Rue's Kitchen

Rue's Kitchen http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php en rue@rueskitchen.com Copyright 2007 2007-12-03T17:55:01-08:00 A Bronx Tale: Back on Broadway and Giving Back http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/a_bronx_tale_back_on_broadway_and_giving_back/

HELP SUPPORT THE ITALIAN AMERICAN MUSEUM AND TAKE PART IN THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

Hi, I’m Chazz Palminteri and over the past few years I have been extremely blessed with all the amazing opportunities that have led to my current success. But I have never forgotten my roots and now that I am fortunate enough to have my story, A BRONX TALE, back on Broadway, we are going to donate $10 from every ticket sold through this offer to the Italian American Museum. I invite you to support the museum and our culture by coming to see me perform A BRONX TALE. It’s a story I love to tell. I think you’ll love it too. Chazz

Orchestra and Mezzanine rows A-G/ Boxes: $96.50
Mezzanine rows G-J: $76.50
Balcony A-B: $26.50

Three easy ways to purchase tickets and in turn support the Museum

1. Visit Broadwayoffers.com and enter the code BTMUS34
2. Call 212-947-8844 and mention code BTMUS34
3. Bring a print out of this offer to the box office.

RESTRICTIONS: All prices include a $1.50 theatre restoration charge. This offer is valid through 2/10/08. Offer is subject to availability and prior sale; not valid on prior purchases; cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions. Additional blackout dates may apply. Telephone and Internet orders are subject to standard service fees. Offer may be revoked at any time.

A Bronx Tale
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th Street

Performance: Tuesday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm,
Sunday @ 3pm

Special Sunday Night Performances in December: Sunday - December 9 @ 7pm, Sunday - December 16 @ 7pm, Sunday - December 23 @ 7pm,
Sunday - December 30 @ 7pm

No Performance: Tuesday - December 25 @ 8pm
Added Holiday performance: Wednesday - December 26 @ 2pm

Walter Kerr Box Office Hours:
Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm
Sunday 12pm-6pm
PLEASE NOTE: Box office opened till 7PM on 12/9, 12/16, 12/23, 12/30

For further information, call 212.541.1021.

See what the critics are saying:

“A rejuvenating act of faith in the powers of acting and storytelling. It has heart, spice, and humor.” Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

“With eight million stories in the city, there’s one out of the Bronx that’s knockin’ them dead on Broadway. Intensely raw, funny and moving, ‘A Bronx Tale hits home.” Roma Torre, NY1 News.

“Enormously entertaining. A vibrant, warmhearted saga.” Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press.

“A gripping story – riveting, sinister & colorful!” - Jacques Le Sourd, The Journal News.

]]> 2007-12-03T17:55:01-08:00 Less baths for health http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/less_baths_for_health/
Stop bathing your newborns! They're brand new. What dirt are you removing? Scrupulous wiping at every diaper change is the key to good baby hygiene.

Bathe your children less. There's a radical idea. But I bet a number of you have already discovered this and are doing it in secret. Daily baths strips your child's skin of its resident protective microorganisms, leaving them vulnerable to every germ out there. What about those mysterious skin conditions? I bet they would clear up pretty quick without much intervention if you bathed your kids in the tub only once a week or so.

Provided you keep their perineum scrupulously clean and sponge bath them once a day, as well as brushing their hair and teeth, there's no need for the tub and bubble bath, which incidentally can cause urinary tract infections. Proper and consistent handwashing prevents the spread of disease. Teach your kids to wash their hands after playing and toileting and before eating. Pre-pubescent bodies produce so little sebum. Their hair doesn't need a daily shampoo unless they are using tons of styling products. Get my point?

-Rue
(The author is a registered nurse and natural health practioner.)]]> 2005-01-06T20:32:07-08:00 Ossa da Mordere http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/ossa_da_mordere/ Cucina/Recipes From Kyle Phillips,
Your Guide to Italian Cuisine.

Bones of the Dead (For Chewing), or Ossa di Morto (Ossa da Mordere): There are many variations on Bones of the Dead, the cookies Italians enjoy on November 2. This recipe is from Piemonte, and more specifically the cities of Biella, Vercelli and Novara. You'll need:

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups (250 g) flour
4 ounces (100 g) hazelnuts (use hazelnuts from Piemonte, if you can find them)
4 ounces (100 g) almonds
2 cups (400 g) sugar
2 egg whites
The juice of a lemon
Butter for greasing the cookie sheet
Flour for the cookie sheet

PREPARATION:

Begin with a large bowl: combine the flour, egg whites, sugar, and lemon juice. Work in the nuts, leaving them whole, and continue kneading until you have a fairly firm dough. Roll the ball of dough out with your hands on your work surface so as to obtain a snake; cut the snake into half-inch thick slices and shape the bit into bones with your hands.

Preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).

