Moon Goddess

As I was walking with one of my clients this evening, I noticed the brilliance of a nearly-full moon rising to the East, as the bright summer sun was setting to the west. They were at even height in the sky, illuminating and marking our path, like cosmic gate-keepers suspended on either side of the bridge over Granville Island. When I pointed this out to her, she got excited, and told me about her plans to watch a meteor shower on the weekend.

"It's too bad there's a full moon the same night as the shower, though," she said, "because it might distort our view of the shooting stars..."

As she said this, a vision of her cards came back to my inner sight.

"In your reading, you just pulled two cards that literally illustrate your weekend plans. 'Existence,' and 'Flowering!'" Remember the symbolism of the Existence card- a lone figure sits in meditation, while a shooting star streaks across the cosmic sky before him; and in Flowering, a goddess emerges from a lotus flower, crowned by the glowing full moon. The combination of these two energies is actually very good- the full moon will energetically work to keep you in tune with divine femininity, which will amplify and increase the beauty of your stargazing experience."

"Sudevi-" she asked, after a few moments of watching the sun and the moon, "how do people think of these sorts of things? I mean... energy, and symbols, and the divine?"

"You know," I explained, "mystical understandings of energy and divinity can't really be grasped by linear or analytical thought; they just land in the consciousness of those who are open to higher ideas. Have you ever heard Nithyananda mention a 'Cosmic Download' in one of his discourses?"

She laughed, and said, "No."

"He's mentioned it a few times, usually when someone asks how he 'knows' something- especially when answering mystical questions. He doesn't have to go looking for answers in textbooks or encyclopedias, because any information he needs will be 'downloaded' to his consciousness from a divine source. Many brilliant scientists have experienced something similar, too- eureka moments, when suddenly, answers come into their minds without prior thought, seemingly out of nowhere. The next step, after having one of these spontaneous knowings happen, is to look for proof to back it up.

"Anyhow, the wisdom we have about lunar energy, divinity and symbolic connections comes in this  sort of epiphanous and eurekan way, (why not coin a couple of terms?) where suddenly a mystic just knows that the moon is a catalyst for awakening the divine feminine energy, and then after knowing this, proves it by finding examples of the moons feminine connection."

"I see," she said. "People don't think about spiritual energy; they just suddenly know about it, and then use the thought process to find the proof to back up the knowing once it's already known."

"Exactly!"

(As an interesting aside, Einstein called this instant knowing intuition. In a discourse about intellect and intuition, he is famously quoted as saying,"We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift." This is especially true in academia and the scientific community. The intellectual approach to knowledge- slow and methodical, based on research, slow study and controlled tests- is considered 'valid,' while intuition, and sudden realizations of truth- which come as voices, visions, and inner knowings- are scrutinized and suspected; often even labeled insane... Ironically enough, Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result each time; which sounds a lot like methodical research, slow study, and controlled tests!)

"Does this happen for everything, or just spiritual information?" she asked.

"You know, that's something that's fascinated me for a long time now!" I answered. "Once, when I was in the ashram, I asked Swamiji a question about a petition that had been faxed to Vancouver for all of us to sign. I asked him whether that was the same petition we were about to sign in Bidadi- just so that we wouldn't discredit it by signing twice. He said, 'I don't know, Ma- let me find out and get back to you.' Anyhow- I had heard him give unimaginably brilliant answers to much more complicated questions than that before, so it got me thinking- does he only download mystical information? Suddenly, though- as if by download!- a thought came to me about my own work. Whenever a client is sitting across from me, words will literally form in my mind, and whatever that person needs to know will be made available in my consciousness. In this way, I've answered questions about business moves, dreams, celestial connections, illnesses, often going into specific medical terminology without any prior knowledge of the subject. But, whenever someone asks me a question just to test me- something like, 'What's my mothers maiden name?' my mind will go blank. I've come to understand that downloading works to answer all the questions that don't have an immediately accessible answer through standard means. So, since all Swamiji would have to do to find out about the petition was call the documents office, there was no need for Him to download the answer. And the same way, when you come in for a reading, if you ask me to explain to you something that you don't already know, words will flow from me until the answer is clear; but if you ask me something you already know the answer to, it won't come to me. Existence doesn't do anything redundant."

