July 31, 2011

Highlighted artwork: "We Reap to Share"

We Reap to Share
by Olivia Robertson

*********************
Related link:  Olivia's Online Art Gallery

July 28, 2011

"Priestesses" by Lawrence Durdin-Robertson


The third booklet in the Communion with the Goddess series - "Priestesses" - by Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, is now available to be read or printed from the following link:

(PDF: 237 kb)

Related links:
Online Works of Lawrence Durdin-Robertson
Fellowship of Isis Priesthood

Our sincere thanks to the Durdin-Robertson family for their generosity in allowing the works of Lawrence Durdin-Robertson to be freely accessible to all our members.

Note: You will need a PDF reader on your computer to read these booklet files. Free software may be downloaded from Adobe Reader

From Olivia Robertson: Memories of Preparation for Ordination & Other Initiations

From Olivia Robertson
via Caroline Wise
Received: July 28, 2011

"A Priestess of Isis here in Avalon, Celia, asked me how my brother and I prepared candidates for Ordination and other Initiations.

"Our essential aim for any Candidate was to receive direct revelation of the real existence of the Goddess. This we achieved through the Candidate developing psychic and spiritual awakening through trance experience and dream interpretation. Development of the Kundalini was all important for receiving the direct flow of energy through the body.

"The Candidate was required to have a practical way to care for others through nature, social work, care for animals or the environment.

"Practice of the Arts and Crafts was necessary for each Candidate to develop his or her unique gifts. Lawrence and myself gave our sessions for eight day periods. We would assemble in the library in the morning and each person was required to read a paper on some relevant subject to FOI. In the afternoons, we made pilgrimage to a sacred place to cooperate with the local energies.

"At 6.00 p.m. we would assemble to experience magical journeys of the soul, where each person would report on what they received spiritually. Here, some found the gift of Oracle, others of Healing and Counselling. We accepted the equality of Teacher and Candidate, demanded no violation of their private lives or asked for any binding vows. When we felt that the Candidate was accepted by the Goddess and her Consort the God, we would then give the Rite of Rebirth, followed by Ordination in our Temple of Isis in full ceremony. The new Priestess or Priest, in our experience, received a full flow of divine energy. They then, as was the custom of the ancient Priesthood, gave their Blessing to the world, with a declaration of their future spiritual intent."

********************************

Archival link: Letters from Olivia Robertson


(Our thanks to Olivia & Celia, as well as to Caroline and Linda for forwarding these messages.)

July 25, 2011

Letter from Olivia Robertson: FOI Registration

From Olivia Robertson:
I am so happy that my niece Cressida Pryor is my successor in the spiritual and ethical work of the Fellowship of Isis. We need one single centre for registration of membership and centres (Lyceums, Iseums, Priories and Groves) which should be Clonegal Castle. Cressida has offered to be the custodian of the register. New members may register with her and must sign that they agree to the Manifesto. No member has the right to control another. There are no subscription fees, membership will always continue to be free. I feel my brother is with me as the Fellowship of Isis goes back to basics.


Cressida is the niece of my brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and Pamela Durdin-Robertson.

Olivia Robertson.

From Cressida Pryor:
Registration to the Fellowship of Isis, and registration of centres may be made via my email. (zenziallink@hotmail.com)  All must agree to the Manifesto. Please put ‘FOI’ in the title bar of any emails.

Additional from Olivia:  "Cressida is responsible only for registration and not new membership."


**************************
Archival link:  Letters from Olivia Robertson

July 22, 2011

Letter to All Centers from Olivia Robertson

To All Global Centres,
FOI Centres and The College of Isis
From Olivia Robertson
July 22, 2011

Received from Olivia Robertson in London via Caroline Wise.

Admittance to Iseums, Lyceums, Degrees, Druid Clan of Dana and Noble Order of Tara may be accomplished through any existing centre.

Owing to the great increase in Lyceums and FOI centres in many countries and languages, no single national of ANY country has authority over the Fellowship of Isis or The College of Isis, or any of our centres.

There is no special permit of authority from the USA, UK or any other country that recommends or gives permission for any FOI Centre. The FOI has always had a democratic voice.

Signed
Olivia Robertson
Co-Founder of The Fellowship of Isis
22/7/2011
Festival of Opet

**************************
Archival Link: Olivia's Letters

Shrine of Leo & Invocation of Sekhmet



Happy Sun in Leo! Above is the Shrine of Leo in the Temple of Isis at Clonegal Castle.  This shrine is found to the right of the Shrine of Cancer and both are located in the passageway outside of the Cave of the Mothers.

Click on the mp3 link below and listen as Olivia calls upon the Goddess Sekhmet, the Lion Goddess, during ritual:

(mp3 file: 1:15 min./299kb)

Audio Transcript:
"The sun leaves the crab, Cancer and enters the sign of Leo of the lion Goddess Sekhmet.  Sekhmet is the Goddess of the mysterious lion power, which is within us all.. . Holy Sekhmet, bring to us thy flame within the golden sun which is beneath the earth.  We feel the flames rising up from the heart of the earth, Cor Leonis, Heart of the Lioness: star royal, flame, red fire.  Bring us Thy flame.  Sisters, brothers, feel the power rise up from the earth.  Let it rise and shine and warm our hearts with love." (sistrum)


Shrine of The Anthrosphinx of Sekhmet, Bast, and Ra.


**********************
Related Links:  Shrines of the Zodiac
                      Audio Gallery
                      Goddess Art of Olivia Robertson

(Drawing of "The Lion Goddess" by Olivia Robertson.  Photos by Minette Quick.  All rights reserved.)

