#janite tradition

[mother-god-sanctuary]

Post-election prayer

O Déa, Divine Mother and Guide of All Souls,
In this time of uncertainty, we come to You with hearts open yet troubled.
Though the path ahead feels difficult, and the future unknown,
we place our trust in Your wisdom and grace to see us through.

Help us to hold compassion and understanding,
to stay true to our values, and to work for the good of all,
regardless of who leads or who follows.
Remind us that Your light is within each of us,
and that we are called to be a source of hope and peace.

Grant us courage to stand firm in what is right,
wisdom to find common ground,
and patience to see beyond the present challenges.
Let us remember that all things are held in Your love
and that even in darkness, Your light endures.

O Divine Mother, strengthen our hearts and minds,
that we may work toward a brighter world,
trusting that with You, all things are possible.
So may it be.
Amadéa

[witchy-dabblings]

“O Mari, O Mari, enter my heart as thy love” is very much becoming my go to comfort chant.

It’s a personal spin on a chant found in Garlands Of Grace by @ladybrythwensinclair

[humbleladyofdea]

Mother!😍😚

How blessed You are, Déa! How perfect and awesome!

The air hums with the song of Your joy, and the waters ripples with the steps of Your dance. The grasses sway to the rhythm of Your hands; the trees rustle in the grace of Your hair.

The strength of lions is in Your shoulders, and the depths of the seas are in Your hips. The gleam of all earthly gemstones pale to Your eyes, and the gold of our soil is dull beside Your hair.

Let the maidens of the earth rejoice! Oh blessed dreams of our Mother, we are saved in love!

[maidenofsophia]

Be my heart, O Lady.

I am Yours.

[mydevotionstodea-blog]

28 Moura - March 19 Tenebrae (which means darkness)

https://deanic.com/2018/03/18/tenebrae/

Nature by Rassouli often named Sophia on the internet.

This day, within the Greater Deanic community, marks the most somber day of the year. In Janite Tradition, these next two days are called Tenebrae, which means Darkness.

On this day, Janite females are veiled while Janite male devotees wear a hat. Veiling for females make take the form of a wide headband, scarf, kerchief, veil, hat, mantilla. Normally, a silk rose would be included in this list, but not for Tenebrae. The colors should be black, indigo or purple/violet.

There should be no lit candles on the altar and all statues and icons removed.

Janites do not have mandatory fasting laws because everyone’s health and circumstances differ. At the very least, we recommend abstaining from alcohol and sweets. The rest is up to the devotee. However, we caution against being overly scrupulous. Fast with moderation.

On the first day of Tenebrae, 28 Moura/March 19, we preform a lustration. This is a ritual bath or shower before which we offer prayers for the forgiveness of the impurities with which we have sullied our souls, souls that She gave us through such a Great Sacrifice.

This is the time when the Celestial Mother, in Her Daughter Form, descends down through the Seven Realms. Each Realm is a lower vibration and each becomes more dense. This causes excruciating suffering for She Who loves us so much, to the point that in Janite thealogy, which is based upon that of Sophia/Shekina,  Her Most Pure Soul Shattered as a crystal chandelier might shatter should it fall to the floor from the ceiling.

The Mythos of Shekinah/Sophia.

Sources for this Myth of the Divine Shattering of Shekinah/Sophia may be found within certain traditions of Kabbalism, in Gnostic schools of thought and in ancient Syrian Gnostic Christianity.

The motive for the Sophia’s fall was defined according to the Anatolian school to have lain therein, that by Her desire to know what lay beyond the limits of the knowable, She had brought Herself into a state of ignorance and formlessness. Her suffering extends to the whole Pleroma.

In Kabbalistic teaching: “For, it is the Shekinah that is ascribed by Kabbalists to be the Middle Pillar of Balance that unites the opposites, just as the soul allows for the opposites of body and spirit to unite, so too does the Shekinah play this role for us. Indeed, the Shekinah is the Soul of Man, what Kabbalists call the Neshamah, for She has given a portion of Herself in order for each human to come into being in this world. In giving of Herself to humans, in this state of physical density and isolation, the World Soul becomes shattered. This shattering can be metaphorically grasped in considering what might happen to a glass alembic or flask when too much pressure is put upon in the alchemical works. Thus, the Shekinah represents the ultimate archetype of selfless sacrifice. All Her sacrifices have been for the benefit of creation so that humankind may experience this life in order to fulfill its destiny and purpose.

