Liber ab Tres II (Book of Three, Part II)^99
In my view of Wicca, our religion witnesses our Lord and Lady in each and every
thing, inanimate or animate, living, dead, or never having lived. While one can have a
relationship with a rock or other inanimate object, it is much easier to establish rela-
tionships with living things. Again, one can have a relationship with a plant, but that
plant does not respond to the relationship nearly as clearly as does an animal. I have yet
to meet the fern that can purr. Finally, one can have a relationship with an animal, but
that animal does not respond nearly as understandably as a human being. So then, we
could choose to view our Lord and Lady as rocks. After all, rocks are indeed part of
that which the Lord and Lady are — the sum total of all that is, was, and will be. There
is in fact historical precedence for such a view. Mesenet is the name given to the Egyp-
tian personification of a birthing stone. When a woman gave birth, it was believed this
boulder provided the ‘ka’ or life force to the new child.
But how close of a relationship can one have with a rock? For that matter, how
close would a relationship be with a plant? Yes, plants can be shown to respond to
human touch and even to emotion and sound. But bring one home to mother and she
is going to think you are the black sheep of the family. Speaking about sheep, this
brings us to animals. There is definitely a significant amount of deity forms in Pagan
lore that appear strictly as animals. There is a larger number whose image is a combina-
tion of animal and human form, and there are an even larger number of deities that
switch or shape-shift between human and animal form. Indeed, many of these deity
forms have been incorporated into Wiccan ritual. With respect to strictly animal forms,
this is most notable at the four Quarters when folk incorporate Native American lore.
However, and speaking very generally, most deities that assume only animal form
are cited as not having much to do with the creation of humanity. As such, while they
are a clear part of our Lord and Lady, they do not make for good ‘idols.’ Yes, Norse
creation lore involves a giant cosmic cow but it took Odin, a god of human form, to
carve the image of man from the ash tree and the image of woman from the elm.
Do we create the gods? No. We are part of the gods, but we create only their
image. Although some might take issue with this view, is it not the human mind that
perceives information from the eye that creates the specific image of a tree for any
individual? If a colorblind person were to look at that same tree, would not his or her
image of the tree be different from that belonging to a color seeing individual’s image of
the same tree? Sure, we could say there is one true image of that tree and the colorblind
person is incorrect, but in respect to viewing our Lord and Lady, that very act is the act
of giving name to the Nameless One. It is to say my view is correct and your view is not.Three Is the Number of Mother Earth
Three is the number of our Earth Mother because she is seen through the eyes of
Humanity. Where we have youth, maturity, and senior, so does our beloved mother.
Thus, we call our Lady with words that are our own, but always remember that three is
her number. She is Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and so much more...l WB Chap 05.p65 99 7/11/2003, 5:50 PM