An Update

About two months ago I officially closed this site or at least placed it within a vacation status. Its status has not changed. However I do want to give those interested an update on some of my thinking at this point of time. I still 0.worship Isis and I still worship Mary as the Christian incarnation of Isis. However at this time my particular interest in Christianity as a viable religious option for myself has  weakened. My hope that Christianity will be playing a positive role in the world’s future has decline as well. This is all that needs to be said;  I will not go into the reasons for my increasingly negative attitude toward Christianity at this point of time. 
The fact is that I am dealing with many more personal issues now and will not be doing more writing than  is strictly necessary. I will  respond to questions and comments  from those who are interested however.

Glenn

Suspended

Based on both the facts that this blog has had no sustained readership over the months of its existence and that most Isians simply have little interest in any kind of dialogue between Isis and the Christian tradition, I have decided to suspend further writing on this blog. This effectively means that Aset Maryam will be inactive from this date forward. Of course if by some miracle people actually begin to post comments here and a sustained demand for this blog begins to develope then of course my decision will be subject to change. I have not lost interest in the subjects of this blog. I am still dedicated to both Isis and the Virgin Mary of the Christian tradition. I will continue to write on these subjects as the inspiration hits me. However I doubt that I will be making many efforts to engage either the Christian or Pagan communities in these subjects. These communities have their own reigning orthodoxies that tend to preclude any interests in the ways that I chose to go. At this point of time my writing will be focused on my other blog which is now entitled "Thinking from the Margins." Thinking from the Margins will include my thinking on Isis and Mary but also my thoughts and articles about politics, socialism, the bible and most of the other things that interest me. If this kind of "thinking from the margins" interests you then I would suggest that you check out the blog. The link to "Thinking from the Margins" is http://ladyofjustice.wordpress.com/ Glenn

First Hymn to Isis by Isidorus

In the next few weeks I plan to post copies of some of the major hymns to Isis. Those who have worshiped Isis for years may perhaps find nothing new in these. However perhaps new converts to Isis will find them to be of interest. I also plan to post some commentary on these hymns and writings. I am in particular interested in the idea of an Isian political liberation theology. The first writing is the famous Greek hymn to Isis by the Greek priest Isidorus. This hymn was found on a walls of a temple which was excavated by a team of Italian archaeologists in the 1930s at the current day village of Medinet Madi in the Fayum area of Egypt. The hymns were composed circa 100 BCE. I do not think that Isidorus’ hymns have the same quality of beauty as do her hymns from her temple at Philae, however they do testify strongly to the universal Isis of many names and to the depth of Isidorus’ devotion to her. Note. I just discovered that this hymn is also on the Fellowship of Isis site. Well it is not going to hurt to post it separately here. The hymn is from “The Four Greek Hymns of Isidorus And The Cult of Isis” by Vera Federika Vanderlip.

Glenn

 

O wealth-giver, Queen of the gods, Hermouthis, Lady,
Omnipotent Agathe Tyche, greatly renowned Isis,
Deo, highest Discoverer of all life,
manifold miracles were Your care that you might bring livelihood to mankind and morality to all;
(and) You taught customs that justice might in some measure prevail;
You gave skills that men’s life might be comfortable,
and You discovered the blossoms that produce edible vegetation.
Because of You heaven and the whole earth have their being;
And the gusts of the winds and the sun with its sweet light.
By Your power the channels of Nile are filled, every one,
At the harvest season and its most turbulent water is poured
On the whole land that produce may be unfailing.
All mortals who live on the boundless earth
Thacians, Greeks and Barbarians,
Express Your fair Name, a Name greatly honoured among all, (but)
Each (speaks) in his own language, in his own land.
The Syrians call You, Astarte, Artemis, Nanaia,
The Lycian tribes call You: Leto, the Lady,
The Thracians also name You as Mother of the gods,
And the Greeks (call You) Hera of the great throne, Aphrodite,
Hestia the goodly, Rhea and Demeter.
But the Egyptians call You Thiouis’ (because they know) that You, being
One, are all
Other goddesses invoked by the races of men.
Mighty One, I shall not cease to sing of Your great Power,
Deathless Saviour, many-named , mightiest Isis,
Saving from war, cities and all their citizens:
Men , their wives, possessions, and children.
As many as are bound fast in prison, in the power of death,
As many as are in pain through long, anguished, sleepless nights,
All who are wanderers in a foreign land,
And as many as sail on the Great Sea in winter
When men may be destroyed and their ships wrecked and sunk…
All (these) are saved if they pray that You be present to help.
Hear my prayers, O One Whose Name has great Power;
Prove Yourself merciful to me and free me from all distress.
Isidorus
wrote (it)