"Fascinating..."

We walked a little further, and she asked, "Can you tell me a bit more about the moon and feminine energy?"

Considering most of my mystical knowledge comes from my work with tarot and oracle cards, my own intuitive downloads, and my guru Nithyanandaji, I could tell this client was surprised when I started to tell her the story of a Catholic priest to answer her question.

***

Last Christmas, my mom- a devout Catholic school teacher- took me to mass. It was a sentimental thing for her to do- she had taken me to church every Sunday when I was little. Although I really wasn't expecting anything this time, the priest really got my attention when he started to deliver his sermon.

"A few nights ago, I saw the most beautiful happening in the night sky.' Father Tim said this in a wide-eyed, spellbound sort of a way. "I was out for a walk, when suddenly I found myself captivated by the beauty of the full moon. After watching it for a few seconds, I noticed a faint reddish shadow start to obscure it's edge. The shadow grew- slowly and steadily- until the entire lunar surface was hidden from sight. Then, as slowly as it had taken over, the shadow started to pass, revealing, sliver by sliver, the full moon's radiance once again. I felt such gratitude to witness this unexpected event! Such gratitude to have gone out for a walk at exactly the right time on exactly the right night to see a total lunar eclipse."

As he told his story of moongazing, Father Tim had the same quality of spiritual enthusiasm in his voice that I had come to love so much when listening to masters deliver discourses. It was the tone of voice Osho had used after his period of silence, when he told his disciples about his enlightenment experience; the tone Swamiji had used when describing his youthful encounter with Shiva as Arunagiri Yogeshwara; the tone Vivekananda used in his first American speach, when he had compelled all to 'Arise! Awake! And sleep not until the goal is reached.' When mystics recount their deep and spiritual stories of realization, they make the energy of their stories available to all those who listen. My youthful break from the Catholic church had created so much distrust in the institution, that I was literally shocked to hear a voice of enlightening clarity echo the walls.

Father Tim's reverence for the beauty of the lunar eclipse was such a joy to listen to, that I couldn't imagine hearing anything better. But as he went on, his story was so much more than even that:

"I'm not sure how long I had stood watching the moon. I was thinking about Christmas, planning my sermon, just enjoying nature... when suddenly, the thought of sacred maternity popped into my mind. I remembered Mary, remembered the essential role she played in the Nativity; remembered Mary, whom we hail as the Mother of God.'

At this point, I was literally sitting on the edge of my pew. Of course, I had heard priests refer to Mary as the Mother of God before- but always in a dry, academic tone of voice. Father Tim's timbre was far from dry...

"We must remember that Mary was chosen to carry and deliver a child who who was the Son of God Almighty. Mary is, according to all authorities of our faith, undeniably, the Mother of the Son of God."

I held my breath, and Father Tim said the most powerful thing I had ever heard a priest say.

"How could she be the Mother of the Son of God unless Mary herself was equal to God? Every mother and father are equally needed to birth their child into the world. In that sense, along with God, Mary co-created the life of Jesus."

My eyes were filled with tears, and my smile stretched wide across my face, as he said it one more time for impact.

"Mary the Mother, along with our heavenly Father, worked together as co-creators to give us Jesus, the savior."

***

My client, herself familiar with the patriarchal closed-mindedness of mosts Catholics, was speechless.

"Father Tim gave an eloquent and powerful message about God as more than patriarch alone, but as a combined parental force- Father and Mother. Translated into C atholic terminology, and using the characters familiar to all Catholic families, he told us exactly what all the new age teachers and popular mystics around the world declare- that God is Yin and Yang together, male and female, Shiva and Shakti, Osiris and Isis. Never before in my Catholic-raised life had I heard a priest say that Mary- a mortal woman- was equal to God in Heaven. Such a statement would, at one time, have been considered blasphemy. But at this magical mass, the Saturday evening before Christmas, the entire congregation listened with baited breath as Father Tim explained to them a truth that had been hiding in plain sight in scriptures all along. The Mother of God is God in Mother form."

