BOOK OF SHADOWS
VOLUME The SIXTH
pp. 2400 -2856
RIDERS OF THE CRYSTAL WIND
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The Parts of the Soul
A Greek System of Chakras
(first draft)
by John Opsopaus
Introduction
This essay resulted from an attempt to find a Greek system of "energy
centers" corresponding to the chakras of Eastern philosophy. Such a
correspondence would help illuminate Greek mysticism and reveal some of
the foundations of the Western Magical Tradition. This goal might seem
to be a shallow exercise in analogies, but there are reasons to expect
a
substantial correspondence. First, the Eastern and Greek systems evolved
out of a common Indo-European culture, so one would expect genetic
correspondences; these connections were likely maintained over the
millennia, since we know the Middle East mediated continual cultural
transfer with both the West and East. Second, there is a certain degree
of objectivity in the system of chakras, as reflected in the physical
body, which would lead to correspondences even in the absence of
cultural contact. The consequence of these two factors is a significant
uniformity in ideas about the Spirit and its connection to the Body
across the Eurasian continent, and even beyond, as documented, for
example, in Onians's _Origins of European Thought_.
How would we know a Greek system of chakras if we saw it? The standard
I have used is that (1) they should be approximately seven energy
centers; (2) they should be approximately located where the chakras are
located; (3) they should have approximately the same "functions" as the
chakras.
It's worth keeping in mind that the chakra system best known in the
West, with seven chakras, is not the only system; some have more than
fourteen (Eliade, 243-5; Murphy, 156). Therefore, we should not expect
an exact correspondence of number, since certain energy centers might or
might not be counted depending on their strength or the "kind" of energy
they concentrate. Furthermore, different systems differ in their exact
placement of the chakras, so likewise we should not expect an exact
correspondence in a Greek system. Nevertheless, it will be apparent that
the Greek system corresponds closely to the system of seven chakras.
My principal source has been Onians, especially Part I and Part II (chh.
1-7), but the overall structure is described in Plato's account of the
"Parts of the Soul" in the Timaeus (69c-73d), which probably embodies
Pythagorean doctrine. In the following I've numbered the energy centers
from the top down with Roman numerals, since this accords better with
Platonic doctrine; however, the chakras are conventionally numbered from
the bottom up, for which I've (appropriately) used Hindu numbers
(so-called Arabic numbers).
I
The Crown of the head (Gk. koruphe, Lat. vertex). Plato said the humans
stand upright because of the connection between the Heavens and the Soul
in their brains. People with especially great power in their heads were
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represented with a nimbus, a halo of flames, around their head (attested
as early as the 3rd cent. BCE in Greece). This center corresponds to
Chakra 7 (at the crown of the head), called Sahasrara, which means
"thousand (-petaled)," an appropriate description of a nimbus.
II
The Brain (Gk. enkephalos, Lat. cerebrum), which contains the psuche
(Gk.) or genios (Lat.). (I use the old Latin spelling "genios" to avoid
confusion with the English "genius." The genios is sometimes called the
anima.) In Homeric times the psuche was taken to be the "Vital Spirit"
or Life Principal (the mind or consciousness was placed in IV, the
chest), corresponding to Skt. asu. The later view, which is found in
Plato and corresponds better to the Eastern system (cf. Skt. atman), is
that the brain is the center of rational thought, the Intellectual
center. In both Homer and Plato the psuche is considered the immortal
part of the Soul. The physical substance corresponding to psuche was
marrow (medulla), especially the cerebrospinal fluid of the brain and
spine, but also in other parts of the body (see below). For this reason
departed souls were thought to appear as snakes, which are all brain and
spine. Scalp and facial hair were considered physical emanations of the
psuche, and so the hair, scalp and chin were considered sacred (hence
the dedication of locks and the touching of the chin or beard in
supplication). This center corresponds to Chakra 6 (at the brow),
called Ajna, which means "authority or command," an appropriate name for
the rational faculty, which Plato said "controls and restrains" the
lower faculties; Onians calls it the Executive function.
III
The Neck (Gk. trachelos, dere; Lat. collum), which Plato called the
"isthmus or boundary" between the Superior, Divine or Immortal Soul and
the Inferior or Mortal Soul. He said that it allows communication
between the two, but prevents the Lower Soul from "polluting" the
Higher. This center corresponds to Chakra 5 (in the throat), called
Visuddha, which means "purgation or purity," that is, "the purging of
the merely animal, physical system" (Campbell, 165).
