Since we seldom talk about the actual myths that our relationships with the gods are based on, this page is devoted to understanding those myths and how they relate to the year. N'vuah honors all gods and goddesses and encourages members to maintain close relationships with their patrons. Still, there must be a central focus for members to collectively honor. There are, therefore, Four High Gods whom N'vuah worships in its liturgy. They are extracted from several sources but primarily: "ARADIA Gospel of the Witches" and the Gardnerian Book of Shadows. Obviously, myths are symbolic, N'vuah does not teach them literally but spiritually instead. In that sense, N'vuah honors all myths as spiritually significant when not historically rooted.
The High Gods also have Kabbalistic counterparts who are honored in Fire and Water Stage workings. While they are not the "same" gods as the chief deities, they are conceptual and mystical mirrors of them in the Semitic pantheon. They aid the Water Stage student of the Craft in constructing the necessary thought forms for Kabbalistic workings.
The sections below explain the significance of the gods in the context of their myths.
The pantheon of N'vuah is mostly extracted from ARADIA with one additional import from Gardnerian Wicca - Cernunnos. Cernunnos is the Horned One of Celtic mythology, a chthonic animal deity who governs Death. The Aradian dieties are Diana, Lucifer, and naturally, Aradia. Gardner paired Aradia with Cernunnos for unknown reasons but probably because the New Forest Coven worshipped Cernunnos originally and Aradia seemed a natural counterpart to him in the archetypal Descent of the Goddess myth. But to properly cover the major functions of the gods, their myths should be outlined in chronological order.
Creation - According to ARADIA and channeled messages from Lucifer, Diana emanated from nothing and then divided Lucifer from himself. Mating with Lucifer, she produced the Universe. The Creation myth, though much more detailed than that is basically that simple and is archetypical and syncretic with countless other Western myths. Diana, however, is an individuated consciousness. She is not the "Source of All," or any kind of original source deity. She is the first emanation from that Source which is why she is represented by the Moon and not the Sun. As a Lunar goddess, she reflects the light of souce into the World, thereby creating it in the void and dark of nothingness.
A Perfect Couple - Diana created Lucifer for many reasons and in many different forms, depending on which account is consulted. The Romans called the planet Venus by his name. Apollo is syncretic with him. And he may represent the Sun as the bringer of light and the masculine polarity in Aradian Witchcraft. N'vuah recognizes all of these aspects as valid and points out that as kings of the world have had many wives in ages past, so may the Queen of the Universe manifest many husbands in the same fashion for herself. Lucifer the Morningstar (Venus) is the arrow of Diana's bow which was shot at the Earth to become the source of the Power. He is the manifestation of her power to govern all life as he also guides the sun in rising and setting. So Lucifer, in his Venusian form, is very much a glove over the hand of the Goddess. As an Apollonian deity, he opens the minds of Oracles, inspires his followers, and even is the Sun itself. He is the lover and brother of Diana and connects mankind with the gods as a function of this relationship. Essentially, Lucifer provides the means where Diana provides the power.
A Female Messiah - The book ARADIA describes its contextual time period like a Feudal serf might describe his. But it is not only relevant in the Feudal context. It may be applied to any period of human oppression of other humans toshed light on the hunger for power which humans have and the divine response to their abuses. When things get rough, Diana and Lucifer send their daughter, a perfect mixture of their powers and an Earth goddess, to her planet. She is sent to rescue her people. The heavenly Father and Mother do not give Aradia what she needs to succeed, however, they only give her a careful ddescription of her task. There are no more details in the Italian manuscript.
Death in the Ground - This is where Gardner's text comes in handy. Aradia, after landing on Earth, must descend into the Earth to retrieve the Magick which she needs to do her deed. When she goes down, she meets Cernunnos, a deity who simply shows up. But upon careful observation it becomes clear that Cernunnos is actually a dark form of Lucifer, who was cast out of heaven and down to Earth to pave the way for the salvation of mankind from its oppressors. Aradia, in a sexual rite with Cernunnos, is taught to wield amazing power and returns to the Earth to wreak havoc on the established order.
These mysteries are manifest in the natural seasonal cycles. Aradia's descent is the ancient explanation of the season of Winter and her ascent is Summer. The other mysteries can be placed on appropriate holidays based on their natures and not necessarily their chronologies.
Most of the modern Pagan religions operate in synchronicity with a calendrical system called the Wheel of the Year. This system has eight major holidays and approximately thirteen lunar months. The eight holidays come from three ancient sources: Celtic, Saxon, and Neolithic. The thirteen lunations are of great importance because they determine the placement of the Full Moon so quintessential to the Craft.
N'vuah has thus far followed that same Wheel without qualms about the symbolism or history of that system. However, now that membership is growing and the education system is being given a second go around, it is obvious that there is a bit of a gap between the teachings of N'vuah and traditional holidays. The holidays of the current Wheel are from many cultural sources but few of the attached myths address the N'vuah Cosmology. There is very little connection in the holidays to the Kabbalah. Some of the Wheel myths have no connection to N'vuah at all.
