The Wiccan Mysteries
Basically, this classification is an attempt to codify for the purposes of
teaching (and NOT for ossification) the Wiccan mysteries as I understand them.
The classification basically comes down to five core Mysteries, which, in my
idiosyncratic fashion, have labelled Hers (the outer nature of the Goddess),His
(the outer nature of the God), Grail (or Cup; Her inner nature), Descent (His
inner nature) and Union (Their inner nature). I see the details of Her and His
mystery, (and the classification system itself as described in the previous
sentence) as being public domain, hence non-Oathbound, having derived them from
festival circuit Paganism. The Grail mystery is Oathbound to First Degree; the
mystery of the Descent, to Second; and that of Union,to Third. All concern the
nature of the Gods themselves, and their relationships to one other, the
universe and to us.
Hers: The Lady as Magna Mater, Mother of Life, Creatrix. It's also concerned
with her triple nature as Maiden, Mother, & Crone and how the face
she turns to us will change with the cycles of the moon. Yet she
herself is eternal and unchanging - the changes are only the way in
which we perceive her, wherein lies the mystery. We
celebrate her mysteries at esbat and in the cycles of the moon.
His: The Lord's nature as the ever born, ever dying God, and the various
stages of the life cycle he follows in that guise. We celebrate
his mysteries at sabbat and in the cycles of the sun.
Grail: This Mystery is contained within the Charge of the Goddess.
Descent: This Mystery is contained within the Legend of the Descent of the
Goddess.
Union: This Mystery is celebrated with the Great Rite.
(copyright to Adrienne, 1991. This material can be freely distributed, so long
as it is clearly attributed to Adrienne.)
I found these Mysteries with a lot of hard work, study, intuition and help from
the Gods. Perhaps it would be helpful if I described the process of finding
these Mysteries.
It all started many years ago, from a chance remark from Sekhet Sophia,
a Second Degree Gardnerian who was a member of our coven at the time. We were
speculating about Mysteries, and something she said led me to think long and
hard about Mysteries and what they were.
For years, ever since I started in Craft, Mysteries were part of our
practice. Yet these Mysteries were never articulated, never discussed. So I
looked as to where the Mysteries had to be.
I started with the Grail Mystery. Initiation in a Mystery faith should,
logically, lead to being introduced to a Mystery. Again, logically,the only
part of the initiation ritual that specifically talks about Mystery is the
Charge of the Goddess. Everything else is concerned with practice or expands
upon that specific piece of ritual.
Therefore, the Mystery must be contained within that piece of liturgy
(it being one of the few pieces of liturgy we have).
Second Degree initiation ritual also has one, specific piece of liturgy,
the Legend of the Descent. Therefore, the Mystery must be contained within
that.
Third Degree initiation ritual does not contain liturgy or instruction,
but it does contain a specific (and very difficult) magical act. The Mystery,
the experience of that Mystery must be contained within that magical act.
So, after exploring the specific meanings of these pieces of ritual,I
found that they all fit in neatly with other habits and practices and lore that
I had been using for literally years. None of the insights I found were strange
or ill fitting. Some were surprising, adding a depth of understanding of the
structure of the universe, of the nature of the Gods and of my place within the
universe as a Hidden Child of the Gods. I had experienced these Mysteries
before; I had not fit them together into a coherant and cohesive mystical and
theological structure.
Once I had these three Mysteries, I added on "His" and
"Hers",recognising that, without these concepts of Mother Earth and Dying God,
there is no foundation to the other three Mysteries. The Oathound Mysteries are
built on this foundation of experiencing the Gods as visceral and real beings,
not just intellectual and mystical constructs.
The model was only ever intended to be a teaching model for me, so I
could keep focussed on Mysteries and the importance of keeping the Mysteries as
the core of my faith and practice.
As I said in a previous message, I presented this material (actually,the
Oathbound version of this material) to several Elders of Gardnerian Wicca in
Europe for feedback. They, like me before I looked at it, had not really
discussed Mysteries, hence I did not get as much feedback as I would have liked.
However, I did get confirmation that what I found was well within the Gardnerian
understanding of Mystery and it was quite possible that Gardner himself would
have approved of the model and the insights I found. Of course, this cannot be
verified.
What was of particular interest to the people I shared this with was the
method by which I found the Mysteries. I looked into the rituals that we use
for initiation, the parts that make up the ritual. Others who do the same
exploration may find different things than what I did, considering that
Mysteries are experienced, not simply taught.
I think anyone, Wiccan (by any definition) or not, would find it useful
to look into the rituals that speak particularly to them, look at the rituals
and practices that are at the core of the faith. That is where the Mysteries
for that faith will be found.
Adrienne
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