The Shekinah plays another very important role in the story of creation, and in particular in the Great Plan of humankind.  It is believed that in man’s fall to a denser, less perfect state of being in the physical, the Shekinah stayed with us as we separated from God or were exiled from the ‘Garden’.  Thus, the Shekinah, once again, was voluntarily removed from God/En Sof in order for us to have our experience.  She has always stayed with us, wherever we were exiled or isolated or shut out, the Shekinah was always there in exile and isolation with us.” [1]

The following is, what I think is the best definition of Sophia as the World Soul as written by an Episcopalian Priest:

“As the living centre or Soul of all creatures […] She includes the manifoldness of living souls; She is all of humanity together in one, or the Soul of the World. She is ideal humanity, containing all individual living creatures or souls and uniting them through Herself […]. Her task is to mediate and unify the manifoldness of living creatures, who constitute the actual content of Her life and the absolute unity of God.She contains all living creatures, She is the unity that binds them, and Her work in the world is to unify outwardly that which is already one in essence—in Her.” (Episcopal Priest, Father Matthew Wright.) [2]

The scripture verses, from a Filianic point of view, may be found in the Mythos of the Divine Maid: all of chapter V and chapter VI through verse 6.

The hauntingly beautiful Mari-Anna chant, as found on the Chapel of Our Mother God, is most especially appropriate for these two days of Tenebrae, of Darkness. Two days that are both in and out of time. This solemn and gentle chant has always reminded me of the  the Traditional Catholic Stabat Mater, an hymn that was sung in honor of the sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. Please note that Traditional Catholic refers to the pre-Vat. II Church and those modern Chapels and Societies which follow the Traditional  Catholic religion. We are not referring to the post-Vatican II Church known as the Novus Ordo or New Order.

Janites may chant the names Mari-Kore, Mari-Sophia or Maria-Sophia.

During these days of Tenebrae, of Darkness, we act, in all ways, with moderation, avoiding excessive frivolity and the like. Our minds, hearts and souls should be traveling down through the Realms with Our Precious Kyria.

ArchMadria Candra Sophia

Notes: [1] http://www.universalkabbalah.net/Shekinah[2] http://contemplativejournal.com/sophia-mother-god/

Relevant articles: https://deanic.com/2017/04/05/the-meaning-of-the-day-of-lustrationkala-from-a-janite-perspective/

https://deanic.com/the-holy-soul-part-III/

[deanicinspiration]

Demeter- Howard David Johnson

[upon-the-waters]

Finding the Divine Daughter

Aka, I’ve finally come to the end of the spiritual tailspin I’ve been in since last October.

TL;DR (So many of my posts need these because I am a writer at heart, and I don’t want people getting annoyed at my paragraphs clogging up their feeds): I’m kind of obsessed with the way the Holy Spirit and the Christian perception of Divine Feminine has some parallels to the Mother and Daughter in Filianism. So I’m going to talk about it, with a lot of words. A LOT of words... You’ve been warned.

First off, in some Gnostic sects there’s the concept of Sophia’s daughter, Zoe. If Sophia is Divine Wisdom, Zoe is Divine Life. But yet, Zoe and Sophia are also two different ways of looking at the same entity-- a Mother and Daughter, that are also as One. A Gnostic interpretation of the Book of Genesis states that the Holy Mother Pistis Sophia sent forth the emanation of Herself, Her Daughter, Sophia Zoe. I’m going to make a quick clarification here, and that is that Sophia, or Lady Wisdom as spoken of in the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are the same entity. So already we have Sophia/Holy Spirit spoken of in Mother/Daughter terms. However, this is just within Gnosticism, and I personally have a lot of problems with Gnosticism (the amount of patriarchy still in it, but also its demonization of the material world, which I believe God created good). And while Zoe was the catalyst to the research that led me to discovering Filianism, to me the parallels don’t stop there.

Within the Bible, Sophia Herself is often characterized as a Daughter-figure, as She tells us in the book of Proverbs that She was birthed by YHWH before creation. Catholic tradition also equates Sophia with Mother Mary; I believe Valentin Tomberg in particular referred to the Divine Feminine as Maria-Sophia. To me, Maria-Sophia-- or Dea, to use the Filianic name-- is already pretty clearly Mother, so my research focuses primarily on finding Her Daughter aspect.

Sophia is also often equated with Shekinah, the Kabbalistic Jewish title for the Presence of God. According to the Northern Way website, where I first learned of Shekinah, She is the Mother, but I think it makes far more sense to see Her as the Daughter-- the immanence of God as opposed to the transcendence. Shekinah is also seen by some as the Bride of the male God, who was lost in the wilderness as a result of humanity’s fall from grace. However, there is an implication that this was actually voluntary on Her part, as she chose to remain with humanity and share in our sufferings-- much like the Holy Daughter. In fact, I’m almost positive the Janite website used to refer to Shekinah as a way of looking at the Holy Daughter, but I’m unable to find it after crawling through the Wayback Machine for a while... they do, however, call the Holy Daughter Zoe Sophia among other names! 

