The Grove of Phoenix Rising
Lady Magdalena- High Priestess
Lord Myrddin- High Priest
The
Grove of Phoenix Rising was founded by Lady Magdalena in Austin, TX in
1982. Since 1993, the Covenstead of the Grove Of Phoenix Rising has
been located in the Duluth area of northeast Atlanta, convenient to
I-85 and
I-285 and we have members from the whole metropolitan area.
The Grove of Phoenix Rising
P. O. Box 2966
Duluth, Georgia 30096
...or emailing us at Phoenix_rising_grove@yahoo.com.
You can also visit our website: The Grove of Phoenix Rising
Read about the Grove's origins: The History of the Grove of Phoenix Rising
Lady Magdalena began her formal training in 1979 from the Grove of the Unicorn in Atlanta, GA. She was raised to Third Degree by Lady Galadriel, Lord Athanor and their Elder Lady Rhea in 1983. Lord Myrddin began his training under Lady Magdalena in 1982 and received his Third Degree from her in 1987. The Grove of Phoenix Rising is a Daughter Grove of the Grove of the Unicorn and a member of the Unicorn Tradition. Lady Magdalena has taught and initiated many Seekers since 1982 and has brought nine people into the Wiccan Priesthood.
The Grove of Phoenix Rising has been an affiliated congregation with the Covenant of the Goddess since 1997 and our 3rd Degree Initiates are credentialed legal ministers through this organization. Since that time, the Grove has also been a member of the Dogwood Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess serving Georgia pagans and witches. Lady Magdalena served as First Officer on the Dogwood board and has held several positions.
The primary focus of this Grove is to practice Wicca as religion whose purpose is to put our members in harmony with the Divine Creative Principle of the Cosmos and its manifestations at all levels. Our secondary goal is to work at the Craft of Wicca, which is to achieve practical ends by psychic means for good, useful, healing and ethical purposes. Witchcraft’s distinguishing characteristics are it's Nature based attitude, small group autonomy and the philosophy of creative polarity at all levels, from Goddess and God to Priestess and Priestess.
We honor both the feminine and masculine aspects of the Divine and work with this energy through the High Priestess, Lady Magdalena, and High Priest, Lord Myrddin, who have been the married leaders of this Grove since 1982. We welcome couples and singles over the age of 21, and are family oriented with many children and grandchildren of our members participating in the outer Grove. We are dedicated to the ethical practice of Wicca and to teaching the Craft to all our members.
We share knowledge and guide students through a series of structured lessons, discussions, and rituals while teaching the ethical use and practice of Magic to help each of us accomplish our goals. We encourage a lifelong commitment to spiritual growth, putting you in control of your own destiny by encouraging self-responsibility, self-examination and dedication to the spiritual life that is the Craft.
Grove Structure
The Grove is an Outer Court
group consisting
of initiates and students. Sabbat celebrations are open to all
initiates, students, families and "friends of the Grove". Interested
persons who wish to observe, and learn more of our religion, but who do
not wish to participate, are welcome outside the circle by special
invitation. New Moon rituals are open only to initiates and current
students. The Coven consists of only Initiates and has another secret
name. Full Moons are closed and only Initiates may participate and/or
observe.
We follow and affirm the great cycles of Nature and Life within and without ourselves by observing and celebrating the eight Great Sabbats and thirteen New and Full Moon Rites during the turning of the year. We seek within nature, the universe and ourselves for that which is contributory and beneficial to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual knowledge and well-being. We conceive of One Creative Power of the universe as manifesting through polarity - as feminine and masculine energies. The Grove is dualistically oriented, with male and female co-ruling throughout the year. We are also Pantheistic-Polytheistic in our philosophy of life, nature and devotion.
Like other Wiccan Traditions in this modern world, some of our teachings are very similar to those you may have encountered in books or elsewhere and some of our teaching are different. One of the first differences you will notice is arrangement of The Guardians of the Elements in their Watchtower directions. As a student, you will be given a detailed history and rational of these correspondences in the appropriate lesson, but for now just note that we work with:
The Element of Earth in the East
The Element of Fire in the South
The Element of Water in the West
The Element of Air in the North
Training
We are a teaching Grove with years of experience offering support and guidance from the beginning Pagan level to the Third Degree Priestess and Priest. The Inner Coven is open only to Initiates, but the outer Grove offers open Circles and legal clergy.
New Seekers are given a thirteen week course in basic principles of the Wiccan religion and beliefs. No commitment is made by either side. It is a time for seekers to decide if they wish to study the Wiccan path and for us to decide if the individual will fit in with the group. At the end of thirteen lessons the seeker and the Grove make the decision as to whether they will continue to study with the Grove. If so, they may take a Pagan Dedication. This is not a binding initiation, rather a ritual acknowledgment of their accomplishments and for some, an agreement that the person wishes to continue to study and that we agree to teach them for a period of time.
