope and glory. If you are waiting for something or someone else, then you are not answering the call to walk forth. If you are seeking to be the liberator, first liberate yourself through the action of surrender, for surrender is a very active process as all of you, my brothers and sisters, know, and it happens through transformation, through will-to-good.

The Great Mother calls to us, the sustainer, the nurturer, the holder of all potentiality, the bringer forth of manifestation, in whatever way you relate to her – Hathor or Isis, Mary or Magdalene, the Willendorf Goddess, Yemaya, the Sea, Artemis the huntress, the Earth herself, the Stars. Be with her now. She knows your heart. Listen, listen to her wisdom. Let her comfort you. Let her guide you. Let your desire be filled with aspiration. Move beyond your understanding, and let yourself be filled with wisdom. Let the quickening move through you, as her touch becomes your touch, as your breath becomes her breath, as your mind becomes her mind. Quicken, let the Christ be made manifest into the physical, through you, as Mary the Great Mother touches you. Hail to Thee, the Lineage. Hail to Thee, the Sacred Order of Miriam, Mara, Mira, Mary, Hail to Thee. Feel the heartbeat of the Great Mother of the Earth beneath your feet, and the Starry Mother above us.

Walk forth, for the breath of Spirit cannot be held back, and it cannot and will not be restrained, for there is only Truth here. There is no fear!

Walk forth, you the gentle and humble ones, for your gentleness is your strength. The earth, she resists those who are violent, and offers herself to those who respect her.

Walk forth, those who starve and thirst for justice, yes - you will be satisfied!

Walk forth, peacemakers, you shall be acclaimed the sons and daughters of the Elohim!

Walk forth, those persecuted for justice’s sake, yes - the Kingdom of Heaven is yours!

Walk forth when they insult and persecute you, accusing you of all sorts of crimes because of the Divine. Be in joy and lightness, because your reward is great, in heaven as it is on earth. Indeed that is how the prophetesses who came before you were persecuted.

Walk forth and announce that all life is Divine. Be the transformation. It is through the very power and simplicity of your becoming that you announce the Kingdom that is to come and is here now!

And Her love is your love, and Her will-to-good is your will-to-good, and Her Light is your Light. And we pray for all, the sons and daughters, mothers and fathers. We pray, for the four leggeds, and the winged ones, for the trees, the grasses and the flowers and the fruits. Oh Mother, there are so many, they are so afraid. Let us bear your hope, and express your hope. Let us truly see with the eyes that see. Let us not become jaded. In the places that are torn apart by war, and within us and our fellow brother and sisters, that war within, let peace take its rightful place, and love restore.

And so we walk forth, and we choose over and over again to be the Light made manifest, to be the lover of the world, for the world is in great need of love, to be the seekers of wisdom, that we may then express that wisdom in our thoughts, our words, our actions and our deeds, to forgive and be forgiven. Yes, most of all, to forgive even when there seems to be no reason to forgive, to be willing to forgive even that which we experience as the greatest atrocity - that is the call of the Mother to us - and to love most of all when we feel there is no reason to love. Walk forth, walk forth.

[i] Styptic fire: the catalytic action which concentrates and precipitates energy into form;

from Styphein, to contract