(This article was written in 2009)

As a woman reclaiming the sacred feminine in the present, I have chosen (or has it chosen me) to walk the path of a priestess.  Goddess has been relevant in my life for many years, but the intensity of her influence has made itself known to me in perhaps only the past five years, as my woman’s soul matures into an appreciation of what it means to truly walk as a sacred priestess.

I am an initiated priestess with the Order of The Pomegranate Grove, a group led by a wise and compassionate woman who as High Priestess, is answering her own calling to awaken the souls of those women who have a remembering of lifetimes lived in honour of the goddess.  So many of us have, and to reawaken this deep understanding of what it means to experience the sacred as a feminine energy, is profoundly healing for the planet at this time.

As I undergo and continue to learn the sacred lore of goddess, I understand what it means to be a modern day priestess and some of those attributes are to:

• Honour truth, beauty, harmony, elegance, ageless wisdom and be caretakers of the Sacred Feminine
• Undertake devotional practice and bring ritual back into the community
• Be protectors, nurturers and caretakers of the natural environment
• Be the storytellers, the myth keepers and guardians of the mysteries
• Lead by positive example and be educators and teachers
• Nurture the sisterhood of women whose pioneering strength embodies feminine wisdom, intelligence and intuition.

On Summer Solstice. December 22^nd 2007, I was initiated as a Priestess of Goddess and below are my musings of that day.

“As has always been, the journey of 13 moon cycles leading to the initiation of any Priestess, is not undertaken by the feint of heart.  We are called upon to know ourselves—deeply. To delve into the dark and become lost to the light. To examine our fears and relationships and our own nature, and let me tell you, some of it is not fun at all. There have been tears, despair and fear and like Persephone you enter into the underworld, not knowing if you shall return, but when you do, you have faced your demons and challenged your own soul and returned, much stronger and more whole.

For me, my day of initiation felt like a bride in preparation for her commitment to her beloved. It was the culmination of my training in learning the sacred lore of goddess and now I am in her service as an initiated Priestess. An honour recognized by the other women who have gone before, who like me, know and understand this is a renewal of vows from lifetimes before when it was our greatest honour to do her work.

 So, what does it mean to me to be a modern day Priestess? I see myself as a keeper of the mysteries; one who honours the changing cycles and seasons of the Earth; to be a channel for the essence of goddess to work her magic in the physical; to hold space and invoke the power of sacred ritual back into lives which have forgotten what it means to be moved by the energies of earth, fire, water, air and spirit; and to be a light for awakening womanhood. And with the official part of the day done, we went inside and feasted, laughed, told our stories, and shared with the sisterhood of women who had come to gather in her name and bear witness to those who made their intentions to walk the sacred path.”

My second level initiation as Hand Maiden of Goddess took place with two other of my sisters on 5 April 2009, as I completed another 13 moon cycles of sacred training in goddess lore to become a Hand Maiden of Goddess.  What an amazing weekend of sacred women’s sharing as we celebrated the unfolding path of growth that has almost miraculously occurred.  Many women came to share the festivities as we danced, sang, laughed and were guided through the dark (and rain) to be revealed unto ourselves.  Oh, and we got to dress up as bony old crones and entertain everyone.

My sisters and I have journeyed to become more potent in our energies, wiser in our determinations, and ready to step forth and be teachers of the sacred knowledge we have learned on our journey with goddess.

If another woman asked me what this Pomegranate Grove Pathworking has been about for me… I would answer?

“If you are ready to dig deeply into the core of your very being and challenge the darkest and most hideous truths about yourself…  If you are ready to expose and share yourself with other women and allow them to know you in times of absolute joy and deepest sorrow…  If you are ready to be of service, to discover hidden talents, to work your butt off and wonder how you’ll ever get it done, to scream with laughter, to be committed and dedicated, to be bawdy and irreverent as well as deeply sacred, and to deeply know Goddess while you walk the path of a sacred priestess…  then welcome home sister.”

(I wish to thank Patricia Corner my teacher, mentor and High Priestess of the Pomegranate Grove.  She opened me to the walk the sacred path of Priestess of Goddess and helped shape me into the woman I am today.  Her tireless work to create the Goddess Association in Australia and the world class Goddess Conferences are testimony to her own love of the Goddess.  She is a wayshower of the ancient path and I walk in her footsteps.  Blessed be Patricia.)