There is a very clear parallel between Shekinah and the Holy Spirit-- both of them are said to have descended down to us and given themselves to us. They are both said to be the Soul of the World, the spark of divinity present within creation.

St. Hildegard writes of two aspects of the Holy Spirit-- Sapientia and Caritas, Wisdom and Love. To make these names easier to pronounce, I translate them as Sophia and Charis. It is my belief that these two aspects of the Holy Spirit are the Celestial Mother and Holy Daughter aspects of Dea, the way She was seen by Hildegard and now by me. Sophia is the Creatrix, and Charis is the World Soul. Charis also means Life, not just Love-- I believe that Charis and Zoe are different names for this Daughter Holy Spirit, but I personally prefer Charis. St. Hildegard tells us that the Holy Spirit is both the sun and the moon. She is transcendent and immanent-- in Filianic terms, She is Mother and Daughter.

In the article I reblogged recently from the Chapel of Our Mother God, on Mary’s Immaculate Heart, Mary is equated to the Solar Mother. However, I believe that the Immaculate Heart shows Mary as both Mother and Daughter-- something the Chapel acknowledges when it discusses the Heart shown pierced by swords. Mary is also referred to as Queen of Heaven, which in Filianism is a title of the Daughter.

The Immaculate Heart is paralleled to the sun with its two fundamental qualities-- Warmth and Light. These two qualities correspond to the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, respectively, and are shown as the Immaculate Heart is both aflame with love and shining with wisdom. The Filianic Creed states that the Celestial Mother is Pure Light, and the Holy Daughter is Perfect Love. That is why, to me, Mary is the Holy Mother God, as well as the Daughter who suffered for us, intercedes for us, and brings us with Her to ascension as the Queen of Heaven, and parallels neatly with St. Hildegard’s writings of the Holy Spirit as Wisdom/Sophia and Love/Charis, my names for the Mother and Daughter Holy Spirit. Catholics are fond of saying that Mary is the Daughter of the Father and the Mother of the Son, and I like that (although I ultimately see the “Father” as genderless). However, they also call Her the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. To me, Mary is the Holy Spirit. St. Maximilian Kolbe basically says this as well, and that this is what the Immaculate Conception means. 

Finally: St. Therese, the saint I credit with sending me on this crazy crisis of faith last year? She once said of herself: “My call is love... In the heart of the church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things.” Is it a coincidence that she eventually led me to finding Charis, Holy Love, Holy Spirit, Holy Daughter? Maybe. But I really don’t think so.

[easystate]

Priestess of Holy Wisdom intro to filianism.

I loved this. Reposting this here for fellow deanists and filianists (credits at the bottom): 

“Rayati (“Hail to the Sun within you”),

My name Sorella Roselyn and I’m a Filianist.

Filianism is the religion of Our Mother God and Her Holy Daughter. The Creed above, very briefly, outlines the basis of what we believe.

Our religion is a subset of Déanism; an umbrella term for those who worship God the Mother independent of a male consort, father or son god (however some Déanists do incorporate the divine masculine in their faith, albeit carefully to avoid His image overshadowing Her). Déanists may or may not believe in the Holy Daughter, or follow the Filianic scriptures, or observe the Wheel of the Year. All that one requires to be a Déanist is the belief in God as Mother; the Supreme Deity, immanent but also transcendent from Her Creation rather than being an earth or lunar goddess as observed in Pagan Goddess religions such as Dianic Wicca.

For Filianists, God (who we call Déa) exists as a divine feminine Trinity. She is the Bright Mother, the Creatrix of the cosmos and God-above-Us. She is also the Holy Daughter, the dimmed reflection of Her Mother who commands the energies of creation and who is God-with-Us. And lastly She is the Dark Mother, also called the Mysteria, who is beyond all knowledge and form – God-the-Absolute. While it common to compare the Filianic Trinity to the Christian Trinity, a more apt comparison would be to the Hindu God Brahman who exists as Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Shiva (Destroyer). Their feminine counterparts, found in the Shaktism, would be the closest parallel to the Filianic trinity; Saraswati, Lakshimi and Parvati. The concept of a Triple, or Tri-unity Goddess, is one that has been replicated across many cultures and religions, primarily those now considered Pagan, yet still have thriving traditions in modern times.

