Guardian’s Grimoire Ten

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An Educational Walk-Through

By Estara Korai

Experience is a great teacher. If you’re paying attention to what happens around you, a great deal can be gained from even a single experience--and if you’re really sharp, the experience doesn’t even have to be yours.

With that in mind, here is an example of a working that Shar and I did, with commentary on what we did right and what we could have done better. (Lesson: admit mistakes and appraise them honestly, and maybe you won’t have to make them again later.)

The work concerned a woman we’ll call Beth. Beth is one of those people who are typically the most at risk for energy or psychic problems: naturally gifted but untrained, and very scattered in her mundane life. She owns a private school, but there have been a lot of problems there lately, especially around the issue of keeping their license. She wanted to know if there was any bad energy attached to the school, and if we could dislodge it. She also felt that there might be an entity attached to her personally, but we initially decided to deal with that later, and take the opportunity of the weekend night to focus on the school. (Lesson: nope! Always deal with the personal first and radiate outward. I, who have written articles on this exact subject, should have known better. So another lesson is: don't stop paying attention just because you think you know what you’re doing.)

So Shar, Beth, and I went to the school and walked through it, getting our bearings on the place. It wasn’t surprising that so much bad energy could stick there: the feng shui was terrible. The building is right at the dead end of a T-section, so the energy of that street barrels into the school. Inside, all the main doors are in a direct line, so the energy keeps barreling through at street speed until it smashes against the back wall, pools in a corner where an additional wall has been added, and stagnates. The energy of the building was noticeably worse the further back into the building we went. Having determined this, we walked Beth through the school a second time, making suggestions about how the flow of energy could be improved. Since she couldn’t move the building or move the doors, and also couldn’t screen the doors to encourage the energy to turn, our suggestions centered around smaller fixes like mirrors, chimes, crystals, and plants and fountains.

This done, it was time to clear out the negative energy that had already accumulated. We started in the front room. We got out our tools and decided which ones we thought were appropriate. We decided to start with banishings, then circle with a high-pitched bell to break things up, a candle and holy water to finish off any sticky bits, and then a pair of those Chinese ringing balls to rebalance. (I would have used a Tibetan bowl if I had one, but them things are expensive! The Chinese balls worked fine, even though to my knowledge this was not a "traditional" use for them. Lesson: don’t be afraid to try something unconventional if your intuition leads you that way.)

First, we cleansed ourselves. I decided to help set a mood and encourage the energy by putting some Blessing Oil in an aromatherapy lamp I'd just gotten and wanted to try. The smell was much stronger than we expected and sent Beth choking out of the room. (Lesson: on the other hand, on the job is not the best place to experiment. Try things out for the first time at home when possible, especially things that might trigger allergic responses.)

When she came back, after I had put out the lamp and apologized profusely, I did the first banishing. Beth started to feel uncomfortable, and muttered that we would not be able to cleanse the school properly with her there, because the entity attached to her would interfere. I went ahead and finished the banishing anyway, at which point Shar said that someone had tapped her on the shoulder. Since she’s the best astral sensory organ of the outfit, I asked her to seek and identify our visitor. (Lesson: on the job, let the best person for the job do it.) She found him to be uncooperative. Now, if we had followed protocol and dealt with Beth’s entity first, we might have been able to cajole (or force) more pertinent information from him about who he was, what his beef was, and so on. As it stood, however, we were on a schedule, and I just wanted this guy out of my way. We determined to go on with the banishing, and Shar started making her rounds with the bell. This infuriated him and made Beth uncomfortable enough that she fled the room. (Lesson: bad things don’t like bells, especially high-pitched ones. You don’t have to take my word on this one--it’s widely attested in folklore.) I picked up the candle, stubborn creature that I am, but no sooner had I stepped away from the table than, with all three of us watching it, the wick fell--shwoop!--out of the candle onto the floor. (Lesson: "It does encourage one--it is useless to deny it--to be knocked down by a demon of whose existence one was not really quite sure." --Alaister Crowley.)

That did it. Now we were dealing with something that was conscious, attached to a friend of mine, strong enough to resist a lesser banishing, and was actively interfering with my work. Now, a ceremonialist magician has several other banishings in hir repertoire, and most likely one or another of them would have done the job. I’m not a ceremonialist. A shamanic person might have started calling up powerful allies and/or heading off into the Otherworld for a face-to-face showdown. And so might I have done, in other circumstances, but with the situation, tools, and participants I had, I went with the Wiccan part of my training. (Lesson: go with your strengths, and if you have more than one way of doing something, go with what seems to fit best at the time.) So I announced loudly that we were taking this discussion outside and I was casting a full circle. We gathered up our props and went outside to cast.

It's important to exude a certain calm and confidence in this kind of situation. It stokes the Will that makes your work effective, it undermines the confidence of the opponent (if any), and it helps to keep the client from panicking. Never blow anything out of proportion for the sake of better drama.

