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| MoonTeachings
for May/June 2002:
The Goddess is Listening
The invisible world wants to help us, declares visionary activist and astrologer Caroline Casey, “but spiritual etiquette requires that we ask.”Ritual is a sure way to let the gods and goddesses know we want their magic. And it’s a wonderful way to play. So each Spring, on an auspicious Friday, during the Venus-ruled Taurus season, I perform the Santeria Venus ritual (described by Casey in her Making the Gods Work for You). The first time I did it as a lark. Venus rules pleasures, money and love – who wouldn’t be eager for more of that! To ensure a powerful result, I knew I needed to be as specific as possible. I meditated on my desires. Even at my most optimistic, I suspected I was a year or two away from seeing my latest Venusian dreams come true: I wanted an exquisite new home and a man to share it with. Given my request, maybe it wasn’t too soon to signal the goddess about my desires. Plus the ritual sounded fun. I gathered the requisite ingredients: a dinner roll, a nickel, my desires written down on a piece of paper, some honey, and a candle. I followed the instructions. The ritual concluded with tossing the combined ingredients into a body of fresh (not salty) running water (not easy to find in my suburban neighborhood!). Six weeks later I found myself in escrow on a home so beautiful, with waterfalls, French windows, a fabulous view, it was grander than my wildest dreams. The man arrived too. He brought a loan for the down payment and a readiness to move in with me. I was stunned. I’ve performed the Santeria Venus ritual many times since. None has surpassed the drama of that first result. Yet my repeated petitions to the goddess have brought something far more profound: Venus is now a living presence in my life. That exquisite house has since been sold, its profits funding a prosperity of ease and playfulness I wouldn’t have believed possible before. Following that partner the first ritual brought, another one, even more loving, has entered my life. I enjoy more abundance and pleasure now than ever. No longer do I see Venus as some distant feminine Santa Claus bringing her goodies. She’s become someone I can serve, by actively celebrating what she loves. So it wasn’t a desire for more Venusian goodies that prompted my ritual last Friday. The sparkle and rush of running streams in my neighborhood, the teasing bowers of new Spring growth -- they stirred me to it. After preparing our rolls and burning our candles, my partner and I drove to a local creek. I could sense Venus dancing in the water and among the leaves. I could feel her within, a rising joy. “Oh let’s pick a good spot, so we can watch our rolls float awhile downstream!” I focused into the pleasure of the moment and flung my bread into the water. I watched as it swiftly sailed through the sun-lit current, til it went out of view. Exhilarated, I turned to my partner. His face was glum. There was his bread, inches away from where he’d thrown it, pinned against a rock. Every moment in ritual is a telling one. If what shows up is contrary to our desires, it says what might be in our way, or what is unclear about our current state of mind. My partner had been feeling stuck in his life for awhile. He turned toward the car. “No! We must free it!” Was it the goddess speaking in me? We tossed stones, laughed, nearly fell into the water, and then his roll sprung free and went on its way. At home that night, we honored Venus deliciously. Gods and humans need each other. We love their magic. They love our acknowledgement. It is through us that they live! I hope you spend this Taurus Moon cycle living the joy of Venus. Use the Santeria ritual, or any other means! Venus Santeria ritual Do this on Friday (this is
Venus’ day). Get a round piece of bread, like a dinner roll.
Make a hole in it and put a nickel inside (the number five is sacred to
Venus). Add the folded piece of paper on which your desires are clearly
stated. Pour a little honey on top of that (as Casey always says,
“for obvious symbolic reasons!”). Finally, place a small candle in
the hole (bigger than a birthday candle, but smaller than a taper -- Casey
suggests a yellow candle, though I’ve found different colors fun to play
with). Light the candle. As it is burning, honor Venus:
take a luxurious bath, go shopping, make love. This prepares the
way for Venus’ arrival. When the candle is completely burned down,
so that only melted wax is on the bread, take it to sweet flowing water.
Toss this now ritually potent (and fully bio-degradable) roll into the
water, reciting an invocation, poem, or prayer of your choice.
© 2002
Dana Gerhardt
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