A Ritual for Diana

Reclaiming Diana

Once, in all of us, there lived a little girl who liked to run. She liked to play and move her body freely—organically. She was not concerned with the shape of her form, only that it executed her physical will effortlessly. Beauty existed in the sensation of freedom; personal expression was effortless. This little girl belonged wholly to herself, and she knew joy.

As we grew, somewhere along that line, we fell victim to the group-think of what it means to be female. Our bodies became subsumed by the culture and we were told that they had an alternate function. Maybe not overtly, maybe not callously, but we were told. No longer able to move just for pleasure, our bodies became vessels of the generation. We were to be pleasing to the eyes of men so that we could make the babies to continue the line. Our hair was to be a certain way, our skin, our shape, our purpose. We were to mind our tongues and keep our opinions in line. We went from being ourselves to being our role. If we failed to conform into this, we were branded. That brand may have come with our old style of freedom, but it came with a price. And it came with a fight.

Most of us quietly rolled under to the cultural will. Many of us feel the scars of that injustice, even if we can’t quite place them. Few of us have been able to completely heal. We don’t readily have the tools in this world, and the astral systems in play do not support us. To be woman—even a liberated one-- is hard and inexplicable. For many, the realization of the crimes against our inner girl comes only with the advancing of age—after we have passed the point of “cultural relevance”. It is a freedom. Again, at a price.

Only after our bodies are of no further use to the culture and we have ….faded can we finally look back and say, “Holy shit, what the fuck was that?” We were Maidens with no education of what awaited us. Mothers with only our wits to guide us. And then suddenly Crones when the next Maiden rose—even as we are still vibrantly alive.

The system is broken. There is no guidance, or lore, or sharing of the transitions. We are useful and then we are not, and then we are finally left to our own devices again. It is a cycle of abuse perpetuated for millennia by the blind hand of culture. And even though there is an unprecedented rise in the collective against this, it still exists and the damage has been done. So not only do we have to fix how we move forward, we also have to heal what is behind us. It cannot be inside the ancestral consciousness for our daughters to feel.

They must know of it so that it is not forgotten what was done to us. But they must not feel it. They must be allowed to be completely free.

I propose that the first step to breaking this chain happens behind us. It happens when we go back to the young girl that was allowed to roam and access the power that lie inside that freedom. I believe that we must go back to the archetype of the Diana and bring her forward through our personal timelines. She can illuminate some of our experiences with that simple clarity of youth. She can also pierce through the illusions we have used to cover them. The Diana

will bring us back into connection with the most vibrant, basic, and wild aspects of our character.

If we then use that strategically throughout our timeline, we can cut through so much of our programming. We can return to the very essence of our girlhood. If enough of us do this, we can clear the miasma of bullshit that has been written into the female subconscious. We can have our bodies back, and with them the freedom and peace of wholeness. We can be the pioneers that all the world’s daughters need to erase this abuse from the future timeline.

This old behavior can no longer stand. It is a relic, full of ghosts and demons. There are too many of us awake for it to have power any longer, and it must be eradicated as we move forward. But before the steps ahead, we must clear the dirt behind. And that starts at home, inside you. Welcome, Diana. You are just the goddess we wanted to see.

Who She is:

Diana is the Goddess of the Woods and the Hunt. She is the eternal virgin, athletic and lithe, more interested in animals than she is in man. She represents the untouched inside of us—the girl who does not care about the opinions of men, only how she feels inside of herself. When we need to remember the seed of our wild spirits, this goddess is the one to call. For, even though she abandoned her desire to mate with men, she will not abandon us or the fruits of that mating. She is the mistress of childbirth, for she represents our primal strength and the power inside us that cannot die.

Her symbol is the bear--intractable and completely wild. Also stable, steady, unyielding against an enemy, and highly protective of the young. Diana commands and demands the highest respect, she is a creature of deep pride and will mete out punishment to those who do not honour her choices. She never misses her mark, and aims only at injustice and sin—especially against those who violate the young.

The Tools:

Water. Sage, palo santo or frankincense. Circle stones. Candles. Candles. Candles. Pine or cedar oil. Altar space or moveable tray. Quiet and space.

