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EMBODIMENT OF THE CROSS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINE

THROUGH WORK WITH ST. BRIDGET AND AGNI

Extract from

Sunday Service, February 5, 2006

by Aeptha

As you know we go into meditation to receive the communication as to what it is that needs to be presented at each of our gatherings. I was advised that we were to work with two seemingly different things, but what I came to realize is that they complement each other in incredibly deep and profound ways. We are working with the symbolism of the cross and the symbolic representation of Agni, the Fire Being, who was said to have emerged out of the lotus of Brahma. We also have before us the flame of Saint Bridget that was brought back to us from Ireland. Bridget and Agni are both associated with Bringers of Light, the Light Bearers, the Exalted Ones.

The cross is one of the most ancient symbols for the sun and for fire. In fact the cross was actually shown to have been used in this way in Neolithic times. It is a cosmic symbol. When I speak of symbols, I would invite us to consider that this does not necessarily mean just a concept outside of ourselves, but that in the deepest, truest, most meaningful sense, symbols are bridges for consciousness, but they are also vehicles for change of consciousness. It is my hope that when we leave this sanctuary this morning that I will have imparted to you a tool that you can use in your moment-to-moment, day-to-day life, by literally getting up on the cross. There is a clichéd statement that was popular several years ago and is still utilized, that says, “Get off the cross”, when you were martyring yourself. But in actuality I am going to invite all of us to get on the cross; and not only to get on the cross, but actually to get on it consciously, thoughtfully, profoundly, meaningfully. For the cross is not only an ancient symbol, but I found when I was researching this that there are myriads of levels to the cross that include calculus, geometry and many other concepts which we won't go into today. But if you think of the cross, as so many of us do, just in the context of the small piece of its symbolism that we have been exposed to in Christianity, we are missing a much broader opportunity.

The cross is said to carry the formula for the manifestation of the universal human, what the Qabbalists would call Adam Kadmon. The vertical arm of the cross is the Celestial Ray. It is exaltation; it is to transmit to its very height. The horizontal arm is the manifestation of the Divine, the reflections on the Waters of Life. If the vertical Ray, the Celestial Ray, is exaltation, then the horizontal Ray is amplitude; it is breadth and range.  The Yoginis would advise their students to become the cross, to identify with the Cosmic Tree. It is said that if you seek to identify with the highest aspect of Spirit that it is through the embodiment of the cross in this sense that you manifest the Divine, for you are in alignment with Will, the Celestial Ray, what we would associate with the active ray, the masculine or Yang energy. And simultaneously as we embody the horizontal Ray we are the Yin, the receptive, the feminine. And at the joining and crossing point of these two great Rays is the point of reconciliation. We know, symbolically again, that at that point is the manifestation of the One Consciousness. So the center of the cross, the point of this joining, is the place where the Creator seeks to know Itself through Its creation, and through that point manifest Itself, above and below, and all around.

The cross we are most familiar with is the two-dimensional cross with the single horizontal arm. There is also the cross where you have a second horizontal arm.  That is the three-dimensional cross, and it has a total of six arms. Those of you who have studied the Cube of Space know that when you take a point and then move out into the four cardinal directions, and then extend to the zenith and the nadir, that you have, literally, the six-armed cross, and that is the Cube of Space.  Mystically, one of the many things of value to being able to create a visualization is that in one of the trainings for Initiates they would begin with the two-armed cross, and place themselves on that. They would align with the Celestial Ray, and they would seek to manifest that Ray in all aspects of their being on the horizontal, the planes of manifestation. But then as they continued in their training they would move to the cosmic level, and they would literally place themselves on the six-armed cross, and fold it over themselves and it would become a cube in which they would travel through dimensions of consciousness.

The cross spins, for it is a fire wheel. The spinning cross is, in the classic sense, the swastika, one of the most powerful symbols that there is. The swastika and the cross are the same but we have just added rotation. Do not let history and our misuse of this symbol color your perceptions. The swastika was said to be the emblem that was imbued upon the heart of the Buddha, which is why the swastika, the moving cross, is one of the most powerful images that you will find in Tibetan Buddhism. Speaking of this revolving cross, it is said by some that the way the swastika was used by the Third Reich was that its energy and movement was reversed. I did some research around that because part of my passion, as you know, is pushing through to new areas of mind, to new depths, and I wanted to understand this esoterically. I thought that it made sense that they would pervert the power by moving the cross in the opposite direction.  I'm not saying they did not pervert the power, but it wasn't through the opposite direction, and I’ll tell you why. In the truest sense when the arms of the cross are spinning they are not going in the same direction. They appear to be, but actually they are not.  It is centrifugal and centripetal movement and it is actually a whirling. So in the truest sense it is two opposite directions that are whirling so fast that they appear to be going in the same direction from the visual viewpoint. And all is created in the center point from where those two emanate. If you have them both going in the same direction, what is wrong with that picture?  There is no balance, and the ultimate aspect of the cross is cosmic balance.