Butter your cookie sheet, dust it with flour, lay the bones on it, and bake them for about 20 minutes. Let them cool before serving them.]]> 2004-10-31T05:27:00-08:00 Isis http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/isis/ loving mother, passionate wife, grieving widow

I am the All. I am the Past, the Present, and the Future.
-Inscription on statue of Isis

Isis has never been equaled by any other aspect of the Goddess in terms of power of worship and influence. She was actively worshipped from at least 3000 B.C to the first century A.D., and the fascination with her myths has never disappeared. She is loving mother, passionate wife, grieving widow. She is the throne from which all rulers of Egypt took their power, and she is the natural force of wind, water, and nurturing land, of life and of life beyond death. The wings of Isis have spread wide indeed, and today's Goddess movement understands Isis not only as one specific Egyptian goddess, but as a symbol of the awesome and enduring power of the Great Goddess.

Patron of: women, mothers, children, magic, medicine, and the Ritual of Life.

Appearance: A beautiful woman in magnificent clothing, sometimes shown wearing the sun disk. She has almost no variant forms.

Description: Isis may be the oldest deity in Egypt, and certainly the oldest to survive the ages in much the same form. She may also be the most important, for although the other gods were worshipped widely, Isis was worshipped almost universally by all Egyptians. The major goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, she had many of the same attributes of other mother-goddesses found all over the world. She was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace in the world. Temples to Isis are found everywhere in Egypt, some of them quite ancient, and many houses had shrines to her devotion. Her worship was taken up by the Greeks and the Romans, and indeed, Isis followers are still found today.

She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, the sister to Osiris, Set, and Nephthys, and the mother of Horus. In earlier times she was not only the wife to Osiris, but his female counterpart, equal in all ways and powers. In the Legend of Osiris it is she who travels the world to find all the pieces of his body and it is she who brings him back to life with the aid of Thoth. But that is not the only time she is associated with Thoth. Together they taught man the secrets of magic, medicine, and agriculture. Her power is spoken of much in the ancient stories, and she may have been even more powerful than Ra and Osiris. She did after all trick Ra's secret name out of him to gain his power. Yet she is never shown as selfish or cruel, except to those who would harm those she loves. Power and compassion, crafty but merciful, Isis represents all the qualities of women.

Worship: Worshipped widely not only throughout Egypt but also much of the known world.

See also:

Exploring Isis by Catherine C. Harris
Isis, Sister of Nephthys, Mistress of Magic by Caroline Seawright
Who Put the Hiss in Isisss by deTraci Regula

Taken without permission from:

All Contents Copyright � 2000-2004 David C. Scott and InterCity Oz, Inc.]]> 2004-04-01T22:25:49-08:00 Mother of Compassion http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/mother_of_compassion/ KUAN YIN

Compassionate Saviouress

There is still much scholarly debate regarding the origin of devotion to the female Bodhisattva Kuan Yin (also know as Quan Shi Yin and Kwan Yin). Quan means to inquire or look deeply into, Shi means the world of people, or generations, Yin means cries. The Boddhisatva of Compassion was inquiring into the suffering (cries) that has come down the generations. Kuan Yin is considered to be the feminine form of Avalokitesvara(Sanskrit), the bodhisattva of compassion of Indian Buddhism whose worship was introduced into China in the third century.

Scholars believe that the Buddhist monk and translator Kumarajiva was the first to refer to the female form of Kuan Yin in his Chinese translation of the Lotus Sutra in 406 A.D. Of the thirty-three appearances of the bodhisattva referred to in his translation, seven are female. (Devoted Chinese and Japanese Buddhists have since come to associate the number thirty-three with Kuan Yin.)

Although Kuan Yin was still being portrayed as a male as late as the tenth century, with the introduction of Tantric Buddhism into China in the eighth century during the T'ang Dynasty, the image of the celestial bodhisattva as a beautiful white-robed goddess was predominant and the devotional cult surrounding her became increasingly popular. By the ninth century there was a statue of Kuan Yin in every Buddhist monastery in China.

Despite the controversy over the origins of Kuan Yin as a feminine being, the depiction of a bodhisattva as both 'god' and 'goddess' is not inconsistent with Buddhist doctrine. The scriptures explain that a bodhisattva has the power to embody in any form--male, female, child, even animal�depending on the type of being he is seeking to save. As the Lotus Sutra relates, the bodhisattva Kuan Shih Yin, "by resort to a variety of shapes, travels in the world, conveying the beings to salvation."

The twelfth-century legend of the Buddhist saint Miao Shan, the Chinese princess who lived in about 700 B.C. and is widely believed to have been Kuan Yin, reinforced the image of the bodhisattva as a female. During the twelfth century Buddhist monks settled on P'u-t'o Shan--the sacred island-mountain in the Chusan Archipelago off the coast of Chekiang where Miao Shan is said to have lived for nine years, healing and saving sailors from shipwreck--and devotion to Kuan Yin spread throughout northern China.

