The Lady of the Lake: Meeting the Goddess as Initiator

Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful.

She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword,
Whereby to drive the heathen out: a mist
Of incense curled about her, and her face
Wellnigh was hidden in the minster gloom;
But there was heard among the holy hymns
A voice as of the waters, for she dwells
Down in a deep; calm, whatsoever storms
May shake the world…
(Alfred Lord Tennyson, Idylls of the King: The Coming of Arthur)

The Lady of the Lake has captivated me since the eighth grade, when I was assigned T.H. White’s The Once and Future King for a book report. There was something primordial and chilling about this silent, otherworldly figure, rising up out of the water with Excalibur. The Goddess shows up in many forms throughout literature and in our lives. Sometimes she is the Mother or the Muse. Sometimes she is the Priestess or the Destroyer. Within the saga of Arthur’s kingship, she is the Initiator.

Given that we are all the heroes and heroines of our own lives, we all reach those points in the storyline where we must choose. The Goddess lays forth the challenge, and we can step up into our destiny or refuse the call entirely. In several versions of the ancient tale, Excalibur was engraved with “Take me up” on one side and “Cast me away” on the other. One way feels empowering and in alignment with our life’s purpose, and the other does not. The Initiator will keep offering these choices, relentlessly, until we find the courage to do what feels right. She’s annoying like that, and it’s part of her job to foster growth, however painful and frustrating it may be.

Thus, when we resist, when we remain stuck in old patterns, and when we don’t even recognize our own potential anymore, the Goddess intervenes. Though I would find it awe-inspiring if she rose out of a lake, quite literally, to hand me an enchanted sword, her methods are much more subtle. She often shows up in the guise of a teacher, a book that “just happened” to find me, or through a person or situation that triggers old wounds in need of healing. Sometimes she arrives as opportunity, usually the one I am most afraid to pursue. The sword she hands me is the sword of truth, my own heart’s truth that I must carry and wield.

The challenge and the acceptance is the essence of true initiation. I realize there is much debate over that word and what it means in the pagan community. Personally, I have great respect for degree systems in witchcraft. I also believe the Goddess offers stages of initiation that have nothing to do with formal study, robes, and belts. Life is the test, and we know inherently when we pass or fail. We also know when we’ve leveled up and entered a whole new stage of development. This happens whether we pursue structured learning of the Craft or whether we go it alone, from the moment we take up our staff and set out on the journey.

Though she has been relegated to the world of make-believe, the Lady of the Lake is a remnant and a symbol from an age that revered sacred waters as the flowing, life-giving blood of Mother Earth. Much like the womb within the body of the priestess, the Lady is a portal into the depths of feminine consciousness. That was her original role, and it hasn’t changed. She is still that persistent, abiding undercurrent, always beckoning us to gaze deeply into her waters, to consider carefully, and to walk courageously toward our destiny.