Celtic Women's Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life - Edain McCoy 1998
Self-Initiation of the Celtic Priestess: Solitary Ritual
The ritual in this chapter is not an initiation into a specific Pagan tradition or to Paganism/Wicca in general. Celtic women’s spirituality is not a tradition per se, but a special or additional aspect of a woman’s Pagan life. There probably are some Celtic-based traditions out there that appeal mostly to women, but if so, I have not yet been made aware of them. No doubt they will become more popular and public with the passage of time.
This initiation is for a woman who is already an initiated Pagan/Wiccan, and who feels ready to dedicate herself as a Celtic priestess in the service of a particular Celtic Goddess. As mentioned in the previous chapter, we are all priestesses in some sense after we have been initiated into Paganism, either by ourselves or by someone else, meaning that we need no intermediaries between ourselves and our deities. But this ritual takes that commitment a step further, by affirming it through ritual vows.
It is best to wait until you have been a part of Paganism for a least a year and day before trying to make yourself a priestess. A year and a day is the customary length of time a new-comer to the Craft/Paganism is expected to study in order to undergo initiation. Solitaries are usually cautioned to wait this amount of time as well before making a formal oath of commitment to their chosen path. A year and a day is a passage of magickal time in many Celtic myths and folk legends, and represents a cycle of completion and change.
If you have already been involved in spiritual studies for more than a year and a day, or have already been initiated into the Craft/Paganism through a self-initiation or by someone else, then you will still have to decide if the role of priestess is one you want to fulfill. As previously mentioned, it is not a position of ease, but one of service to others and to one’s Goddess. If you have thought long and carefully about this role and feel chosen by the Goddess and ready to accept her challenges, then this ritual will no more than formalize something the Goddess has already given you.
The Meaning and Challenge of Initiation
Your real initiation is not a physical act or event-it is what comes after. The word initiation means “to begin,” and speaks of the new life that awaits you once the vows have been taken and the circle closed. When you begin this new phase in your life, you accept with it new challenges and responsibilities, and you will find yourself tested by the Goddess to whom you have dedicated your spiritual self. If this was not something you were told when you were first initiated, it was likely something you learned for yourself rather soon after. This is why no one else can tell you which initiation is valid and which isn’t; only your inner self and your deities know what is “real” and what is a game, and they will at some point make the pretender aware of her transgressions.
Those who argue against the validity of self-initiation are usually those who fear losing some power-base they have built for themselves. It is true that there are many self-styled “gurus” in modern Paganism, vastly so in Celtic traditions. Many of them just decided that being a priestess sounded like fun, a good way to get a leg up on others. They abuse their office simply because they do not know any better. However, this does not mean that we must look down upon all self-initiates as pretenders. The majority are good-hearted, sincere people trying to do the best they can on their chosen path. The Goddess makes a Witch, and the Goddess makes a priestess; it is not done by the blessings of another person, no matter how long she has been Pagan. The two questions we have to ask of those who insist that someone be initiated by another initiated person are:
By what right do you claim the power to tell me what I am? Who do you think initiated the first Witch to begin with?
An initiation ritual is an outward expression of something you already possess, a gift of the Goddess that no one else can bestow by mere words and gestures. The event is designed to open yourself to the true initiation when it comes to you. This serves two purposes: it humbles you, and it shows you areas in which you need more study. Being a priestess does not mark the end of your study, but “initiates” a new phase of it. Shortly after my initiation into the Craft, I found myself in a magickal battle with someone on a negative path. I imme diately went running for help, only to find that the power to deal with the problem was within me all the time. But the challenges do not stop. After I was initiated as a Priestess of Brighid, my creative side was challenged until I recognized and acted upon what the Goddess was trying to tell me.
There is an old metaphysical adage that says, “When you change, every thing around you changes.” Initiation awakens aspects of the inner self once left sleeping, and alerts the outer world to interact with you in new ways. This is why you are challenged upon any spiritual initiation, whether a first, second, priestess, elder, or any other. The energy patterns attracted to the new you are naturally going to be different, and you will need time to adapt to them.
