XI - Isis and the 
Transformative Power of Love

Saturday, October 1, Year 4 Aquarius, 10 PM
Motel 6, Rm. 41, Long Beach, CA
 

 We reached the Los Angeles area –actually Long Beach- at about eight o’clock Friday morning after what had been fully twenty-three hours of driving minus only our visits with Obie and Abby. The last few hours had been grueling, and we were exhausted. Indeed I had rarely been so tired in my life.

A hotel room had been reserved for us at the Long Beach Motel 6, but check-in wasn’t until noon, so we dozed in the van in the parking lot for a time. Eventually we went in and asked whether we might check in early, which the pleasant man behind the desk assured us would be fine. Thereafter we slept most of the day and recharged ourselves. 

We had come to Long Beach for a ceremony being held in honor of the Rev. Hon. Olivia Robertson by the Temple of Isis of Los Angeles (TOILA – www.toila.org). This would be the second time on our tour that we would see Lady Olivia, and we were very much looking forward to it. I was also looking forward to seeing Laura Janesdaughter of TOILA, who was hosting the event.

Above: Group photo after the ceremony with Lady Olivia at center

I first met Lady Laura some years ago at a Chicago Fellowship of Isis conference, where we quickly became friends. Later we worked together in the Pagan Interfaith Embassy. I have also illustrated for Lady Laura’s magazine, the Isis Papers (www.isispapers.org).

In addition Lady Laura co-moderates the Isian E-group I run, Fellowshipofisis@yahoogroups.com. This is an unofficial discussion list for members of the Fellowship of Isis –it was created by FOI members for FOI members, and is not run by the FOI itself though the moderators are all FOI members.

For several years now I have been promising to come out to one of TOILA’s events, but one thing or another has always stopped me. This year I actually made it, and Laura was suitably amazed.

I was most anxious to see what TOILA was like. I have belonged to the Fellowship of Isis since 1986, but most of my experience has been through the Fellowship of Isis Chicago. The Fellowship is highly diverse, and each Lyceum and Iseum has its own unique character. I was consequently vary curious to see how the Iseums that make up TOILA differed from the Iseums in the Chicago area.

The event was being held at a Unitarian Church in Long Beach, not far from our hotel as it turned out. We arrived just slightly early, and as we puttered around looking for the right entrance to the church we were spotted by Lady Laura, who greeted us enthusiastically.

Laura Janesdaughter is a remarkable woman, quite striking with masses of red-gold hair and a warm and winning smile. Laura embraced us warmly and led us into the outdoor ritual area to one side of the church.

We were all very impressed with this ritual space, and avow that we must one day build something like it. People were assembled in a circle of folding chairs around a beautifully set altar on the sunny lawn, while above them a pyramid-shaped frame made of large wooden poles was suspended by steel cables from tall columns: this arrangement created a feeling of open yet defined sacred space without detracting from the fact that it was outdoors. It was surely one of the most striking ritual spaces we had seen.

Later Laura would tell us that TOILA had been doing ritual here for sometime, and had a well established relationship with the church.
 

Laura took us over to the group assembled beneath the open air pyramid, and began to introduce us. Most of the attendees were women, and we were struck by the beauty of their free-flowing and brightly colored clothes. Many wore loose summer dresses which strongly resembled robes without actually being robes, and elegantly draped veils and shawls. They gave a feeling of an assemblage of nymphs or muses, their graceful and evocative draperies stirred by every breeze. Amid them Lady Olivia sat enthroned like a Queen –which in very truth she is- her own gown patterned with Egyptian images and hieroglyphs, and augmented by a trailing veil of orange Indian silk and goldwork.



Above: The Priestesses of TOILA pose with Lady Olivia. 
Laura Janesdaughter and Letitia sit in front, Amitra to Olivia's right

We greeted Lady Olivia who said she was very pleased to see us, then were introduced to others present. Callista, resplendent in a crimson pant suit and white silk veil: Amitra, a regal lady dressed in watery blue with pearls and a tall turban on her head, and a deep blue faience sistrum: Letitia, a Dianic Priestess in soft pastels:

We talked for a time with Letitia about local Native American peoples and their customs, and about the similarities inherent among Pagan peoples –a view that the Correllian and Dianic Traditions share. Letititia was full of fascinating information about Native American tribes of California, with whom she works –we discussed at some length the differences between Native American realities and people’s pre-conceived ideas about them.
 

Soon it was time for the ritual to begin –we all assembled in a circle. Chairs had been provided, and for much of the ritual we would sit, though in places we would stand and move.

