[For Common Month Correspondences refer to Archives/Gnostic Pagan Calendar of Celebrated Days.]

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1ST Generation

P.O. Box 1083
Forestville, CA 95436

NUIT/1st Rotation of January Year of OurSELF2007

7th Rotation of The Conquering Child

DEAR BROTHERS & SISTERS,

COMRADES OF MOTHER EARTH:

This month we dedicate to Nuit (new-EET), the primordial Sky Goddess & Source of All Material Creation. Nuit gave birth to Isis & Osiris, parents of the Solar God Horus, The Conquering Child. As with many of the feminine ancient Egyptian deities, Nuit is interchangeable with other goddesses such as Isis and Hathor. This is one of the more pleasant aspects associated with Pagan theology. The Gods & Goddesses reflect a rainbow of personas & realities.

In his book The Hidden God, Kenneth Grant writes of the esoteric meaning of The Goddess:

Babylon—Literally the Gate of the Sun or solar-phallic energy

is therefore the terrestrial formula of Nuit, and her vulva is the

pylon through which the cosmic forces sweep into manifesta-

tion when the magical seals (mudras) have been opened.

[P. 39]

To the best of our knowledge there never was a Pagan deity who claimed inherent superiority over other divinities. In consequence, Pagan religion was free of the overt racism mandated by the false Abrahamic tribal god. Additionally, ritual physical alteration for devotees was pretty much limited to tattooing (often quite attractive) unlike the genital mutilation demanded by Old Aeon (patriarchal) religion.

However, although we reject the biblical god as one of the more unattractive inventions of the human ego, we’re aware that the majority of people devoted

to Abrahamic religion—we’re not referring to terrorists or Fundamentalists—do so out of a deep felt reverence for a power beyond themselves. They are rooted in the heart chakra, (although, of course, they probably wouldn’t look at it that way.)

Go to fullsize image It’s true that there were some very brutal sacrifices associated with the rituals of many Pagan Cults, but

as societies became sophisticated the more unsavory

elements were abandoned. A unique exception to this general scenario is found in the Mesoamerican culture’s strange vampire gods.

ASTARTE/1st Rotation of February,

Year of OurSELF2007

DEAR BROTHERS & SISTERS,

COMRADES OF MOTHER EARTH:

This month is dedicated to the ancient Phoenician Goddess Astarte, also worshipped as the all-powerful Ishtar & known as Ashera to the Semitic tribes. This goddess can be understood as a material plane manifestation of Nuit. The image (left) shows Astarte’s connection to wild beasts & the cycle of life. Astarte is both a Goddess of Fertility & of War—and in these aspects she can also be linked to lion-headed Sekhmet, Kali & Aphrodite.

The Great Feast of Imbolc (also called Brigid) is celebrated at the beginning of February. Brigid is a fire goddess and the Celtic/Pagan custom is to place a candle before each window of the house & to leave it burning all night in order to welcome the dawn from which the goddess is born. The celebration marks the early budding that reveals the life force in the branch after its dead appearance during winter—a promise that Spring is on the way. The Irish Christian form of Brigid is St. Bride (see image below.)

The following special days also fall during Astarte:

11-12--Festival of The Sun (Shiva) and Moon (Shakti)

15--Lupercalia (Festival of Animals)

The Lupercalia was a Roman holiday with unclear origins.

It was probably based on the myth of Romulus & Remus,

the founders of Rome, who were nursed by a she-wolf.

The popular holiday was eventually co-opted by the

Christian Church & transformed into Valentine’s Day.

The Gnostic Pagan School celebrates this day

as a Festival for Animals, a way of recognizing

our interdependent deep spiritual & biological

connection to them as partners in evolution.

We encourage vegetarianism on this holiday

& promoting the word of environmentalism

& pampering animals in general.

— For more information see —

1st Generation of The New Aeon

JEFarrow,

Editor, PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES

Suzanne Radford,

Director,The Gnostic Pagan School

1ST Generation

P.O. Box 1083
Forestville, CA 95436

OSTARA/1st Rotation of March,

Year of OurSELF2007

DEAR BROTHERS & SISTERS,

COMRADES OF MOTHER EARTH:

The Gnostic Pagan School calls this month Ostara in

honor of the Vernal Equinox Sabbat. The name is a

derivative of Eostra, a Saxon Goddess of Dawn

representing the fertility of Spring. The illustration

left is a depiction of the Middle Eastern Goddess

Anahita, Lady of the Beasts.