So when you are out of balance, get on the cross. When you seek to be a reflection, an extension of the Divine, amplitude and exaltation, spinning, the great fire wheel, Light and Life, from the point of center, then get on the cross.

So in the truest sense when the propaganda was sent out about the swastika being perverted by its power being turned in the opposite direction, it was a magical blind. They knew what they were doing, and they had both directions going. But as we know, the forces of Light will not be diminished.

And so we have also (she gestures to the altar) a symbol of Agni with the cross, the fire wheel. In the Vedic tradition Agni is the intercessory between humans and the Divine, the Gods. Agni is actually a threefold God. It is a terrestrial God that expresses itself in fire, it is a sky God that expresses itself in thunder, and it is a cosmic God that expresses itself through the Sun. The fire Agni is called upon and utilized in any great event or happening. It is called upon at births and at deaths, and it is called upon in any ceremonial sense where an intercessory is needed. It is also a savior God in the Vedic tradition, and there is actually a formula of six prayers that is moved through that is a way to eradicate sins. There are very striking similarities between Agni and Yeshua in terms of Their expression; in fact they are really considered parallel.

In Kildare, Ireland, where the flame of Bridget resides, this is an auspicious year because a statue has been created that carries both the energy from which Bridget originally came, which is very Druidic and which honors the ancient Druid tradition in the form of oak leaves and other objects, and it also incorporates some of the Christian symbolism of Saint Bridget. Bridget morphed into the form of Saint Bridget.  And this year in that square in Kildare they actually lit the flame of Bridget, and it will stay lit in honor of the exalted One.

The history of Bridget is vast.  At one time she reigned over the whole Celtic world, and we’re talking about the British Isles and beyond. She had an aspect of a triple Goddess, not unlike the triple Agni, but she was known as the Goddess of inspiration, the Goddess of craftsmen or smithies, and the Goddess of healing.  Now as the Goddess of Inspiration, I would invite us to look beyond the obvious. In the deepest sense there is a connection with all of the abstract arts, but we can also be inspired to extend beyond our perceptions of reality. For Bridget is a creation Goddess in the deepest most profound sense, and she inspires us to identify beyond the perception of our five senses, to see beyond the veils, beyond our perceived reality, to be inspired by the divinity in all life in its multitude of expressions. She is a Goddess of “smith-ship”, and we know that the craft of smith-ship is another aspect of creation. It is an aspect that allows for community, for identification with each other, and for a relationship with the land. She is also a Goddess of healing, and healing has many forms. It is the healing of our spirits, our bodies, our fears, our doubts and hurts; it is the healing of judgments and it is the healing of our grief. 

Her name goes back to Sanskrit, for she expresses herself in many ways and in many traditions. Her flame was carried by her priestesses and there are nine gifts from nine separate events that She brings with her, and today we are calling for those gifts in this action. As I mentioned, when the Roman Church came in they could not eradicate Bridget, and so they incorporated her and she became Saint Bridget. A monastery was built at the ancient priestess site where Her priestesses guarded and protected Her flame. There are numerous stories about attempts to put out the flame and the miraculous ways that it could not be extinguished. There are also great stories of the divination that comes with this flame, for Bridget was also a diviner or prophet. It is said that people would light the flame and place it beside their sickbed, and that in the morning there were miraculous stories of healing. She also protects. The day on which She is honored is February 1st.

I will acknowledge and give thanks to my teacher, Shakmah Winddrum, who gifted us with this Bridget flame many years ago. Over the years I have had accounts brought back to me of great transformations that have occurred in people's lives as they have utilized the blessing of this light and the power of the prayers. It is said that in the 16th century because of the oppression of the monastery that the flame was put out. Actually it was not, it was simply put back again after it had been taken underground. In later years it was said that it only burned at certain times of the year, but in truth there are a group of priestesses that always have and always will sustain this Light, and now in this square in Kildare the flame will be permanent. It is not unlike the light that was found in the tomb of Christian Rosenkreutz. There used to be ancient alchemical formulas and one of them was used to put a light in the tombs which would burn for literally thousands of years, but the art has now been lost. It is said that part of the alchemy that sustains this light of Bridget is part of that master formula.

And speaking of alchemy, the symbol of the cross is one of the most ancient alchemical symbols. It was the symbol for the crucible, the athanor, in which matter was placed that turned into ether through the application of fire.  Many say that the center of the cross is ether through which the four elements emerged and where they will resolve back to their source.

We are calling to these two powerful Beings today, Agni the intercessory, and Bridget, the Great Mother. And we are joining our force of light to empower the Light, for it may seem that upon the world there is great disorder and disharmony. Light is the harmonizer; it is the bringer of cosmic balance, the restorer of the right use of life through love.