So, calmly, confidently, Shar and I cast circle. The entity whispered sour nothings into Shar and Beth’s ears during the early stages, to no avail: Shar, like me, has seen too many astral twits to be easily rattled, and Beth trusted in our calm, confident demeanor (see?) to mean that she was safe. We have several different forms of circle casting that we use, with differing levels of permeability: the one we picked was only a notch or two short of the totally impenetrable Big Gun circle we call the Iron Drum, because at this point I was tired of messing around. We cast, we sprinkled, we invoked, we anointed, we cast wards, we said all the little poetic things we almost never bother with--we put on quite a nice show. (Lesson: remember how to do it the long way, with all the bells and whistles, even if you don’t usually need them. They still come in handy now and then.) When it was all done, Beth’s fear had completely evaporated; she said she felt very safe in the circle but didn’t want to think about what would happen when she left it. The entity, easier to see now that we were between worlds, was perched grumpily on the play equipment a short distance from the circle, peering in at us.

Next, knowing that Beth comes from a Christian background and is still comfortable with some of those energies, I invoked an archangel, pointed the entity out to him, and asked for his protection for Beth. (Lesson: archangels are not fundies. Even if you’re not Judeo-Christian, they’re pretty cooperative if your request is obviously ethical and reasonable.) Now I wanted to do a cord-cutting between Beth and the entity. Beth’s Sight is not developed to the point where she could tell me what to cut, and I didn’t want to go chopping haphazardly. I took out the bell I knew bad things hate, and slowly, I rang it in front of each of her chakras, and asked her to tell me if she grew uncomfortable. In this way, we isolated the connection to the heart and throat centers. I told Beth to prepare to have the cord cut and to imagine her end searing shut after it was cut; then I pulled out my astral sword (Lesson: have a set of astral tools: they're very handy in situations where physical tools are absent or unwieldy) and chopped. I beat back the long end of the cord and seared it, and then Shar and I threw it back at the entity and banished him personally. At that moment, probably not coincidentally, there was a hideous shriek from the direction of the street, with no other sounds before or after. Beth’s face lit up and she declared breathily, "He's gone!"

We grounded everyone and uncast the circle, then resumed our original project of cleansing the school. It went much better, and the change in feel was obvious to everyone.

You may notice that practically everything we did appeared in the first Grimoire as fundamental things to learn. So the last lesson is: Don't throw out the basics just because you learned them first. The more advanced your practice becomes, the more the basics will do for you.

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She Who Slays

By Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

She Who Slays: Woman born of blood, transformed through blood; the Battle-Raven, Victorious One in Battle, Devouring One, Warrior, Queen of Battle; perhaps no other aspect of the Goddess arouses such fear, loathing and distaste as that of the Warrior. She is the Source from which all other manifestations of Deity spring, the strength, ferocity and sovereign force. All other faces, the Maiden, Mother and Crone resolve in Her implacable image and yet She remains independent and supreme. There is a regrettable tendency within the pagan community today to ignore this powerful face of the Goddess entirely; She is seen as a stoic Maiden, a vengeful Mother or hag-like Crone and Her force is acceptable -- barely -- if She is acting in defense of Her children; however, it is very rare that this Goddess is accepted in Her totality, with all that entails, as a separate manifestation. And yet to spit in the face of the Warrior, is to spit in the face of Isis, or Kwan Yin, or Dana for They too have Their Warrior aspects.

Nearly every Goddess has a Warrior face one that is completely separate and distinct from the other Three. Isis was hailed as Victrix, Dispeller of Attack, Eye of Ra (a title also born by Sekhmet), and inscriptions at Her temple at Philae call Her "warlike" and praise Her skill in battle. Aphrodite could just as easily manifest as "Androphonos" or "Man-slayer" as in Her loving aspect. The oldest known religious hymn, (written, incidentally by the Sumerian priestess Enhenduanna) salutes the Goddess Inanna for Her power to destroy rebellious lands, slay the enemy and devour their corpses! Ishtar, primarily known as a Goddess of love and passion was also One Who Slays and Her prowess in bed was equaled only by Her prowess in battle. Freya, Norse Goddess of Love was also a Battle Goddess: She led the Valkyries and claimed before Odin half of the fallen heroes. Even the Irish Dana may transform into the most savage face of the Morrigan, that of Anu. If Dana governs the burgeoning harvest, the fertility and fecundity of the land, then Anu governs its destructive power found in earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, storms, and the like. And if each spiral in the triskelion represents the Maiden, Mother and Crone respectively, then the three in their entirety represent the Warrior for warriorship is not dependent on age, or cycle of life; it is a quality and condition of the spirit that enables one to triumphantly move through the life-cycle.