 

 

She Who Is All Holy

I am a member of probably one of the largest and most active of Yahoo e-groups called “goddesschristians.”  Its link is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goddesschristians/
a member of this group who is also a member of an Eastern Orthodox Church recently posted a small article writen by Carol Christ a founding member of the goddess spirituality movement. The article is entitled “She Who is All Holy.”  I really like it. Therefore I am posting it here
 
Glenn 

 

Carol P. Christ
She Who Is All Holy

When I moved to Greece about twenty years ago, I was sometimes asked what I taught in the university. When I replied “Goddesses” or “Greek Goddesses,” I generally received one of two answers from residents of the small town where I lived. “Oh, you mean mythology,” they said, “now we have Christianity, which is the truth.” I later learned that as there is no separation of church and state in Greece, this is what children are taught in religion classes in public schools. The second response puzzled me: “We have the Panagia, she is our Goddess.” From my studies I knew that Greek Orthodox theology did not consider the Virgin Mary – the person to whom the title Panagia refers – to be a Goddess. I presumed that those who responded thus were misinformed.

One of the things I noticed as I felt my way into the life of my adopted country was the plethora of small whitewashed shrine churches dotting the countryside. These, I learned, can be dedicated to Jesus, or God, or the Holy Spirit, but more often are dedicated to a male or female saint or most frequently, to the Panagia. These churches are not used for Sunday services, but rather are visited by pilgrims who light candles and ask for blessings, especially on the name day or birthday of one to whom they are dedicated. Often shrine churches are found where springs gurgle up from the earth, at the mouths of caves, and on mountaintops. Traditionally these shrines are some distance from villages, once requiring communal pilgrimage on foot or donkey on festival days.

I attended such a celebration on the island of Skyros some years ago. The shrine church was located on a mountainside and in the mouth of a shallow cave. It was dedicated to the birthday of the Panagia, September 8. Like most of the locals we arrived by car. However, we still had to walk about twenty minutes along a mountain trail in the falling darkness. When we arrived at the church, we found the path blocked by a large woman who was stirring something in a big copper cauldron. This turned out to be lamb stew. People were seated near her on low benches and they held plates of food and glasses of wine, which were also offered to us. We had to climb over these people to reach the small church. Its entrance was blocked by three lamb carcasses making it necessary to pass under them to enter the church where we found a priest was chanting a liturgy. We lit our candles, said our prayers, and hastened back outside to join the others who soon began singing folk songs. That night I experienced the shrine church tradition as a way of marking the sacredness of the landscape echoing back to the days when Mother Earth was understood to be the Giver of All.

I began to think about the name given to the Virgin Mary in Greece, Panagia. “Pan” means “all” and “agia” means “holy” in the feminine gender. I struggled to translate its full meaning. This title which is used as a name has nothing to do with “Virgin” or even “Mary.” “All Holy” is correct, except that it is gender neutral and “She” is definitely female. Finally I decided that the most accurate translation would be: “She Who Is All Holy.” This would have been one of the names or titles of the Goddess.

In a strange way then, my Greek friends were right. In their “ignorance” of theological distinctions, they understood the Panagia as “thea,” “God-She,” or “Goddess.” Living in with them, I began to understand that this was not only a matter of “attributing” “qualities” of the Goddess “to” Mary, something that many scholars allege to have occurred. It was also acknowledging Mary as one of names of the Goddess. For me, the Goddess had died and was being reborn in the women’s spirituality movement. For my friends and their ancestors, there is a sense in which (despite theology) the Goddess had not died. This is why it made no sense to them when I spoke of the “return” of the Goddess.