Pathworking

So with that I would invite us to deepen in our breath as we prepare for our Pathworking.

All Hail to thee Bridget, all Hail, Exalted One, Fiery Light! In the great Celestial Ray, the great vertical arm of exaltation, let us be the expression of the Divine. Let us reflect this Divinity, for we are Divine, and that is what we identify with. And let the Divine be amplified by us and through us, in its breadth and its depth. Most Holy Bridget, Excellent One, Bright Arrow, Sudden Flame, may Your bright fiery sun take us swiftly to Your lasting kingdom, a wondrous force, a mighty movement. Upon the fiery wheel we place ourselves as we begin to turn, in balance, as above so below; and we turn. And all about us are the turning spheres, turning wheels, wheels within wheels, working in concert, in harmony, the light of expression. And we are moving now, and the wheels have merged and now we are one great wheel. Pour Thy inspiration upon us, and let it radiate out from us, to be inspired to the Divine. And let us be a source of Thy healing and let us be healed, and let us create in harmony.

I would invite us now to open to the flame of Bridget, and bring that flame into our hearts as we are the spinning wheel and our hearts are the center of that mighty wheel. Feel Her flame in your heart, and commune with Her now.

And we ask Her for the blessing of Her nine gifts, but not to keep for ourselves but to embody and to share, for we are the crucible. Let us be the Holy Athanor. The gift of poetry, reflection, meditation, lore, research, great knowledge, intelligence, understanding, wisdom – let us celebrate these gifts. Let the joy flow through us and let us radiate that joy, let us radiate these gifts, the light that burns in all directions, the love that inspires, the wisdom that comforts and guides, the knowledge of gnosis, the poetry that awakens the seas of love, the lore that helps us remember, the meditation that takes us to the point of stillness, the reflection of the Divine, the research that extends us beyond the obvious. We are these gifts. We share these gifts. Feel the ripples going out on the waters of life.

And take a deep breath and feel the breath inspiring you and moving through you and as we breathe out we’re breathing out these gifts, this joy, this love, this fire, this light, and if there is a place within you or within anyone you love that is in need of healing, now is the time. Claim this healing for yourself and for all life. Leave behind the old, surrender that which no longer serves, let go of the resentments, the fear, the doubt. Let go of the pain, it is not yours, it has never been yours; it is only because you have claimed it that it has become yours; so let it go.

Bridget brings us strength and She brings us courage, the courage to step over the threshold, for that is where it is that She was born, on the threshold between the worlds, and you are now on the threshold between the worlds. Agni is here. The flame burns high. The bridge is there. Move over the bridge; have the courage.  Fuel the flame with your breath. Let the patterns burn that are old, that are decrepit, for this is the time of new life. This is spring; this is the upcoming new life. We are Life, we are Light, we are Love. Be believers, sustainers, creators, but also destroy what no longer serves. Let the flame burn. Agni, reach down and pull us up; reach, Agni and Bridget, for we are reaching out and we are reaching up. We are above and below and all around. 

And the power of peace prevails, and harmony reigns, and will-to-good, for Light and Love and Power restore all things. The doors to the nine gifts, the nine gateways are open, and they are streaming with goodness and with love and with generosity and with compassion. And life is good and well, and we will hold true to this; we will not fall into distortion, we will not succumb to misunderstanding.

And I ask that we would take our offering in our hands and we would bless it with these nine gifts from Bridget. Let us bless it with the poetry of inspiration; with reflection, the reflection of Spirit upon the Waters of life; with meditation to go into the still place of silence; with the lore and wisdom of the ancestors, the knowledge of the ancestors; with research that takes us out of the smallness and into the hugeness; with the great knowledge, the knowledge of the cosmos, which is our knowledge; with intelligence, the intelligence that is born from the truth of Divinity and not closed down by dogma or misuse; with understanding to be compassionate and to have empathy;  and with wisdom, the great Shekinah, the inner sanctum. And we give thanks.

And so as we leave this place we leave energized, balanced, fiery, and we walk in love, and we’re connected, for we are one wheel of light with many, many, wheels of light that are in truth all one light, and we honor each and every one. And we are not afraid of darkness because we know darkness is balance, and we embrace it all. And most of all we embrace ourselves and in so doing we embrace the Divine.

Walk upon the grounds, move by the waters, look up at the sky. Agni is below us, all around us and above us, and She, the Exalted One, stands with us and holds us, heals us, inspires us; She teaches us, She the great prophetess. And what is prophecy? In truth, prophecy is the promise; the covenant is there, and it never goes away. And even when we turn, it does not go away. And even when we think we walk away, it does not go away. And indeed when we walk away, in truth we walk a circle, for we will always return back to the One, for it can be no other way.

I honor you. Thank you.