IV
The Heart and Lungs (Gk. phrenes, Lat. cor), which contain the thumos
(Grk.) or animus (Lat.), which is the Higher part of the Mortal Soul.
In Homeric times the thumos was the Conscious Spirit, the vehicle of
Thought and Feeling (cf. Skt. manas). Later, it was restricted to
feeling, emotion, passion and especially spirit, courage and anger - the
Affective function. This center corresponds to Chakra 4 (at the heart),
called Anahata, which means "not hit" (referring to the mystical sound).
This chakra is associated with prana (Skt.) - vital breath, vital spirit
(Campbell, 164), as are the phrenes with pneuma (Gk.) or spiritus
(Lat.) - breath, spirit. Campbell (164-5) says, "This is the
aspiration, then, of spiritual striving," and "the birth of the
spiritual as opposed to the merely physical life," and likewise the
phrenes are associated with spirit, as opposed to the lower parts, which
are associated with physical needs and desires.
The "little foyer" (the Red Lotus of Eight Petals with the Kalpa Tree)
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below the Heart Chakra corresponds to the diaphragm, which Plato called
the "midriff partition" separating the two parts of the Mortal Soul
(associated with Spirit and Desire, respectively).
V
The Belly (Gk. gaster, Lat. abdomen), between the diaphragm and navel,
is the site of the Lower Part of the Mortal Soul, which is the
Appetitive Soul, which we share with the lower animals and plants; its
function is nutrition and it is the source of Desire (both Nutritional
and, by most accounts, Sexual). This center corresponds to Chakra 3 (at
the navel), called Manipura, which means "city of the shining jewel,"
and its function is "aggressive: to conquer, to consume, to turn
everything into oneself" (Campbell, 159-60), which is a good description
of the Appetitive Soul.
VI
The Gonads (Gk. gonades, Lat. genitalia), representing the Procreative
function. The "marrow," the stuff of which psuche or genios was made,
was the Life Essence; Plato says that in it is made "the bonds of life
which unite the Soul with the Body." This marrow or sap is passed down
the spine, concentrated in the gonads, and is the source of the life of
the offspring. In particular, semen was considered a kind of
cerebrospinal sap. This center corresponds to Chakra 2, called
Svadhisthana, which means "her favorite resort," an apt name for "the
cakra of sexuality" (Campbell, 144).
VII
The Sacrum or Holy Bone (Gk. hieron osteon, Lat. os sacrum), that is,
the base of the spine. Because this was a center of concentration of
the Life Force, Middle Eastern people believed that the entire body
could be regenerated from this bone, and Onians (p. 208) conjectures
that its potency may account for "kiss of shame" (osculum infame) of the
Witches and Templars (and perhaps the Cathars and Waldenses). This
center corresponds to Chakra 1, called Muladhara, which means "root
base," which Campbell (p. 144) associates with "hanging on to life" and
a "reactive psyche," so in both cases we have the grossest form of the
Life Force.
Similarly, the Spine was called the Holy Tube (hiera surinx), which
recalls the Sushumna (Spine), which is likewise considered a channel
(nadi). Likewise the Egyptian Ded Pillar, which represents the spine,
was a symbol of Life. I have not, however, found Greeks correspondents
to the Ida and Pingala nadis.
VIII
The above are the "central" energy concentrations of Greek philosophy,
and it is apparent that they correspond closely to the familiar seven
chakras. The Greeks also recognized "peripheral" energy concentrations
in the hands, thighs and knees (which have a large concentration of
"marrow"). This explains the sacrifice of thigh bones, the use of the
hand (especially the right hand) to exercise executive power, and
clasping the knees when beseeching. (The knee - Gk. gonu, Lat. genu -
was especially associated with the Life Force - genios - and with
procreation or "generation"; cf. genital, genetic, gonad, etc.) So far
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as I know, corresponding chakras are not recognized in Eastern thought.
As a general rule of thumb, Spirit, of one sort or another, is most
concentrated where the flesh is thinnest (Timaeus 75a), thus, in the
head, chest, sacrum, knees and hands.
Summary
No. English Greek Latin Function Chakra No.
_______________________________________________________________________
I Crown Koruphe Vertex Illumination Sahasrara 7
II Brain Enkephalos Cerebrum Intellection Ajna 6
III Neck Trachelos Collum Purification Visuddha 5
IV Heart/Lungs Phrenes Cor Affection Anahata 4
V Belly Gaster Abdomen Appetition Manipura 3
VI Gonads Gonades Genitalia Procreation Svadhisthana 2
VII Sacrum Hieron Osteon Os Sacrum Basic Life Muladhara 1
References
Campbell, Joseph. (1990). Transformations of Myth Through Time. New
York: Harper & Row.