Expect these trials and challenges to continue throughout your spiritual life. They are not a one time growing, the very thing you declared you wanted when you dedicated your life to a deity. All are a part of the ongoing initiation process, which will take you further and further into the mysteries of the Goddess. The purpose is always for your benefit, even though it may not always seem that way at the time. The deeper you go, the more you learn, the more you will be expected to prove yourself, and the more you will be expected to give back. The universe seeks balance, and reciprocity for things given and taken is part of that balance. So be very sure that you are doing the right thing for you, for once the ritual of initiation is complete and you have aligned your energies with those of the Otherworld, there is no turning back. To resist later on will only make the challenges quite dreadful.
Occasionally one runs across someone who claims they have never been challenged in their spiritual life. Nothing ever appeared to test them, and nothing that had to be overcome challenged them. In these cases I am forced to believe that they are either lying, or simply did not recognize the challenge for what it was. A friend of mine, a priestess who operates a small study circle, questions if those people made a sincere commitment to Paganism, or if their initiation was just a lot of words and ceremony with no substance. In any case, if more than a year passes without any circumstances or forces coming upon you that cause you to grow spiritually, you need to rethink what you did and where you are going.
Preparing for the Ritual
As with the warrior dedication ritual in Chapter 5, you should prepare for this ritual with a spiritual and physical cleansing. For an initiation into priestesshood, some women choose to add fasting and long periods of meditation to this prerequisite.
Both fasting and feasting have been important to women’s spirituality. These two opposing approaches towards our food have been called by some feminists the only area of their lives that women have always had under their complete control. They could choose what they put into their stomachs. Women were the hunter-gatherers and the food preparers. Food availability was under their jurisdiction. Sometimes her cook fire or kitchen was the only place where a woman could make a decision on her own. Little wonder food became a preoccupation. This obsession with food, and our association of it with personal control, is still evident by the frightening fact that nearly ninety-nine percent of people with eating disorders are women. If you choose a pre-ritual fast, do it for spiritual reasons, not appearance-related ones. It is not a diet aid.
This ritual will follow this format:
Blessing of the self
Vows of service
Vows to the Goddess
Announcement of your priestess name
Anointing by oil and “blood”
The bestowing of the symbol of office
The sacrifice
The libation
The items that will be required are:
Two chalices or small cauldrons
Water Salt Soot
Olive oil
A symbol of office
A token of sacrifice
Optional: Celtic mood music and/or incense
The chalice or cauldron has already been discussed at length as a symbol of the womb of the Goddess. You should place some water in the bottom of it before the ritual begins. The olive oil will be used to anoint your skin later on, and should be placed in the other chalice or cauldron. Olive oil has been used as a substance for anointing royalty and priestesses for several millennia. It is non-irritating to the skin, which is not the case with some oils, and serves well as a base for other oil or herbal blends. It.is best to avoid adding other essential oils to the olive oil, unless you know for certain how they will react on your skin. If there is a special herb you like or one you often work with, and you would like to include this in your olive oil, powder it well and add some to the oil before the ritual begins. Be sure as you do this to visualize the purpose for which you are using it: to seal your dedication as a priestess of a Goddess.
Soot is made up of carbon deposits, and these can be obtained from a fireplace, a lamp globe, or by holding a heat-resistant glass or plate over a candle’s flame until you have enough soot to scrape into a small pile suitable for anointing yourself and for representing your blood.
Blood initiations were once an accepted part of spiritual initiations in many cultures. The shedding of blood was often prerequisite to “joining a secret society” such as the priestesshood.245 The magical nature of soot, its appearance during a time of transformation (when fire consumes or changes) links it to the archetypal function of blood. Some feminist researchers also believe that the inclusion of soot in many old flying ointments246 and magickal formulas was no more than a metaphor for a woman’s blood.247
The most common symbol of investiture is a necklace or garter. Having a necklace holding a pendant symbolizing some aspect of spirituality is common enough in Pagan circles. The necklace represents the unbroken circle in which we work, that place that is at the center of the universe. By wearing it, a priestess makes the statement that she is in command of the circle, able to direct the energies that join at this sacred juncture. The pendant may be a pentagram, Brighid’s Cross, triskele, moon symbol, astrological glyph, or other representation, but it will have meaning to you as a Pagan, and to the tradition you have chosen to follow.
