The Wiccan Charge begins with the words "Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Diana, Arianrhod, Bride, and by many other names." What are some of the other names? Hecate, Persephone, Selene, Cybele, Demeter, Rhea, Gaia, Astraea, Ceres, Isis, Hathor, Venus, Psyche, Sophia, Shakti. These are all names of our Goddess. How can one goddess be known by so many names? How can one goddess have multiple faces?
We find the same fact is stated by pagan philosophers of the first millenium. The Metamorphoses of Apuleius is a Latin text from the 2nd century CE. The story is of a young man called Lucius who is eager to be initiated into the mystery cult of Isis. The secrets of the cult are explained to him before he goes through the process of initiation, which involved a trial by the elements during a journey to the underworld. Lucius also seeks initiation into the cult of Osiris, and eventually becomes initiated into the pastophoroi, a group of priests that serve Isis and Osiris. In the following paragraph, Isis speaks to Lucius:
"You see me here, Lucius, in answer to your prayer. I am nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen of the ocean, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are, my nod governs the shining heights of Heavens, the wholesome sea breezes. Though I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless names ... some know me as Juno, some as Bellona ... the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning and worship call me by my true name...Queen Isis."
Isis was so popular among the Greeks that her worship became completely syncretic with the Greek goddess Demeter. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, Isis became known as Queen of Heaven. Alexander the Great also ventured into the Indian subcontinent, and an Indo-Greek kingdom was established in northwestern India. Greek and Indian gods, such as Herakles and Indra, were depicted side by side. There was certainly interaction between the Greek and Hindu religions.
The Great Mother Goddess of India is called Shakti or Adi Parashakti. She is the primordial cosmic energy that moves through the entire universe. Shakti is the personification of the divine feminine creative power, who is present within every human being as Kundalini Shakti. She is responsible for all creation and change in the universe. Some regard her as the Supreme Being of the universe. Every goddess of Hinduism is a manifestation of Shakti.
Tantra is an accumulation of practices and ideas, characterized by ritual that seeks to use prana, the life force of the universe (including one's own body) to attain goals. During meditation the initiate identifies with any of the numerous manifestations of the Supreme. The Tantrika, or tantric practitioner may use visualizations of deities, identifying with the deity so that the aspirant "becomes" the Ishta-deva or meditational deity. It is clear that Tantra has a lot in common with Wicca, although we cannot be sure how this commonality came to be. Perhaps Tantra was passed from India to the Greeks, or vice versa.
In Tantra, as in Wicca, there are public practices and there are private practices. Publically, the many faces of the gods and goddesses are worshipped with offerings, singing and dancing. The deity is evoked or invoked. The private ritual is similar to the public ritual, but also includes a ritual feast and coitus. The aim of these rites is to induce a mystic experience.
Sir John George Woodroffe was an early 20th century "orientalist" who introduced Hindu philosophy and Yogic practices to Britain. He was especially interested in Tantra and wrote under the pseudonym Arthur Avalon. Woodroffe's The Serpent Power – The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga, is a philosophically sophisticated commentary on, and translation of, the Satcakra-nirupana ("Description of and Investigation into the Six Bodily Centres") of Purnananda (dated c. 1550 CE) and the Paduka-Pancaka ("Five-fold Footstool of the Guru"). The term "Serpent Power" refers to the Kundalini Shakti. In Chapter 27: The Pañcatattva (The Secret Ritual) of Sakti and Sakta (1918), he states that the Secret Ritual (which he calls Panchatattva, Chakrapuja and Panchamakara) involves:
Different schools of Tantra focus on different gods and goddesses. The most popular names for the divine masculine in Hinduism are Shiva, Vishnu, or Brahma. These three personifications are known as the Trimurti. In Wicca the divine masculine is also called by several names. To list a few of the most significant, he may be called Pan, Phanes, Protogonos, Plouton, Zeus, Zagreus, Sabazios, Dionysus, Bacchus, Iacchus, Eros, Horus, Osiris, Serapis, Faunus, Cernunnos, Helios, Lucifer.
