The Noble Order of Tara: A New Aeon Order of Chivalry

When hearing the news of an order of chivalry having been established in 1989, one might think of such an idea as at least being obsolete if not bizarre. Why this? Arent´s knights and ladies, minnesingers and bards nothing more than a funny and perhaps romantic anachronism in the aeon of globalization, secularization, computers and cyberspace, in a time, when BINGOS1 worldwide are domineering the planet, when each single day 120 (!) species are extincted and the survival of humanity is endangered by short-sighted economical aims?

Isn’t it plain escapism to long for an Arthurian Golden Age of Peace and Plenty when people are starving and human rights are endangered to become hollow phrases, where governments all over the planet are reigned by fear and greed?

Yes it is – it is plain escapism as long as the longing for an Age of Peace and Plenty is nothing more than a hollow attitude, an escape into a dream world of righteous rulers and intact ecological systems.

But be careful, oh wandering soul! For the flight from the suffering of the planet is no more than the first weak expression of compassion for the creation, and a first vague perception of the Divine Plan of the Goddess: Love, Truth, Peace, Abundance for each single being, all part of Her creation, Her Divine Family.

Dreaming dreams of yourself as Percival on his quest for the Holy Grail, you may find out, that you are Percival and that you are not the only one hearing the call of The Lady of The Lake..... And your dreams of a world of knightly ideals and a better world are the expression of your compassionate soul yearning for liberation from the circle of suffering, not only for itself, but for the benefit of all living beings.

It is not for nothing that The Goddess Herself is the Keeper of the Holy Grail...
In Wolfram von Eschenbach´s2 medieval novel „Parzival“ the Holy Grail is only achieved by Percival, after he had asked the injured Anfortas the question, wich could heal the Fisher King. So by expressing his compassion for the king´s suffering Percival achieved the Holy Grail which is also the Cauldron of Plenty, symbol for the fruitfulness of our Mother Earth as well as for the mystic awakening of the spirit.

The Goddess in Her manifestation as Queen of the Land is levying Her army of rainbow warriors; She does neither send out draft papers nor does She call you to bloody service for material interests... The Lady of The Land is whispering to you in the wind in the trees and in the susurration of the grass blades, hiding the little shrew mouse scurrying on its way home.

She is Queen of all nations and at the same time Her one and only nation is the nation of all loving hearts; being on Her Service means serving for the benefit of all living beings – trees, animals, humans, spirits – who are all part of Her Divine Family. The idea of an army of light and a „last battle“ against „evil“ is handed handed down in the myths and legends of Asia as well as in Europe.

In Western Europe it is the idea of a sacred king and his knights sleeping in a cave and are aroused from sleep to fight for "good" when evil prevails. The most famous of this myths is the one of King Arthur and his knights, said to sleep in some cave under one or the other holy hill of Britain.

In German tradition a similar idea is reflected in the legend of Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa (1122-1190AD), who according to legend lives in the “Kyffhaeuser“, a hill in the mountains of the Harz, just around the corner of the famous Blocksberg or Brocken, the latter being according to European folklore one of the most legendary witches´ party location forWalpurgis (May Eve). Medieval folklore tells of the Kyffhaeuser as the habitation of “Frau Venus“, celebrating parties with her lover Barbarossa (Redbeart) inside the hill. One may well suppose that Frau Venus of medieval folklore originally has been a local goddess of the Harz mountains, perhaps Freya.

Christians of several sects following the dogma of dispensialism nourish the idea of an “Armageddon“, another version of the “last battle“ between “good“ and “evil“, derived from Saint John´s Book of Revelation, 16; 13-19. Even the Communist movement, generally being quite critical to everything having an odour of religion, has adopted the idea of the “last battle“. In the “International Workers´ Hymn“, the refrain says:

Peoples, hear the signal! / Arise, for the last battle /
The International / Fights for the Rights of Man!

Tibetan tradition knows of a realm “bde 'byung“ - better known as “Shambhala“, a Sanskrit word, meaning a place of peace / tranquility / happiness. Some theories imagine Shambhala as a hidden place on earth; others proceed on the assumption of Shambhala as a spiritual realm. Tibetan Buddhism offers initiation and teachings for Kalachakra practice, which is said to help people to enter Shambhala and to become a warrior of Shambhala.

The Kalachakra prophecies say that the world will decline into an age of greed and war. But when all is lost, the 25th king of Shambhala and his huge army of Shambhala warriors will emerge from their realm of peace to defeat the dark Age army and to bring a Golden Age to our planet. The Kalachakra teachings include as one of the consequences of initiation and practice among other things the prospect of reincarnation in the realm of Shambhala and as a result of that incarnation also the participation as a Shambhala warrior in the “last battle“.

This may seem disconcerting for those of us who know Tibetan Buddhism as a religion of peace and non-violence. For better understanding one should know that the warriors of Shambhala don´t gain their victory by the use of weapons, but by nothing else than the practice of compassionate love.

So during one of the lectures, attending the Kalachakra initiation one of the lecturing lamas had been asked by a Western pupil about the weapons of the warrior of Shambhala. The spiritual teacher explained to her that one of the tasks for the warrior of Shambhala is the reclaiming of the weapons of light from the abyss of darkness. What appears as a spectacular campaign is in reality a task for a life time. The “weapons“ of light are not material tools, produced to do harm. These weapons are of a spiritual nature and may, depending on the context, refer to the five senses of perception or to certain virtues to be developed by the individual, sometimes as a pre-condition for the conferral of further initiations.