Even in esoteric Christianity, particularly Gnostic and mystic circles, there is growing number of believes in a feminine Trinity to balance the masculine Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Others believe the Holy Spirit to be feminine Herself and correct Her name as ‘Mother Spirit’. The Divine Sophia, who is the form of which Déa came to myself as, exists in a three-fold form as Barbelo or Sige; the forethought of the All and cosmic mother, the creatrix Sophia or Pistis, and the Daughter Soul; Zoe. Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom; Her trinity names thus translating as Silent Wisdom, Faithful Wisdom and Living Wisdom. While many Gnostic traditions regard Sophia as at fault for the flawed creation of the world, or personify Her as the lost soul desiring her male bridegroom and saviour (Christ), there are many who detach Sophia from her patriarchal demotion and worship Her as God in Her own right.

For Filianists; the Holy Daughter does not represent the soul in need of a saviour. She IS the Saviour. As explained beautifully in our scriptures, we believe that the Bright Mother created all things perfectly in the beginning, to be one with Her. Maid, the soul of humanity, was created in Her likeness as Her First Daughter. However the Maid wished to experience that which was outside Déa and so turned from Her, unable to look upon Her brightness or live in perfection. To Orthodox Filianists, the reason for this was due to temptation by the ‘Snake’ which represented the illusion of separation from Déa. However in the Janite Tradition it is believed that the motivation for this was not of deception but to seek knowledge. To experience both pleasure and pain which she could not when living with Déa. And this was done so according to Déa’s will as the soul of Maid came from Her and was a fragment of Her being. Whatever the intention, for Filianists that is the reason for why we live in a world of khear (separation) where suffering exists, where we are subject to the wherde (karma) of our actions and where our souls are reincarnated on the wheel of life. Déa did not exile us or punish us, rather we chose this state and each life we live is another step on our journey back to Her.

We believe that the Holy Daughter is the reason we have any hope of purifying our souls from khear and reuniting fully with Our Mother. According to the mythos, the Mother birthed the Holy Daughter (different from the First Daughter) as an aspect of Herself to reach Her children beyond the illusion of khear. While the Bright Mother is symbolised by the sun, beautiful yet blinding, the Daughter is symbolised by the moon, reflecting the light of Her Mother for us to see in the darkest of places. While the Bright Mother is the Light of Déa, the Holy Daughter is Her Love given form. It is the mission of the Daughter to spread Her Mother’s light to every corner of the cosmos, even to the farthest reaches where all hope seems lost.

The Mythos tells of how the Holy Daughter wilfully descended into Hell itself, suffering agonising torture and humiliation, before coming face to face with the Dark Queen; the antithesis of Déa who represents the soul of Maid at her most lost and cruel. The Holy Daughter allows the Dark Queen to ‘kill’ Her, only for the Bright Mother to shatter the gates of Hell after following Her Daughter’s descent. The Bright Mother’s tears of sorrow revived the Holy Daughter and restored Her to life; thus managing to conquer death itself. She is thus able to rise from Hell and carry the souls of all those lost with Her into Heaven.

This is of course a fictional story, but its purpose is to explain the mission and passion of the Daughter in images for Maids to understand. There are obvious parallels to other dying-and-rising saviour gods and goddesses. While Christians recognise similarities to the passion of Christ, there are also illusions to the descent of Inanna, the return of Persephone and also the shattering of Sophia as the Holy Soul unto the world. We believe these myths and more are evidence of the truth being shared and interpreted differently throughout time of God giving a part of Herself to save us from being eternally lost from Her.

Whether the mythos of the Scriptures is taken super literally or figuratively or a mixture of both is irrelevant for a Filianist. To be a Filianist is to follow Our Lady, the Holy Daughter, and Her teachings. Many of these are included in the Clear Recital along with the Mythos. These teachings as they are written were compiled by a group of women in Oxford during the 1970’s who referred to themselves as Madrians. While the themes and images of God the Mother and Daughter have existed for thousands of years, the structure of the Filianic faith arguably began with the Madrian movement (though the beliefs of those women at the time do not always represent those of Filianists today). Many accept the Teachings, though inspired by Déa, to still be subject to criticism as – like all religious texts – they are still the work of Maids, who are not perfect.

However, when reading the teachings, their central message is clear; Love. Love of each other, Love of Self and Love of Déa.

Therefore, the very nature of being a Filianist, is to Love.

Our Lady is the form of Déa’s Love. To worship Her is not simply through prayer or studying scripture, important as those aspects are. It is in being compassionate, in being kind and loving, to ourself and others, we are worshipping Her. In sharing the light of Déa to all the earth and beyond, we are ensuring that Her suffering was never in vain. To worship Her is not to hate, or envy, or seek revenge or harm unto others. To worship Her is not to proselytise or judge but to be a friend to every living creature and seek to do Good in Her name.

