Good Morning Witch’s
After a wonderful day yesterday teaching at the Advanced Crystal course with Racheal, big thank you to those that came and I hope you had a brilliant day making talismans and Crystal sprays. During the day the link of the Goddess and Personal Sovereignty came up in conversation. In the middle of the Strophalos is the star, repressing the Goddess her self at the centre of all things. The next circle represents our own individual Sovereignty. If you’ve not come across this concept before then for us as witch’s its the closest you’ll get to the Threefold Rule, or the teaching of Personal Responsibility included in the 7 SNU principles. Or steps 4 to 9 in AA’s 12 step program. These teachings tells us that when we do wrong we should own up to it and make amends for it. Although it has been my experience that those who believe they hold power over you, through the size of the their bank account, social / employment / academic position or their perceived rank through the patriarchal system, seldom do either. Or it’s only lip service if they do – they will own up to it but never change the behaviour to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, that is if they acknowledge they where wrong in the first place. But I’ll step back from that particular soap box for another day.
Within the frame work of working with Hekate as Divine Goddess, Personal Sovereignty means that I keep hold of my identity of self. I’m not required, nor is it desired, that I change any aspect of me. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, bi, brown, black, blue with pink spots – you don’t have to change. It doesn’t matter if you have a differently wired brain, are trigged by the smallest things or if you struggle to cope with the day. It’s to down to you to change if you want to, it’s down to others to accept and accommodate you as you are right now, where ever you are on your path. Personal Sovereignty also means that you have the right to defend yourself when others attack you for being you. Personal Sovereignty means you alone have the rights over your life, your mind and your body. As in the Strophalos this is ring fenced right next to the Divine aspect of the Goddess. It is the 2nd most sacred thing to all witch’s who follow Hekate, and I believe it should be the most sacred thing to all, no matter which Deity you follow or even if you don’t follow one at all.
So how does that work from following Hekate to following any other Deity? Well if you look at the Monolithic faiths, then I was a gay guy would have to change or hide that aspect of myself if I was to revert back to Christian teaching’s. If you’re female than that aspect of you is carefully controlled if you followed the Muslim faith. If your male than you’ll have to have genital mutilation if you converted to Judaism. No of which is needed here in the house of Hekate. And now that I sound like an American right wing welcome brochure, (I did a very good Trump “it’ll be great” during the course yesterday!) Lets take away the generalisations and go back to the personal.
Why did this come up yesterday? It was during a conversation between the benefits of Solitary working and Coven working. Yes working in a group has it’s benefits and I’m lucky enough that I have brothers and sisters in the craft that I can call upon when group work is needed, but when you have to start hiding bits of yourself to please a High priestess or Coven leader than your in the wrong group. Because that will very quickly descend in to playground politics and I have no time for that shit. Also when you start to hide aspects of yourself to please others then you are giving up your Sovereignty – your personal power to someone else for their benefit not yours.
It’s very sad but I have seen this play out so many times in so many ways. And I’ve been guilty of it most of my life, although I didn’t realise it’s what I had been doing till very recently as it was a built in / learned behaviour that I am trying my hardest to change. Way to many times I have backed down, gone silent, left quietly, hidden myself, to please others. It is my worst habit and something that I am really starting to hate about myself. And in doing so I have given up my Sovereign power so that others felt justified and gratified in their personal choices. And that is something that I really need to get a hold of.
I hope you all have a blessed week. Laters Witch’s