Perhaps part of the problem lies in the current perception of a warrior. In ancient societies like the samurai or the Celts, the craft of the warrior was seen as a sacred calling, worthy of honor and respect. Warriors were the elite, intelligent, cunning and strong. It took great courage and skill to face one's opponents eye-to-eye on the field of battle. With the invention of gunpowder and more current high-tech weapons, the art of war has become a spectator sport with little need for outstanding intelligence or bravery. And in our modern, hedonistic society, the virtues of stoicism, discipline and valor are hardly as highly esteemed as in the ancient world. Some pagans use this as an excuse to avoid the Warrior Goddess altogether, as though Her gifts are no longer valid in a world where weakness and complacency have become social ideals. In reality, for balance to be achieved, for one to truly honor Deity, ALL aspects must be worshipped, the Gods of war as well as the Gods of love, for the gifts of the former are no less necessary and precious as those of the latter. If an aspect of Deity exists, then His/Her lessons are valid. If an aspect of Deity is difficult or painful to invoke, it must be acknowledged that the blockage lies in the devotee, not the Deity. In modern parlance, the term 'warrior' is often confused with the term 'warmonger' and there is a rather large difference. In The Book of Five Rings, the great samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi defines the way of the warrior as "the resolute acceptance of death." (Musashi, P. 11) He then stresses that this sacred way is not limited to those who fight and kill, but is a quality of personal integrity and valor open to any with the strength to seek that path. In samurai philosophy, the essence of a true warrior was the development of an "indomitable spirit and an iron will" (Musashi, P. 12). The purpose of warriorship was balance of the spirit, an attitude that survives in modern martial arts training. The exercise of the body through rigorous kata was seen as a spiritual meditation and discipline, and the act of killing one of greatest sanctity and responsibility. The essence of this path can best be described through the insights of philosopher William Saroyan, "Be the inferior of no man, nor of any man be the superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kind and gentle, but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, then kill and have no regret." (italics mine) A warrior understands that guilt, shame and regret are artificial emotions that serve no useful purpose; they are merely tools by which one can be manipulated. And it is that absence of regret, the Warrior's greatest gift, that most appalls the average Wiccan. And given that ours is a nature religion, this particular blind-spot is most remarkable. Nature is not only beautiful and kind, it is "red in tooth and claw" as the saying goes. Nature can be cruel, for to be in harmony with the land is to accept the cosmic cycle of life and death, sacrifice if you will. The rejuvenation of the earth occurs through the blood of the weak or the infirm. It is only when one removes oneself from the natural world that it can then be idealized as something other than an eternal struggle balanced in blood. To make of Wicca a faith that denies an essential part of that natural cycle we claim to honor shows "an appalling lack of acquaintance with the way the world of nature actually works." (Strange, P. 89) After all, as John Dryden wrote, "Self-defense is nature's oldest law."

When a Goddess takes up the blade, all too often She is seen as having been forced to it by "the patriarchy," as if no Goddess of women would stoop to the claiming and wielding of raw power. Obvious expression of power is seen as being a man's prerogative, far beneath gentle, nurturing women. The Warrior Goddess breaks all those rules. She will not be categorized; She will not be tamed; She will not apologize for Her power, Her fury, Her rage, or the joy She takes in all of the above. She IS power personified, power that is not limited or defined by gender, power that is dependent on no one else in its use. That is the essence of Parthenos the ancient word for 'virgin' often applied to such Goddesses like Athena, Artemis, and Diana. It has nothing to do with the body, nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with personal will. To define oneself as male or female is to purposely limit one's transformation. It is the soul that matters where warriorship is concerned, for our bodies change with each lifetime. To honor only the nurturing or maternal Goddesses is to deny Her strength, Her passion, Her protection, and Her wisdom. One of the reasons we use an athame and/or sword as a ritual tool is that it symbolizes the integrity of the Warrior. She teaches Her children to be fiercely independent, uncompromising in their love of self, proudly heroic, unfettered by the expectations and unresolved needs of others. Hers is the gift of freedom, a gift that must be earned. She teaches Her children to accept responsibility for their actions and She teaches that beauty in a woman need not be soft and yielding: one may radiate the furious passion of Sekhmet, dance with the tumultuous, untamed fire of Oya, or walk staunch and true like the Morrigan. She frees us from our self-imposed limits and though She is hardly without compassion, She certainly cannot be manipulated by other people's definitions of it. "In our culture, femininity is usually judged as a function of its value relative to man, child, or society" (Paris, P. 114). The Warrior Goddess and those who follow Her refuse to be bound in such a way. It is honorable and praiseworthy to take arms in defense of children or those weaker than oneself, but let us not mistake this for "maternal instinct". It could just as readily be the duty of a warrior making itself felt, for with power comes responsibility in its use. To limit the Warrior's power to the defense of others is to tie Her uncompromisingly to the traditional, "patriarchal and acceptable" role of mother and keeper of the hearth. While these roles are important, they should be freely chosen. The Warrior takes up the blade because there is pleasure in its wielding. The Warrior takes up the blade because to do anything less would be to deny Her sacred duty, to abrogate and limit potential, power, strength, dignity and independence. And it is certainly true, as Ginette Paris asserts in her book Pagan Meditations that "the Goddess Who slays the beasts, Whose patron She is, has a liking for bloody holocausts." (Paris, P. 120) In other words, She demands sacrifice, even if it be the sacrifice of personal comfort, lethargy and complaisance. She demands that Her children not take the easy path. Her wisdom is rarely given freely, one must work, just as Odin sacrificed Himself on the sacred tree for magical power. The sacrifice She demands is one of the heart.

She is frightening because She is uncompromising: She destroys our masks and our facades and refuses to allow us the shallow pleasure of denial. And that alone is too much for many people to face. Her beauty lies in Her power, Her ability to choose and to take life. And though Her children feel passionately and deeply, She teaches them to avoid being governed by those emotions. What is mistaken for coldness is merely the perfect balance of a blade standing poised, point in hand. It is the balance of one who no longer needs to be "the good little girl" but has arrived at the point where she can simply be.