That said, redesigning a calendar is a very involved process. Fortunately, there is a very good working system in place that combines Solar and Lunar significances so that one can follow the Lunar Year and keep in tune with the Solar Seasons. The following is an overview of how this works, but it is not entirely comprehensive. If you are a practitioner of N'vuah or just interested in observing the Wheel, you would be wise to purchase an astrological calendar such as the Witches' Almanac or Pocket Astrologer.
The real determining factors of the N'vuah Calendar are the Vernal Equinox and the Black Moon. The Equinox determines when the Zodiacal year begins and that sets the parameters for when we observe the astrological zodiac. It is a little known fact that the Astrological Zodiac does not correspond to the Astronomical one. (There is a 30 degree difference presently.) Wherever the Equinox occurs, we say Aries begins. 30 degrees of Solar progressions from that point begins Taurus and so on. This keeps the appropriate signs in the appropriate seasons.
N'vuah recognizes the importance of this system but the Lunar calendar is far more important to our actual observances. While the Four Lesser Sabbats or Cross Quarter Days are the Equnoxes and Solstices, the Four Greater Sabbats or Quarter Days are the New Moons in Scorpio, Aquarius, Taurus, and Leo. To some people this presents a problem because the New Moons are constantly moving around in their Zodiacal months. So New Moon in Scorpio (Samhain) moves later and later into Scorpio and November. The key thing to remember is, the New Moon in Scorpio can never occur outside of Scorpio because a New Moon is a conjunction of the Moon and the Sun. So as long as the Equinox holds the calendar in place our holidays will never be removed from their appropriate positions. They may dance about within their little compartments but they will never leave them.
Another exciting fact of Lunar phases is the Black Moon which explains why the lunar holidays "reset" every so often and appear again at the ends of their Zodiacal months. The Black Moon, a rare lunar occurrence, is the second New Moon in a Zodiacal month. So, theoretically speaking, if a Black Moon occurred in Scorpio, there would be two Samhain holidays in one year. The Black Moon inserts a cosmically planned "leap month" in the lunar calendar which pushes all holidays to the limits of their Zodiacal restrictions. In time the New Moons work their way back to their customary positions at the beginnings of their Zodiacal months until, again, a Black Moon occurs.
With this system in place, N'vuah can observe the Lunar festivals similar to how the Celts and Semites did. But do not be mistaken. N'vuah is not a Celtic Reconstructionist Tradition and, in fact, the Celts did not always use this lunar system to determine holiday dates. They probably had no fixed calendar until Christianity thoroughly permeated their culture. The Semites also used a slightly different system, upon which the Modern Hebrew Calendar is based.
The ritual themes of the holiday are yet to be ascribed. N'vuah has its own cosmology which needs to be adapted to the Wheel of the Year to complete this project.
August 17, 18, 19 - The Oracular Revelation
June 5 - The Night of the Watchers
New Moon in Scorpio
Winter Solstice
New Moon in Aquarius
Vernal Equinox
New Moon in Taurus
Summer Solstice
New Moon in Leo
Autumnal Equinox
The lunar cycle not only dictates the holidays of N'vuah but its regular practices. All members should be aware of this so that they can structure their practices accordingly. Of course, every day should include some kind of meditative observance. Some perform the Middle Pillar, LBRP, or just a thorough grounding, to cite a few examples. But weekly observances are being given more emphasis as time goes by and they unify the Coven as a whole.
New Moon - The New or Dark Moon begins every lunar month and determines the theme of that month. Ideally, the New Moon will become one of the closed meetings of the Coven in which Initiates will gather to do their work. Currently, it acts as a time of introspection, contemplation, and psychic development for all. It will be regarded this way regardless of how official observance changes.
Waxing Phase - The waxing phase of the Moon is a time to study and build up Craft practices on a personal level. This is prime time for Seekers and also a generally good time to do magick of increase.
First Quarter - The First Quarter is the midpoint of the Waxing Phase. N'vuah holds an open Circle on the Saturday nearest the First Quarter and offers Naturalization lessons before the ritual.
Full Moon - The Full Moon is the midpoint of the lunar month. Another open Circle is held and the Feeding of the Spirits is performed there. Seekers are again invited for classes before the ritual and they get a chance to interact with the Spirits directly during the Circle.
Waning Phase - The waning phase of the Moon is a period of introversion and depletion magick. Depletion magick is spell work to banish imbalanced influences and change undesirable character traits. It is also key to psychic development and is used for Oracular development.
Last Quarter - The midpoint of the waning phase, the Last Quarter is the second closed meeting of the Coven. It is devoted entirely to Oracular rituals and communing with the cosmic entities that guide the religion of N'vuah. Last Quarter meetings also determine much of the future teachings and rituals of N'vuah.