I read an interesting post by Moody Thursday called Finding your Matron Goddess and this made me think of something that I’ve tried to put a label on for about twenty years. Her post gave me a lot to think about and I love the Matron Goddess post/spread that she has posted there.

These have been ideas that I haven’t taken the time to write down for the longest time, which I hope to explore here.

FINDING THE GODDESS THROUGH WITCHCRAFT

At the age of 14, when I learned about the book, To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver RavenWolf, I literally looked up a new age book shop in the Yellow Pages and got my father to drive me to the store downtown which he paid for it.

Imagine my military father standing in a new age shop filled with incense and tarot decks paying for a witchcraft book. No questions asked and never said anything about it, even 20 years later. (I guess it was the whole “don’t ask; don’t tell” mentality? – After all. This was the mid-1990’s.)

That book really started me on my journey and opened more possibilities by having something concrete to refer to.

I’ve heard some people say over the years, that the book is “fluffy bunny witchcraft”, but I still say it’s a great book to get your feet wet with the fundamentals and basics.

Everyone has to start somewhere, somehow.

After I learned more about witchcraft, I really identified with the Goddess aspect.

Although, I find that I have a duality within myself of masculine and feminine traits, I’ve always felt it easier to connect to certain goddesses.

For some, finding the Goddess is an ultimate “middle finger” to the patriarchy that many of us are raised with.

In the beginning, as for many newcomers to the Craft, there’s a desire to castaway the old system for something new. I may have fallen into that mindset just like most newcomers. However, over the years, this mentality has evolved and matured as I’ve aged and expanded my horizons.

As I grew older, my spiritiuality became more about about identifying with a deity that I could connect with as parts of myself as woman.

I just couldn’t feel like I could identify myself created in an image of a male deity.

And I tried.

Oh, my gods, did I try.

I just couldn’t.

I just felt that I didn’t have any connection or anything in common with a male deity – especially that of the Christian faith (or maybe it was mostly the way it was introduced to me at a young age.)

Whatever speaks to you and you identify with is what works best.

Go with what you believe in.

Go with what works for you. If it’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that, do it.

Spirituality is your own unique blend.

 

DUALITY OR GODDESS-ORIENTED ONLY?

When it comes to spirituality, I personally connect better with the Goddess. Although, I’m not formally part of any Dianic Witchcraft tradition, it is similar to what I believe – if I have to put a label on myself.

And that’s the difficult part.

If you’re not initiated in a “tradition” and you’re not standard “Wiccan”, do you really have a label, or for that fact, even need one? I suppose “Witch” is sufficient without getting technical with labels.

As much as I feel that I should try to work with male deities, I just don’t feel the connection at this time.

And I’ve tried for many years.

However, I deeply respect them as they are.

I enjoy reading the mythologies and stories. I respect them as partners and consorts to certain goddesses. However, in my personal work, I don’t feel the same connection.

I’ve tried for nearly twenty years on and off and it’s still the same feeling.

Some may say, “Wicca is about duality,” which honestly it is, if you want to get technical.

Therefore, I wouldn’t identify myself as Wiccan since I don’t follow many of those structures. To each their own?

I respect everyone’s choice how they find divinity whether it’s through patriarchy, matriarchy, or duality.

Spirituality is very much a personal journey, compared differently than religion.

MATRONS/PATRONS COME & GO

In my early teenaged years, Bastet was my matron goddess, then Diana/Artemis was my matron over the last few years.

Our spirituality evolves and grows as we get older.

I’m no longer the same person that I was at 14 when I began this journey and not even the same that I was two years ago.

Goddesses and gods will come and go in our lives to help us on our journeys and paths; to assist us with our lessons that we have to learn. (The same can be for spirit guides.)

It’s true that sometimes a particular god or goddess will come into your life through signs or symbols.

Sometimes you’ll get an idea and seek them out yourself through research or meditation.

Whichever way it happens, both are still rewarding.

If you had a matron goddess or patron god and then no longer felt the connection, another goddess or god may have taken their place.

It may be that your life circumstances have shifted/evolved and a new goddess/god is trying to make Her/His way to assist you.

That’s exactly what I’ve felt over the last few weeks, when my matron goddess stepped aside for a stronger presence of a matron to take Her place.

 

FINDING THE DARK GODDESS

Now that the seasons are starting to turn to the autumn, I find that I’m wanting to do more shadow work and really uncover things that I’ve kept inside for all these years and to work things out for myself.

This is a personal undertaking to work on issues that I’ve had for the last twenty years.

It won’t be done in a week or even a month, but is something that I feel needs to be done to help promote further advancement.

As the wheel turns to Mabon near the end of this month, over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had a strong connection to Hecate.

Many of Her associations are already my favourites and I’ve felt a deep connection to Her.

It’s a peculiar way that I came to this realisation or conclusion of this new phase or cycle in my spiritual journey.

Sometimes great things in life come from what seems like “meaningless coincidences”.

During a weekend, my husband and I went to a Famers’ Market and we saw some braided garlic for decoration.

I loved it so much that we bought one and hung it up by our kitchen window. We joked that it would keep the vampires away!

However, I had the feeling that I was meant to buy that garlic – even though it’s mostly just for decoration.

So, I looked online and found that garlic is associated with Hecate and I immediately felt a connection. I found that owls are connected and I have a tea towel with owls on it.

Dogs are connected also to Hecate – alas the Tarot Pugs. I’ve been getting further into my practise of witchcraft and magick more regularly – again, that’s Hecate’s specialty.

So, I finally drew the conclusion.

Hecate was getting my attention.

Previous to Hecate, I was working with Diana/Artemis. Artemis, Selene and Hecate (Roman: Diana, Luna, Trivia) are considered a variation of the Triple Goddess.

It makes sense that if I were to move to a Dark Goddess aspect, that it would be Hecate in connection to Artemis.

This is an interesting phase that I feel that I have begun and I look forward to it.

Autumn is a wonderful time of year to explore this aspect of the Goddess, which I hope then to continue again throughout the year at certain times of the year and incorporate Artemis and Selene also.

The days grow shorter and more time can be spent for inner reflection and work.

Working with Hecate has created a revival within myself that I haven’t felt in years – an excitement that I felt many years ago.

Hecate has a way to explain witchcraft, magick, the unconsciousness and to look at things in a different way.

Hecate was easier for me to connect to, as she is more direct and isn’t as “feminine” as other goddesses such as Aphrodite or Hera. There is an intensity to Hecate and very direct. She won’t sugar-coat messages.

Hecate is associated with dogs, which makes perfect sense for me at this stage in my life.

The website Sibylline Order states that she is only visible to dogs, which might explain why during a reading while I was doing connected to Hecate, one of my pugs kept barking at nothing and then ran towards my altar and kept barking. One of my pugs has quite a keen sense when spirits and the like are around.

I look forward to working further on my own inner work and working with the Dark Goddess aspect especially at autumn – which is my favourite time of year.

The dark goddess aspect isn’t for everyone, but is a part of the goddess archetype that is interesting to learn about or at least acknowledge in each of us.

Do you have a matron goddess and/or patron god?

Feel free to comment below or send me a message on Twitter. I’d love to hear your story about how your matron goddess (or patron god) came to you.

Blessings,
Stacey & the Tarot Pugs

Card images from Rider Waite Tarot ©1971
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Updated: December 29 2016