I did not begin my studies of the Craft with the intention of devoting myself to a Warrior Goddess -- when I started, I never even knew She existed, but I soon found myself drawn to Sekhmet, the Morrigan (especially Macha), Kali-Ma, Skadi and the like. Sekhmet especially, Who defies every category but that of Warrior began to slowly (and usually quite painfully) transform my psyche. The blade the Warrior bears She uses on Her children to strip away the useless, the false, the outworn. Sekhmet is "strong, mighty, and violent," (Masters, P. 44) however, Her power is "never arbitrarily directed" (Masters, P. 48). Sekhmet, like many Warrior Goddesses is a force of Divine order and justice. Her rage, anger and violence often act as a catalyst to greater transformation. It is a mistake to separate the Warrior Goddess in worship. One may worship Oshun, Goddess of love and sexuality and Macha, Goddess of battle side by side. There is no dichotomy for Deity simply IS. All Goddesses one Goddess; all Gods one God: one infinite, eternal source. Without the gifts of the Warrior, we could not fully appreciate or understand the gifts of Maiden, Mother or Crone. All life burst forth out of the Divine impulse to do, to create, to change, to destroy what was before. That realm of action is the realm of the Warrior. And if we, as Wiccans understand, accept and honor the cycle of life/death/rebirth, if we honor the Goddess Who brings forth life, then we must by extension honor She Who brings death – a transformation no less sacred than birth (in actuality a birth of another sort)! The Crone is the teacher, She Who guides the way, Keeper of magic and all of its mysteries; it is the Warrior Who cuts through the veil.

There are precious few role models of warrior women; history, after all, is written by the victors, however the past few years have seen a number of television shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer which present a strong, competent, unapologetic warrior who does not depend on her "womanly wiles" or the protection of a male figure for her power. At the same time, the strength of these characters does not detract in the least from their sexuality. The same trend is apparent in novels, most notably the Valdemar series of Mercedes Lackey and The Sword and Sorcerous series of Marion Zimmer Bradley. With regard to the television series at least, fifteen years ago, it would never have been possible. From the historical perspective, current excavation near the Black Sea may very well authenticate ancient reports of amazons and tribes led by female fighters. Soon, the stories of such leaders as Tamyris of the Massagetae who defeated the king of Persia may be seen as more than long forgotten tales. Perhaps the time has come when the Warrior is reclaiming Her name and Her power. We do live in the Kali Yuga, after all, the age of destruction, of Kali-Ma. And the destruction She brings may very well be of our own fear and fettering of our own potential. For if we are all Her children, then it follows that we all have the potential to be Her warriors; and She nurtures Her own.

Sources:

1. In the Wake of the Goddess, Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Fawcett Columbine, 1992.

2. The Histories, Herodotus. Penguin Books, 1954.

3. Women on Hunting, Houston, Pam. Ecco Press, 1995.

4. A History of Warfare, Keegan, John. Vintage Books, 1993.

5. The Goddess Sekhmet, Masters, Robert. Llewellyn Publications, 1991.

6. The Book of Five Rings, Musashi, Miyamoto. Bantam Books, 1982.

7. Pagan Meditations, Paris, Ginette. Spring Publications, Inc., 1986.

8. The Mysteries of Isis, Regula, DeTracy. Llewellyn Publications, 1995.

9. The World of the Scythians, Rolle, Renate. University of California Press, 1980.

10. Woman the Hunter, Strange, Mary. Beacon Press, 1997.

11. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Walker, Barbara. HarperSanFrancisco, 1983.

First published in Vol.1 #1 of "Brigid's Hearth" copyright 1998 Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

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Mystic Rose: The Essence of our Faith

By Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

As a priest, I am often asked to define the credo of our faith. What do we believe? What is the essence of our worship? Do we have rules, a moral code? Sadly, it is often difficult to find a definitive answer to any of these questions from the literature currently available. I do not believe, as Starhawk writes, that "our tradition strongly resists any centralization of creed." And I would certainly never define our faith as "anarchic." Until we, as pagans, begin to define our beliefs to ourselves and to the world at large, as religion, we will never be seen as anything other than a weird cult. Far too many people come to the Wiccan path hoping to find a "religion" of indulgence and hedonism; what Bill Moyers calls "easy religion, cheaply achieved." That is not the Wiccan way. What many seem to forget or ignore is that at the heart of our faith is an intimate relationship with Deity. It begins and ends with God/dess. We are, to quote the Christian Paul, temples of that Divine force.

All of that still does not explain our faith to someone who hasn't had personal experience with our system of worship. And where it is best to experience our religion first hand, perhaps the best definition of Wicca is as a mystical, pre-Christian faith with origins dating back before the Bronze Age. No, we do not worship in any way, shape or form as the ancients did. No, we do not have a single, continuous history of worship but none of that matters. We take the essence and re-create the rest. Religion is a living, growing thing, constantly changing, constantly renewing. We do not live in the Bronze Age, or in ancient Egypt, or ancient Rome, however Deity is Deity and the essence of Their teachings remains quite relevant and potent for us in the modern day, whether it is the teachings of Isis, or those of Sekhmet or Kali-Ma. We don't quibble the trappings. At our hearts, we are mystics. We are drawn to this path because it is one in which we are encouraged to develop our own personal relationship with Divinity, one-on-one. The definition of Mysticism is experience. The word itself comes from the Greek Mystikos, 'to enter the mysteries'. It is a celebration of the Divine through all the senses. A mystery is something intimately revealed, it cannot be taught or codified. It is revealed through experience.

