More stuff from Catala's Witchcraft Site.
Before time was, there was the One; the One was the all, and all was the One. And the vast expanse known as the universe was the One, all wise, all pervading, all powerful, eternally changing. And space moved. The One molded into twin forms, equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and God from the One and of the One. The Goddess and God stretched and gave thanks to the One, but darkness surrounded Them. They were alone, solitary save for the One. So They formed energy into gases and gases into suns and planets and moons; They sprinkled the universe with whirling globes and so all was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and God.
Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns. And the Goddess and God, satisfied by Their works, rejoiced and loved, and were One. From Their union sprang the seeds of Life, and the human race, so that we might achieve incarnation upon the Earth. The Goddess chose the Moon as Her symbol, and the God the Sun as His symbol, to remind the inhabitants of Earth of their fashioners. All are born, live, die, and are reborn beneath the Sun and Moon; all things come to pass there under, and all occurs with the blessings of the One, as has been the way of existence before time was.
All religions are structures built upon reverence of Deity. Wicca is no exception. The Wicca acknowledge a supreme divine power, unknowable, ultimate, from which the entire universe sprang. I believe the Divine is both within us and outside of us - it resides within everything and surrounds us all.
Every Deity that has received worship upon this planet exists with the archetypal God and Goddess. The complex pantheons of deities which arose in many parts of the world are simple aspects of the two. Every Goddess is resident with the concept of the Goddess; every God in the God.
Wicca reveres these twin deities because of its links with nature. Since most (but certainly not all) nature is divided into gender, the deities embodying it are similarly conceived. In the past, when the Goddess and God were as real as the Moon and Sun, rites of worship and adoration were unstructured - spontaneous, joyous union with the divine. Later, rituals followed the course of the Sun through its astronomical year (and thusly the seasons) as well as the monthly waxing and waning of the Moon. Today similar rites are observed by the Wicca, and their regular performance creates a truly magickal closeness with these deities and the powers behind them. Fortunately, we needn't wait for ritual occasions to be reminded of the Gods' presence. the sight of a perfect blossom in a field of bare earth can instill feelings rivaling those of the most powerful formal rite. Living in nature makes every moment a ritual. The Wiccans are comfortable in communication with animals, plants and trees. They feel energies within stones and sand, and cause fossils to speak of their primeval beginnings. For some Wiccans, watching the Sun or Moon rise and set each day is a ritual unto itself, for these are the heavenly symbols of the God and Goddess. Because the Wicca see Deity inherent in nature, many of us are involved in ecology - saving the Earth from utter destruction by our own hands. The Goddess and God still exist, as they have always existed, and to honor them we honor and preserve our precious planet.
When envisioning the Goddess and God, many of the Wicca see Them as well-known deities from ancient religions. Diana, Pan, Isis, Hermes, Hina, Tammuz, Hecate, Ishtar, Cerridwen, Thoth, Tara, Aradia, Artemis, Pele, Apollo, Kanalos, Brigid, Helios, Bran, Lugh, Hera, Cybele, Inanna, Maui, Ea, Athena, Lono, Marduk - the list is virtually endless. Many of these deities, with their corresponding histories, rites and mythic information, furnish the concept of deity for Wiccans. Some feel comfortable association with such names and forms with the Goddess and God, feeling that they can't possibly revere nameless divine beings. Others find a lack of names and costumes a comforting lack of limitations. Some, including myself, simply call upon the God and the Goddess, without invoking a particular aspect or name. I do envision them... I have my own picture in my mind of what the Goddess and God look like to me. This I will keep to myself for I fell it is private and personal.
They have been given so many names they have been called the Nameless Ones. In appearance they look exactly as we wish them to, for they're all the Deities that ever were. The Goddess and God are all-powerful because they are the creators of all manifest and unmanifest existence. We can contact and communicate with them because a part of us is in them and they are within us.
~ Catala Silvermoon
I invoke and call upon Thee, O Mother Goddess, who shines for all, who flows through all. Maiden, Mother, and Crone, I invite You to my circle; Touch us, change us, make us whole.
I invoke and call upon Thee, O Father God, Lord of the Sun, Master of all that is wild and free. I invite You to my circle; Touch us, change us, make us whole.
