As the Athame is to the Lord, so the Chalice is to the Lady.

Next time it is raining take a moment and go outside. Here before your eyes you will find both a mythological drama and a cycle of nature. Before you the great waters of life poor forth supporting life in its many forms, without it we would not exist. Above us is Father Sky, the Lord, and below us is Mother Earth, the Lady. A great union is formed and the life sustaining waters flow.

Alchemically it is when ice and fire meet, alone they are extreme but as one we have moderation. So it is here that we can see that this union is not only and always about sex, though the importance of sex as the sacred symbol can not be overstated. The union is also about standing at a place between the two pillars; there must both be severity and mercy.

A few very rare Neo-Pagan streams have pointed out that it takes a man and a woman to create life and thus use this as a basis for their non-acceptance of homosexuality. These currents should not be confused with groups and Traditions that work off of the symbology of polarity in their rituals and mythos, these forms are symbolic of the weavings and intricacies of existence and though sex is a prime symbol of the idea of this union, these Traditions recognize life is much more complicated and are not forcing a mold upon existence but instead are attempting to ritually enact one facet of the great mystery. However, in a literal sense, the first group is correct in that no biological offspring from both partners will come of these relationships. Not all fertility though, is biological. If these relationships enhance the growth of the individuals involved then through this transformation, change births forth from the cauldron that is our lives a new us. Let us not forget that aspects of both the Lord and Lady exist in all.

Other intricacies of the interaction of the Lord and Lady can be seen in the drama of everyday life; sex may be one of the symbols of this idea but without looking beyond one symbol we are bound and restricted. Fertility exists in many forms; this is what we are celebrating. Sometimes though the blade is double edged and we can see before us both the workings of fertility and the drama of death. Every time a predator catches its prey, the predator’s life is nurtured but the prey finds the end of its current cycle. This too, is part of the underlining idea but the symbol of the continuation of life has changed. In this example, perhaps for the prey, the womb that is the cauldron has been inverted into the tomb from which the next incarnation comes.

Lowering an athame into a chalice is a ritualized form of this idea but it is not the only one. The trick is to learn to see before us in our everyday interactions, at home, work, or wherever we may be, the turning of the wheel that is spun but not to only see it for the literal events of the day but also for symbolic.