And it is revealed through all our senses; that is part of what the pentacle symbolizes: the union of mind, body and emotion through which we are touched by God/dess. It is important to remember that we do not have a Manichean split: physical = evil, spiritual = good. To our faith, we are incarnated physically because there is something to learn that can only be taught that way. Also central to our belief is the doctrine of immanence: God is in every single, living thing. We can experience God through every single, living thing. Nature is a tapestry of Divine love and blessing. Our ability to experience this blessing through the physical, in mystical revelation, is one of the greatest blessings of our faith. And that experience leads directly to trust. If one does not fully trust God, one may not fully experience God. That is why we enter our circles "in perfect love and perfect trust."

Compassion is the fire that fuels the mystic. Compassion and a faith that burns with the intensity of a flaming pyre. Joseph Campbell wrote that the "lunatic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims." The difference is faith. All religious experience begins and ends with the Divine. To feel that eternal and unending connection with God/dess, to know that each person is imbued with that Divine fire, is a child of God, is the quality, the rare quality of grace. As Matthew Fox wrote, "the mystic is one who trusts the experience of the heart." And that is something horribly devalued in our society. But without a heart filled with the fire of the love of God, there is no faith, no compassion, and no wisdom. The Sufi mystic Rumi writes, "Blood must flow For the garden to flower. And the heart that loves me is a wound without shield." It is a terrifying thing to trust and that is the essence of faith. Christian mystics write that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And so it is. In Her/His hands, we are tempered, molded and transformed by the raging fire of devotion. In our religion, we move into such passionate trust by first following the precepts carved into the ancient temple at Delphi: "Know thyself."

Because each and every person is uniquely beautiful and precious in the Divine eye, and because each person has different trials to overcome, the One Supreme Divine Force has many, many different 'faces'. Because we are all made in the image of the Divine, those aspects may be male or female. Each form that the Omnipotent Force chooses to take, has a very important lesson to teach. One must be open to the experience of Deity, regardless of the face S/He wears. The female face of God preceded Christianity by several thousand years though that doesn't negate the truths found in that faith, no more than its spirituality negates ours. One would do well to cultivate a spirit of ecumenism and not blame the faith for the acts of individuals.

Like a flower unfolding, our faith is ever-renewing, so that like the ancient Bennu bird, we are eternally reborn from the ashes of our initiation. We are warriors walking midst flame, seeking to be burned that we might remember: " I praise the moment I die in fire for the veils of illusion burn with me. I see how hard we strive for truth, and once attained, how easily we forget it. I hold that fire as long as I can. My nose fills with the smell of seared flesh, the acrid smoke of death, so that years from now I might look on that scar and remember how it was to hold the light, how it was to die and come again radiant as light walking on sand." (Awakening Osiris, Ellis, Normandi. P. 173) One may fear to see the face of God, but one may not yield to that fear. By Her/His sacral flame are we thus purged of the tools of our fears: pride, false humility, self-righteousness, cowardice, self-pity and the like. We become as blades forged by a master craftsman: balanced, unbreakable and whole.

That faith blossoms when it is fertilized by daily devotion. Devotion is the kindling of the flame. It blossoms as we learn to live our faith, imbuing each act, no matter how small with the essence of ritual. God is in the details; each act becomes a prayer, each word a ritual invocation. Our path through the Wiccan faith, through any faith is more a matter of learning to listen and hear the Divinity that has always been whispering in our ears, than anything else. It is learning to become conscious of the sacred rhythm that flows through every living thing. It is by disciplined devotion and an open heart, that the flower's scent reaches our souls. Normandi Ellis writes, "the ancient hieroglyph for adoration is a gesture of opening that signified both the receipt of divine grace and the offering of the self. When a man or woman stands before God with arms opened wide, the heart is vulnerable to penetration. Knowing that an almighty God wields swords of light that may wound and stab us, we yet offer ourselves fully for the sacrifice. We allow God to slay us, to kill that which is "other" in us, then to enter and inhabit our form in order for God to know the Divine through us, to resurrect and reconstruct us as changed creatures, as bodies more fully filled with the Light of God." (Dreams of Isis, Ellis, P. 22) That type of submission to the will of Deity is quite alien to modern pagan thought, yet who among us is so egotistical that he or she would dare set oneself up against Deity? That was Arachne's greatest sin: the sin of over-weaning pride.

And yet only the open heart can be filled. We must be willing to hear the wisdom whispered in our ears. God/dess must come first in the devotee's life. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, we learn that the first of Yahweh's commandments was, "I am the Lord your God; worship no God before Me." (Deuteronomy 5.6-7) What may not be obvious at first, is that statement need not refer to Deity, for according to our tradition, All are One. A person may have many little gods in his or her life: money, sex, power, prestige, or pleasure. We betray ourselves and our God/dess when we place these temporal values over the will of Deity. The first step to developing a mystical consciousness is to make the decision to center your life around Divinity. Beyond the terror, there is infinite bliss.