This ritual was an original ritual written by the TOILA Priestesses, and I was amazed by the fact that it seemed to be tailor made to provide exactly what I needed at the time: emotional connection and regeneration –for I was at this point deeply tired and worn from the pace of the trip. Everything about the ritual seemed special and unusual to me, and it touched me very deeply.

This ritual was about love –particularly self love and self value- and called upon the transformative powers of Aphrodite. It began with an Oracle of the Goddess, delivered by Lady Olivia.

I have seen Lady Olivia deliver many Oracles over the years, and often helped to invoke the spirit of the Goddess into her, but I have never seen her deliver an Oracle like this. I admit, this may simply be because I have never seen Lady Olivia outside of Chicago, and the different setting may have something to do with it, but it struck me as singular in many ways.

Usually Lady Olivia remains seated while she delivers the Oracle, sheltered beneath the Oracle’s veil which conceals her face and helps her to maintain her trance. In this Oracle however she rose and tore off the Oracle’s veil, to face the crowd directly, and strode purposefully around the circle giving a special Blessing to every person present –something I have never seen her do before. I was very moved by this, and when my turn came and she touched me in benediction and spoke a Blessing I felt great power flow from her finger tips –healing energy from the Goddess.

It was a very special Oracle.

Now the ritual proper carried forward invoking Aphrodite and calling upon the power of love to heal and transform. Each of the TOILA Priestesses took a role as the ritual progressed. A meditation showed us what inner issues needed healing, while an act of power accomplished it. I was struck by how simple the answers seemed which came up during this meditation, despite the elusive nature of such issues: the ritual, as all good rituals do, addressed exactly what I needed at that moment with a kind of Divine synchronicity which reminds you that all things reflect the same inner truth.

After the ritual followed some time for socialization and photo taking. We took a number of group photos. Later when they were developed I would see that in one remarkable photo Lady Olivia appears to be bathed in golden light –a most interesting picture indeed!

After the ritual we repaired to the nearby home of Callista, one of the TOILA Priestesses. Callista and her consort Todd had a lovely, spacious home filled with artwork and surrounded by trees and flowers.

We congregated in the back courtyard, a brick enclosure set up with lawn chairs and a hammock, and planted with lovely trees and flowers. A three-tiered fountain with a statue of a nymph on top provided a delightful white noise with its burbling waters.

Once again I found myself talking to Letitia. Letitia is a Dianic Priestess, a student of the great Dianic leader Zsuzsanna Budapest. We discussed the nature and origins of the Correllian Tradition and especially its philosophical outlook at some length, and its similarities and differences from Dianism. It seems that Dianism and Correllianism have a number of things in common, despite having a number of differences: a familial origin: a commitment to the community and to the future: and occasional controversy over the use of the term “Wicca”.
 

Although the term “Wicca” has been used generally by various Traditions of Witchcraft to describe themselves for many years, there are those who claim that it can only be applied to their own Tradition and that others should not use it –these people claim that Traditions of familial origin should term themselves “Witches” rather than “Wiccans”. This is the occasion of many needless and non-productive arguments and occasional Witchwars. The Dianics apparently are frequently faced with this attitude. Letitia told us how she responds when faced with such intolerance: she politely tells the person “Well, you are certainly welcome to your opinion. But until the Head of my Tradition decides on a different term I will continue to use Wicca.” We regard this as an ideal attitude and a most practical response.

Dinner was announced and we all moved into the house. A number of sumptuous dishes had been laid out on the dinning room table, and we served ourselves buffet style. Then we took seats, some in the living room, others returning outside to the courtyard.

Letitia, Rev. Jason, and I sat together and Letitia began to tell us of her career with the Dianics. She had trained for many years before being ordained a Priestess, and explained how each Priestess pursued her vocation in a unique and individual way. It was a fascinating discussion.

In another corner of the room Lady Olivia sat animated talking with a small group of Priestesses. After a time I noticed this conversation had ended and most of the Priestesses had wandered off. I took this occasion to go over to Lady Olivia and strike up a conversation.