These meditations have led me to participate more wholeheartedly in the Greek practice of visiting shrine churches, lighting candles, and asking for blessings. I have begun to think that these simple gestures are and were at the heart of Goddess religion. “She gives to me, I give to Her, we give to each other…the circle of life continues.” I have understood that there is a connection between the well-known Greek custom of offering hospitality and the ritual of asking for help from the Panagia: both are rooted in a deep understanding that what we need has been and will be given to us. I can and do pray to the Panagia at her pilgrim shrines, but I cannot become Orthodox because I know the theology of the church and I do not agree with it. At the same time, magic and secret ceremonies seem less and less important. My rituals are simple and I rarely practice indoors. “The forms change, but the circle of life remains.” Blessed be.

__._,_.___

A few facts

First for a few facts. Based on statistical evidence this blog  does not have any great audience. After all how many people have any deep interest in the relationship between the Goddess Isis and the Virgin Mary or regarding the relationship between Paganism and Christianity. Therefore I am currently writing here  pretty much as an exercise in self expression. That is enough for now. However  since I am writing primarily for myself and because I have other duties I will probably be blogging only a couple of times a month unless the situation changes radically. I just want the readers who do read this blog to  know  the situation.

Glenn

Mary you are covered with roses

I am attempting to keep to a commitment to post a message here at least once a week. Unfortunately due to some very problematic issues  in connection with some other groups I have kept me occupied. Therefore I really do not have any particularly  new thoughts to contribute now. However sometimes I do run into poems or hymns which should be posted here. One of these is an unconventional poem to Mary which was posted a couple of months ago at the Divine Mother yahoo site. Click at the Divine Mother link to connect with the site.  I think that the poem  is hauntingly beautiful.

 

The only problem which I have with the poem are with its last two lines,

 

Glenn

 

 

Mary you're covered in roses, you're covered in ashes
You're covered in rain
You're covered in babies, you're covered in slashes
You're covered in wilderness, you're covered in stains ...
.... Mary you're covered in roses, you're covered in ruin
You're covered in secrets
You're covered in treetops, you're covered in birds
Who can sing a million songs without any words ...
.... Jesus said, Mother I couldn't stay another day longer
Flys right by me and leaves a kiss upon her face.
While the angels are singin' his praises in a blaze of glory
Mary stays behind and starts cleaning up the place ...

Patty Griffin

 

What Has Mary to do?

What has the Christian Mary to do with Isis, or to reverse it what has  Isis, the Pagan Goddess, to do with Mary?  Christians who believe that all the expressions of hatred and contempt for Paganism found in the Bible are the “Word” of God will of course answer “None at all!” Many Pagans  will respond with a  “None at all!” answer as well. After all what can enlightened, tolerant, free thinking Paganism have in common with  Mary the white bread imitation of a goddess that Christianity  created as a substitute for the real thing.
 
I do not want respond to these perceptions in this post. However, I do want to  explain why I think that Isis and Mary  have a lot to do with each other. Since I suspect that most of the readers of this blog  are Pagans most of this  writing will be a discussion of  Mary. To talk about  Mary is impossible unless one also discusses Jesus and Christianity. The problem is that  there are  many forms of Christianity some of which have theologies that are morally repugnant and some of which have real moral and intellectual credibility. Many still interpret Christianity through the lens of intolerant and theologically  problematic Protestant and Roman Catholic forms of fundamentalism. For those who see these interpretations as being definitive of what Christianity is,  little can be said positive of the religion. A rigid belief system which focuses primarily on the afterlife, on  a literal  heaven, hell, or purgatory has little to recommend it. A religion which interprets   salvation by faith in Jesus to mean that all other non Christian people are lost to an everlasting hell is abominable. The same goes for the   belief that the Bible is the only, infallible Word of God. This Christianity  is clearly incompatible with the humane  religion of the Goddess Isis.
 
Fundamentalist versions of Christianity,  however, are not the only interpretations of Christianity possible. Christian liberalism, social gospel, liberation theology all represent forms of Christianity  which focus primarily  on the Christian concerns  of love of God and neighbor, political, social and economic justice, the kingdom of God and living life righteously in this world. These forms of modern Christianity categorically reject hatred of the other. Further more historically  for every Christian Inquisitor and Crusading butcher there have been Christians such as St. Theresa of Avila, Meister Eckart, St Frances of Assisi and countless anonymous men and women who have attempted to live by the highest moral standards.

