 |
The History Of The Isian Tradition The Star of the Gold Cross is the origin of the Isian lineage known to many, but it was never called Isian by its High Priestess, Margo Dana. The Star of the Gold Cross was founded in 1974, by a Craft High Priestess and a Ceremonial Magician with the stated purpose of combining the best of both into a new tradition. Of those trained in that coven, only two are known to be currently practicing. Lady Seshat, & Lady Crystal. Lady Phoenix passed away to the Summerland in the Winter of 2002 two weeks before Yule. Because the High Goddess of this tradition is Isis , the Isian Tradition was coined by Lady Seshat in a conversation with Lady Crystal & Lady Phoenix. Dedication to Isis and working with the Egyptian pantheon are central hallmarks of this tradition. Seshat, Crystal, and Phoenix each continued to teach their own interpretation of this initiatory tradition and each has recognized coven descendants. The Isian tradition is a hierarchal tradition. It has elders and witch queens. But each coven is autonomous and is ran by the High Priestess or High Priest. There are currently three main branches of the Isian Tradition. The Isian Tradition. The Western Isian Tradition and The American Branch of the Isian Tradition ( that The Coven Of The Goddess Moon is a part of ) The current Queen Mother of the American Isian Tradition is Queen Lady Neith of Palm Bay Florida. A Tribute to a Lady Bridget During the years between the middle 1970's and around the fall of 1995, she was unsparing of the time, energy and talent she offered to create places where pagans could gather and learn from each other. When she wasn't teaching or facilitating, she was preparing food and seeing that people were fed because, to her, food was an important way of showing love and caring. Judy's magickal linage was in the Isian tradition and she was a priestess daughter out of Pattalee Glass (Lady Phoenix) . She also worked with other traditions, including the Dianics. She studied with Medicine Hawk Wilburn when he was still working in the south and she did her Dream Quests with him. Judy, Pattalee, and a priestess named Lady Chrystal pledged to keep each other's traditions from dying out and Judy kept that promise, weaving their magickal aspects into hers. She created Our Lady of the Sacred Flame and had it recognized as an official church in the state of Texas. Judy was an original founder of the Council of Magickal Arts and was one of its first Directors (1981-1983) and Editors (1981-1990) and was awarded a lifetime membership in 1995. During her, time she was very active in ritual creation and workshops. In the beginning, she would "sneak" into the Xerox room where she worked and would print, copy and put together the CMA newsletter (this was pre-Accord) . She accepted submissions to the little newsletter and also put in articles of her own that she may have found or written. CMA members remember the warmth and welcome they felt in her presence, her smile and her laughter, her way of pronouncing words with a combination of east coast and southern dialect. Many can still see her in a silky white robe with wearing a silvery mesh headdress, or the gold "scorpion crown" she wore as an aspect of the Goddess, Sekmet, in CMA's 1987 Beltane , Kadru, ritual. Judy helped co-ordinate CMA gatherings at Camp Ben McCullough & other spots in a time when Pagan Gatherings weren't an easy thing to have at all. Until 1987 when there were 150 in attendance at CMA, there were seldom more than 50 people at the gatherings, but often three different traditions officiated at three separate rituals, offering us the opportunity to experience the methods and philosophies of alternate pagan paths. Judy did much of the oversight of these events with her usual gifted efficiency and grace. She & Pattalee (Lady Phoenix) of Dallas started a yearly Celebration
Of Womanhood which was called COWS. This yearly event took place either
outside of Dallas or at Beuscher State Park near Smithville. The workshops
she arranged at COWs, not infrequently attended by at least 50 women,
were highly informative, and the rituals both complex and rich. Even
though both Pattalee and Judy have passed between the veils, there
is still COWS every year outside Dallas. It has branched into two
Celebrations a Year. The other is still at Beuscher and (only) the
name has changed to CROWS. It is impossible to fully relate the extent of the contributions
that this one woman made to the CMA and Texas Pagan Community (and
beyond) . Although for health reasons she was no longer openly active,
in Honor of all she did, her passing is a loss to us all. What we
see, still, in our hearts is Judy in her silky robes conducting handfastings
and celebrations; Judy in her home with her entourage of cats; and
Judy with her white dog, Puddles. We hear her voice and see her smile
and we remember her lessons and her gifts of love, teaching, and warmth.
We will miss her greatly and we are richer for having known her and
for having been bless that she was active in the Texas community. |