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.
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Archival link: Letters from Olivia
Painting of "The Three Mothers" by Olivia Robertson