This picturesque island became the chief center of worship of the compassionate Saviouress; crowds of pilgrims would journey from the remotest places in China and even from Manchuria, Mongolia and Tibet to attend stately services there. At one time there were more than a hundred temples on the island and over one thousand monks. The lore surrounding P'u-t'o island recounts numerous appearances and miracles performed by Kuan Yin, who, it is believed, reveals herself to the faithful in a certain cave on the island.

In the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Kuan Yin forms part of a ruling triad that is often depicted in temples and is a popular theme in Buddhist art. In the center is the Buddha of Boundless Light, Amitabha (Chinese, A-mi-t'o Fo; Japanese, Amida). To his right is the bodhisattva of strength or power, Mahasthamaprapta, and to his left is Kuan Yin, personifying his endless mercy.

In Buddhist theology Kuan Yin is sometimes depicted as the captain of the "Bark of Salvation," guiding souls to Amitabha's Western Paradise, or Pure Land--the land of bliss where souls may be reborn to receive continued instruction toward the goal of enlightenment and perfection. The journey to Pure Land is frequently represented in woodcuts showing boats full of Amitabha's followers under Kuan Yin's captainship.

Amitabha, a beloved figure in the eyes of Buddhists desiring to be reborn in his Western Paradise and to obtain freedom from the wheel of rebirth, is said to be, in a mystical or spiritual sense, the father of Kuan Yin. Legends of the Mahayana School recount that Avalokitesvara was 'born' from a ray of white light which Amitabha emitted from his right eye as he was lost in ecstasy.

Thus Avalokitesvara, or Kuan Yin, is regarded as the "reflex" of Amitabha�a further emanation or embodiment of Karuna (compassion), the quality which Amitabha himself embodies in the highest sense. Many figures of Kuan Yin can be identified by the presence of a small image of Amitabha in her crown. It is believed that as the merciful redemptress Kuan Yin expresses Amitabha's compassion in a more direct and personal way and prayers to her are answered more quickly.

The iconography of Kuan Yin depicts her in many forms, each one revealing a unique aspect of her merciful presence. As the sublime Goddess of Mercy whose beauty, grace and compassion have come to represent the ideal of womanhood in the East, she is frequently portrayed as a slender woman in flowing white robes who carries in her left hand a white lotus, symbol of purity. Ornaments may adorn her form, symbolizing her attainment as a bodhisattva, or she may be pictured without them as a sign of her great virtue.

Kuan Yin's presence is widespread through her images as the "bestower of children" which are found in homes and temples. A great white veil covers her entire form and she may be seated on a lotus. She is often portrayed with a child in her arms, near her feet, or on her knees, or with several children about her. In this role, she is also referred to as the "white-robed honored one." Sometimes to her right and left are her two attendants, Shan-ts�ai Tung-tsi, the "young man of excellent capacities," and Lung-wang Nu, the "daughter of the Dragon-king."

Kuan Yin is also known as patron bodhisattva of P'u-t'o Shan, mistress of the Southern Sea and patroness of fishermen. As such she is shown crossing the sea seated or standing on a lotus or with her feet on the head of a dragon.

Like Avalokitesvara she is also depicted with a thousand arms and varying numbers of eyes, hands and heads, sometimes with an eye in the palm of each hand, and is commonly called "the thousand-arms, thousand-eyes" bodhisattva. In this form she represents the omnipresent mother, looking in all directions simultaneously, sensing the afflictions of humanity and extending her many arms to alleviate them with infinite expressions of her mercy.

Symbols characteristically associated with Kuan Yin are a willow branch, with which she sprinkles the divine nectar of life; a precious vase symbolizing the nectar of compassion and wisdom, the hallmarks of a bodhisattva; a dove, representing fecundity; a book or scroll of prayers which she holds in her hand, representing the dharma (teaching) of the Buddha or the sutra (Buddhist text) which Miao Shan is said to have constantly recited; and a rosary adorning her neck with which she calls upon the Buddhas for succor.

Images of Avalokitesvara, thus then Kuan Yin, is often shown holding a rosary; describing being born with a rosary in one hand --- not unlike a similar story oft repeated regarding the contemporary Japanese Zen master Yasutani Hakuun Roshi --- and a white lotus in the other. It is taught that the beads represent all living beings and the turning of the beads symbolizes that Avalokitesvara is leading them out of their state of misery and repeated rounds of rebirth into Nirvana.

Today Kuan Yin is worshipped by Taoists as well as Mahayana Buddhists--especially in Taiwan, Japan, Korea and once again in her homeland of China, where the practice of Buddhism had been suppressed by the Communists during the Cultural Revolution (1966-69). She is the protectress of women, sailors, merchants, craftsmen, and those under criminal prosecution, and is invoked particularly by those desiring progeny. Beloved as a mother figure and divine mediatrix who is very close to the daily affairs of her devotees, Kuan Yin's role as Buddhist Madonna has been compared to that of Mary the mother of Jesus in the West.