Indeed a similar pattern of initiation and spiritual progress is reflected in the initiation ritual for the Noble Order of Tara, “Tara and Lugh – The Ordeal of The Danaan Treasures“, which had been published first in “Gaia – Initiations of the Earth“, Cesara Publications, Clonegal, Eire, 1991. In examining the Danaan Treasures we may find out, that these are not only things of real existence, which may be partly lost nowadays; the Danaan treasures in the rite referred to are a druidic metaphor for the virtues of endurance, compassion, awareness, courage, patience and skill, all to be developed by the member in the NOT for the fulfillment of the Great Work, which in this Danaan Order of Chivalry with the motto: „Pro Dea et natura ; As an bhean o Tara - for Goddess and Nature to the Glory of Tara“ is the protection of the Earth and Her inhabitants.

It would be easy if we could dissolve the present problems of our planet in one “last battle“. But this solution would imply collective enlightment of humankind, which I dare to doubt. Even if we could heal the earth with some ultimate magickal spell, would that be of any use as long as greed and fear reign the thoughts of so many people?

Being part of Tara´s entourage means being part of the the Divine Plan of the Great Goddess, means the development of an attitude of non-violence and active compassion. If we open up our minds for divine inspiration, SHE shows us chances to help healing our planet. SHE may lead our path to one or the other eco-protection group or give us inspiration how to protect the coutryside against exploitation and destruction.

But the most important is to realize that each single human being must for her- or himself break the chain of suffering and become part of the chain of joy. It is not easy not to cry about starving children and social injustice, dying trees and tortured animals. But lamenting about the circumstances has never changed anything for good!

For how can we help alleviating despair and distress when we abandon ourselves to dispair?

Walking on the path of the Goddess Tara means first to heal ourselves from greed and fear, anger and desperation.

The eight-pointed star in a spiral as a symbol of The Goddess Tara is more than a symbol for the spiral path of The Goddess. As Tara is a Goddess, much honoured in Tibetan Buddhism, the eight pointed star may as well be attributed to the Noble Eightfold Path of Dharma, divided into the three divisions of wisdom, ethical conduct and concentration. The Dharma Wheel has eight spokes symbolizing right view and right intention, belonging to the section of wisdom; right speech, right action, right livelihood, belonging to the section of ethical conduct and right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, belonging to the section of concentration.

The Practice of the Eightfold Path varies between the different schools, and it would go far beyond the scope of this article to explain them in detail. The work for the healing of the earth is an ardous work; we cannot repair in one day what had been destroyed in hundreds of years. So the image of the “last battle“ cannot be taken as a hint to a spatio-temporal bounded future event, but as an image for the tasks and challenges the individual has to face if her or his spiritual path is implying the care and respect for our fellow beings and appreciation of HER creation.

Remember, innumerable life forms are populating our planet, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, fishes, furry and hoofed animal friends, spirits... and humans. We should be thankful for that chance! From the possibility of being born in innumerable life forms our spirits have been embodied in a human body – what a chance to work for the good of all our fellow beings! This incarnation gives us the opportunity of working for our fellow beings in a way we are only capable of as humas beings. Neither animal nor spirit has that chance of direct influence on the material realm. Even the Siddhe haven´t! They may grant us inspiration, send us dreams of TirnanOg and visions of a Golden Aeon; they may grant us their blessing, such spending encouragement and comfort. But they can neither seize a building for the homeless, nor blockade a road to prevent nuclear
warheads to be stored at the military base of your country.

So “let humility be your footstool“, thankful humility for the chance of being embodied in a human shape, the only one granting such a chance to help breaking the chains of suffering and delusion for ourselves and our fellow beings! Most of us members in the F.O.I. and her sister organizations are living in a surrounding and under circumstances which grant us clean drinking water, education, a more or less secure income, shops full of food and clothes, energy for our heaters, electric stoves, computer, radio and tv, hospitals and pharmacies. The majority of us knows war only from the TV news.

Compared to the majority of people on this planet even those of us are living in luxury who may not belong to the high income class in USA or Western Europe. So it is our human duty to share, according to our own means and personal gifts. Imagination may be the first step.

Let us imagine with John Lennon:

Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people / Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer / But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us / And the world will live as one

Imagination may be the first step when the vocation to Tara is felt. SHE may show those who follow the call and join the entourage of Tara a lot of opportunities to support HER Divine Plan according to one´s own individual talents, which are HER gifts, granted to be shared with all members of HER divine family of sentinent beings – as an bhean o Tara.....

Notes:

1. business nongovernmental organizations

2. Wolfram von Eschenbach (born c. 1170, died c. 1220) was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry. (Wikipedia)

About the Author: Rt. Rev. Claudia Wehmeyer has been a member of the Fellowship of Isis for more than twenty years. She and her husband Thomas head Tara Hedge College which is comprised of a community of Iseums, Lyceums, Priories and Groves concentrated mainly in Germany and Switzerland, along with other centers they helped to establish throughout Europe. Claudia helped to translate portions of the FOI liturgy from English into German, and in her own words has provided a place where “newcomers may find guidance, information and a working rainbow network of Isian/Danaan pilgrims on the spiral path of the Goddess.” She is one of the organizers of the first international pagan and Goddess conventions on the European Continent, with Olivia Robertson attending the latter. Claudia is one of the publishers of three goddess based magazines, 'Hinkelstein' and 'Heckenkurier' which focused on the religion of the Goddess worldwide, and 'Zeit der Goettin,' a German language Isian journal.