February 24, 2017

The Silver Lady: Audio & Artwork

 
Below are two audio clips of the late Olivia Robertson describing her experiences with the Silver Lady - the Goddess who first inspired her:
 
Click to Listen: The Silver Lady Part I
 
Click to Listen: The Silver Lady Part II

 
Audio Transcript - The Silver Lady, Part I
(mp3 file/ 1.8 mb / 4:00 mins)
"She who inspired me to do all my work, came to me, at night in 1946 at Imbolc; about Feb. the 1st I saw her. I associated her with snow, because she came at midnight in the snow with the aura of stars and moon. It was at the time of Capricorn still, getting on to Aquarius - that queer, cold, magical time of midwinter, moving to spring. She told me to get out of bed, which I did reluctantly because of the bitter cold, and put on my red cardigan. Now I guess she wished me to know that she WAS REAL. But she was made of different substance, of crystallized white light, her hair raven black, her dress was cut in v-shapes of different cloths - violet and blue-green. I knew that they were blended together, the material, in some way - not sown. She unwound a white scarf. Her face had delicate features. To me she was absolutely real, as physical reality to be absolutely real, but obviously in different dimensions. She told me to sit, and she sat facing me. The extraordinary thing is, that I could not remember one word of our half hour's conversation. Now I believe I was not meant to remember in the surface of my mind, that I had to have free will to work out what I wanted to do as well. This has influenced me all my life - whatever our conversation was - from the depths, like the depths of the ocean. My own feeble telepathic abilities were as nothing in comparison with the clarity and power of her thought-stream. This was the first Goddess who had come to me. By Goddess, I mean an advanced feminine Being. The visits were a very rare occurrence, with years inbetween. I knew she belonged to a more spiritual and wise race of being. At the close of our communion - it was communion - she rose and I thought: "she has a dignity of a queen, the grace of a ballet dancer and the power of a gymnast!" At that date I had not heard of UFO's, so could not make out at all what was this small plane which she had to wait for? Goddess or no Goddess, she had to wait for some, what I thought, was like a little Aer Lingus plane. And above all, what was the giant ship in the sky that the plane would take her to? I gathered it was as big or bigger than the Queen Mary liner, and that to me was immense. I think that size in the sky made of some wonderful substance like this Lady - well, I couldn't understand it at all - I was overcome."

Audio Transcript - The Silver Lady, Part II
(mp3 file, 504 kb, 2:09 mins)
"A year or so later, I had a vision of the Silver Lady, as I called her, appearing in a wretched slum dwelling with an African family of some immigrants, in utter poverty, which then existed in the Dublin slums, which I'd worked in for four years. I looked after children in the most terrible conditions. What struck me was her power. She stood, straight and slim, and raised her right arm in command. Her left arm she gestured downwards in utter dismissal of such conditions. It reminded me of the figure of Christ, in Michelangelo's Last Judgment: one arm up, the other down. It's as if you call down the powers of heaven with your left hand and execute them with your right. It was a call to action. My brother Lawrence, his wife Pamela and I did go on doing my social work when we created the Clonegal Welfare Association in 1960 to '63, when the government then took over local authority and the people actually had enough to eat. In our area of Clonegal, it was extraordinary that there were people living below subsistence level. There was one farm family living on 15 pounds a week, and yet they'd be too proud to accept. This wasn't charity - we suggested people join the scheme, contributed when they could and then - well, we did get a lot of money, we got 10,000 pounds from the English who helped us in this, but nonetheless - the people all contributed themselves when they could. It was extraordinary - we visited 400 families, we knew all about them intimately. We were fascinated by what they wanted. One woman who had absolutely nothing longed for a peacock firescreen. Another one wanted a cuckoo clock and my sister Pamela, very imaginative, she managed to get it for them as a Christmas present. So I think those small thing matter, just as much at subsistence level. I feel that we can't really proceed in our spiritual life without respecting not only our fellow human beings, whatever race or color, but all the other beings."


Archival Link:
Fellowship of Isis Audio Gallery

(Painting of The Silver Lady by Olivia Robertson, Foundation Center Temple, photo copyright M. Quick)

February 18, 2017

Shrine of Pisces

 
Blessings of the Sun in Pisces!  Click below to listen to audio of the late Olivia Robertson leading a guided meditation:  

(mp3 file - 1.6 mb - 6:44 mins)

Audio transcript:
"We find ourselves at the foot of the holy mountain upon which shines the Temple of the Zodiac, surrounded by constellations. Let us climb this mountain . . . it seems silvery and white and beautiful as we reach the top.  We reach the mighty portico of the temple, guarded by two female sphinxes, whose wings soar to the heavens. We enter. . . we make our way to the North-East window, surmounted by the emblem of Pisces, a silver and gold fish joined by two knotted cords. Let us gaze upon the stained-glass window of Pisces. It depicts the fish-tailed Goddess Derceto, holding two winged children, a boy and a girl. A wind suddenly rushes through the temple, throwing open the window. We are faced with the constellation of Pisces, known to the ancient Persians as Mahik the Fish.