Something must also be said about the civilizational role of Christianity. I am talking here of the beauty of Christian art and icons,  architecture, the great cathedrals, and the great liturgical traditions of worship. I mention these because for many all that Christianity has produced is horror and brutality. Certainly horror and brutality are part of the historical record of Christianity. However that has not been the full picture. Christianity’s record is complex and ambiguous.  In that it is entirely human.

The last word I have about Christianity is of course its relationship to Mary. Clearly Mary was the human mother of Jesus who came to be seen by Christians as both Christ and Divine. Early Christianity  saw little remarkable in Mary beyond the fact that she suppossedly gave birth to Jesus as a virgin. The Church fathers attention was almost entirely focused on Jesus. After the year 400 CE all of that changed. By 450 CE approximately fifty years latter, Mary had began to receive the adoration and prayers that have characterized Marian devotion within the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity 

since. Mary had become second to only the Trinity in Divine influence. She had begun to receive the praise and adoration  that in the Ancient World would have been reserved only for the Great Goddesses such as Athena, Cybele, or Isis. 

The raise of Marian theology and devotionalism is interpreted in many ways. Protestantism of course interprets it negatively. The goddess like status of Mary is a form of Christian paganism or idolatry. Roman Catholic traditionalists while they want to maintain their rich devotional relationship with Mary want to make sure that Mary is kept in the nice  safe theological confines of Christian patriarchy. For  theologically heterodox  Marians, for  Mariavites, Collyridians, Sophian Gnostics, etc;  Mary  is seen and adored as the Feminine Divine, the Incarnation of the Holy Spirit, or the Divine Sophia.
 
From a theological / historical perspective I  believe that the earliest form of Christianity  saw God only in  the man Jesus. The patriarchal Jewish roots of Christianity  could not see the light of God which shined in Mary. What happened in the Fifth Century CE with the rise of the Marian tradition within the Church was the revelation  of the Feminine Sacred within Christianity. The theological rise in the status of Mary was not a distortion of the faith but a correction of it.

Glenn King

A Song to Neda

Introduction

This post may seem a bit off the topic but I do not think that it is. Isis is the Goddess of Maat / Righteousness and Justice. She liberates from oppression. Mary has  often  been seen as one who liberates from injustice. An important example is the liberating role of Mary  in Mexico as the Virgin of Guadeloupe. Religious faith is property centered on political economic and social justice. Now in Iran the  people are  struggling against the tyranny of a small but powerful theological / political elite. I think that Aset Maryam is on the side of those struggling for liberation. She is not an apolitical Goddess. I am closing this post from another blog which I own which deals primarily with political issues.

Glenn King

A Song to Neda Tuesday, Jun 23 2009  1 glenn3land 8:06 pmEdit This

 

Enclosed are links to both the Song to Neda and Poem for Neda  posted on The Writing Life II blog. As those  following the current political struggles  in Iran are aware,  Neda Agha-Soltan,  a 26 year old woman – was killed this past Saturday as she got out of her automobile for a breath of air. She was shot in the heart  presumably by forces firing at anti government protestors of the stolen Iranian elections. See the NYT’s article.  Her death was recorded on U-tube and has been circulated globally and Neda is now mourned as a martyr and a symbol of sufferings of Iran’s people. Perhaps this poem and the music may give a better picture of the true nature of the current events in Iran than would several news stories. Part of the poem goes thus”

 

Stay, Neda—
Look at this city
At the shaken foundations of palaces,
The height of Tehran’s maple trees,
They call us “dust,” and if so
Let us sully the air for the oppressor
Don’t go, Neda
-

Glenn

Aset Maryam

I am going to shift gears here and hopefully eliminate some confusion. Any one who has read all the messages posted within this blog will note that subject of the blog initially was focused on  the Virgin Mary, who functions as the “feminine divine” within the Christian history.  The blog was named “All things Mary” to reflect that interest. The blog’s name was then changed  to “From the Margins” in March.  A month ago I changed the name to Aset Maryam.