)O(
We find the same fact is stated by pagan philosophers of the first millenium. The Metamorphoses of Apuleius is a Latin text from the 2nd century CE. The story is of a young man called Lucius who is eager to be initiated into the mystery cult of Isis. The secrets of the cult are explained to him before he goes through the process of initiation, which involved a trial by the elements during a journey to the underworld. Lucius also seeks initiation into the cult of Osiris, and eventually becomes initiated into the pastophoroi, a group of priests that serve Isis and Osiris. In the following paragraph, Isis speaks to Lucius:
"You see me here, Lucius, in answer to your prayer. I am nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen of the ocean, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are, my nod governs the shining heights of Heavens, the wholesome sea breezes. Though I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless names ... some know me as Juno, some as Bellona ... the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning and worship call me by my true name...Queen Isis."
Isis was so popular among the Greeks that her worship became completely syncretic with the Greek goddess Demeter. After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, Isis became known as Queen of Heaven. Alexander the Great also ventured into the Indian subcontinent, and an Indo-Greek kingdom was established in northwestern India. Greek and Indian gods, such as Herakles and Indra, were depicted side by side. There was certainly interaction between the Greek and Hindu religions.
The Great Mother Goddess of India is called Shakti or Adi Parashakti. She is the primordial cosmic energy that moves through the entire universe. Shakti is the personification of the divine feminine creative power, who is present within every human being as Kundalini Shakti. She is responsible for all creation and change in the universe. Some regard her as the Supreme Being of the universe. Every goddess of Hinduism is a manifestation of Shakti.
Tantra is an accumulation of practices and ideas, characterized by ritual that seeks to use prana, the life force of the universe (including one's own body) to attain goals. During meditation the initiate identifies with any of the numerous manifestations of the Supreme. The Tantrika, or tantric practitioner may use visualizations of deities, identifying with the deity so that the aspirant "becomes" the Ishta-deva or meditational deity. It is clear that Tantra has a lot in common with Wicca, although we cannot be sure how this commonality came to be. Perhaps Tantra was passed from India to the Greeks, or vice versa.
In Tantra, as in Wicca, there are public practices and there are private practices. Publically, the many faces of the gods and goddesses are worshipped with offerings, singing and dancing. The deity is evoked or invoked. The private ritual is similar to the public ritual, but also includes a ritual feast and coitus. The aim of these rites is to induce a mystic experience.
Sir John George Woodroffe was an early 20th century "orientalist" who introduced Hindu philosophy and Yogic practices to Britain. He was especially interested in Tantra and wrote under the pseudonym Arthur Avalon. Woodroffe's The Serpent Power – The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga, is a philosophically sophisticated commentary on, and translation of, the Satcakra-nirupana ("Description of and Investigation into the Six Bodily Centres") of Purnananda (dated c. 1550 CE) and the Paduka-Pancaka ("Five-fold Footstool of the Guru"). The term "Serpent Power" refers to the Kundalini Shakti. In Chapter 27: The Pañcatattva (The Secret Ritual) of Sakti and Sakta (1918), he states that the Secret Ritual (which he calls Panchatattva, Chakrapuja and Panchamakara) involves:
Worship with the Pañcatattva generally takes place in a Cakra or circle composed of men and women... sitting in a circle, the Shakti (or female practitioner) being on the Sadhaka's (male practitioner's) left. Hence it is called Cakrapuja. ...There are various kinds of Cakra – productive, it is said, of differing fruits for the participator therein.It is clear to me that Tantra was very influential on the development of Wicca. The Great Rite of Wicca is very similar to the sexual rites of Tantra. The sexual rite culminates in a sublime experience of infinite awareness for both participants. Tantric texts specify that sex has three distinct and separate purposes—procreation, pleasure, and liberation. The sexual act itself balances energies coursing within the subtle bodies of both participants. Kundalini Shakti awakens within and rises. This eventually culminates in samadhi, wherein the respective individual personalities and identities of each of the participants are completely dissolved in a unity of cosmic consciousness. Tantrics understand these acts on multiple levels. The male and female participants are conjoined physically, and represent Shiva and Shakti, the male and female principles. Beyond the physical, a subtle fusion of Shiva and Shakti energies takes place, resulting in a united energy field. On an individual level, each participant experiences a fusion of one's own Shiva and Shakti energies.
Different schools of Tantra focus on different gods and goddesses. The most popular names for the divine masculine in Hinduism are Shiva, Vishnu, or Brahma. These three personifications are known as the Trimurti. In Wicca the divine masculine is also called by several names. To list a few of the most significant, he may be called Pan, Phanes, Protogonos, Plouton, Zeus, Zagreus, Sabazios, Dionysus, Bacchus, Iacchus, Eros, Horus, Osiris, Serapis, Faunus, Cernunnos, Helios, Lucifer.
)O(
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