There is no place for hedonism in the mystics' faith. God purifies, usually by flame. Matthew Fox writes that "mysticism is not about security. Peace is the opposite of security." It is only when the facades of fear, comfort and conformity are ripped asunder, that God/dess may speak to the heart and faith begin to blossom. Everyone has the capacity, the call to mystic faith. Few choose to listen for the path is fraught with pain. It takes great courage to look within, to know oneself. True faith can be dangerous. Medieval Christian mystics were often exiled, assaulted, imprisoned and executed. Hebrew prophets usually died badly. Like Odin sacrificing Himself on the tree, those filled with the flame of devotion, must be willing to face the danger of self-realization, and the transformation it will bring.

Wisdom is culled from darkness, the proverbial dark night of the soul. In Sumerian cosmology, Inanna descended to the realm of Her dark sister Ereshkigal seeking wholeness, seeking the totality of understanding and power. Ereshkigal fixed upon Her the eye of death and for three days and three nights, Inanna's corpse hung before Ereshkigal's throne. On the third day Inanna was reborn and only then could She call Herself Queen of Heaven. Only in darkness was illumination found. This journey has its parallels in nearly every pantheon: Odin of the Norse, Jesus of Christianity, the trials of Kwan Yin or the temptations of Buddha. It has its parallel in the journey each devotee makes within his or her own heart: the journey to the center of the rose.

The sword born by the spiritual warrior on this journey is the flaming blade of trust. Trust the voice of Deity, trust one's own strength to follow that voice. Faith may be distilled to iron-clad trust and burning passion of the heart. Perhaps the pagan devotee would best be served by praying daily the words of the Christian mystic Teilhard de Chardin: Lord, lock me up in the deepest depths of Your heart; and then, holding me there, burn me, purify, set me on fire, sublimate me, till I become utterly what You would have me be, through the utter annihilation of my ego. (Dreams of Isis, Ellis, P. 359)

Sources:

1. Dreams of Isis, Ellis, Normandi. Quest Books, 1995.

2. Awakening Osiris, Ellis, Normandi. Phanes Press, 1988.

3. Return of the Mother, Harvey, Andrew. Frog Ltd., 1995

4. Coming of the Cosmic Christ, Fox, Matthew. HarperSanFrancisco, 1980.

5. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, Wolkstein, Diane. Harper & Row, 1983.

6. Good News Bible. Sadler, Inc., 1976.

7. The Power of Myth, Campbell, Joseph. Doubleday, 1988.

8. The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, Starhawk. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

First published in Vol. 1 #1 of "Brigid's Hearth" copyright 1998 by Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

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Magic: The Art of Power

By Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

Magic, that most ancient of arts, is a subject of much interest and study to the majority of Wiccans and pagans, yet sadly, in many cases there is no true understanding of just what "magic" truly is. The word itself conjures images of hoary men in oddly bedecked robes shooting lightening from their fingertips, or seductive women weaving traps in darkened rooms filled with cauldrons and herbs. The truth is somewhere in between.

Perhaps the most prevalent fallacy currently in vogue, is the idea of magic as religion. It is not. Magic is the art of harnessing natural energies to manifest one's will on the material plane. It is the raw manipulation of arcane power. It is the magician and the magician alone who is responsible for the outcome, and that outcome is generally based on focus, will and skill. Religion, on the other hand, is worship of the Divine Force: Goddess and God Who blessed us with the gift of magic, that we might temper our spirits, master our fears and passions and thereby serve Them better! Prayer is not magic. That is not to say that the two cannot be combined. Magic is a gift of the Gods and as such may certainly find its place in ritual, however it is not in itself, faith. When one prays, one does not generally know the outcome, that is in the hands and wisdom of Deity, however when one casts magic, the outcome may confidently be predicted (within a varied set of parameters dependent on the level and power of the caster) and one KNOWS the outcome. To worship is to seek communion with the Gods; to act as a magician is to seek to act as a god. One could say the magic and its related Art alchemy is the link between science and religion.

Which presents the next point: all magic is about power. That is perhaps the most difficult thing for the aspiring magician to admit: all magicians take up the study of the Art because they desire power (whether they admit it or not). They desire to bring their world into compliance with their desires and wills. There is nothing wrong with this. The judicious mage is guided by the knowledge that the wyrd-web must always remain in balance, otherwise it brings destruction to the magician. "Evil" magics warp the web. Power, in itself, is not evil: it is a tool, neither good nor bad. The only evil lies in the intent of its wielder. The wise magician aspires to the power of a god all the while knowing that he or she is not God.

Honore de Balzac wrote that Power is not revealed by striking hard or striking often, but by striking true. That more than anything else describes the path of the mage. The beginner would be well-served by intoning daily: "I want power" several times (nine is always a good number, after all it was for nine days and nights that Odin sacrificed Himself for power). Guilt, fear, shame and regret have no place in the practice of magic. The mage must have total confidence in his or her goals, actions, ability and power. Trust Deity to guide those actions. Fear of self and of power is the first and most difficult of hurdles to cross for modern society generally abhors the truly strong individual. Fear is a tool to self-awareness and should be used as such. It should be faced head-on. The path of the magician, like the path of the warrior IS a spiritual path: it leads to total understanding of oneself. Guilt and shame are merely artificial tools, societal conditioning by which one may be manipulated by others. This is the second hurdle.

Magic is both a science and an Art and its mastery takes years. The magician must first discipline him or her-self, for there is no true power where self-mastery is lacking. Psychic ability is not magic though they are invaluable in its study and may strengthen or even develop during the course of this study. Psychic abilities like telepathy, empathy (the ability to sense other people's emotions intimately), Foresight, energy-Sight and the like are inherent gifts often passed from one generation to another. Magic is an act of will.

And it will transform its student. The one who embarks on its study will be quite different from the one who achieves power. It hones the spirit, strips away facades, tempers and purifies leaving only the essential, the essence of flame. As one's power increases, so does it manifest in the aura and bearing of the magician. One who walks always in two worlds may find those who see only one difficult to bear. Magicians serve the law of the web, and may seen heartless to those who have not tasted the passionate bliss of holding raw power in one's hands and feeling it weave itself to one's personal will. Arrogance is earned.

Many pagans seem to think that this path is easy and beautiful and free of pain and sometimes it is. However, even Odin had to sacrifice His mortal flesh on the Tree of Life to gain His power. This path of a magician who truly gives herself/himself to the fire is one of anguish, frustration and sacrifice. The meaning of that word is from the Latin sacer: holy. A sacrifice is something made sacred. It is not a path of peaceful naivete, but of turmoil and its rewards are intoxicating. Odin is the guide. It is through discipline and sacrifice and self-immolation that power is achieved. There is no other way. If power is feared, if self-knowledge is feared, if it is seen as not worth the price of pain, of having the veils of illusion ripped asunder, then the study of magic is best left untouched. The first law carved into the gates of the great Oracle of Delphi was "Know Thyself" that is also the first and primary law of magic and of true faith. Where the light of truth and the light of knowledge is, evil cannot be.

There are many styles of magic: runic, ceremonial, Enochian, Goeteic, Tantric but they are simply means of raising energy, of raising power. The first and greatest tool of the magician is the will. Make of oneself a blade in the hands of the Warrior Goddess. Magic, though not faith will draw one closer to Deity. It augments religion. To confuse the two is the greatest of blasphemy; second only to the egotistical falsehood that man created God. Accept that Magery is a great gift of the Gods and do not fear to taste of its blissful fruit: Icarus fell because he feared.

First printed in the Vol. 1 #1 of "Brigid's Hearth" copyright 1998 By Raistlin Odhinnsdaughter

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Hi, I'm Pagan. Any Questions?

By SharTasha

For some reason as soon as I tell someone I'm Pagan I get asked a huge slew of questions somehow containing - "You mean you worship the Devil?" "Isn't that evil?" Or easily enough, "What's that?" I have been trying to come up with the easiest answers that people can understand without giving in to their desire to fight with me. If I am fortunate enough to run into someone who is asking simply to learn more about it, either to consider becoming Pagan or just to learn about something they didn't know about an hour before I find that the same material needs to be covered. I have written a couple of things in the past that I think might be helpful in giving answers to some of the most basic questions that people will ask you.

The first is actually not written by me-I have only keyed it into the computer in an easy format to give to people. I copied it from a book by Silver RavenWolf titled "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" and it has appeared in print in many other places as well. This was originally written by the Council of American Witches in their Spring Witchmeet of 1974 as a definition of modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience and needs. It was written to help inform, teach, and sum up what we do to others who may not know or may be new to the Craft.

The second I wrote (with, ahem, a few additions, here unnoted, from her collaborator Estara Korai--editrix) as part of a "Wicca 101" course for a tradition I'm a co-founder of. It is a breakdown and description of the common law of Wicca, or the Wiccan Rede. Although it is specifically Wiccan in title it relates to many branches of Paganism besides the one and I think it gives a good working point to formulate the answers needed for people to understand and learn.

This is, of course, only meant as a start. I would suggest reading some books on beginning witchcraft. Even if you are not a beginner these are good in that it helps give you a way of describing things in terms that others not associated with the craft can understand. After years of working in the craft you can find yourself taking certain knowledge for granted and not realizing that others may not have a clue what something may be.

Of course the most important thing when answering questions and explaining your religion is patience. And also knowing when it is better to walk away instead of try to keep going when it's obvious the person isn't going to listen or brought it up for no other reason then to be confrontational.

Brightest Blessings!

SharTasha

Principles of Belief

1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters.
2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.
3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.
4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the Universe as manifesting through polarity- as masculine and feminine- and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practices and religions worship.
5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds- sometimes known as Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc.- and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.
6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.
7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way ones views the world and lives within it- a world view philosophy of life, which we identify as Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way.
8. Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch- but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature.
9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it.
10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief.
11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future.
12. We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil", nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "The Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another.
13. We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

The Wiccan or Witches Rede

The most common way you will see the Rede is "An it harm none, do what ye will." or other similar wording. The one presented here is a fuller version that explains in more detail what that short little sentence means. This "short little sentence" is *the* rule of all witchcraft and the most important thing to always practice.