 

The name “Aset Maryam” reflects fully  the reality and direction of this blog at this time. It symbolizes several aspects of the blog. First it symbolizes my continued devotion to the Virgin Mary, the Feminine God, the Goddess of the Christian tradition. The fact that the Roman Catholic Church seems to be rapidly back tracking to a  biblical, rationalist, Protestantizing position on Mary does not change this reality. Second it symbolizes both my prior and continuing devotion to Isis the Great Goddess, the Creatress of heaven and earth. In this blog therefore the discussion will  have  a dual focus. One focus will be on Isis and all things related to Isis. Thus Isis’ relationship with the culture of ancient Egypt,  her classical mythology, her relationship with the gods Osirus and  Horus, and goddesses such as Neith and Hathor will be discussed.

 

However the conversation will not end there. I also want very much to be able to have a conversation on the relationship of both Isis and the Egyptian religious traditions  to  historical Judaism and Christianity.  I am in particular interested in the relationship between Isis and the Virgin Mary.  Note. People should not misunderstand me here. I do not believe that the relationship between the religion of Egypt and Christianity is as clear cut as some charts on the internet which propose to show the parallels between Jesus and Horus seem to suggest. In fact the so called Jesus / Horus parallels are  fraudulent. However real connections do exist between the moral ethical, and religious culture of Ancient
Egypt and Judaism / Christianity. I hope that a good discussion on these issues can also occur within this blog.

 

Since Aset Maryam  is named after both Mary and  Isis, it is still a place for “all things Mary.”  I am still interested in a three way:  heterodox vs. liberal feminist vs.  traditionalist Marian discussion on the theological role of Mary within the Christian tradition. I am certainly interested in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions of Mary. The theological relationship of Mary and Jesus interests me obviously.

 

The new name of the group “Aset Maryam” thus reaffirms the initial purpose of this group but it also increases the scope of the conversation to include “all things Isis” as well. Note. When I pray I often repeat Aset Maryan, Aset Maryam, Aset Maryam ……. It is as they say part of my spiritual path. That may be important to note as well.

 

Why Isis?

While I began worshipping the Goddess in the late 1980’s,  Isis became the center of my devotion and worship only after the turn of the century. It was only after over a decade of exploring the classical goddesses of the ancient world, the Hindu Goddesses, the esoteric Sophia tradition of Christianity, the Shekinah tradition of the Kabbalah in fact all  the traditions of the goddess of which I was aware that my attention and prayers increasingly centered on Isis.

Why Isis as opposed to some other goddess? Why Isis as opposed to Sophia, the Shekinah or some other form of the feminine divine in the Western monotheistic religions. My movement toward Isis worship was  based on  a group of theological, historical, and spiritual experiential  variables. Let me start with the theological. I am not a polytheist. I believe that there is a unified spiritual origin of all reality called God, Goddess, Tao, the Ground of Being, etc. I believe that one of the purposes of religion is to tie human persons,  groups, nations, and humanity to that Being. Therefore I am not much interested in what some might call small  gods and goddesses who  are less than absolute. You can say that  this is an assumption that I inherited from my Christian heritage. Isis is not a small goddess at least not as revealed in the Greco Roman period. She  was both a Trinitarian goddess in unity with Sarapis / Osirus, and Horus, and she was the supreme Goddess who  created heaven and earth “through what her heart conceived and her hand created.” [ the fourth hymn at her temple at Philae]  She is the goddess behind all the other goddesses and (gods as well.)  Thus the realm of authority for Isis is total. In that theological vision, Isis is similar to  the Biblical Yahweh. Of course Isis is an inclusive Goddess and Yahweh is a jealous God.

Thus in my world view Isis outshines all the other goddesses even goddesses as glorious as   Demeter, Inanna, and Athena. I of course do not believe that these goddesses are not real or that they are in any way false. I would simply argue that the vision of Isis in its fullness transcended the vision of the followers of these goddesses.  Thus I also choose Isis over the Celtic and Germanic goddesses about whom we in fact know very little.
 