The garter has a noble history among priestesses in the Anglo-Celtic traditions and in what is known as British Traditional Witchcraft. It is a descendant of the hip belt or girdle worn by priestesses in ancient times. With the coming of the new religion in Europe, such obvious outward expressions of involvement with Witchcraft were dangerous, and priestesses began to wear garters that could be discreetly tucked up under their clothing. Modern custom in the British traditions says that whenever a new coven “hives off” from the primary one run by a priestess, she is to add a new buckle to her garter to mark that distinction. In some traditions, having more than three buckles makes you a “queen Witch.”
The garter as a Pagan symbol was immortalized in the mid-fourteenth century, during the creation of England’s prestigious Order of the Garter. At a court ball in 1349, King Edward III was dancing vigorously with the Countess of Salisbury when her garter slipped off. The wearing of garters was so deeply associated with Witchcraft that the fair countess was at risk of arrest, but the King picked it up and declared aloud that evil should be visited on those who would think evil of the garter. The King may have been well aware of the role of his sacred kingship, and he felt compelled to protect the Witches. From this inci, dent formed the elite Order of the Garter, a fraternity still intact today. These knights—thirteen in number!—are the only ones permitted to observe certain parts of the coronation ceremonies (the hallowing?) of English monarchs.
You can make or buy a garter almost anywhere, though if you want one with a buckle you may have to purchase a nice dog collar. Fortunately, these come in many styles from simple to “jeweled.” I chose a necklace for my priestess symbol, and the garter I keep in my magickal cabinet was a gag gift from a coven member. He was browsing in one of those mall outlet stores that specializes in sexy women’s lingerie—he never did tell us why—when he saw a tabletop covered with black satin garters, decorated with little red satin roses, on sale for only fifty cents each. He couldn’t resist buying one for everyone in the coven—the four men included! We actually wore them from time to time, and they came to symbolize our unity and friendship.
Another symbol of power that you might want to adopt is the mantle. These cloaks were worn regularly by the Celts. Their color, fabric, and condition were an outward sign of the wearer’s rank in society. It was also a vest, ment of personal significance that denoted a clan chieftain or king, hence the expression, “inheriting the mantle,” used to refer to the passing of authority from one person to another.
If neither the necklace, garter, nor mantle appeals to you as a symbol of office, feel free to be creative. Choose a ring, a crown, a sash, a bracelet or any other item that, to you, symbolizes your office and your duty to your Goddess.
You will also need to have on hand a token of sacrifice to show that you are willing to accept the challenges of the Goddess as you take on this new life and leave a great part of the old behind. This should be some symbol of your past: an icon from your old religion, a page of notes from your initial lessons in Paganism, or a similarly significant object.
As you discard this item you will also take on yet another name, your priestess name. Some women like to simply add the title “Lady” to the front of their old Craft name. Lady is a designation by which priestesses in many tra ditions are known (“Lord” is used for priests). Or you may simply add a second name or word to your current Craft name. Because I see the role of priestess as being a lamp lighting the path for others, I simply added the Irish word solus to the front of my Craft name, the way some women would add “Lady.” Salus means “light.”
Long before this ritual begins, you will need to spend time meditating on the Goddesses to whom you feel closest, to see which one you wish to serve as her priestess. If you have made a choice the Goddess agrees with, you will know it. If not, that inner connection you want to feel will be missing and you will realize it fairly soon. In some cases you will feel that your Goddess has chosen you. This was certainly true in my case. I wanted very much to be a priestess of Maeve, and I set out on my year and a day study of priestesshood with that goal in mind. But nothing in that direction seemed to go right for me. Instead it was Brighid whose image, archetype, and correspondences kept asserting themselves. I fought Brighid’s offering mostly out of a need to be different. Brighid and Lugh are the principal deities of my tradition, and the rna jority of people within it have one of them as a patron.
I am not the first Pagan to find that when we do not want what is best for us, we are made uncomfortable until we do realize the right path and start tak ing steps to walk it. While I was resisting her, all the aspects of my life under Brighid’s jurisdiction—creativity, inspiration, mental prowess, transformational abilities—waned until I was forced to petition her help. Somewhere during this process I realized what I had been fighting, and accepted Brighid as my patron. I have never regretted it.
The Self Initiation Ritual
Open your circle and call your quarters as usual. As you call upon the deities to come to the circle, be sure to call upon the particular Goddess whom you have chosen to serve.