If accepted into our Grove, the Pagan/Seeker then becomes a Neophyte attending classes for at least the balance of one year and a day. At the end of the training period the student must pass a rigorous written and oral examination before their request for initiation will be considered. All members of the Inner Council decide whether or not the Seeker may be initiated into the group. When the Neophyte has passed all preliminary requirements, preparation for initiation requires a minimum of one month. Initiates also attend classes regularly, help teach, initiate, write, plan and lead group rituals.
Levels
- Seeker: Member of the Pagan class
- Neophyte: Dedicated Pagan
- Novice: First Degree Witch
- Apprentice: Second Degree Witch
- Priest/ess: Third Degree Witch
- High Priest/ess: Leader of one's own group
- Elder: "Retired" leaders
Responsibilities
An informal Code of Ethics and ritual behavior will arise out of the Pagan teachings. Once a person takes a Pagan Dedication here, they are expected to follow by all of the rules of the Grove and the Wiccan Rede. Members will also learn the The Book of the Law and be expected to follow it. The Book is basically a set of Wiccan ethics and guidelines, not containing anything out of the ordinary. It is also a tenet of our Tradition and of our particular group that the teacher accepts responsibility for their students and what they do with what they learn. Therefore, any student who is found breaking the Code of Ethics of this group, or misusing knowledge, will be suspended or expelled from classes and Grove work if that is determined to be necessary.
Oral tradition lessons are designed to encourage each student towards an "inner education" from which the dormant arts of Witchcraft appear. Therefore, we guide you through a series of structured lessons, discussions, and rituals using the practice of Magick to help us accomplish our goals. Our definition of Magick does not include the "supernatural," which is by definition something outside of nature. We define it along the ancient belief that Magick involves an understanding of psychological and environmental processes; it is a kind of shamanism, a knowledge of how emotion, concentration and will can be directed naturally to effect changes in consciousness that in turn effect the world around us. Witches hold each person responsible for her or his own acts and their consequences. Witchcraft will not solve your problems! It might make problem-solving easier.
Wiccan Philosophy and Beliefs
In 1974, the Council of American Witches in Minneapolis defined modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience. Many Wiccan Traditions are still using modified versions of the original tenets. The following set of Philosophy and Beliefs come from the Unicorn Tradition and the Grove of Phoenix Rising.
- We believe in one source of divinity, termed the All, which
is formless and infinite.
- We see the first manifestation of the All embodied in the Divine persons of the Goddess and the God. We believe that the All manifests into the physical Universe through many different interconnected planes of existence.
- Through understanding the interconnected planes of existence, we have a realization that any Goddess is a part, or a face of, the one Goddess, and all Gods are part, or aspects of, one God; and that ultimately the God and Goddess are part of and reflections of the All, the source of divinity.
- We believe that the All is immanent within Nature, that each of us contains the essence of the Divine, and that all of creation has inherent worth as a consequence of immanence. We believe there is no separation between the Infinite and Nature, yet the infinite All is greater that the sum of its parts.
- As an Initiatory religion, we seek to understand the ways of Nature and the Universe. We believe that there is no ultimate conflict between religion and science. We practice celebratory rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life's forces, marked by the phases of the Moon and the Seasonal quarters and cross quarters.
- We believe in the pursuit of individual experience of Divinity, and we practice a system of worship intended to cultivate that connection. We believe that through worship of Gods and Goddesses we can develop a closer connection to the All. Since the Infinite is immanent, we see all life experience as sacred.
- Our beliefs give us a unique responsibility toward our environment, and we seek to live in ecological balance and harmony with Nature’s forces and elements. We use celebratory rituals to commemorate the life cycles evident within Nature.
- We recognize the patterns of the ancient alchemical elements, correspondences and symbology of Earth, Fire, Water and Air, and the fifth element of Spirit as emblems of the powers in Nature. The elements are symbols of body, intention, emotion, intellect, and immanence.
- We practice Magick, which is the Art and Science of causing change to occur in Conformity with Will. We recognize other planes of "Being" than just the physical one on which we reside and the powers of interaction of these planes provide the basis for paranormal phenomenon and magick. We work Magick of a positive nature with the intent to benefit the well being of all involved and we accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions.
- We believe that consciousness evolves through many lifetimes and gives meaning to the universe and our personal role within it. We believe that souls reincarnate in order to learn valuable lessons on the pathway to ultimate enlightenment and that the Law of Karma (or three fold return) governs which lessons are to be learned and in what manner.
- We seek to aid and encourage all members to progress and improve themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. We seek to make our everyday life a reflection of our inner awareness. We seek to work for a better understanding of and a better relationship between man/woman, Nature, and the Infinite.
- We believe that through Initiation, we make a commitment to self-transformation, conscious evolution, and the journey toward enlightenment. We strive to deepen awareness and experience of the union of Nature, the God and Goddess, and the All. The Hermetic maxim, “as above ~ so below” or that the microcosm (humankind) is a miniature of the macrocosm (the Divinity) teaches us that through interlocking psychic forces, Divinity exists within each man and woman.
- We believe all religions have a valid place and do not seek to deny or suppress religious practices and beliefs that are different from our own. We do not proselytize, attempt to save or convert members of other religions to our beliefs, but we also do not turn away serious seekers.