As Filianists we also believe in the Seven Janati; the seven great ‘angels’ or powers that are aspects of Déa given form:

Sai Raya (Jana of Light, Joy and Brilliance) Sai Candre (Jana of Purity, Reason and Reflection) Sai Vikhë (Jana of Strength, Courage and Valour) Sai Mati (Jana of Knowledge, Intuition and Wisdom) Sai Thame (Jana of Justice, Harmony and Order) Sai Sushuri (Jana of Mercy, Compassion and Love) Sai Rhavë (Jana of Discipline, Restraint and Faith)

To be a Filianist is to try to live in the image of the Seven Janati and inhabit their virtues. While most Filianists have a patron Jana they connect to, the goal of a Filianist ideally is to balance these virtues within oneself and society so as one does not become unbalanced. For instance many believe we are in an age where the ‘Vikhelic’ (Sai Vikhë) principle has overtaken the others, and thus we have more violence in the world than compassion or joy or restraint. But when channelled correctly, the virtue of Sai Vikhë can be used to help Our Lady’s light shine brightly, so long as it remains in balance with the others.

Our Lady Herself has been given many names throughout eternity, as has Our Mother. Most Filianists refer to the Mother as Mari or Marya; a holy name which has its place in multiple cultures for the Divine Mother, outside of the obvious Virgin Mary of Christianity. The most sacred name for the Holy Daughter in Filianism is Inanna (distinct from the Sumerian goddess of war), also referred to as Janah (pronounced ‘Yanah’, ‘Anna’ or ‘Hannah’) or Rhi’annë. She has also been called Kore, as in ‘maiden’, as well as Zoe by those like myself whose form of Déa has been Sophia. Anna often means Grace and ‘Jana’ also means Gateway, as well as being strikingly similar to the Islamic word for Paradise; Jannah. I personally call Her Janah. Whatever Her name or Her image, She is there for those who seek Her. The Dark Mother, Déa Mysteria, has no name or form – She Is Who She Is.

In closing; this blog is simply one Maid’s attempt to log her own journey as a Filianist, to walk in the path of Our Lady and help guide others into the arms of Our Mother.

Blessed is She.

“Take heart, My children, take joy and courage in our Mother. For She that created you also loves you, even to the end of the age. Take heart, though you have turned from Her. For She has not forsaken you, neither are Her eyes filled with anger. And Her hands that have shattered the gates of Hell shall not harm you; that have broken Hell’s foundation, shall be lain on you in gentleness. Therefore hide yourself not from Her, and put aside the tangled weeds of thought that strive each with the other. For of all things, Love is the simplest.” – Teachings 1:4 (“On Our Mother’s Love”)

Source: https://priestessofholywisdom.wordpress.com/

[ladybrythwensinclair]

This is kinda linked to the TERF discourse but also not. What are your opinions on having women-only Filianic circles or men being Filianic / Déanic priests? Please note, I'm not a TERF, I acknowledge trans men are men and trans women are women. But this debate does seem to come up in the Filianic community quite a bit of whether men should be allowed to be spiritual leaders or whether women should be allowed to not allow men in certain groups.

Dear Anonymous, I think that women only Filianic or Déanic worship groups are fine. There is a historical precedent for this mode of practice. A closed worship group is welcome to regulate themselves in any fashion they choose as long as they abide by the rule of Love and Harmony as put forth in the sacred scriptures. There is quite a bit of debate as to men being spiritual leaders within the Filianic community. There are various ways that spiritual leadership happens. There is the line of ordination within groups such as the Janite tradition and they have a codified system that they explain on their blog. There are people who are leaders by virtue of the grace of Déa. There are people who are leaders by virtue of their study and experience within the community. I do not foresee men being ordained as formal spiritual leaders within mainstream Filianic communities. I do see that there is the opportunity for men to become leaders in the off-shoot communities. I don’t think, however, that men will be prominent as leaders because of the deep desire of the Filianic community for female leadership (where leadership is looked for). Thus, men will find themselves in the awkward position of having things to contribute and possibly doing so under a pen-name or perhaps under the auspices of female leadership whose views align with theirs. I believe that men are as welcome in the arms of Déa as women are. As long as this is recognized and there is not a concerted effort to keep them from Her, there will be no strife. I also believe that there is a place for men within the Filianic community. In some ways, this is the shoe being put on the other foot and the experience of women from Christian communities being potentially mirrored within the Filianic community in the experience of men. It is my dearest hope that as Filianism and Déanism grow, we retain our loving approach towards others and we avoid the oppressive behaviors that arose over time in the Christian communities with respect to gender relations. I hope this helps clarify my position on these matters. May Déa bless you.