When the circle is cast, take the chalice/cauldron of water and bless it, saying:
Blessed Be the water, the blood of the Goddess from which all life emerges, from which I was created and to which I shall someday return.
Then take the salt and bless it saying:
Blessed Be the salt, symbol of the earth, the body of the Goddess, the earth mother who nourishes and sustains me.
Put the salt into the water and stir it three times counterclockwise. Bless this mixture by saying:
Water and salt. Blood and earth. By these she blesses those who serve her.
Using the ritual found in Chapter 7, offer yourself the Threefold Blessing on behalf of the Goddess. The next step is to make your first vows. These should be vows of service, not to the Goddess but to others and, if appropriate, to your chosen tradition. In the Celtic tradition, this is your adbertos, an old Gaulish word that literally means “a sacrifice.” Adbertos was a positive part of the Celtic religious and community world view, in spite of its negative English translation. It refers to giving to others, to the tribe and clan-sacrificing your needs to put them first. The Celts saw the giving or receiving of personal sacrifice as being an in herent part of every living moment, as a symbol of the interplay and oneness of all things.
If you intend to teach others in your role as priestess, you should declare that you will do this ethically and with only the highest of intentions. Since the Irish word for “teach” also means “to sing over,” you may wish to chant sing this portion of your vows. All the words should come from your heart and be written by you. No one can make promises on your behalf.
Next you will stand and face the direction where you perceive your patron Goddess to be, from your own heart and should include the following elements:
✵ Address your Goddess by name
✵ Vow to serve her
✵ Vow to be receptive to the gifts she will bring you
✵ Vow to be ready to accept her challenges
✵ Vow to grow and learn
✵ Vow to live a life she will be proud of
✵ An oath that if these vows are not kept that your tools will turn against you and your powers desert you
You will end your vows by declaring them holy in your new priestess name. Say something like:
From now on I am known as (insert priestess name here), Priestess of (insert name of your patron Goddess here). We have chosen one another, we shall serve one another; in honor, in truth, for all positive ends, until she takes me to Tir na mBan to be with her again. By being spoken in the sacred space my words are holy, and by my name I seal these vows. So mote they be.
When you have made your promises, you will seal them with an anointing. Take the soot and mix it in the oil with words such as:
By the blood of the womb all things of the earth are made holy.
Place one finger in the olive oi1248 and say:
Oil of the earth, of the tree of Life, Blood of the womb, sacred and holy, seal the vows I make in this sacred place. From me to the Goddess, from this world to the Otherworld, the link is forged, ever to stay. So mote it be.
Place the oil on your forehead and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. My mind will ever turn to my Goddess.
Place the oil on your lips and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. My mouth will know when to speak and when to keep silent.
Place the oil on your heart area and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. I will love under will.
Place the oil on your womb area and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. I will create in beauty.
Place the oil on your knees and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. I will kneel to no one, yet I honor my Goddess, and like the willow I can bend.
Place the oil on your feet and say:
My vows are sealed, never to be revoked. In beauty I will walk all the days of my life.
Next take your symbol of office and anoint it withthe oil blend saying:
By the donning of this (insert name of object) I declare myself a Priestess of (insert name of Goddess). If I ever shame the office I seek, or cause my Goddess embarrassment, may this symbol leave me and my powers be gone.
Put the item on and say:
So mote it be.
Next make your sacrifice. Explain to the Goddess why this item represents a part of your old life that you are now leaving behind. You may either bury it or burn it (if it is safe to do so), or set it aside to be buried or burned later. Cast the ashes onto the bare earth.
Close your circle whenever you are ready.
After you have closed the circle, make a food and/or drink offering to the Goddess and her creatures that can safely be left outdoors.
245. Shuttle, Penelope and Peter Redgrove. The Wise Wound: Myths , Realities, and Meanings of Menstruation (New York: Bantam Books, 1990), 72—73.
246. These are ointments rubbed on the body to help facilitate astral experiences. They are still in use today, usually without the baneful ingredients listed in the old formulas.
247. Shuttle and Redgrove, 248.
248. The olive tree was seen as a tree of life in the Middle East, and was sacred to several Middle Eastern Goddesses. Adding the crushed bark from a more “Celtic” tree, such as the oak, willow, elder, alder, hazel, apple, or birch is appropriate for this ritual.