When I first met Astarte I had no idea how magickal all of my future encounters with her would be. As the many-named goddess of the cosmos, queen of heaven, and lady of the mysteries of the universe, it's no surprise how glorious standing before her would be—but I can assure you it's even more overwhelming than you can imagine.
Astarte (also known as Ashtoreth, Asherah, Attoret, Anath, and many many many other names since the dawn of existence) is the great Canaanite mother goddess. Ba'el and El of the Canaanite pantheon were both recognized consorts of hers, and her reputation as a powerful force earned her the respect and worship of people all throughout the surrounding regions, including Egyptian kings. The worship of Astarte was even adopted into the Egyptian pantheon during the New Kingdom when temples were built for her in Thebes and Tanis, as she was venerated as a consort of Set.
Many people are surprised to find that her name is also maintained in Old Testament Christian texts where her well-deserved goddess status has been utterly demonized due to the altering of the texts to portray her as an entity leading the people astray from the "one true god" rather than recognizing her as the powerful and creative force of energy that gives them life. We won't focus on that today, though, as that's not the point of this particular article, and I could write novels upon novels of material on the crimes committed against our sweet, holy, and blessed Queen Astarte, but I digress.
One of my favorite encounters with Astarte took place in a liminal realm that encompassed what I can only describe as "all of time." The energy of every snapshot of time swirled around us like antique gothic picture frames with memories waiting to be played. I stood there by her side completely mesmerized by this powerful and beautiful great lady, the cloak of stars that she was robed in, and the surrounding impossible glimpses into countless moments in time.
Seemingly at random, a framed portal into another time would fly toward us hovering just out of arms reach. The interior imagery would come to life like a television screen playing its own unique channel. For a brief moment, I would watch as each scenario from the past, present, and future would unfold before my eyes. The imagery was vibrant, jaw-dropping, and more than anything mysterious.
We stood there, side by side, for what felt like lifetimes watching time ripple in every direction taking on a life of its own that was anything but linear. My human mind would've struggled to grasp what I was witnessing, but my spirit or higher self was the active consciousness in this realm and was uninhibited by my earthly preconceived notions about how time unfolds for us and what it all means.
And in the same way that it felt like lifetimes unfolded as we stood there, it also all felt like it happened in a mere instant with no pauses or gaps between these moments regardless of whether they took place in the "past" or "present" or "future"—instead all of these snapshots just were.
And I too just was.
And while I just was I absorbed every instance, simply awe-struck at magickal happenings that couldn't be explained. Profound colors, music, words, shapes, forms, and things I'll never be able to put into words materialized as though I was there fully immersed in them. They wrapped around me as my arms floated outward, spinning me around like Cinderella being transformed for the Prince's Ball by her Fairy God Mother.
I wanted to understand what I was seeing. I wanted to take it all in—and remember it—but it was simply too much information. So, instead, I focused on how I felt—how the energy of Astarte and the ability to witness all of time both inside of it and outside of it made me feel:
Wonderstruck, like when giant snow flurries fall under twinkling nights in an unexpected holiday town where everything seems too good to be true, but no matter how hard you look for the flaws or the cons or the downsides, everything is simply magickal and so you stick out your tongue and let a few snowflakes gently land on them bringing laughter and smiles to your face that can't be contained.
Astonished, as though the air in my lungs had been sucked out of them like a vacuum leaving behind an insatiable need to breathe, and just as I feel at my weakest like there's a black hole in my chest and I desperately need oxygen, I find myself standing on a mountaintop inhaling the crispest, freshest air I've ever tasted. And all I can do is gasp, sucking it all in, and savoring each breath.
Overwhelmed, as one would be if they wandered into a giant field free of light pollution where every single star, not just in the galaxy but in the whole of the cosmos, could be seen all at once, and just when you think it's far too beautiful to take in, every single one of these lights descends to where you are and sparkles all around you pulling your energy into the very center of their grand cosmic dance.
Astonished. Breathless. Baffled. Undone. Awestruck. Amazed. Bewildered. And the list could go on and on. After all, how would you feel if you witnessed such a thing in the presence of royalty?