"Wow..."

"Wow is right! And to top it all off, this sermon didn't come to the priest from a book. It didn't come from a dream or from a long night thinking up an appropriate message. It came as a download, hand in hand with a beautiful lunar eclipse. Father Tim may not have known that shamanic religions connect the full moon with sacred feminine energy. He may not have known that the Moon is to the Goddess what the Sun is to the God. He may not have known that mystics around the world meditate on the moon's cycle to get in tune with the voice of the Mother. But still, this Catholic priest had a direct experience of the divine feminine while he openly admired the full moon. Mary herself spoke to him that night. She reminded him of the importance of a mother, the necessity of a mother, when any new era is to be born."

My client looked as touched as I had been when listening to the words of the wise priest.

She said, "All these mystics and shamans who say the goddess is connected to the full moon... they just know it from experience. But this sermon Father Tim gave is even stronger proof than theirs, because it happened to him without his seeking it! Sudevi- wow. Thank you for this story- now I understand completely how it works. People don't just decide to think about energy or divinity and theorize or philosophize. They experience profound moments of connection, and then- after experiencing- connect the dots as to what the experiences mean. The moon is a catalyst for divine feminine awareness not because some new agers think it's a pretty symbol, but because it just is."

***

My mom and I walked to her car in amicable silence after mass that evening.

As we buckled up, she asked, ever the knowing mother, "So... what do you think of our new parish priest?"

In the excited tone of a child who had just unwrapped the most amazing Christmas gift, I said, "Father Tim is truly a mystic! He is fully in tune with the Divine. The Goddess herself- as Mary- speaks to him!"

"I had a feeling you might not be bored at church tonight."

When I told my mom that many modern mystics and 'new age' teachers are heralding the times we're now living in as the return of the Goddess, when the Divine Mother will claim her title along with the Divine Father as co-creator of the World, and that this message is said to come from meditating on the beauty of the moon, she shared in my delight.

The gap that has long existed between patriarchal religious politics and feminine spiritual whimsy is being bridged. Now is the time.

***

As a believer in my tarot practice, I consult my cards whenever I make a new move- whether to do with my personal life, career, or spiritual path. So, tonight, before writing what you've just read, I pulled out my deck, shuffled, and asked:

Should I write a blog about the full moon and divine femininity?

I gasped aloud when I pulled in reply a card called Patience. One of the most lovely cards in the Osho Zen Tarot, the image on the card of Patience is that of a beautiful pregnant woman. She sits serenely, surrounded by blossoming flowers, her hands gently supporting her round belly. Her eyes are closed, and the corners of her pretty mouth are turned up in a knowing smile. Above her, as the only other feature of the card, are the phases of the moon. Arcing across the sky above her, from waxing crescent to the left, to full right above her head, and waning to her right... The phases of the moon. In short, a lunar cycle at a glance; exactly what's seen in an eclipse. She is the Moon Goddess- a gentle, loving Mother; patient because she knows her delivery will happen exactly when it's meant to happen.

There's no need to rush, no need to slow down- perfect, like the cycles of the moon, are all things born from compassion. Saraswathi is joining Brahma; Lakshmi is joining Vishnu, Shakthi is joining Shiva. Whether we call her Mary, Devi, Isis, White Buffalo Calf Woman, or simply the Mother, she is patiently waiting to claim her place in our hearts- not next to, but one with, God. Mother and Father, Yin and Yang, Goddess and God.

***

TThe next time there's a full moon in the sky, you yourself can connect with the Goddess. Whether you call her Mary, Devi, Hina, Ishtar, Isis, Diana, Saraswathi, or just Mother... Look up, and feel the presence of her glowing benevolence. Feel her loving eyes gaze back at you. No doubt, her blessingreach us here on Earth as the radiant rays emanating from the full moon. (Co-created, of course, with the Father, whose solar light illuminates her otherwise modest and hidden face.)