There is an implicit trust in Kuan Yin's saving grace and healing powers. Many believe that even the simple recitation of her name will bring her instantly to the scene. One of the most famous texts associated with the bodhisattva, the ancient Lotus Sutra whose twenty-fifth chapter, dedicated to Kuan Yin, is known as the "Kuan Yin sutra," describes thirteen cases of impending disaster--from shipwreck to fire, imprisonment, robbers, demons, fatal poisons and karmic woes--in which the devotee will be rescued if his thoughts dwell on the power of Kuan Yin. The text is recited many times daily by those who wish to receive the benefits it promises.

Devotees also invoke the bodhisattva's power and merciful intercession with the mantra OM MANI PADME HUM-- "Hail to the jewel in the lotus!" or, as it has also been interpreted, "Hail to Avalokitesvara, who is the jewel in the heart of the lotus of the devotee's heart!" Throughout Tibet and Ladakh, Buddhists have inscribed OM MANI PADME HUM on flat prayer stones called "mani-stones" as votive offerings in praise of Avalokitesvara. Thousands of these stones have been used to build mani-walls that line the roads entering villages and monasteries.

It is believed that Kuan Yin frequently appears in the sky or on the waves to save those who call upon her when in danger. Personal stories can be heard in Taiwan, for instance, from those who report that during World War II when the United States bombed the Japanese-occupied Taiwan, she appeared in the sky as a young maiden, catching the bombs and covering them with her white garments so they would not explode.

Thus altars dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy are found everywhere--shops, restaurants, even taxicab dashboards. In the home she is worshipped with the traditional "pai pai," a prayer ritual using incense, as well as the use of prayer charts--sheets of paper designed with pictures of Kuan Yin, lotus flowers, or pagodas and outlined with hundreds of little circles. With each set of prayers recited or sutras read in a novena for a relative, friend, or oneself, another circle is filled in. This chart has been described as a "Ship of Salvation" whereby departed souls are saved from the dangers of hell and the faithful safely conveyed to Amitabha's heaven not unlike the Cumeaean Sibyl and her golden bough in Greek mythology.

In addition to elaborate services with litanies and prayers, devotion to Kuan Yin is expressed in the popular literature of the people in poems and hymns of praise.

Devout followers of Kuan Yin may frequent local temples and make pilgrimages to larger temples on important occasions or when they are burdened with a special problem. The three yearly festivals held in her honor are on the nineteenth day of the second month (celebrated as her birthday), of the sixth month, and of the ninth month based on the Chinese lunar calendar.

In the tradition of the Great White Brotherhood Kuan Yin is known as the Ascended Lady Master who bears the office and title of "Goddess of Mercy" because she ensouls the God qualities of the law of mercy, compassion and forgiveness. She had numerous embodiments prior to her ascension thousands of years ago and has taken the vow of the bodhisattva to teach the unascended children of God how to balance their karma and fulfill their divine plan by loving service to life and the application of the violet flame through the science of the spoken Word.

Kuan Yin preceded the Ascended Master Saint Germain as Chohan (Lord) of the Seventh Ray of Freedom, Transmutation, Mercy and Justice and she is one of seven Ascended Masters who serve on the Karmic Board, a council of justice that mediates the karma of earth's evolutions--dispensing opportunity, mercy and the true and righteous judgments of the Lord to each lifestream on earth. She is hierarch of the etheric Temple of Mercy over Peking, China, where she focuses the light of the Divine Mother on behalf of the children of the ancient land of China, the souls of humanity, and the sons and daughters of God.

References:

Leon Hurvitz, trans., "Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma (The Lotus Sutra) (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), p. 315.

Glen Dudbridge, The Legend of Miao-shan (London: Ithaca Press, 1978).

P. Steven Sangren, "Female Gender in Chinese Religious Symbols: Kuan Yin, Ma Tsu, and the 'Eternal Mother'," Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 9, no. 1 (1983), pp. 4-25.

R. A. Stein, "Avalokitesvara/Kouan-yin: Exemple de transformation d'un dieu en d�esse," Cahiers d'Extr�me-Asie, vol. 2 (1986), pp. 17-80.

Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 1999, All Rights Reserved, Alex Chew]]> 2004-04-01T22:24:24-08:00 Inanna http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/inanna/

The Goddess Inanna

"The Queen of Heaven".
the most important goddess of the
Sumerian pantheon in ancient Mesopotamia.
She is the goddess of love, fertility, and war.
The Akkadians called her Ishtar.

