Of all the teachings about the Wicca that I have given to the hundreds of students that I have had, the teachings of the most ancient mysteries have held the most fascination in every student. For it is these mysteries which answer many of the questions that not even modern science can answer. Our beginning is far older than even the primordial swamps of the farthest distant past.
In a time before time, in a place before there was a place, there existed countless races of beings seeking to learn, grow, and evolve the same as we do. These beings live on another plane of existence; a place not much unlike that on which we live, but different, none the less.
But as these beings evolved and reached theirenlightenment and purity, they had no place to evolve to. It was decided by the Elder Gods that a new plane of existence must be created: One of a physical nature so that the beings could be tested and allowed to grow in body as well as in essence.
So the thought was formed into a word. When it was spoken, a glorious explosion occurred, sending forth vast amounts of matter and energy to form our universe, our plane of existence. Science today calls this explosion the ‘Big Bang’ or ‘Event One’. But, regardless what the scientists call it, it still is the Creation by the Elder Gods.
As there must be order in any universe, two of the Elder Gods were chosen to rule this plane of existence. Their names are countless, suffice to know them as the Goddess and God. (In the Celtic they are known as Dana or Diana and Cernennos.) But, the dominion of the Goddess and God was not to go unchallenged.
As light cannot exist without darkness; positive cannot exist without the negative. So it is with the ethereal realm as well. In the ethereal plane existed the primal force of the negative, ones known as the Dark Brothers, a race that’s very existence would make the Christian devil seem like a Sunday school teacher! The Dark Brothers challenged the decision for dominionon our plane of existence, forcing the Goddess to face four trials, or challenges.
She had to pass through four gates, and answer four questions. Each gate and each question and challenge more difficult than the last.
As She passed through the first gate, She was stripped of Her Crown, the symbol of Her Honor and deity. She was asked if She could rule without Honor and position of deity, for without Honor a Goddess is no longer a Goddess. She answered that the Crown is but a symbol, and that Honor is a part of Her essence and could never be taken away. She is a Goddess regardless of the symbol that She may wear. Thus She passed the first trial.
Then as She passed through the second gate, much darker than the first, she was stripped of Her Jewels, which are the stars of Her realm and the lights of the Essences who live there. She was asked how She could rule a realm of darkness, without light. For without light there is only dark, and only light can bring forth life! She answered that there can never be total darkness. If life is hope, then hope brings light. My Jewels are the stars of the universe, indeed, but are also the lights of the lives that dwell there. And life brings light that can never be taken away by you! Thus She passed the second trial.
WhenShe passed through the third gate, very dark with the smell of death, She was stripped of Her Gowns. The Gown carried the lights of the Essences of the beings who had not found her. She was then forced to stand before her inquisitor naked. She was asked,if you must rule eternally naked before your realm, how could you do so without being ashamed and hiding your face? How could those who seek you, accept you as you are? She held her head high and answered, Those who seek me know me by my love. If I must go naked without my Gowns, then those who worship me shall go into a secret place. And in their nakedness, worship me unashamed. Thus She passed the third trial.
Finally, She passed through the fourth and final gate. She beheld a place of horror and death. She was grasped and bound to a pole. The flesh was stripped from her bones. All that She was lay on the ground at her feet. She was asked, how can you rule now? You are naught but bones, as is the dead. All you are fit to rule is the realm of the dead, not the living! She replied that Flesh is transient here in this place. It is that which I am that matters. That which lives shall be reborn! There is nothing that you can do to make me unworthy to rule! With these words, She broke Her bonds and gathered her flesh upon Her. As She passed back through the gates, She regained her Gowns, her Jewels, and her Crown. She faced the Dark Brothers and spoke, ‘Thus I have passed your trials and have proven myself worthy. It is you who have been proven unworthy and must be banished.’
As light cannot exist without darkness, the Dark Brothers could not be destroyed for their acts against the Goddess. So it was decided that they would be fragmented so small as to never cause such concern again. The fragments of the DarkBrothers were placed into the beings whose essence had evolved onto this material plane. The purpose was to further tempt and test the essence of each being. Today, we call our fragment our conscience, or the nagging little voice that tempts us to do what we know not to do. And indeed it does!
I have spoken about the Awakening, and you may or may not have an idea of what it is or might be. To understand this event and its nature, you must first realize that what you know as myth and legend is, for the most part, true. All myths and legends have their basis in fact, not fiction. The legends of the Unicorns, Dragons, Griffins, Rocs, and countless other creatures come to our plane of existence during an Awakening. How?
Every 2,000 years occurs what is known to astronomers as a Grand Conjunction, an alignment of all nine planets with the sun. With the known nine planets, one which is not known of the Arris Star, or dark planet, joins into the conjunction. The Arris Star is the planetary body that was discovered several years ago, keeping an opposite orbit of the sun than our own. It was named, planet X. Anyway, the first and most obvious effect that the conjunction will have on our planet will be physical. Due to the massive gravitational effects, there will be massive tectonic activity, or earthquakes. These reshape our planet and cause massive destruction. Because of the size of the Arris Star, there shall be three days of darkness, due to an eclipse as it moves in front of the earth, blocking out the sun.
But the most dramatic event will be the rifting of the veil. The veil is the barrier between our material plane and that of the ethereal planes, with the exception of the lowest seven. Each time an Awakening occurs, the Elder Gods, the Ancient Ones, and the creatures from the other planes of existence enter this plane.
In the time of the Awakening, the Elder Gods rule our plane of existence. It is the time of spiritual judgment. Most unlike that of the Christians and their Book of Revelations where the deadeat the flesh of the living and everyone who is not a Christian goes straight to hell! Aren’t you glad that they are wrong? No, it is the time of judgment and a celebration of spiritual purity. It is those who have honored nature and its powers who are strongest in the eyes of the Elder Gods. But it is those who have strove to destroy both nature and the races through deceit, dishonor, and greed who will not survive. It is those who must begin again through reincarnation and learning. To harm nature is todo harm to the Goddess.
We have records today which speak of the last Awakening. Even the Christian bible tells of a star in the sky, brighter than any other. This was the light reflecting off of the nine planets from the sun. Cities were engulfed by theseas, rivers leapt from their beds, fertile jungles turned into deserts. The evidence is continuing. Suffice it to say that the Awakening is a time of great turmoil. The only thing that is certain is that as many Wiccans as possible must be made ready for the Awakening. It is the purity of our way that has made the Wicca the oldest living religion on the face of the planet.
One of the greatest mysteries of the Wicca is the same today as it was a millennia ago, it is of the Secrets Which Cannot Be Told!This is what makes us truly Wiccan. The Wicca are not mere mortals, we are aligned with the Goddess and the very forces of the universe. It is through these forces that we receive our abilities to heal, to divine, and to know the unknown, and to see the unseen. It is said that we are those who walk between the worlds, this is true by the energies that we utilize and the powers that we posses.
Once a seeker has undertaken an initiation, either by themselves or into a coven situation, and the affiliation tothe Goddess, (a personal binding), they are no longer the same person. Their body is physically transformed to be able to channel the energies of nature. And they are made ready so that, with training, their very thoughts can become reality. But once a seeker steps upon the path, that seeker is subject to rules that do not apply to mere mortals. The seeker is subject to the very laws of the universe and of magick, and they no longer have the luxury that ordinary mortals have of changing their mind and going to another religion. For once they have made their affiliation, it can never be undone by anyone. It is for life and beyond!