This morning I chose to pull a Dark Goddess oracle card and was graced with Aradia who brings us Defence.
The Card
Drawing this card I know that Aradia has come to warm against taking a defensive stance against things said today. Aradia reminds us that whilst we may have built up a natural defensive wall against unkindness and attack in response to our life experiences, it is only ourselves we make to suffer in the end by diminishing our own energy and spirit with negativity and doubt.
Aradia teaches us that we need to embrace who we are and live our lives true to our authentic selves, the self that lies hidden safe and cosy underneath the layers of acceptability we have established as the “us” twe present to the world. We need to shed those layers or risk being lost in their false shadows, hidden in the darkness of our own repression’s and restrictions.
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We must defend the self that resides in our wild and primal senses, the natural, child of the Earth self that has been passed down through a long line of wise men and woman, the self that we feel in the very marrow of our bones.
We must howl our truths into the night becoming one with how they make us feel, bringing them into rhythm with the beat of the heart within our breast that can never be denied. With every breath we take through the day we must protect their validity and tune them into the ancient magic we draw from the Earth and the from the Ether.
Aradia tells us to stand tall, defend who we are, and to shine as brightly as the full moon as she smiles down upon us.
The Goddess
The origins of Aradia are difficult to pin down as there are many varying accounts of who she was. Some depict her as a Goddess of Ancient Rome, the daughter of Diana and Apollo. Others tell that she is the Daughter of Diana and Lucifer (a name pre-dating Christianity, meaning light bringer; this is not a reference to the Christian figure Satan). There are then those who believe she was a powerful mortal witch who’s magic and knowledge was gifted to her by Diana, and which brought her great renown and recognition.
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The one common thread through most of the tales of Aradia is that she is the daughter of Diana, a Goddess widely worshipped in Ancient Rome. In these tales, Diana sent Aradia to Earth to spend time with the oppressed, the poor, and the disadvantaged. Her task, to teach them the ways of witchcraft and magic. The focus of Aradia’s magical teachings was helping witches to rise above their disadvantage, to seek retribution against their oppressors and to find the means to lift themselves out of poverty. Spells, hexes, enchantments and curses where at the forefront of Aradia’s lessons, along with imparting the knowledge, ways and recipes of earth based medicines and remedies.
Perhaps it was this deep and unquestionable source of knowledge, this most respected and omnipotent source that led to the title of witch; an old and weathered word meaning wise woman. Because those women were, and witches both male and female in modern times, are blessed with an innate knowledge and understanding of the earth and the wonders it has to offer us medicinally, nutritionally and spiritually.
The Hashtags
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The Credits
This beautiful Dark Goddess Oracle Deck is by @flavia_kate_peters / www.flaviakatepeters.com
AND
@barbarameiklejohnfree / www.barbarameiklejohnfree.com
Stay Wild & Blessed Be
Ginger Witch