The Temple Rites: Primary Texts

The Address

O hear ye, all worshippers before the Altar of the Great Goddess, and know this...

As there is a coming and a going in all things; the waxing and the waning of the Moon, the ebb and the flow of the tides, the ever-recurring cycle of the seasons, so too is there a coming and a going in the affairs of Man. There is a birth, and a growth, and a decline, in the life of a man, of a nation, and of a civilisation. All things that come into being expand and order the surrounding Chaos, and then contract and return from whence they came.

So too has this Age reached and passed the high water of its development, and now seeks to flow back to the source of all things. To resist this inevitable and inexorable tide is to stand against the perfect Rhythm and Harmony of the Cosmos, and is to hinder that which is to arise anew, as the living Phoenix arises from the ashes of its dead self. Man, in his foolish vanity, ignorance, and fear, so seeks to defy the natural order, and prolong this Age beyond its allotted time, and is thus beset with troubles and confusion; not just of the Spirit, but also of the Body. If this foolish resistance is pursued, then the Cosmic Forces that are yet enlightening multitudes will seek other means, and the waning of this Age will manifest, not in gradual and peaceful decline, with a gentle, harmonious, and dignified transition to that which is to come, but in terror and suffering, and destruction, as past Ages have perished.

The Time draws ever near; is indeed upon us, and we must needs, as worshippers of the Great Goddess, determine our course.

In the deepest humility and sincerity do we willingly surrender ourselves, that we may become fitted to act as channels for whatever Forces may be necessary to reassert the natural order.

In our every act we seek guidance and instruction from the Great Goddess, lest we too be overcome by the blindness that afflicts our fellow-man.

This then is the reason for our being; let us never forget it, nor turn aside from this path that we have chosen freely and willingly. Let us support one another, and be as pillars of strength to one another in the face of all adversity, confident in the sure and certain knowledge that the Great Goddess guards and watches over us.

This was the very first Ritual Text that was "given" to the Fellowship and it remains the foundation of all our practises.
In seeking to implement the objectives and intentions laid out in the Address we have been led into some very curious places, and our commitment to remaining true to both the spirit and letter of the Address has fuelled our development along lines that were not, and could not have been, anticipated at the start.
The Discoveries are a series of essays that sketch out, in simplified form, many of the principal ideas and concepts that underpin our present work and activities.
These ideas and concepts have evolved as a direct result of the Fellowship's faithful adherence to the Address.