Additional Message from Olivia in London


Musings on Priesthood Training Courses
From Olivia Robertson 22/7/2011

As we have said in our Manifesto, My brother and I have printed our ordination ceremony but left it to individual priestesses and Priests to offer their own form of training. Purely from a personal point of view I like what Caroline has told me this morning so I have prevailed on her to offer her own method which is modern, democratic and original. It allows the candidate to bring the Goddess into everyday life.

My brother and I were very clear that anyone could leave the Fellowship, including the priesthood and any FOI group or course at anytime and that they will be sent forth with goodwill and kindness however annoyed they are at the time! I don’t mind if they find spiritual support elsewhere. The Priestess allows the candidate privacy and therefore freedom in their personal life. There should be no vows or secrecy. Let us be happy! Love is the Heartbeat of the Universe.

OR

My brother is present as Caroline and I are talking here on the sofa after breakfast:


From Caroline: Olivia has asked me to share the basics of my Priestess training.

My course is open to all who come with a genuine good heart. It is a very practical and the aims are for the candidate to integrate the Goddess into the ‘mundane’ sphere, what we call everyday life, which includes ones’ work, hobbies, and other activities. This extends to some form of conservation work; practical or raising awareness; Some similar work will be taken with animals and the environment. This is not as daunting as it sounds, trust me! This complements academic research – hearing of your genuine psychic and spiritual contact with the goddess is as important, if not more so, than you telling me what you have learned from books!

The practical work also complements this more esoteric work such as the daily meditations and psychic attunements, FOI Liturgy rites, joining us in solo distant attunement, dream understanding, and bi-monthly group meetings. To me the most important aspect of the role of Priestess is to give the oracle of the Goddess, and it is a particular feature of the FOI priesthood. My course offers training with this.

The candidate finds that by the date of their ordination, they are already acting as a Priestess or Priest with grace in all spheres of their life, including how they treat others, how they share, and how they treat themselves. Equally, I see the role of the Pr/Prs offering an ordination course as one of bringing out the Pr/Prs already within the candidate. No form of bossing or discipline should be present in the relationship. There can be no form of domineering from teacher to student, the relationship is not healthy if the teacher acts like a boss, and the student should not accept it. The newly ordained Prs or Pr is free to continue working with the same people, or to start their own group and to go forth with blessings of the Fellowship. Aset Shemu.


************************
Archival link:  Letters from Olivia

Painting of "The Three Mothers" by Olivia Robertson

July 19, 2011

Message from Olivia in London

Druidess. Festival of Opet, Isis the Awakener
From Olivia Robertson
July 19, 2011

To all Global Centres of The Fellowship of Isis and
The Druid Clan of Dana and The Noble Order of Tara:

I have been overwhelmed by the needs of my friends the Hopi, Mayans, and Polynesians and other Native American peoples both North and South to save their whole life-style from well meaning but disastrous intervention.

Now at last the Divine Command of the Earth Goddess has been heard as Druidess Caroline Wise was summoned to see Her Excellency the Bolivian Ambassador to London to help the Earth Goddess and the indigenous people. The Ambassadress has said we are five minutes to midnight to saving the earth, and that the earth goddess Patchamama is now officially recognised by the Bolivian government.

If we want to help, each of us can light a candle to the Earth Goddess that we may perform her Divine Will to save the Earth. Not our will, her will by forming a network of lights around the earth.

Olivia Robertson


From Caroline:
I was very honoured to be asked to a meeting at the Bolivian Embassy by the Ambassador to Britain Maria Beatriz Souviron to discuss the summer solstice significance at Stonehenge, and the goddess. I was also asked to describe our own beliefs in the Fellowship of Isis. I told her about our work in the Druid Clan of Dana and the Noble Order of Tara. Vivianne Crowley represented Wicca. Please see my report in the latest Isian News. (http://www.isiannewsfoi.org/) The ambassador said we are five minutes to midnight regarding the diminution of earth’s resources. She was aware that the pagan practice of the Bolivian indigenous people have similarities with modern ‘Western’ pagan practice. While I am aware that there are also differences that may not be in accord with my own practice, the important thing is that the Goddess has been officially recognised by a democratically elected government and this will lead to more recognition of the Goddess world wide.

To help with this restoration of the Goddess, I sanction Olivia’s suggestion that we light candles and send the light forth to the indigenous people of the world. Five minutes to midnight on any day convenient to you would be a good time to do this; if this is not possible, then any time could be symbolic of ‘five minutes to midnight’.

Caroline Wise

************************

Archival Link:  Letters from Olivia

The Animals of Clonegal Castle


A fun new section has been added to our Photo Gallery:


Photo of Olivia Robertson and Otto, the the Burmese Mountain Dog, by Dennis Murphy of Logic Reality.

Related Link:  The Animal Family of Isis

July 12, 2011

Fellowship of Isis Prayers


We would like to take a moment to welcome all new readers of this blog, as well as new members to the Fellowship of Isis! Below are two prayers of the FOI:

FOI Daily Prayer
"Holy Goddess Isis, Mother of all beings, come to our hearts.
Grant us, Thy children, Love and Joy, Wisdom and Abundance.
We offer Thee our loving care for all who are born of Thee."

FOI Thanksgiving Prayer
"We thank you our Holy Mother Isis for your Love, Beauty
and Truth which surround us now and evermore."

You may read other Fellowship prayers and invocations, as well as listen to recordings of them by the Hon. Olivia Robertson at the following link:

Fellowship of Isis Prayers and Blessings


(Illustration by Olivia Robertson.)

July 6, 2011

Initiation and the Mysteries


The second booklet in the Communion with the Goddess series - Initiation and the Mysteries- by Lawrence Durdin-Robertson is now available in PDF form:

(208 kb)

We are offering these booklets in PDF format first, and will then work on providing them in HTML format as well.

Related link: