Report from the Most Reverend Dr Vivianne Crowley, Lyceum
Of Belisama and Grove of Ana
I am delighted to announce that Lady Olivia has inaugurated two new Fellowship of Isis groups in France – the Lyceum of Belisama and the Druid Grove of Ana. Both groups are based in Brittany, France’s Celtic north-west.
Belisama was worshiped by the ancient Gauls and in northern Italy. She is the ‘Most Powerful One’ and was associated in the Roman era with Minerva. Ana is the Mother Goddess of Brittany. She was incorporated into Breton Christian tradition as the Mother of Mary and therefore grandmother of Jesus. Hers is the largest religious festival in Brittany.
The Lyceum will provide training in the Isian priesthood for men and women seeking ordination in France. The Druid Grove will hold seasonal celebrations for those on the Druid path.
Olivia chartered the Lyceum on 15 August 2011. This was followed by a ceremony at Clonegal Castle on 12 November 2011, where I was deeply honoured to be presented by Olivia’s niece Cressida Pryor and initiated as an Archdruidess of the Druid Clan of Dana by Olivia and ordained as a Priestess of Belisama.
The November day was bathed in golden sunshine as we processed from the Castle courtyard to the Old Abbey for invocations to invoke the energies of the Goddess in Nature. We then proceeded to the Castle Temple for the initiation and ordination, followed by a seasonal celebration. The same golden light permeated the indoor ceremonies, until a wonderful pure blue healing energy made itself felt, entwining itself with the gold as Isis, Belisama and Ana manifested their energies.
In December, we are holding a ceremony in our stone circle in Brittany to root the energies of the FOI in Breton soil. We are also planning a small gathering in France for summer 2012. Anyone wishing to participate is invited to contact the Lyceum and Grove through viviannecrowley@gmail.com
Bulletin par la Révérendissime Dr Vivianne Crowley, Lyceum de Belisama et le Cercle Druidique du Bosquet Sacré d’Ana
J’ai le plaisir d’annoncer que Dame Olivia a inauguré, en France, deux nouveaux groupes affiliés à la Fellowship d’Isis – le Lyceum de Belisama et le Cercle Druidique du Bosquet Sacré d’Ana. Ces deux groupes ont été fondés en Bretagne.
Belisama était vénérée par les anciens Gaulois ainsi que dans le nord de l’Italie. Nommée “la Plus Puissante”, elle était associée du temps des Romains à Minerve. Ana est la Déesse Mère, patronne de la Bretagne. Elle fut intégrée à la tradition chrétienne bretonne en tant que Mère de la Vierge Marie, et donc grand-mère de Jésus. Sa fête donne lieu au plus important pèlerinage religieux de Bretagne.
Le Lyceum sera consacré à la prêtrise d’Isis, offrant une formation sacerdotale aux hommes et femmes souhaitant être ordonnés en France. Le Cercle Druidique organisera les fêtes saisonnières pour ceux suivant le chemin druidique.
Dame Olivia a constitué le Lyceum le 15 août 2011. Cette événement fut suivi par une cérémonie en Irlande au Château de Clonegal le 12 novembre 2011, où j’eu le grand honneur d’être présentée par la nièce d’Olivia, Cressida Pryor, et initiée Archidruidesse du Clan Druidique de Dana par Olivia et ordonnée Prêtresse de Belisama.
Ce jour de novembre fut baigné de soleil, accompagnant notre procession de la court du Château à l’Ancienne Abbaye où nous nous rendions pour invoquer les énergies de la Déesse en la Nature. Nous nous sommes ensuite dirigés vers le temple du Château pour l’initiation et l’ordination, qui furent suivies par une fête saisonnière. La même lumière dorée baigna les cérémonies organisées en intérieur, jusqu’à ce qu’une merveilleuse énergie guérissante d’un bleu pur se fit ressentir, se mélangeant à l’or, alors qu’Isis, Belisama et Ana manifestaient leurs énergies.