INANNA: Journey to the Dark Center
by Mary Scarlett Moon and Callista Deep River

INANNA
Journey to the Dark Center
I am the daughter of the Ancient Mother,
I am the child
of the Mother of the World.
I am your daughter
O Ancient Mother,
I am your child
O Mother of the World.
O Inanna! O Inanna!
O Inanna!
It is you who teaches us
to die, be reborn and rise again.
Die, be reborn, and rise!
Herstory/Lore
Queen of Heaven and Earth

The Goddess Inanna ruled the people of Sumer, and under Her rule the people and their communities prospered and thrived. The urban culture, though agriculturally dependent, centered upon the reverence of the Goddess -- a cella, or shrine, in her honour was the centerpiece of the cities. Inanna was the queen of seven temples throughout Sumer. Probably the most important Sumerian contribution to civilization was the invention and creation of a standard writing and literature; the Sumerians even had libraries. Their literary works reveal religious beliefs, ethical ideas, and the spiritual aspirations of the Sumerians. Among these works are the hymns and stories of Inanna -- important here because they were recorded at a time when the patriarchy was beginning to take hold, and the position of the Goddess, although strong, was changing.

My Lady looks
in sweet wonder from heaven.
The people of Sumer parade
before the holy Inanna.
Inanna, the Lady of the Morning,
is radiant.
I sing your praises, Holy Inanna.
The Lady of the Morning
is radiant on the horizon.

Inanna's Descent

The hymns to Inanna are beautiful, poetic, and a testament both to Her power and to Her humanity. She outwitted Enki, the God of Wisdom and her grandfather, and she endowed the people of Sumer with the seven me - wisdoms and gifts that inspired and insured their growth sensuous lover in The Courtship of Inanna and Damuzi. Indeed, Inanna is herself the Goddess of Love, and it is this aspect and power -- creativity, procreativity, raw sexual energy and passion -- that generates the energy of the universe. In the Courtship, Inanna is both the shy virgin and the sensuous mistress. Her coupling with Damuzi is one of the mo st erotic and passionate passages in literature. The marriage is one of body and spirit, and Inanna's passion and expectations link her to women all over the world. After their lovemaking, when Damuzi asks for his freedom, Inanna's poignant lament is "How sweet was your allure..." The Descent of Inanna plays a key role in the Sumerian literature.

The Goddess Inanna descended twice: first from Heaven to Earth to rule her people; second, to the realm of the underworld, the domain of her sister Ereshkigal. It is the second descent of Inanna that is the focus here. Inanna was Queen of Heaven and Earth, but she knew nothing of the underworld. Her quest for clarity and knowledge, as well as her sense of duty as Queen and Goddess, led her to the Earthly realm in the first place. She was a powerful ruler, and yet she felt a strong desire to challenge herself further. "My daughter craved the great below," was the response of her father upon learning of her descent and death in the other realm. In her naivete, she wrapped herself in the me, transformed into garments and jewels, and began her descent. Her sister Ereshkigal, upon hearing Inanna at the gates of the underworld, demands that Inanna must give up all of her earthly trappings before she can complete her journey. There are seven stations through which Inanna must pass before she meets Ereshkigal, her sister and rival. At the seventh and last, she meets Ereshkigal, who seizes Inanna and hangs her on a peg to die.

What Inanna discovers about herself and about life itself as she makes her descent is not implicit in the texts. However, by the time she relinquishes her final garment, she is no longer the commanding Queen. She is open, exposed, vulnerable. This knowledge, and acceptance of her vulnerability, as well as her first-hand discovery of the necessity of sacrifice and death for the cycles of life to continue, increased her power, her understanding, her beauty. Her sister learns a lesson as well: she has her heart opened to compassion. When Enki sent two creatures, galla, below to rescue Inanna, Ereshkigal was struggling to five birth, even though she was barren. The creatures moaned in sympathy with her -- for the first time in her life, Ereshkigal felt a connection to another. As a reward for their compassion, the galla were permitted to take the corpse of the Goddess Inanna away with them, and revive her. But Inanna was not free to leave unless she insured that there would be someone to take her place. When she returned to earth, she found that her husband Damuzi did not mourn her; in fact, he had taken on even more power in her absence. Inanna allowed the galla to take Damuzi to rule in her place in the underworld. For love of her brother, Damuzi's sister Geshtinanna volunteered to take that place half of each year so he could return to his Queen. This six-month cycle insured that the lands would maintain their abundance and fertility, and also served to humble the imprudent King.

Inanna Today
In the Inanna cycle, she is maiden, mother and crone. Her encounter with Ereshkigal can be seen as a meeting of the creator and the destroyer - the light and dark aspects of the Goddess. For modern women, Inanna is a powerful role model. She indeed has it all: she is Goddess, protectress, sensuous, a politician par excellence, intelligent, beautiful, powerful. She is aware of Her position in the world, of Her great responsibility.

We, like Inanna, challenge ourselves, often taking ourselves to task to know more, learn more, be more. This is not necessarily good or bad. But in the doing, in living this life, we too must know the power of the underworld and its mysteries, as well as know the power of compassion. Our personal growth, suffering and pain can be likened to physical death; our psyches journey to the underworld again and again. Old ideas, old visions, identities die; myths are shattered, and are created anew. We rise up, like Inanna, aware of our vulnerabilities, and the strength created from them.

