Like I said in my previous post - Even though 2020 and 2021 have been profoundly awful, it hasn’t been all bad! This is a continuation of my lessons learned, thoughts, and general musings about being a Priestess in a Pandemic.
Tag: Priestess
Priestess in a Pandemic – Part One
Earlier in January was the anniversary of my oath to Aphrodite as Her priestess. After my first year of priestesshood, I wrote a perspective piece on lessons I learned in my first year of service. I was going to write one last year as well, but time got away from me, and nothing felt particularly celebratory at the beginning of 2021. Now with two years of being a priestess in a pandemic, I finally feel like I can write something.
An Anniversary of Priestesshood – Lessons from My First Year in Service to Aphrodite
I’m a bit late with this post (over two months late), as my year-and-a-day of priestesshood was back in the beginning of January, but I still wanted to write something to commemorate the occasion. I can’t believe it has been over a year since I took my oath to Aphrodite. It’s been a wild and wonderful ride, and I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. Here are some of my reflections on my first year as a priestess:
Reclaiming Worship as a Modern Pagan
“Worship” is a really charged word for a lot of Pagans, and rightfully so. A lot of us are converts who came from religions where worship was a requirement, and was more about debasing yourself instead of celebrating the Divine. I worship Aphrodite because I adore Her, because I want to feel and be all of the beautiful things She represents in my life, because She is worthy of honor and respect, and because the act of worship brings me that much closer to Her.
What We Label Ourselves
What we decide to call ourselves has immense power. In a spiritual sense, it’s the conscious act of putting yourself out there. Saying “I’m Pagan” has power to it. Saying “ I am a witch” has power to it. The Divine is listening and the Earth can hear - you may be surprised what comes your way when you make a spiritual declaration of this sort.
Why I Quit Caring About Formal Ritual and How That Made Me Better At It
When I quit caring about formal ritual, it allowed me to see more clearly the purpose of ritual: to connect deeply with the Divine. This completely transformed my personal practice. I rarely go through a full “ritual” with formal invocations for the elements and the Divine when I practice alone. My private devotions are much more conversational - and thus more strongly integrated into my day-to-day life. I believe this helps me to maintain a more powerful connection with Deity.
Making Soup for Cerridwyn
While my closest relationship with a divinity is with Aphrodite, I also have a close working relationship with Cerridwyn. Cerridwyn is the Welsh goddess of transformation and change. She is the keeper of the cauldron of knowledge, and she is frequently viewed as a “dark” goddess.
My Experience of Aphrodite
Spiritual experiences are, by nature, very difficult to put into words. You’ve just experienced something transcendent - It’s no surprise that it also transcends language. Given that, I’m going to do my best to describe to you how I experience the Goddess Aphrodite.
What Does It Mean to Be a Priestess?
What does it mean to be a priestess? I thought about this question for a long, long time before I took my official oath as a priestess of Aphrodite. I knew that being a priestess in a public Pagan community was not a responsibility to take on lightly, and I wanted to make sure I knew what I was committing to before I took that plunge. It is a holy office, and the mantle of priestesshood, while joyous and ecstatic, can be heavy at times and comes with a sacred duty to both your deity and your community.
Trials by Fire
I’ve found that spiritual growth is rarely a linear progression. There are times when it is slow and steady, and times of plateau where not much happens at all. Then, there are times when it’s a trial by fire. Right now is one of those times for me.
Priestess of Aphrodite 