En décembre, nous avons organisé une cérémonie au sein de notre cercle de pierres levées en Bretagne pour enraciner les énergies de la Fellowship d’Isis dans le sol Breton. Nous envisageons également un petit rassemblement en France pour l’été 2012. Toute personne souhaitant participer est priée de contacter le Lyceum et le Cercle à l’adresse suivante: viviannecrowley@gmail.com.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
New Spanish speaking Grove in the Druid Clan of Dana
Text © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Two Important Announcements from Olivia Robertson
Greetings Everyone!
Two important announcements from Olivia Robertson regarding the work of teaching centres (Iseums, Lyceums, Groves, Priories) within the Fellowship of Isis:
There are those who founded teaching centres within the Fellowship of Isis before coursework, guidelines and regulations were implemented. In those years between their founding and the production of guidelines, regulations and courses, these centres have brought through others, who have founded their own centres, and in turn, teach in the same format. The question arose - are they valid? ALL training courses are valid. ALL centres have autonomy. Regulations and procedures are provided as guidelines, they are meant as suggestions. The ONLY basic requirements are teaching centres base their work on the F.O.I. Manifesto and the F.O.I. Liturgy. The Candidate using rites suggested in the coursework most helpful to his or her own chosen Path. The College of Isis being the exception, as guidelines were laid out upon the revival of the College as inspired by Isis.
“The Queen’s regulations are handrails, not handcuffs.” - General Sir Lawrence Parsons, grandfather of Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and Olivia Robertson. He burnt mounds of red tape in his day!
When members founded Lyceums, Iseums, Groves and Priories they did so in the understanding that their work, based on the F.O.I. Manifesto, had validity!
Since 1976 there have been many lists of requirements and regulations for the courses of various centres. However, the requirement for acceptance of the Manifesto is the only basic necessity to unite us all. Regulations multiply which is the usual order of Societies! As Lawrence Durdin-Robertson was wont to remind us: “In the beginning of Christianity, all members were called Saints. Now you need to have performed two miracles and to be dead to qualify!”
The time has come to be free from secrecy, binding vows and inflexible rules! Any coursework should be available to all sincere seekers. This is essential to preserve the ethical validity required by the Goddess Isis of Truth for her Fellowship.
Signed, Olivia Robertson
11/10/11
Two important announcements from Olivia Robertson regarding the work of teaching centres (Iseums, Lyceums, Groves, Priories) within the Fellowship of Isis:
Athena: Coursework
Inclusion
Nesu House, Isis Oasis, Geyserville, California, USA
October 11, 2011
For All Global Centres
From Olivia Robertson
FOI Co-Founder
Inclusion
Nesu House, Isis Oasis, Geyserville, California, USA
October 11, 2011
For All Global Centres
From Olivia Robertson
FOI Co-Founder
There are those who founded teaching centres within the Fellowship of Isis before coursework, guidelines and regulations were implemented. In those years between their founding and the production of guidelines, regulations and courses, these centres have brought through others, who have founded their own centres, and in turn, teach in the same format. The question arose - are they valid? ALL training courses are valid. ALL centres have autonomy. Regulations and procedures are provided as guidelines, they are meant as suggestions. The ONLY basic requirements are teaching centres base their work on the F.O.I. Manifesto and the F.O.I. Liturgy. The Candidate using rites suggested in the coursework most helpful to his or her own chosen Path. The College of Isis being the exception, as guidelines were laid out upon the revival of the College as inspired by Isis.
________________________________
Athena: Coursework
By Olivia Robertson
Athena: Coursework
By Olivia Robertson
“The Queen’s regulations are handrails, not handcuffs.” - General Sir Lawrence Parsons, grandfather of Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and Olivia Robertson. He burnt mounds of red tape in his day!
When members founded Lyceums, Iseums, Groves and Priories they did so in the understanding that their work, based on the F.O.I. Manifesto, had validity!
Since 1976 there have been many lists of requirements and regulations for the courses of various centres. However, the requirement for acceptance of the Manifesto is the only basic necessity to unite us all. Regulations multiply which is the usual order of Societies! As Lawrence Durdin-Robertson was wont to remind us: “In the beginning of Christianity, all members were called Saints. Now you need to have performed two miracles and to be dead to qualify!”