[wanderingalonelypath]

Déanism, or: God IS a woman

Disclaimer: I am, in NO WAY, trying to prosthelytize anyone or convince them to convert. I wrote this article as an informative resource on Déanism as a whole, and because the information about my faith is so scattered and scarce.

Let’s start with the basics: Déanism (pronounced: day-en-ism) is the belief that God is a woman, known as Déa (pronounced day-uh) and She is the sole Creatrix of the universe, with no male consort or superior. Déa is the Latin word for ‘Goddess’, but many Déanists simply refer to Déa as God, because calling Her Goddess implies that She is subservient to a God, but there is none over Déa, in déanic belief. That is, however, a preference, and one can refer to Déa as goddess if they so wish.

Déanism, while a faith in and of itself, is also an umbrella term for a number of religions and faiths. Technically, any path or religion that believes the highest power in the universe (God, to simplify) is a woman, fits under the umbrella of déanism and is considered a déanic faith.

Some paths under Déanism include Filianism, the largest and most well-known déanic religion.

“The most prominent characteristics of Filianism are that it:

• Worships God in exclusively feminine form.

• Sees God as both Mother and Daughter.

• Is trinitarian (but in a manner very different from Christianity).

• Is monotheistic (but in the same sense that Hinduism is) and has a strong angelology, focusing especially (but not exclusively) on the seven "planetary" angels, who are all feminine in form.

• Has a distinct body of Scripture recognized by all Filianists (although several slightly differing versions exist)

• Has a complete theology, philosophy, and world-view.

• Like Déanism, to which it is related (see more later), Filianism uses the term Déa for God and does not use the word "Goddess"

The best resource for Filianism is http://www.mother-god.com/ which has information on Déanism as a whole but is written from a heavily-Filianic slant. Filianism has its own scripture, complete with different versions, called The Clear Recital, that is used by Filianists and non-Filianists alike. You don’t have to be Filianist to incorporate the Recital into your practice, but the story includes beliefs that are specific to Filianism, so keep that in mind.

Other traditions have other scriptures, but The Clear Recital is the most well-known.

Another tradition under deanism is the Janite Tradition, which, while heavily similar, has a few differences from Filianism. The best resource for this tradition is https://deanic.com/about/ .

Some Déanists also believe in the presence of a masculine consort to Déa, or that Déa can have a masculine face as well as a feminine, but it is inconclusive whether or not these fit under déanic beliefs.

This list of faiths is by no means exhaustive, as any religion that has the supreme ruler be a Divine Feminine could be considered déanic! But these are the most popular. Let me state that you do not have to be apart of any of these faiths to be a Déanist! I am a non-denominational Déanist myself!

On the history and creation of Déanism, there is little information, except that it was created by a group of female college students in the late 60s, early 70s:

“The belief originates from the age of the counterculture movement at Cambridge and Oxford in the 1960s and the resistance to it by a group of young intellectual women, sapphistly inclined but ultra-conservative, who regarded the developments of modern culture and the modern "LGBT" movement with dismay as being, essentially, contrary to the real emotional current, the real psychological desires, and indeed the entire real natural socio-cultural order of nations. “

Nowadays, Déanism is similar but different from how it started, but it obviously isn’t just full of conservatives or just full of liberals. Our community has good people and bad people and everyone in between, just like all religions. A particular problem our faith seems to have is the inordinate amount of TERFs and radfems. This likely stems from the belief of the divine feminine, but let me reassure you: the beliefs of these people do NOT reflect the community as a whole. God loves all of Her children: cis or trans or nonbinary or GNC or agender or any other combination. There are those of us that don’t subscribe to these beliefs, and that love all of our siblings, regardless of gender or lack thereof.

Despite this, our community is still incredibly small, and thus, we have little to no resources for our faith. That’s part of the reason I am writing this article: to have a central, broad source of information for Déanists and seekers alike.

Despite the scattered nature of our community, there are a few things that Déanists as a group believe collectively, other than God (Déa) is a woman. A popular belief, and sort of moral guideline for us, is the belief in thame, or harmony. The simple explanation is to uphold harmony between all creatures in your life. Personally, it gets a little more complicated, as each practitioner has to decide what this means to them in their life, so everyone’s thame is likely to be different. Think of it like the Wiccan Rede. It means something unique to every person.

Déanism as a whole is monotheistic (believing there is only one god) but it's not as...strict? As other monotheistic religions for lack of a better word. There are no tenants or commandments in Déanism, and nowhere does it say that Déa can be the only god in your life. So what does this mean? You can work with and worship other gods, and still be considered a Déanist, as long as you hold Dea as the highest, and believe that She created everything in the universe.