Dark Moon Ritual: Inanna's Journey

Things you will need:

Black candles
Candle (your favorite color)
Bowl of water
Mirror
Thurible
Incense (your choice of flavor)
Tarot cards.
The altar can be directional, Inanna-ular, whatever is your preference. All altars are perfect in their beauty. Each participant needs a necklace, a shawl, and one tarot card.

Preparation for the Journey:
Like the Goddess Inanna, you are choosing to travel to the underworld. Before you go, you clothe yourself, like Inanna did with the me, protecting, wrapping yourself in your Earthly powers and attributes. In this case, the seven me are symbolized by the necklace, the shawl, and the tarot card. The tarot cards are shuffled; as this is done, you ask the spirits to bring you a shield, a symbol of protection. Chose one, study it, hear your inner voice telling you what it symbolizes to you. As you put on the necklace and the shawl, take time with each item, endowing them with the power you think you will need in the underworld.

Creation of Sacred Space:
Athame delineates the circle/invocation of the East Wand stirs up and charges the circle's energy/invocation of the South Water purifies the space/invocation of the West Pentagram is drawn for protection/invocation of the North Casting of the circle, the calling forth of the directions.

The powers of Inanna include those of the dark moon, of High Priestess, Regulator of Divine Order, Judgement, the planet Venus, the control of the law of Heaven and Earth, the Lioness. Invocation to Inanna Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte -- Goddess powerful, wise. From the Great Above She opened Her ear to the Great Below. Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. O Great Queen, wrapped in wisdom and beauty; she who fixes destinies at the time of each new moon! Guide our journey, strengthen us, as we open our ear to the Great Below. Praise to Inanna! Queen of Heaven and Earth! Blessed Be. The circle is cast.

The participants are seated in a circle around the altar. Each is dressed for her journey, the tarot card that is her shield/talisman is before her, in her hand. The black candles have been lit and are glowing softly, ; the power of their energy fills the circle. It is time to begin. The participants can act as co-priestesses here, or a High Priestess can guide the journey. But like Inanna, each shall travel alone.

The Ritual Begins: (spoken)
The Goddess Inanna, powerful Priestess, beloved Queen of her people, descended two times: she descended from Heaven to Earth to rule Her people, where she made the sacred marriage to insure the fertility of the lands so that Her people would not know hunger; and she made another descent, this time into the underworld, a journey of great danger and fear - a personal journey for spiritual growth. As Priestess and Witch, we too must be willing to learn, to descend into the underworld, not as a place of no return or dread, but as a place of magic and mystery - a vital force in life and in our training. All we need do is be open, to feel the power of the dark moon within us. To listen. The Goddess Inanna gained her insight in the underworld as a corpse hanging on a peg -- if she can gain wisdom in that fashion, think of what we can do!

Priestess, (name), do you seek to journey, to explore the inner womb of the Earth, your innermost self? Why do you decide to travel, to journey deep within? Is there an answer you seek? A mystery you must explore? A desire you must fulfill? Ask for the power of the dark moon, and for the wisdom of Inanna to guide you on your journey. (Priestess gives her answer. She may elaborate aloud, or silently align herself and decide her path.)

The journey begins. (During the meditation, music can underscore the journey, or perhaps a drumbeat. In solitary work, you can pre-record the meditation.) Travelling afoot, toward the setting sun. You feel the gravel road beneath your feet, the warmth of the sun, the breeze in your hair, you drink in the surroundings. Yes, this is the path. There is nothing discernable in the distance, yet you are drawn forward, onward toward the unknown that is the underworld. You have chosen to make this journey.

As you walk, you are aware of the boundaries of your physical body -experience it in its earthly incarnation. You become aware of the garments about you -- necklace, shawl, tarot card -- that which you have empowered with protection, identity, magic; earthly gifts and trappings that you have taken with you.

The sun disappears just as your path begins to curve; your descent has begun. Darkness surrounds you. There is no moonlight; the dark canopy overhead is like soft black velvet. You are frightened, but all the same you know that you must continue. No sooner do you restate your resolve than you reach an obstacle -- it is a gate that impedes your progress. There is no key. You try to force it open, but it is no use. The iron bars are too close together for you to squeeze through. They are too high to climb over. Standing on the path, facing the gate, you call the Goddess. What should you do? Her message becomes to clear to you: you are no longer in the Earthly realm, and you must make an offering if you are to continue your journey. But what?

You are wrapped in your glamours -- your talismans and shields. Remove one if you are to travel further. This offering is not an easy one to make. You are aware as you relinquish this what powers this item possesses, what it means to you, what it says about you. But the offering must be made. Once the token is removed and you have laid it at the foot of the gateway, the gate opens wide. You may go forward on your journey... The surroundings are vastly different on this leg of the journey. Be mindful of the sights, sounds, and smells you encounter. Listen to Inanna as she guides your way. You feel the weight of your offering lifted from you - you travel with greater ease -- you are different, changed. Feel what it is like. Remember the sensations.

