As always, the Goddess has had many names.
What is the important part to most people is the Labrys, or battle-axe,
that She - and her Priestesses - carried. There is much out there about its meaning and usage.
We also wondered how the labrys related to the labyrinth, since they both start
with the same base. *
It is thought that the Goddess worshippers were
specifically Amazonian from somewhere around Crete or
Asia Minor. We are all probably aware of the myths of the Amazons. They were
warrior women who held what are traditionally seen as male roles. (That is a
whole other article!) These Amazon women probably worshipped Gaea as Mother
Earth, Rhea as the Great Goddess of Crete, Demeter as the "Doorway of the
Mysterious Feminine", and Artemis as the Mother of Creatures. It is possible
that a few of those Goddesses are early versions of the Goddess Diana.
The Goddess carried two labrys, one in each hand. Common theory is that
the labrys was used for three things. The first is as a weapon for war.
The Amazonian women went to war themselves, leaving the men at home. The
second use was as an agricultural tool. There are no specifics on the use
of this, but it was a cutting tool of some type,
probably to harvest. The third use was as a symbolic, and possibly sacrificial
or initiatory, tool in ritual. It has been found to mark the entries of Goddess
sanctuaries. **
It is believed by some that the labrys was used in rites associated
with Demeter and Hecate. From 4000-year-old rock art
found by Margaret C. Waites in the early 1920s, depicting the Mother Goddess
holding a labrys in each hand is believed by archaeologists to symbolize
initiatory rites rather than sacrificial ones. The first labrys' to be depicted
were found on a dish in Statinice, Bohemia about 7000 years ago, and were
probably made of stone. They may also have been one of the first tools
manufactured in bronze. ***
Other rock depictions found of the Mother Goddess show her with two knives
instead of two labrys', leading one to see where the labrys may be a symbol
of sacrifice as well as initiatory. Whether sacrificial, initiatory or both,
the labrys seems to be the primary symbol of the power of women and the
importance of their role in Minoan culture. This makes it an ideal symbol for
women reclaiming their power and independence in our modern age.
As we were warriors, so you are now warriors in your own ways. Own your
warrior side; believe in the strength and cunning of her. She will be there when you need
to fight any fight and defeat any foe. Follow her to the Labrys.
I am She Who Lets Loose the Horses. We as women have a unique connection
to nature, given our innate ability to create. Connect with your natural self, become one
with nature. For we did not tame horses, we connected with them, and unlike man, we did
not try to break their spirit but embraced it. Their strength we took as our own, their
wildness we embodied. Join with your natural side, your animalness. Use that natural power.
Follow it to the Labrys.
We worshipped Artemis in her many aspects, however there was a special
aspect that exemplifies us. Follow Artemis in her wild femininity to meet your primitive
side and connect with her. She will free your inhibitions when you need it. Follow your
wild woman to the Labrys.
Transformation! At this time of seasonal change, from the life
of summer to the death of winter, we live in the midst of transformation. Women are the
embodiment of transformation. We have transformed our children, our world, and ourselves, and we continue to do so.
The labrys, which I carry, symbolizes our transformations as women. Look to its
butterfly shape to show you the way of caterpillar to butterfly. Follow nature's cues of change –
the seasons, the life cycle, the moon that gives its shape to the Labrys. Look to the Labrys as
a source of my strength that is a source of your strength. Know that there is strength in change,
as the Spirit Self continues to be reborn, again and again. Allow yourselves to give birth to the
changes in and around you.
You are the power of the Labrys."
www.midwiferybooks.com/1/labrys.html www.amazonation.com/BattleAxe.html home.earthlink.net/~scratty2/labrys.htm
* (Midwifery Books - What is a Labrys?) ** (The Battle Axe), (Holly Cratty, Artist's Statement and Biography) *** (The LABRYS symbol, initiatic or sacrificial?) **** (The Ritual of the Labyrinth) (Rainbow Icon Archive: Misc. Icons)
by Lady Paulette, Sanctuary High Priestess
Criticized for its authenticity, "Aradia, Gospel of the Witches",
has been stirring debate and creating religious traditions for over
100 years.
First published in 1890, by Charles G. Leland, this slim volume
of mythos, liturgy, and spells purported to be the "true" story of Aradia,
daughter of the Goddess Diana:
Aradia, taught the artes by her mother, then instructed others:
Many strege (witches who follow the Italian witchcraft tradition) agree with Leland's claim that "Aradia" is the "La Vecchia Religion", an ancient branch of the Olde Religion, orally passed to him by Madellana, an hereditary witch.
After a ten year friendship with Madellana, Leland was "given" the oral secrets of her religious tradition, where she literally "handed down" a true rendition of a secret cult *** of Diana/Aradia, complete with all its' magical and liturgical workings.
That Charles Leland, a noted anthropologist, risked his professional reputation and career on this publication, "Aradia, Gospel of the Witches", and for all the inconsistencies about his sources and their veracity, his book set the witch movement on its' ears.
Is Aradia an actual fact? Was there really a daughter of Diana, who walked the earth, spreading witchcraft knowledge to all? Wiccan scholars within the strega movement have debated this main point for over a century. And for all the published correspondence about his research and friendship with Madellana, the "fact" remains that all Leland had was one woman's recounting of a moving and beautiful story.
As a Dianic Wiccan temple, our members agree that "Aradia, Gospel of the Witches", is a beautiful and moving body of liturgical text - so lovely that Doreen Valiente was inspired to rewrite the famous Wiccan "Charge of the Goddess" (from the Leland version).
But actual fact? No - and Leland either created the Madellana tale to lend a spot of "truth" or was extremely gullible in thinking ANY strege worth her power would ever share an entire tradition with an outsider (who they might suspect would "tell all").
Yet, Leland's gospel became more than just something to argue over. "Aradia, Gospel of the Witches", true power is that it serves as a Wiccan counter-point to the christian bible. We see Diana, as Mother, sending her daughter, Aradia, out into the world to "spread the Gospel", as a sly slap-in-the-face retelling of the God/Jesus mythos (Which itself was a rip-off of many religious traditions- Paganism included!).
Our Temple sees this work as a foundation for much of the growth that followed during this century - the celebration of the Goddess, the modern strega tradition, our "Charge of the Goddess" liturgy, the creation of the most famous text on Diana (save the ancient texts), and a rebirth of witchcraft that we should all embrace and enjoy.
The Grandmother of Time by Z. Budapest, 1989, HarperCollins
The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Z. Budapest, 1989, Wingbow Press
Ancient Mystery Cults by Walter Burkert, 1987, Harvard University Press
Greek Religions by Walter Burkert, 1985, Harvard University Press
Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham, 1983, Llewellyn Publishing
The Religions of the Roman Empire by John Ferguson, 1985, Cornell University Press
The Traveler's Key to Ancient Greece by Richard G. Geldard, 2000, Theosophical Publishing
The Golden Ass, Translated by Robert Graves from Apuleius, 1951, Noonday Press
Uppity Women Series by Vicki Leon, 1995, MJF Books
The Ancient Mysteries by Marvin W. Meyer, 1987, Harper and Row
Hygieia: A Women's Herbal by Jeannine Parvati, 1978, Freestone Collective Press
Of Witches by Janet Thompson, 1993, Samuel Weiser, Inc.
The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets by Barbara G. Walker, 1983, HarperCollins
The Goddess Within by Jennifer Woolger/Roger J Woolger, 1989, Ballantine Books
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