The time has come to be free from secrecy, binding vows and inflexible rules! Any coursework should be available to all sincere seekers. This is essential to preserve the ethical validity required by the Goddess Isis of Truth for her Fellowship.
Signed, Olivia Robertson
11/10/11
Thursday, September 29, 2011
A Grove in Clapham Common
Trees for Cities is scheduled to plant 40 Trees in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Pagan Federation. The dedication ceremony will take place October 8, 2011. The trees will be planted at Clapham Common, a grassy parkland in south London, to create a grove in honor of pagan pioneers. One of the trees will be planted to honor the Fellowship of Isis and the work of the three FOI Co-Founders, Olivia Robertson and her brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson and his wife Pamela.
Vivianne Crowley suggested Olivia and the FOI, and Caroline Wise coordinated raising the money. A list of contributors who sponsored the Fellowship of Isis tree will be included in the upcoming 2011 Samhain issue of Isian News: www.isiannewsfoi.org
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Oracle of Dana
The very first issue of Isian News, published in the summer of 1976 opened with an oracle of Dana! It is presented here, along with the introductory sentence exactly as it appeared in Isian News:
"The following message given to a Priestess of the Goddess Dana of Ireland may fittingly herald our first issue of Isian News.
Priestess: I feel the presence of Dana. The light of gold is behind her. She has a great rainbow colored aura. These are her words:
The earth has its jewels. For know that though the lesser cannot comprehend the great, yet the greater comprehends, permeates and suffuses the lesser. And this is what is meant by the immanence of the Divine Spirit. Many of you have sought urgently to rise to the heights and to meet Me there. Yet am I also found in the depths. I am the all-pervading Spirit that sparkles in the crystal, that is the treasure in the depth of the well, that comforts the lonely in heart, and is trampled underfoot by the proud who bruise the humble weed. And this knowledge also is the message of the New Era. The possession of the treasures of Nature without and within comes not through conquest, not through bitter struggles, not through suppression and rejection: but through the alchemy of transmutation. Growth is extension in consciousness.
Seek for the buried treasure of the earth, the jewels of Wisdom and Love. I will help all those who seek my aid.”
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Priestess: I feel the presence of Dana. The light of gold is behind her. She has a great rainbow colored aura. These are her words:
The earth has its jewels. For know that though the lesser cannot comprehend the great, yet the greater comprehends, permeates and suffuses the lesser. And this is what is meant by the immanence of the Divine Spirit. Many of you have sought urgently to rise to the heights and to meet Me there. Yet am I also found in the depths. I am the all-pervading Spirit that sparkles in the crystal, that is the treasure in the depth of the well, that comforts the lonely in heart, and is trampled underfoot by the proud who bruise the humble weed. And this knowledge also is the message of the New Era. The possession of the treasures of Nature without and within comes not through conquest, not through bitter struggles, not through suppression and rejection: but through the alchemy of transmutation. Growth is extension in consciousness.
Seek for the buried treasure of the earth, the jewels of Wisdom and Love. I will help all those who seek my aid.”
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Irish Bronze Age Art
FOI Co-Founder Olivia Robertson is accomplished in many areas. Besides being a gifted psychic, she is both a renowned artist and writer. This article, first published over fifty years ago in the pages of the prestigious Irish literary journal "The Bell" offers valuable insights into the historic background and function of the ancient Bronze Age ornaments housed in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
Irish Bronze Age Art
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Original FOI Central Site - London
Here is a bit of FOI History, a link to the Internet Archive, which shows the original FOI Central Site, that was first produced by FOI members in London. The first FOI Central Site went online in 1995. This site remained the one and only central site until 1999.
The Fellowship of IsisThe site seems simplistic by our standards today, but one has to remember back then, everything had to be painstakingly programmed by hand, one pixel at a time.