The spiral path pulls you along. Your initial fears have been replaced by anxious curiosity. Your pace quickens, as does your breathing and heartbeat. Your eyes are opened wide in the darkness as you strain to memorize all that you are experiencing. Just ahead you see a light-colored object. As you draw closer you see that it is a huge stone, so large that it blocks the entire path. Again, you are thwarted -- the path to the underworld is indeed an arduous one. Again you listen to the voice of the Goddess. The stone is too large and smooth to climb over, there are no tools or sticks to pry it loose from this spot -- if you are to continue your journey, you must make a sacrifice, an offering of one of your earthly garments. This offering is more difficult than the first one, for this protection is more important to you. You look behind you at the path you have walked thus far, and you know that there is no question about continuing this journey.

The second offering is made, and as you remove it from you, you are reminded again of what this token means to you, says about you, how you need it to protect you, define you. The stone crumbles to dust right before your eyes. Your journey continues.

As you walk, the spiral path beckons you, you feel the lightness of your being without the lost token. Your step is easier, your load is lighter - that which you have needed on the earthly plane becomes expendable here. Again, the surroundings have changed. The decline of the path has steepened, your feet cannot walk fast enough, your physical body can barely keep up with your racing, curious spirit. Be mindful of all that you see in this part of the journey, what you are learning, seeing, experiencing.

Mesmerized by a soft glow in the distance, your feet and body guide you toward it. You come upon its source: a wall of flames. Inanna is in you, you know now what you must do -- you must make a third and final offering. The last vestige of earthly power, safety, identity, must be given up. Hold the object in your hands; remember what it means to you, what it signifies. Throw it into the fire, release it. You do not need it here. There is again a lightness, a freedom that rains down upon you as the fire slowly subsides. Feel the weight of the glamours three as they are lifted from you. How are you changed?

When Inanna descended into the Underworld, she removed all of her garments, eschewed the me that enshrouded and protected her. And you have done the same. Remember, in leaving these belongings behind, you cast off not your power, for that is deep within and always with you. You are deep within the underworld now, and you are conscious of all that is around you - that the underworld is not a place of dread, but a place of mystery, magic, and transformation. It has no destination, but is infinite. As is the wisdom of the Goddess Inanna. Once Inanna shed and discarded her garments, she was no longer the commanding queen. She could accept her own vulnerability. In this acceptance, she can also own her sorrow, her suffering, her pain. (Each participant is handed a small mirror.) Look deep within, look into Inanna's mirror and see yourself, unadorned, and feel your vulnerability. See it in your face, in your eyes; feel it in your body, your pain, how and where you have suffered. The dark moon rains down in the darkness that is within you. Feel it now. In your vulnerability is power. The power of the Goddess, of Inanna. You are Inanna. Listen to the voiceof the Goddess: mysteries will be revealed, desires fulfilled. See these things manifesting now; your yours to change. (To celebrate this change, light your candle here. Tend the flame well to bring these things to pass.)

It is time to return to the circle, to leave the underworld now. (Take as much time as you need; some take the elevator, some need to retrace their steps). As you reach the gate, you find your glamours, garments, and talismans. (Each may end up with a different card or shawl, indicating the changes wrought by their journey. Or you may choose to draw a new card.) Rededicate them and yourself, swear alliegance to your inner and higher powers, to the path that you have chosen.

A necklace was presented as a gift to remind Inanna's people of the powers of the cycle of life, death, and life again. (Necklaces are returned here. Each should receive her own.) Rededicate your necklace now - remembering the wisdom and vulnerability of Inanna, and the message that she has made manifest to you this night. (Pass about a bowl of water.) It is said that Inanna sent forth healing after a great flood, and indeed that the cleansing waters themselves refreshed the entire earth. Refresh yourselves now with Inanna's clear waters. Be born anew, the dark moon waxing to fullness now -- your new destiny fixed. (Thurible is set alight here, a symbol of the power of change.)

The wisdom of the ME; The Gifts of Inanna to Her People (say or chant together) The rights, the privileges and duties of Priestess, The arts of warfare and statesmanship, The arts of lovemaking, creation, family, The arts of prostitution, sacred and profane, of the temple and the tavern, The arts of music and the artisan, The power of judgement and wisdom. (Add to these the powers of Inanna that are yours, the power to change, etc.) Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte Goddess powerful, wise To my Queen, wrapped in wisdom and beauty; She who fixes destinies at the time of each new moon! Our vulnerabilities are our power! Praise to Inanna! Blessed BE! Sing the praises of Inanna in Her song! Close the circle. Blessed Be.

Sources, Information, Inspiration:
Eleanor W. Gadon, "The Once and Future Goddess", Harper & Row Janet & Stewart Farrar, "The Witches' Goddess" Phoenix Publishing Co. Merlin Stone, "Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood", Beacon Press Wolkstein and Kramer, "Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Harper & Row Special thanks: to the women of the Eighth Web and the Famous Priestess School for serving as sacred guinea pigs. Both MaryScarlett Moon and Callista Deep River live in California, teach college, serve their community as witch and priestess, alternately delight and drive-crazy their families, and enjoy a good glass of wine.

