Vows of the Priestess

Ariadne by John William Waterhouse - 1898

I choose to walk my path fearlessly
To live with my heart wide open
To be grateful for my experiences
Which led me straight into the arms of the Goddess
And taught me compassion for all things
To forgive and forgive and forgive again
While maintaining the boundaries of my own sacredness
Not resisting life, but allowing it to be
To accept and embrace it
And transmute my fear and suffering into Joy
And just by being,
Give others permission to do the same.
To know that everyone is a mirror
Reflecting the light of the Goddess
All with truth at the core of their being
All unique, all beautiful, all different aspects of Her.

Breathe

Ariadne by Cecilia May Gibbs (1877-1969)

Today I was grateful for my breath
And when my breath is gone
I will still have You

γνῶθι σεαυτόν Know Thyself

Edward Burne-Jones 'Love in a Tangle'

Come into the Present Moment
Remember, remember who you are
Connect with me in eternity
For eternity is here
Let it be
And know
All is well.

Destruction and rejuvenation all take place in the present
The old must pass away

So that new life can be reborn
Death every moment making way for life

Goddess Archetype

Lady Hamilton as Ariadne by Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun (1755 - 1842)

'It's not like the different goddesses are all in their own special heavens with the door closed. All are archetypical manifestations of this universal female energy. Access is not an energy outside ourselves, but an energy within. Outside/inside, in ultimate reality, it makes no difference.

It is our true nature that we are trying to realize. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, you go about the day seeing yourself as Tara and recognizing Tara in others. And, though you think you are pretending to be Tara, in reality you are Tara pretending to be Mary Smith. And that is the point.'

~ Tenzin Palmo

Ancient Goddess

Clay Minoan Goddess

From the late Minoan period (1320-1200 BCE)

I AM

I am awake
I am whole
I am perfect
I am divine
I am abundant
I am everlasting
I know my power
I know my perfection
I know the core of my being is holy
I am goddess
I love everything that is an expression of me
I am free
I am untameable
I am undefined
I am inexhaustible
I am spectacular
I am the Mighty Goddess
Leader of the Dance
I create life in my womb
All comes from me
All returns to me
I heal
And I destroy
I am wisdom
I am strength
I am courage
I am beauty
I am LOVE
I am open
I am accessible
Come to me
If you wish to feel my presence
I am here
I always will be
The answer to the question is
I AM

The last obstacle- is believing there is an obstacle. ~Anon

πύλη τοίο Πότνια Mistress at the Gate

If you believe it, then so it is


~ Ariadne ~

Ariadne, Venus and Bacchus by Tintoretto (1518-1594)

The Beautiful Triad

Ariadne, I Am
With Love and Ecstasy
I perform my rituals
Life is my ritual
Dance with me
Into the beautiful dark places
The sanctuary of the soul
Where all come to rest
And all are reborn.

Ariadne's Suffering

Ariadne in Naxos by Evelyn de Morgan

Although strongly linked to love and ecstasy, what first drew me to Ariadne was the myths of her suffering.

Originally worshiped as the Great Goddess in Crete, her legend was absorbed by the patriarchal Greeks who reduced her to a princess that betrays her country and is ultimately betrayed herself. Another story says she died in childbirth after being abandoned on the island of Cyprus, where a shrine was built for her in the sacred grove of Aphrodite Ariadne.

I connected immediately to the stories of the Goddess suffering in childbirth, an experience no god could ever know.

As the labyrinth symbolizes the womb of the Goddess, so the journey through it can be as painful as childbirth. To know oneself, to be re-united to the Goddess, also requires a death, or surrender, so that one can be re-born.

The Gift of the Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is a yantra, a mandala, an ancient meditation tool.

It is a symbol of the Goddess' womb, or of life itself.

It is not to be confused with a maze, which confuses, puzzles, and requires thinking to navigate.

It soothes, calms, heals, and leads you straight to the centre.

It is a gift from the Goddess.

I have created my own finger labyrinths, and am constructing a walking labyrinth in my garden.

Use this picture of my handmade finger labyrinth for your own meditative purposes. Follow it from the outside in, and then back again.

What does it speak to you? I find a new lesson every time.

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)

The ivy in the man’s hair and the pattern of the stephanotis flowers in the woman’s crown identify them as Dionysus and Ariadne.

To memorialize their wedding, Dionysus flung the flowers in her crown into the sky to become the constellation Corona Borealis.

Ariadne has many ties to Love and Ecstasy. She was once worshipped alongside Aphrodite in the cult of Aphrodite-Ariadne at Amuthus, Cyprus.

And Her consort Dionysus is the god of ecstasy.

Minoan Snake Goddess

The Great Goddess, worshipped in Crete, once known as Minoa.
This effigy has a leopard on her head, possibly signifying a link to Dionysus, her consort.
Poppy seed pods adorn her headdress
Snake wands represent rebirth and immortality
Her open chested bodice suggests fertility and nurturing
The long skirt covering her feet is a mark of divinity

You make me feel powerful

You make me feel beautiful

I Am

Because You Are

Beautiful, beautiful Goddess

I Love You

Just be, and enjoy being
- Eckhart Tolle

Lady of the Labyrinth

To the East facing portal of life
I come with my offering of honey
The place of the double headed axe
The spiral of Ariadne

Her crown is set in the heavens
Stars that dance to the drummer
Low to the North in winter
High to the South in summer

A dove alights upon her head
Symbolizing divinity
Snake wands in her hands she holds
Rebirth and immortality

She leads us in the sacred dance
Into the maze we roam
And with her precious ball of thread
She will lead us home