This can come in many forms. Some Déanists, like myself, are hard polytheists (the belief that there are multiple independent gods that aren’t faces or facets of a larger godhead). I personally believe that most gods were created by human need and that Déa created us, and therefore created us with the power to manifest these deities. Some others believe that Déa created these gods since She created the entire universe. Both of these fit under the umbrella of Déanism.

Some Déanists are soft polytheists (the belief that all deities are facets of one or two ultimate divine deities). These Déanists believe that every deity in every culture, male and female, are facets of Déa, and just how mortals choose to see Her.

And some Déanists still, believe that the gods and goddesses of other religions are simply very powerful spirits, and Déa is the only true God in the world. All of these beliefs fit into Déanism

Though our community is small, we have things that unite us, things that make us feel like a cohesive group instead of a bunch of people who believe in the same God. You will often hear people in the community refer to followers of Déa as maids. This is in reference to the Clear Recital, and it is a gender-neutral term for followers of Déa. For those who don’t want to use this term, you could also use the titles Sorella and Fratello, meaning sister and brother respectively. These are usually put before names, i.e Sorella Neria, Fratello Theo. These are all personal preferences though and depend on the practitioner on whether or not they want to use them. Rayati is commonly used as a welcome and a hello, supposedly meaning “come in peace/love”. Amadéa translates roughly to “goddess’s love” but is used as a sort of amen. Déa volente means “goddess willing” and is used as a sort of prayer for others, i.e “Déa volente your dog recovers” or “I hope you have better luck in the future, Déa Volente.”

I hope this article is helpful as well as informative! As I said in the beginning, this is by no means an attempt to get people to convert to Déanism; everyone has their own path! There is just so little information on it that I wanted to write up a sort of ‘primer’ for anyone who might be interested! If anyone has any questions or wants to learn more about the Heavenly Mother and Her faith, feel free to message me! I’m always happy to chat!

[mother-god-sanctuary]

Need to stop being lazy and pray the rosary more. It feels like a detox for my soul.

[witchy-dabblings]

Alchemy

I’ve lately started to become more interested in Inner Alchemy, especially since starting down a more Filianic path with its emphasis on becoming more like your True (higher) Self. Does anyone have some good recommendations to check out? Especially a book that goes into practice either as much or more than theory.

Currently going through the Corpus Hermeticum and I’ve been re-reading The Art of Alchemy by Gabriyell Sarom (some of the things this author says about the history of Alchemy make me raise my eyebrows but the practices the book gives seem beginner friendly enough) but I would like to expand my library.

[humbleladyofdea]

Is applying for initiation still open in the Janite tradition? How would one go about such a thing?

It is, but once does not apply to the Janites for initiation! Instead, initiation into the faith is a personal undertaking, after a period of faithful practice and devotion.

Please pm me if you'd like! It's easier than discussing over anon messages.

[maidenofsophia]

I know things have been quiet in the Deanic/Filianist sphere lately and the fate of the Janite tradition is kinda being left in the air for now. But my faith in Déa and love for this religion is still strong, to the point that it sometimes feels overflowing and I wish I had an outlet to express some of my devotion. I wish I had any talent in drawing, composing hymns or just anything really other than just my daily prayers.

[mydevotionstodea-blog]

Ordination of a Madria - Priestess Eastre/2018

https://deanic.com/2018/03/21/eastre-2018/

It is with great joy that we announce that on this most Sacred Feast of Eastre,

1 Columbina/March 21, 2018,

Cut glass bell ringing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTiQEZzNBc

Madrina Sophia Ruth has been ordained as a priestess of Dea in the Janite Ekklesia.

She is most worthy and faithful. Praise be to Dea.

Congratulations, Madria Sophia.

[deanic-collective]

The Filianic Catechism

It is often asked, even within the Déanic community, what constitutes Filianism? What separates it from other Déanic religions? This has become even more of a hot topic recently as it’s become clear that Filianism, while its own religion, is not a single belief anymore than Christianity or Wicca is. Below is the Catechism of Our Mother, taken from the Chapel of Our Mother God, website. This outlines the core beliefs of Filianism, with the preceding description:

“In some versions this Catechism has been added to with material that is not universally agreed upon, but this is the basic and original Catechism of the Children of Dea, upon which every Filyana can agree.”

This is referring to other traditions linked to Filianism, such as the Order of Kore Di-Jana (Janite), whose version of the Catechism can be found here.

The statements of the Catechism are all linked with the mythos and teachings written down in the Filianic scriptures known as The Clear Recital. Whether the Recital is seen as a description of true events outside of our reality or divinely inspired poetry, or something between the two, is up to the Filyana themselves - either way, they are the primary influence of our faith.