This article was transcribed from SageWoman Magazine, Issue #17, Samhain 1991 (or Autumn 1991).]]> 2004-04-01T22:23:48-08:00 Defining Reiki http://www.rueskitchen.com/index.php/weblog1/defining_reiki/

The answer most often recounted is "Reiki is a healing technique" and that is not an untruth. But in my mind, that conjures up a somewhat incorrect assumption that anyone who has been attuned to Reiki is a healer... and that is not necessarily true. Reiki cannot be used to heal those people who choose to live a life out-of-balance. Reiki can, however, aid someone who accepts the responsibility of their thoughts and actions as the causation of imbalances and the resulting diseases that occur. I can no more heal you, than you can heal me.

So, what is Reiki, then?

Reiki is a spiritual healing technique and an energy healing technique; Spiritual healing connects one with Universal Consciousness bring Spiritual growth by healing core patterns/issues and helping one to remember the fullness of Who They Are. Energy healing bring relief of pain and symptoms in the mind, body and emotions.

Reiki is a powerful natural system that unlocks the inner flow of vital energy, restoring and balancing the energy systems in all living things.

Reiki is an Eastern-based discipline wherein one can learn to access and utilize greater amounts of "Chi/Ki" energy, for the benefit of revitalizing the body�s organs, purifying the energy channels (meridians/nadi's) moving energy to all areas of one�s body, and balancing all of the body�s systems for better energy storage, more youthful vitality, and improved health and anti-aging.

Reiki is a specific set of frequencies that is one part of the overall energy spectrum that makes up and holds everything in form, as well as the space between all form. It is the life-force energy that animates all living matter, distinguishing living, conscious intelligence from that appearing to have no living activity. (That is not to say that inanimate objects are devoid of life force).

Reiki is an energy system that anyone can learn to access and accumulate greater amounts of Chi/Ki within his or her physical body.

Reiki is a systematic technique of hand placements and procedures that can stimulate a series of changes within our fields of energy and our physical bodies.

Reiki is a variation of energy-accumulating exercises of the Far East called Qi Gong.

Reiki energy brings on subtle and sometimes physically-intense cycles of detoxification and purification.

Reiki accumulates in energy centers within the body, so that all systems can be fully charged for optimal efficiency of operation.

Reiki is a transcendental energy that encompasses and balances all subtle layers of energy that make-up our physical being.

Reiki is a spiritually directed energy that does not need our logical minds/thoughts to work.

Reiki is a higher-frequency energy that is available to every conscious life form, but the method of attainment may take years to understand without direction and assistance from a trained, knowledgeable teacher.
Once attuned to Reiki, anyone can access and use whenever and wherever desired.
A practiced and knowledgeable person can transfer Reiki energy to anything or anyone by the method of hand- placement to specific body locations.

Reiki can bring on a state of �enlightenment� (the state of heightened perception in which the individual transcends the mind and body and attains understanding of any or all subjects). Reiki is the frequency of the Spirit of Creator, found within all of creation.

Reiki is a non-invasive, light-touch technique of energy transfer, transmitted through the palms of the hands, as well as the eyes and breath.

Reiki can be bestowed on anyone by the way of a ritualistic ceremony of initiation (also called �transforation/ empowerment/attunement�).

Reiki energy stimulates heightened sensitivity of all human senses.

Reiki accesses the source of Life to balance the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical levels in all of creation.

Reiki is Creative energy and is the essence of all healing; augmenting and accelerating the continuous healing/wholing process within every life form, encouraging the physician within.

Reiki opens the mind to the knowledge of Who We Really Are in relation to the Creator and all of creation.

Reiki teaches us of our multi-dimensionality... "Spirit" having a physical experience.

Reiki transcends all religious beliefs and is available to everyone who learns to focus the mind on their true purpose of incarnation.

Reiki can lead to "The state of your mind being totally in peace, knowing what to do with your life, bothered by nothing" (Mikao Usui, received understanding of Reiki during Zen Satori in Japan in 1922).

Reiki is easy to learn and use� and it is fun.

I hope this explanation is helpful to everyone. Reiki is one of the easiest systems of energy to use, but it must also be explained in such a way that it is understood and acceptable to everyone, regardless of faith or belief. Reiki is a spiritual discipline that assists one in his/her spiritual awakening and growth. It helps a person to become aware of their individual purpose, helping to create a peaceful environment to better experience the fullness of Who They Are as s/he relates to the Divine Plan. Reiki is Life... and it is a gift of Creator. And as co-creative agents, we are to pass it to everyone who desires to be whole in their relationship to the All That Is. Use it wisely on your individual and collective journey back to the Source. Blessings to you and yours, and Reiki ((((HUGS)))).]]> 2004-04-01T22:20:46-08:00