Lady Olivia was glad to see me again, and we began a pleasant but deep conversation which touched on many things. We discussed the inescapable politics with which all Tradition Heads must contend –the sometimes difficult interplay of personalities and emotions, the need to weigh actions carefully in consideration of their effects. We discussed the importance of morality and personal responsibility which is sometimes overlooked in some segments of our community –the need to promote positive behavior and to react to negative behavior. We also discussed the Parliaments of World Religions, and Lady Olivia enquired after my brother Edward, whom she first met at the Second Parliament in 1593 Pisces / 1993 AD in Chicago. She complemented Edward’s practicality and we discussed the extreme importance of attention to practical detail –we agreed that nothing could ever be accomplished without attention to the necessary details which keep an organization going and the invaluable efforts of people like Edward. Indeed, without Ed the Correllian Tradition would still be just a tiny familial Tradition with some good ideas and a couple of moderately well known members.

Soon thereafter Callista began calling everyone together and announced that Amitra was going to dance. Everyone gathered in a circle around the area in which Amitra would dance. A CD of Middle Eastern music was put on, and its sensuous rhythms welcomed Amitra as she entered and took up her position in the center of the circle. Slowly an elegant and evocative dance unfolded as Amitra combined Middle Eastern, Hindu, and Modern dance styles into a form all her own. Her flowing blue gown and long strings of pearl beads swirling and swaying to accent each movement, Amitra’s dance honored the Goddess and feminine power, her own power evident in every gesture.

When Amitra had finished, all applauded, and there followed a conversation on the nature of sacred dance and ritual gesture. It occurred to me at that moment how much Lady Deena, back in Chicago, would have enjoyed this conversation being deeply interested in and highly skilled at ritual dance herself. This sort of artistry is particularly favored among the Isians, who bring a sense of innate beauty to everything they do, no doubt inspired by Lady Olivia herself who is a wonderful artist and has set a strong and sensitive artistic tone for the Fellowship.
 

After Amitra’s dance some of the people began to leave, while the rest returned to the courtyard at the back of the house, where we sat in the gentle shade of the many trees, embraced the burbling sound of the waters of the fountain.

Many things were now discussed, but foremost among them I remember Amitra discussing what she considered to be her mission –educating young girls (and boys) in the practicalities of life. She had seen many young women, she said, who had no idea how to such necessary things as dealing with fuse boxes, maintaining automobiles, or making minor household repairs. This frustrated Amitra greatly because these were simple things which parents often simply didn’t teach their daughters (and sometimes even their sons). Having had to learn such skills on her own, Amitra now made it her mission to teach young people, especially young women, the practicalities of everyday life.

I thought this was an extremely relevant idea, and a much needed thing to do. In its own way this is exactly the sort of infrastructure work that our community needs to focus on if we are to flourish in the future. Everyone wants to deal with exotic and glamorous aspects of the Pagan community, but we must also deal with the everyday aspects and with the more difficult aspects of community. Without attending to the practical, even mundane issues which a community needs at its base, we will simply be ungrounded and rootless. As the famous saying goes “Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood carry water”.

When the time finally came to leave we sadly said goodbye to our TOILA friends and Lady Olivia, and returned to our hotel. Here we rested again, for we were all still tired from the previous days’ travels.

As afternoon moved into evening we roused ourselves and decided to find a restaurant and have dinner. Looking around the neighborhood we were in we came to a small strip mall with Asian shops: here was a lovely Vietnamese/Thai restaurant, and here we decided to dine.

It was a very nice restaurant, with large windows which afforded a nice view of the street, and fine murals on the walls. We ordered our meals. To accompany mine I ordered one of my favorite things: Thai Iced Tea. Rev. Jason was quite intrigued by this, for he had ever had Thai Iced Tea, and decided to try one too. We enjoyed our meal, and as we left Rev. Jason ordered a second Thai Iced Tea to go. Industrious boy that he is, as soon as he had computer access again Rev. Jason searched out the recipe for the drink so that we can make it ourselves in Hoopeston should we be so inclined –which we are, we are.

After dinner we went to an Asian grocery in the same mall. Here we found all manner of products that fascinated us: candles, incense, and altar goods: exotic teas and spices: tropical fruits like Rambutan and Ly Chi: every mushroom imaginable: and many other interesting wares. We bought a large package of small, fast burning altar candles suitable for ritual and a large mortar and pestle, as well as tea and incense.

After this we went back to our hotel, satisfied that we had seen at least a little bit of Long Beach while we were here. Tomorrow is our last engagement in California: we are to visit Mystic Athenae Temple in San Diego, the first Correllian Temple on the West Coast. We are looking forward to this immensely, even though it involves more driving, and have arranged to arrive at the home of Rev. Guen Mystic around 2 PM.

For now we will fall into the arms of Morpheus and hopefully have a restful and refreshing sleep.