Ritual:

To explore Diana is to explore her aspects inside of ourselves. She will only feel welcome when we create a space that allows her to be free and completely herself. This means that we should take some time to let go of the layers we have built around ourselves—or have had built through social perception.

Take a shower and dress yourself in loose, comfortable clothing. Wear any jewelry that adds to your strength and clear the space of any negative energies. This may involve smudging or the use of bells (or bowls). This certainly involves being very clear with any entities that have malintent, mischief or misdirection as inside their will; they are Not Welcome and are invited to leave.

Clear your space and bring over your simple tools. Cast circle in keeping with your tradition, array and light the candles and the incense. Then anoint yourself with the oil and have some water. Tune in with any prayer that opens you to highest (Ad Gurey Nameh works especially well in this instance) and get seated.

Breathe. Slow and deep. Then slower and deeper. Meditate and breathe on nothing but space for at least 5 minutes. After this time, chime the bell or bowl if you have them and transition to the following breath for 11 minutes.

Inhale 7 seconds; Hold 7 seconds; exhale 7 seconds; Hold 7 seconds. The retentions should be calm and easy—no stress or tension. If you need to shorten the holds, please do so, but the breath rhythm should be even. It should also be quiet and soft; no tension. No tension at all. Let this breath bring you deeply into your inner space and let go of all body boundaries.

After 11 minutes, release the retentions and let the breath be slow and soft. Easy but deep. Place yourself in your mind’s eye, looking into the mirror of your soul. See your body in your mind. Take off all of your clothes inside your mind, and place yourself into the mirror. Look. Look at your body and start to listen to the words that arise. Listen to the judgments that flirt around the edges of your consciousness. Do not change them, but rather just listen as if you are not hearing words about yourself.

Now begin to do the work.

Standing next to you is a young woman. She is slim, and athletic, so much so that she may even look like a boy. She is lovey and arrogant. She hears these words and a look of disdain is on her face. Slung over her shoulder is a bow and arrow. As you continue to hear the voices, you can see her unsling them and string an arrow.

When was the first time that you were silenced? How old were you?

What were you taught that love looks like? How old were you?

When were you first seen as an object? How old were you?

When did you realize that you were supposed to fit an ideal? How old were you?

When did you stop running with the wolves? Why? How old were you?

Write all of those answers on the blackboard of your mind and then step back. Assess the themes. Notice the feelings that are around you as you look at them. Take stock of the age you were when these themes began to take shape in your life, and then draw the timeline of your growth and experience that has arisen because of them. Then look at that woman in the mirror and see her at the most common age in your assessments.

Merge her into the vision of Diana and imprint the power of this goddess into your past matrix. Take the arrows that are now in your hand and on your shoulder, and shoot down the themes that don’t fit you. Burn them in your mind; burn them to the ground. Own the power that is you.

Holding this image in your mind, begin to chant Hummee Hum Bruhm Hum, activating the fifth chakra. This will empower you to speak up and speak out when you see these themes beginning to recur in the lives of the young women around you. You are now the advocate; You are the embodiment of the Diana power that will keep the next generation from falling prey to the themes of oppression given to young women via social group think. We are we; We are One. Bring the power of the word into the ancestral stream, filling it now with the power and aspects of Diana.

Chant for 11 minutes, clearing the lineage and keeping it empowered to speak up and speak out. Fill the line of women with enough unity and power that these themes cannot ever rise up again. See all of the young women and bless them with the power of the Divine. See all of the young women who have come and gone throughout all of time; bless them with the healing of the divine. Hold this image clearly as you wind up your chanting, allowing yourself to fall to silence.

Breathe. Let it all in and let it all out. If there are tears, weep them. If there is rage, scream it. But do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be shut down. Just be present in all that there is. At some point you will feel Diana leave; Let her go. Own your own body, and your own space and feel how glorious it is. When it is time to break space, you will know. Do so with reverence and gratitude. Leave the candles burning as long as is safe.

Wahe Guru!

If this style of ritual works for you, consider a custom ritual to address any growth or clearing you may be facing. Learn more here.