A Short Catechism of the Children of Dea

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL

1. From whence do you come and where is your first origin? I was created from before the beginning of time by Dea out of the overflowing of Her divine love.

2. What manner of creature are you? I am the reflection of a fragment of Her eternal Spirit.

3. What have been your actions since the beginning of time? I have passed through many states of existence and many forms of life (although I can remember but a little).

4. How came you upon this wheel of countless existences? In the beginning, my soul turned from the love of Dea and so fell into exile from her natural state.

5. What is the natural state of your soul? The natural state of my soul is Perfect Union with Dea, which is the state of pure delight.

6. What is the first cause of existence? Dea is the first cause of existence, for She created the manifest universe.

7. What is Dea? Dea (”Day-ah”) is the one Spirit of the universe, complete in Herself, uncreated, and infinite in potency, perception and perfection.

II. DEITY

10. What are the three Forms of Dea? Our Celestial Mother, Her Divine Daughter and the Dark Mother who is Absolute Deity.

11. Who is our Celestial Mother? The Mother is the Creator of the world, and Ground of all being.

12. What is Her Nature? She is pure Life, pure Light and pure energy.

13. What are Her Acts? All life, all action and all thought flow from Her.

14. Who is Her Daughter? Her Daughter is Princess of the World, Priestess of the World and Queen of Heaven.

15. What is Her Nature? She is pure love.

16. What are Her Acts? As Princess of the World, She governs all the cycles of life and nature; as Priestess of the World, She gives us Communion with Her Mother; as Queen of Heaven, She shall bring us at last to the Celestial Throne.

17. Who is the Dark Mother? She is Absolute Deity, Who existed before the beginning of existence and is beyond being and unbeing.

18. What is Her Nature? She is outside space and time; She is all that is and all that is not.

19. What are Her Acts? The exhalation of Her breath or Spirit is our Mother, the Creator of the world. Of Her other Acts, our minds cannot conceive.

III. THE NATURE OF DEITY

21. Had Dea any beginning? Dea had no beginning and will have no end.

22. When did Dea create the world? She creates it now and in every moment; if She ceased to create it, it would cease to exist.

23. Where is Dea? She is in every place at all times.

24. What is the name of Dea? She has been given many names by many different peoples.

25. Yet are there many Gods? No, there is only one God. 26. Are there any other Deities? There are no other Deities.

27. Who are those others that some worship as Deities? Some are forms under which Dea may appear, or under which certain creatures may perceive Her, others are Janyati and creatures of the higher spheres.

28. Could Dea have a special relationship with one or more of these higher creatures? She could have no special relationship.

29. What is the reason of this? Firstly, She alone is uncreated; all other beings are of Her creation, therefore none can exist on Her own level. Secondly, the highest relationship between creature and Deity is that of Perfect Union; this is the final aim of every soul, and no special relationship can be higher than this.

30. What are the powers of Dea? The powers of Dea are infinite; no thing is impossible to Her.

31. What is the knowledge of Dea? The knowledge of Dea is infinite; She knows all that is, all that has been and all that is to come.

For a commentary on each of these points, I recommend reading the full page here.

According to some, the term Filianism used to be used as a term for those Déanists who focused their beliefs purely on the Holy Daughter (Déa Filia), while ‘pure Déanists’ focused on the Mother and Trinitarii Déanists focused on all three aspects of the Trinity. While this may have been the case, many different religions that are completely separate from the movement of Lux Madriana and the authors of the Clear Recital, also fall under the umbrella of Déanism. Many of these have their own Déanic Trinity that is viewed completely different from the theology of Filianism. Not only that but, having spoken to many who identify as Filianist, they consider themselves devoted to all three aspects of the Trinity. Even the Chapel website backs this up.

As I mentioned before, Filianism is not a single belief, though it is a religion in its own right. When one refers to Orthodox Filianism (or Chapel Filianism) they are referring to the path that follows the beliefs, calendar and cosmology written on the Chapel of Our Mother God. An Independent Filianist, or Eclectic Filianist, may agree with most of the basics of what is outlined in the Catechism and follow the Clear Recital, while not necessarily following the same calendar or views on the Chapel. They may lean more towards the beliefs of the Janite tradition or the Lucienne tradition, to give just two examples. They may synchronise their own previous beliefs with Filianism, as I myself have done with Sophian Filianism; an adaptation of my previous Gnostic beliefs into Filianism. This can be achieved with any belief so long as the Mother God has no male superior or equal (Father God) and likewise the Daughter has no brother-bridegroom figure as Her opposite, and the other beliefs fall in line with the basics of the Catechism. 

Whether you call on Her as Inanna, Kore, Zoe or any other name,

May Déa Filia be with you.

~ Sorella Roselyn