Guest Post: Hail Columbia! A Ritual To Call Upon America’s Overlooked Goddess
Boudica is an eclectic witch & pagan living in MD with her husband, cats, and ever expanding book collection. A former tutor currently working at a non-profit focusing on environmental issues, she also volunteers with a cat rescue. In her spare time she’s a fusion bellydancer specializing in sword, is an unabashed geek, and according to the book on biblioholism a friend felt compelled to get her, not a biblioholic.
The government is filled with corrupt officials who have actively betrayed their oaths of office in pursuit of power, bringing active harm to my communities and many others. Suffice to say, my magical political activism needed to up it’s game, and I was trying to determine who to call in for aid. Calling upon the Founding Fathers is just a little too patriarchal for my taste. Calling upon the Spirit of America kept summoning images of the Old West, which was not what I was going for. Maybe Lady Liberty? That was closer, but it felt like something was missing. Then the name Columbia came up. You know of Columbia, right? The Goddess of America? Or, more accurately, the Forgotten Goddess of America. Lady Liberty, who is more familiar to most of us these days, is Her daughter.
It used to be quite common to personify a country with the image of a woman draped in the colors and emblems of the country. Take a look at the propaganda posters of WWI - the goddess personifications of the United States, Britannia, France, even Germany are all regularly portrayed in recruitment posters, war reports, or to boost morale on the homefront. Typically the goddesses would be portrayed as their ancient Greek counterparts, clad in diaphanous chitons and poploi - likely a callback to the Eurocentric beliefs that all civilization originated in Classical Greece. This portrayal gradually fell out of favor, and is now typically seen as quaint or old fashioned. Uncle Sam became far more popular for recruitment during WWII, with Rosie the Riveter dominating the homefront. But for workings to combat the current political situation and the corruption of ideals in the United States, the social inequality, and the oppression of minorities (in this case, a minority is anyone who is not a cishet white male) calling upon the goddess who lent her name to the capital city - the District of Columbia - simply makes sense.
What I’ve included here are the bones of a ritual to Columbia - you can fill in the blanks with what you are specifically looking to address.
Recommended items:
1 red candle
1 white candle
1 blue candle
*The colors of the flag. In this context, red symbolizes valor & strength; white is purity and innocence; and blue represents perseverance and justice.
A picture of Columbia - I happen to like this one.
A copy of the lyrics to Columbia’s song (currently the theme song for the Vice President) - Hail Columbia.
An instrumental copy of the same song (many options are available on YouTube. Although I recommend buying a copy of the version you like and downloading it. Trying to play it on YouTube results in commercial interruptions).
Prepare your space, light your candles, and turn on the music. Bring in whatever additional elements appeal to you or are symbolically right for your working. Invoke Columbia, briefly explain why you have called Her, and what you are asking for help on. Keep it brief, as you’ll be going into further detail in a moment.
Begin to recite the lyrics of Hail Columbia, stopping after the first verse to address the issue at hand in more detail, and point out how it fails to live up to the ideals of the lyrics you just recited. Then move on to the chorus, before starting the next verse. And repeat, again stopping after that verse to point out the current failures and why it’s an issue She should notice, before rallying with the chorus and on to the next verse.
After the last verse, reiterate why you called Columbia, and what you are asking Her help for. Then use the last chorus as a way to close out your ritual. I personally find the format of the song lends itself well to patterning the ritual this way.
Example Format
Lyrics to Hail Columbia
Hail Columbia, happy land!
Hail, ye heroes, heav'n-born band,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
Who fought and bled in freedom's cause,
And when the storm of war was gone
Enjoy'd the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast,
Ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies.
*State your petition*
Chorus
Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.
Immortal patriots, rise once more,
Defend your rights, defend your shore!
Let no rude foe, with impious hand,
Let no rude foe, with impious hand,
Invade the shrine where sacred lies
Of toil and blood, the well-earned prize,
While off'ring peace, sincere and just,
In Heaven's we place a manly trust,
That truth and justice will prevail,
And every scheme of bondage fail.
*State your petition*
Chorus
Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.
Sound, sound the trump of fame,
Let Washington's great name
Ring through the world with loud applause,
Ring through the world with loud applause,
Let ev'ry clime to freedom dear,
Listen with a joyful ear,
With equal skill, with God-like pow'r
He governs in the fearful hour
Of horrid war, or guides with ease
The happier times of honest peace.
*State your petition*
Chorus
Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.
Behold the chief who now commands,
Once more to serve his country stands.
The rock on which the storm will break,
The rock on which the storm will break,
But armed in virtue, firm, and true,
His hopes are fixed on Heav'n and you.
When hope was sinking in dismay,
When glooms obscured Columbia's day,
His steady mind, from changes free,
Resolved on death or liberty.
*State your petition*
Chorus
Firm, united let us be,
Rallying round our liberty,
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.
A few notes to consider when working with Columbia:
First note - she is not a vengeance goddess that you call upon to curse your enemies. She is an inspirational figure. For example: the district that the Senate and House work in carry Her name. How dare anyone (looking at you Senate Republicans) go in there and pervert Her ideals and betray the oaths they swore to Her when they took office. She can inspire them to be better, and for citizens to vote more wisely. She can march alongside protesters, giving them courage while simultaneously inspiring police to remember the part of their oath where they swore to behave honorably and with good conduct (and shaming them for failing to do so). She can be the epitome of the ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed in you’ mother figure; or the mother who screams in grief and rage. Columbia wants Her people to do better.
Second note - Columbia does not have a set form. Is she typically portrayed as white? Yes (although there is no consensus on hair color. I’ve seen red, blonde, brown, and black). Is this based on the norms of the era during which artists were most likely to draw Her? Yes. It’s like the images of Mary from the Renaissance when she has curly blonde hair - not at all accurate, but it was what the artist knew and it was the standard for the era. Does this physical representation mean that Columbia exclusively represents the white hegemony? Fuck no. She is furious with the state of things as they currently are. Read the lyrics to that song again. Is it a Boys Club song? Yes. Were most patriotic songs written in 1798 heavy on the patriarchy and Christian elements? Yes. Now read it again, and read beyond that. Are we enjoying peace and liberty? Are we enjoying our freedoms? Is justice equal? Has every scheme of bondage failed, or… has every scheme of bondage (too many forms to count) been put forth by the ones who would proudly sing the lyrics to this song and not recognize the irony in their actions? Look at the last verse. See the ideals there, and then look at who is President. Does he have a steady mind? Is he armed in virtue? Does he serve his country? Or is he the gloom that obscures Columbia’s day?
Columbia does not belong to them. She is not tied to a specific religion, because Her people aren’t. She’s not tied to a specific race, because Her people aren’t. As far as Columbia is concerned if you are an American, if you count the United States as your home, then you are one of Her people. And the fact that some of Her people fail to recognize that we are ALL Her people is a point of contention with her. She is the personification of the ideals of the country. Not the 1950s Leave it to Beaver version that some people push, but the actual ideals. Liberty, peace, freedom, equality, unity. And She is with us in the fight to make those ideals real for everyone.
Never forget, the first person to die for Columbia was a freed black man: Crispus Attucks. Columbia does not belong to the white heteronormative patriarchy. She stands with everyone who is still fighting for Her ideals.
Final note - Columbia is the goddess, Colombia is the country. If you’re writing things down, make sure to use the correct name.