"Let us gaze upon the constellation of Pisces and see a vision of Anahita: 'Ardvi Sura Anahita stands forth in the form of a pure maid, strong, all-formed, wearing a mantle fully embroidered with gold. Ever holding the baresma, she wears square golden earrings and a golden necklace. Upon Her head She wears a golden crown with a hundred stars and eight rays.'  Visualise Anahita of the flowing waters of Space that encompasses all stars and constellations. We are a microcosm of the whole, the jewels of Anahita within our bodies as the sacred centres, the Melusina serpent.  The flowing waters of Space are in our bodies through in our blood. We are mostly made of Her waters, our body. 

"Then we realize that the Goddess rules from within, the God without.  The Goddess holds creation within Her womb and through inspiration, magic, She prevails.  But now we see the form of Ahura Mazda, who rules the outer form, and both are united in Love and Truth and Harmony.  Feel this within yourself.  Within the Goddess is perfect balance, force and gentleness - within the God is perfect balance, force and gentleness.  So it is with you.  Feel this.  You feel a tingling within you.  What's the use of looking at a Goddess if you're not one - what's the use of contemplating a God if you're not one?   You feel a flow now right through you. There's a tingling around your head, like a thousand stars.  Your body is made of constellations of atoms.  You feel a glow in your heart, right down your spine, sex centre, base of spine, right around you.  This is Divine Light, blended perfectly through Anahita and Ahura Mazda, the silver and the gold. You are in perfect harmony.  You can blend the active and the passive, love and the emotions; your heart is weighed by the Feather of Truth as it was in Ancient Egypt. You're finding your own keynote, your own individuality.  You are an eye in the peacock feather of Creation. 
 
"But even as you feel this heavenly serenity you realize that you have to come back and continue your work. We have felt the light and warmth of divine Anahita, the light of Mazda flow through us to invigorate us for our essential work transmuting the elements of earth to their True Being. For the Earth also is holy.  And  we return through the window of Pisces to the Temple of the Zodiac.  A wind blows the window shut. We pay our respects to the central altar, the altar of perpetual flame in the centre of the Temple of the Zodiac.  We gaze in awe at that central flame and find a little of it entering our hearts.  Receive the blessings of the Goddess Anahita.  Selah!"



(Shrine of Pisces, Foundation Center Temple, copyright Minette Quick.)

February 13, 2017

All Nature is Expressed in One Loved Face

 
"To find the Other is to find Oneself:
All Nature is expressed in one loved face."

"So says the Bard of the Druids in our Isis Wedding Rite. To unite with another soul is the goal of the Lover: through this devotion selfishness and loneliness fade away. When twin souls unite in Divine Union, it is through discovery of The Immortal Beloved that they find their own real selves. Such is the truth underlying the Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris, perfect wife and husband. In classical Greece Plato brought forth the ideal of twin souls divided and discovering reunion through love. Centuries later medieval troubadours travelled throughout Europe singing of fulfilment through the romantic devotion of lovers. Within our secret dreams, we have this knowledge in ourselves. But one is not for ever able to concentrate on one other person, excluding all others! To find the other is indeed to find oneself. But this very love is creative, and kindles a like flame in receptive hearts. Families become friendly. Children are drawn into incarnation. Friendship expands to include animals, birds, trees and flowers, in an ever widening circle.

"Through this increasing community, an elaborate interrelationship is woven; a tapestry of glowing colours and intricate design. Each new friendly connexion makes an additional knot in this tapestry of life. The good in any true relationship cannot be undone or broken, because by its very nature it belongs to the eternal Sphere of Archetypes. No annulment, no divorce exists in the Web of the Universe. That which is ugly, unnecessary or diseased has no part in this manifestation of the Divine Plan. We lose nothing that is a living part of ourselves or of others. What is lost could never have had real value.  Through the understanding gained of how to live pleasantly with those around us, cosmic awareness begins to dawn. This is a natural awakening of the soul, as a plant grows, flowers and bears fruit. This community of souls interconnected through love and wisdom has been symbolized by medieval philosophers as 'Rosa Mundi', a rambling rose bush that grows throughout all spheres, and flowers in the hearts of all beings and existences."

Olivia Robertson,
Introduction to the "Isis Wedding Rite"


(Osiris born again by the Winged Isis", painting by Olivia Robertson, Castle Temple, copyright reserved.)

Fellowship of Isis Homepage

February 7, 2017

Fellowship of Isis Imbolc Festival


"The visits we make at each Festival to the Rose Garden,
Grove and Abbey provide special opportunities to explain
the ways in which we still connect with the spirit which
inspired the Foundation of the Fellowship worldwide."

Minette Quick writes of the Fellowship of Isis Imbolc Festival, held on February 4, 2017:



(snowdrops photo, copyright M.Quick)

February 1, 2017

Fellowship of Isis Oracle


 
"Look within yourself and you will find the
Divine Law of Goodness written in your soul."
 
This month's Oracle is from the Goddess Nemesis.  You may read it in full by clicking on the following link:


 


(photo of Olivia Robertson as Oracle at the FOI Foundation Center Temple, copyright Alice Smeets.)