Isis dominates in the West. However a powerful Goddess tradition  exists  in India. The Hindu goddesses, Durga, Laksmi, Kali, Sarasvati and others are worshiped by millions of Hindus today. These goddesses have living scriptures, theologies and devotional traditions which are lived today by millions of people. Why Isis and not the MahaDevi, the Great Goddess of India. The answer is simple I am not Hindu and the religious ideals and ideas of India do not come easily to me. I am very open to learning from the traditions of India but my heart finds its home more easily in Isis than in Durga and her wars, the Laksmi of wealth, or in the Kali of the funeral piles.
 
Another alternative to Isis that presented itself was of course the Great Goddess who is worshiped in Wiccan faith and is believed by many to represent an earlier matriarchal Ancient European civilization prior to its overthrow by patriarchal invaders. Since I am not a practitioner of  Wicca  I do not naturally gravitate toward  the Goddess of Wicca. Neither am I persuaded by the Great Goddess of matriarchy. While I suspect that Ancient European civilization was perhaps much more egalitarian than what followed, I doubt that the civilization of Ancient Europe was as  completely peaceful and matriarchal as it is normally portrayed. Further more I doubt that any past civilization has ever worshiped a purely monotheistic Great Goddess. I believe that the Ancient Europeans worshiped several goddesses and gods of which the goddesses were probably more important. The final fact to be noted  is that the Ancient European goddesses like the goddesses of ancient Crete are in fact unknowable historically since the peoples of Old Europe  had no writing.  We can not even know  the names of their goddesses, their myths and practices. At  best all we can do is make educated guesses regarding their nature based on our knowledge of latter history and religious anthropology. This blank slate is nothing on which I can base my faith.

This leaves the last alternative to Isis, the biblical Sophia and the Jewish Shekinah of the Kabbalistic Jewish traditions.
Given my interest in the monotheistic traditions of both Christianity and Judaism I find both Sophia and the Shekinah to be immediately attractive. However there are some real problems in which both share. Nether the  Shekinah nor Sophia  were ever full goddesses in the sense that they received cultic worship and adoration. The biblical Sophia may have been the “creation” of biblical wisdom scholars developed to create in students a love of “Wisdom” (Note. When I say that “Wisdom” may have been created I am not suggesting that She is not real or that She did not inspire the biblical writers to “create” Her.) I do think that many  scholars worshiped Sophia / Wisdom in their inner minds as God’s Wisdom. However given the nature of Jewish monotheism that is as far as it could develop. The Sophia tradition of course latter migrated into Gnosticism and to the Western Esoteric traditions. However she in my opinion has never had the full presence and glory as does Isis. Isis is a Goddess not subordinated to a male God. Sophia has always worn the tint of such subordination. The same applies to the Shekinah.  She appears primarily in the Jewish Kabbalistic writings of the Middle Ages as being the female presence of God. The word Shekinah means “Presence.” The Shekinah as in the case of Sophia was never worshiped in a cult of her own.  I certainly do think that Jewish mystics, scholars, and many  ordinary people had a relationship with her. She may have been worshipped silently  in the heart of many people. Again even though within the Kabbalistic literature the Shekinah functions as the feminine divine, she is always ultimately subordinate to the High Holy One, the King, who receives all of the cultic worship and who is ultimately G-d.

I worry that some persons on reading this post may see it as being an arrogant promotion of a monotheistic Isis and a put down of their own beliefs. I do not intend it as such. What I want  to do is to give an accounting of some of my own reasonings for my own worship of Isis. I certainly do not think that Isis is the only legitimate form of the “feminine divine.” (Note I do not like the terms divine feminine or divine masculine)
Demeter, Inanna, Athena, Cybele  and of course the goddesses of India are all worthy of worship and devotion. Though I do have real problems with the theologies in which they are worshipped as only singular and limited goddesses within  pantheons of like wise singular and limited goddesses. To use an old metaphor if one imagines the Goddess as being a great diamond, each Goddess is a facet and gleam of that diamond. In some of the Goddesses a people see only a partial relatively small part of that diamond. In other traditions a great degree more of that diamond is revealed. In Isis that diamond is seen to the fullest extent possible for this age.

Glenn King