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Druid Roots of the Fellowship of Isis
Ross Nichols, founder of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), often visited Lawrence, Pamela and Olivia during the 1960's at Clonegal Castle. During this period he gave both Olivia and Lawrence Druidic initiations. Philip Carr-Gomm, the successor of Ross Nichols, also visited and worked with Olivia and Lawrence at Clonegal Castle.
In 1963, Olivia and Lawrence founded their own Druid grove, which they named the Grove of Eithne. They held druidic rituals in the ruins of the Old Abbey with Ross Nichols. It was at this time that they began calling the Old Abbey, "The Temple of Dana." Although Lawrence and Olivia founded their own grove in 1963, the founding of the Druid Clan of Dana of the Fellowship of Isis would not take place until 1992.
Within the ruins of the Old Abbey, or Temple of Dana, stands a dolmen altar and two marble vessels containing rain water.
The Temple of Dana was the site of two ordinations of priestesses into the Fellowship of Isis in the summer of 1976. This double ordination ceremony for a Priestess of Dana and for a Priestess of Isis was the first ordination of FOI priesthood conducted in the Fellowship of Isis. Lawrence Durdin-Robertson officiated as Priest and Olivia Robertson officiated as Hierophant.
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website. Photo of entrance to the Abbey or Temple of Dana provided by FOI Co-Founder Olivia Robertson.
Oracle of Dana
The very first issue of Isian News, published in the summer of 1976 opened with an oracle of Dana! Here is the exact quote:
“The following message given to a Priestess of the Goddess Dana of Ireland may fittingly herald our first issue of Isian News.
Priestess: I feel the presence of Dana. The light of gold is behind her. She has a great rainbow colored aura. These are her words:
The earth has its jewels. For know that though the lesser cannot comprehend the great, yet the greater comprehends, permeates and suffuses the lesser. And this is what is meant by the immanence of the Divine Spirit. Many of you have sought urgently to rise to the heights and to meet Me there. Yet am I also found in the depths. I am the all-pervading Spirit that sparkles in the crystal, that is the treasure in the depth of the well, that comforts the lonely in heart, and is trampled underfoot by the proud who bruise the humble weed. And this knowledge also is the message of the New Era. The possession of the treasures of Nature without and within comes not through conquest, not through bitter struggles, not through suppression and rejection: but through the alchemy of transmutation. Growth is extension in consciousness.
Seek for the buried treasure of the earth, the jewels of Wisdom and Love. I will help all those who seek my aid.”
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website. Drawing of the Goddess Dana © Olivia Robertson. Used by permission.
Monday, May 16, 2011
New Page on Facebook
There is a community page for the Fellowship of Isis on Facebook. It is titled "Fellowship of Isis Central Site and News". This page is a place for sharing messages, photos and enjoying interaction with other FOI members on Facebook all over the world.
We encourage and welcome participation from all members of the Fellowship of Isis. Those of you who are on Facebook, can log onto Facebook and view it here:
Fellowship of Isis Central Site and News (Community Page)
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website. Photo © Caroline Wise. Used by permission.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
FOI Liturgy
The liturgy is still accessed on the main site via all the links that have always been there, the FOI Liturgy page on the navigation bar, the links on the site map, the links on all the various pages in the site that have always had links to a rite or a book.
It works the same way as before.
Thank you!
Linda
It works the same way as before.
Thank you!
Linda
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Major Remodel of the FOI Central Site
Fellowship of Isis Liturgy has been moved to a 'site within a site'. This was a big undertaking, involving the moving and linking of over 270 pages within the site.
We hope the move does not prove an inconvenience to those of you who have bookmarked specific pages for reference. This new 'site within a site' will ultimately make viewing the FOI liturgy more convenient for the many members who access our pages.
Thank you!
We hope the move does not prove an inconvenience to those of you who have bookmarked specific pages for reference. This new 'site within a site' will ultimately make viewing the FOI liturgy more convenient for the many members who access our pages.
Thank you!
Copyright © The Circle of Isis Advisory Board, Fellowship of Isis Central Global Website.
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