Note the two hares on either side of the goddess’s waist.

Rabbits & eggs have been associated with the Rite of Spring for millennia.

The following special days also fall during Ostara:

5—Navigium (Celebration of
Isis as Patroness-of-Sailing)

During the Navigium sailing craft were blest in the name of Isis.

This form of The Goddess was incorporated into the image

of The Virgin Mary who was likewise called “The Star of The Sea.”

This obviously reflects on the astronomical appellation attributed to

Isis as the star Sirius.

6—Mars (spells of power & protection)

16-19—Dionysia

This was the great literary & dramatic festival celebrated in ancient Greece dedicated to Dionysus.

Dionysus was the god of wine & ecstasy—and also much more. He represents the passionate

side of human nature. As a Christo-Pagan deity he embodies the confliction of passion

& reason.

The Gnostic Pagan correspondence with Dionysus is Osiris.

Observance of the Dionysia was as important to the Greeks as football or soccer is to

contemporary audiences. All the enduring Hellenistic plays were “premiered” during

the Dionysia & awarded prizes—very much an ancient form of the Oscars™.

Admission to the festival was free—although wealthy spectators could purchase

special “box seats.”

20-21—Ostara Sabbat (Vernal Equinox)
Festival of the Crowned and Conquering Child

This Festival celebrates the virile Sun (Horus) and The Mother of

the Son, Isis.

External Ostara Links:

SOLITARY OSTARA RITUAL

OSTARA

31—Luna (Celebration of Isis as Moon Goddess)

Completing this special month celebrating fertility & the Feminine Principle,

Luna commemorates the magickal nature of The Holy Mother Isis.

— For more information see —

1st Generation of The New Aeon

JEFarrow,

Editor, PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES

Suzanne Radford,

Director,The Gnostic Pagan School

Featured Site

Dionysus and Kataragama:
Parallel Mystery Cults

by Patrick Harrigan

Early 20th cent. painting

by NS Balakrishnan, Madurai

Sri Jñâna Pandita: Murugan as Expositor of Gñosis

with His symbols the Vêl or Spear of Wisdom = axis mundi and

vehicle/totem the peacock = Phoenix. Behind Him dawns

the rising sun symbolising the awakened mind (bodhi).

Featured CD

1ST Generation

P.O. Box 1083
Forestville, CA 95436

MA’AT/1st Rotation of April,

Year of OurSELF2007

DEAR BROTHERS & SISTERS,

COMRADES OF MOTHER EARTH:

The Gnostic Pagan School calls this month Ma’at (MAH-aht.)

Ma’at is depicted as a young woman either holding or wearing the sacred feather of truth. She represents cosmic order & equilibrium. She is considered to be a fire goddess, but her relevance to the ancient Egyptians went beyond even the exalted boundaries of a goddess. So important was the concept of cosmic law & order to the Egyptians, that Ma’at (or alternatively Maat) was as much a divine Principle as a goddess. The ancients were obsessed with the idea that Egypt was the center of the Cosmos (the pyramid form represented the center mound of creation), that their culture had been divinely inspired, and that it was necessary to follow to the letter the Law (Ma’at) in order to maintain the balance of Heaven & Earth (or Heaven-on-Earth.)

It’s an irony that the observance of Loki, the Cosmic Trickster, occurs during the month of Ma’at, but Loki too is a fire god (albeit of Norse origins.) Although now associated with the light antics of April Fool’s Day, Loki definitely had a more sinister nature (he was seen as the dark side of Odin) that got him into trouble. His mythology has parallels with that of Prometheus—and even with the Testament of Isis and Osiris. Parallel deities include, Hermes, Mercury and Dionysos.

The depiction of Jesus in various Gnostic stories also seems to incorporate certain elements of the trickster/joker nature not found in the “approved” Gospels. Indeed, the Gnostic interpretation of The Crucifixion is that the entire episode was a tragic-comedy with Christ playing The Fool—or, as in some tales—a substitute or double is the one who gets Crucified while the “real” Jesus stands apart on a hill laughing at the farce being played out below.

The following special days also fall in Ostara:

1—Loki (sunrise to midday)

1-10—Megalesia/Festival of Cybelle

30—Night of Pan (N.O.X.)

Walpurgis/Celebration of the Great Lord Set

— For more information see —

1st Generation of The New Aeon

JEFarrow,