I will break it down into its components and explain each part so that you understand exactly what it means.

Starts out easy.. telling you that you must follow the words of the Wiccan or Witches Rede. In perfect love and perfect trust is also an important line of your initiation. It means many things I think to many people. But generally it means that you bring to the craft your love and trust of not only the god and goddess but of those you are working with and they in return do the same with you. Witches do not come with hate and malice in their hearts towards things. We do not wish to learn the craft for ill purposes. We are to follow the Rede as though the god/dess came and knocked on our door and handed us a slip of paper with the words written on it and said follow this if we want to follow her/him for essentially that is what has happened.

Another meaning this often has is a sort of "honor among witches." If you are a student, you trust your teacher to guide you, and you give respect; if you are a teacher, you trust your student to want to learn, and you give respect. You try to keep compassion in your heart toward other living things, and to give others, especially other witches, the benefit of the doubt. (This is important to keep in mind in this era of "witchwars" and bearers of the One True Way...in perfect love and perfect trust, we honor everyone's right to "do as they will" unless they do harm.)

Here is the substance of the Rede and why often times you will only see the one line "An it harm none, do what you will". I have also seen it shortened to just "An it harm none." "An" means "if" not "and" here which is a common misunderstanding of the "poetry" of this line. The rest of this line is added clarification by way of poetry.

This means that you can do whatever you want to in life so long as you never do anything to harm another or yourself. This could be a simple thing like doing a spell to give someone a hang-nail to a major thing like doing a spell to kill someone, it doesn’t matter, you should not do it. It applies to yourself or other people, animals, plants, the air, whatever, again it doesn’t matter what it is- you are to harm *none*. It also applies to spells or general everyday things.. as in don’t do addictive drugs or self-destructive things or cut down and kill a tree just for the fun of it or drive in a car that pours out huge clouds of pollution into the air or kill an animal just for the sport of it.

It's a lot like the Hindu law of ahimsa and the Hippocratic oath to "do no harm." The latter is not a coincidence, since historically witches were the keepers of herbal lore and often acted as lay doctors and healers. Like ahimsa, the Rede actually becomes impossible to live by if carried out far enough: if by breathing you kill thousands of microbes, if by eating you kill animals and plants, how can you fulfill the Rede? Some traditions solve this by adding "For the goodwill of all." In other words, the important thing is to try to do what's best for all concerned, including yourself. In this version of the Rede, the problem is solved by the next line, "Unless in self-defense it be." The harm you do in breathing and eating preserves your life, so it is acceptable. In situations where harm cannot be avoided, the important thing is to maintain respect and compassion for those who are harmed. So, for example, many Wiccans who eat meat say a prayer of thanks to the spirits of the animals who died to provide the meal, and some lobby for humane treatment of animals.

Here is an important clarification of the Rede. The common thought is, well I’m in a situation where if I do not harm/kill this person this person will harm/kill me. The Rede is not made to undermine the primal human nature of self-preservation. If you are faced in a situation where it’s kill or be killed or other type thing than by all means defend yourself! If there is another way out besides violence try to take that route first though. The Rule of Three is also called the Threefold law or karma. What that means is when you do something it will come back to you three times more than it went out from you. This goes both ways-good and bad. If you do something good for someone you will have returned to you something three times better. If you do something bad to someone it will come back to haunt you three times worse than you did to them. A side note here.. some people don’t believe as strongly in the Threefold law as others and you will often hear arguments about it, such as "what's three times worse than death" or other such things. So, basically, the general message of these lines is to always remember that your good or bad actions have consequences (whatever and however severe they may be) and you should always mind them but if you have no other option than do what you have to in self-defense.

These lines are also fairly basic. You always want to think about the Rede when doing things, both spells and every day things. Have the Rede in your heart means to do nice things all the time-like the proverbial helping an old lady cross the street or holding a door open for someone or simply smiling at people on the street. Simple acts of kindness that help you live by the Rede. To remember not to do spiteful or hateful things like pinning a car in that cut you off in the parking lot or hollering at a store clerk just because they’re out of your favorite shampoo that’s on sale or worse. Merry meet and merry part is a traditional way to end all meetings and circles. The full line is "Merry meet and Merry part and Merry Meet again". A common greeting is simply "Merry meet". It's pretty self-explanatory really. You are saying that you meet politely and nicely, you part on good terms and when you next meet you meet on friendly terms. This is also a little bit of a spell to me in that you are wishing the ability to meet this person again and that it be a good meeting. Now this does not mean that the reasons you are meeting are good- it could be for a Handfasting or a funeral- it just means that when you meet each other you meet and part on good terms.

There are many versions of the Rede ranging from the simple "Harm None" or "An it harm none do as ye will" to long pages of pseudo-middle English. A lot of these include more rules and explanations of things related to Wicca besides the Rede. We have chosen this eight-line version for our tradition because we feel it covers the most important aspects of the Rede without getting into all the extra things that will be covered separately later.

That explains the major parts of the Rede. Many people have many different interpretations and some are apt to argue their point of view with earnest. This gives you the most basic interpretation of it’s meaning so that you can start learning and following it. As time goes on you will find that things mean different or more specific things to you and that’s quite all right, so long as the "heart" of the Rede is there that's what matters.