Eliade, Mircea. (1969). Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, tr. Willard R.
Trask. Bollingen Series LVI. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Mead, G. R. S. (1967). The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western
Tradition. Theosophical Publishing House.
Murphy, Michael. (1992). The Future of the Body: Explorations Into
the Further Evolution of Human Nature. New York: Jeremy
Tarcher/Putnam.
Onians, Richard Broxton. (1951). The Origins of European Thought About
the Body, the Mind, the Soul, the World, Time, and Fate. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Poortman, J. J. (1978). Vehicles of Consciousness: The Concept of
Hylic Pluralism. Vols. 1-4. Theosophical Publishing House.
finis
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RITUS OLYMPICUS PENTAGRAMMOU MINOR AD EXPELLENDUM
(c) 1993, John Opsopaus
Preface
The following is an adaptation of the Lesser Banishing Ritual
of the Pentagram to the Graeco-Roman Tradition, and so it is
called the "Olympic Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram."
Such a "translation" is possible because the LBRP is an
enactment in a Qabalistic framework of certain shamanic
practices that are nearly universal. Once the underlying
shamanic cosmology has been identified, it's relatively
straight-forward to reexpress the ritual in the terms of
another cosmology, such as the Graeco-Roman.
I would welcome criticism of the result, especially from
Qabalists and Ceremonial Magicians. Criticism/correction of
my Latin and Greek composition will also be appreciated.
Finally, I beg readers to forgive the Early Modern English,
which I've used to add dignity to the text.
The Ritual follows in summary form; a separate posting will
contain a fully annotated text. This information should make
clear which aspects of the ritual follow from Ancient
Tradition, which come from more recent Magical Traditions, and
which are a result of my speculation or arbitrary choice; such
information is all too often missing from Neopagan recon-
structions. If anyone knows of a similar adaptation, please
let me know.
Gratias vobis ago,
John Opsopaus
72747.154@compuserve.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Ritus Olympicus
Pentagrammou Minor
ad Expellendum
The Olympic Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
which is
The Traditional Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
Adapted to the Graeco-Roman Tradition
(c)1993, John Opsopaus
I. The Opening Tau Cross
i. Close thine eyes, and by thy breath fan thou the Fire,
which awakeneth the Serpent and the Eagle. Allow thyself to
grow beyond all bounds of space, until the Universe is
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within thee. Be thou as a God; be thou as a Goddess.
ij. Draw thou down the Fire of Heaven into thy Heart, and
say:
"From Celestial Fire"
"Ab Igne Caelesti"
"Apo tou Ouraniou Puros"
[)Apo\ tou= )Oura/niou Puros/]
[Suggested gestures for the preceding step: Raise your arms
into a horizontal, cross position, with palms up (in Celestial
Invocation). Bring them together above your head, palm to
palm, and then draw the Celestial Fire down to your heart,
while saying "From Celestial Fire."]
[The words to be spoken by the practitioner are given in
English, Latin and Greek. In an attempt to combine
readability and accuracy, I've given the Greek text two ways,
in a simple but approximate Roman transcription, and in "Beta
code," a standard ASCII representation of Greek including all
the accents, breathings, etc. Beta code transcriptions are
enclosed in square brackets. The Beta code transcriptions
should be reasonably comprehensible with the following
information: ")" and "(" represent smooth and rough
breathing, respectively; "/", "\" and "=" represent acute,
grave and circumflex accents, respectively; "|" is iota
subscript.]
iij. Guide thou the bright Beam downward, until it stirreth
the Subterranean Waters of the Abyss and bringeth Them to
life; and while so doing, say thou:
"To Watery Abyss"
"Ad Aquosum Profundum"
"Eis ten Hudroessan Abusson"
[)Ei\s th\n (Udro/essan )/Abusson]
[Suggested gesture: Keep the palms together and move them
down in front of the groin. Then separate the hands and hold
them to the sides and slightly forward, with palms down (in
Chthonic Invocation).]
iv. Direct thou the beam from thy heart through thy left
shoulder, until it stretcheth to the Moon, and say:
"By Way of Earth"
"Via Terrena"
"Kat' Hodon Chthonion"
[Kat' (Odo\n Xqo/nion]
[Suggested gesture: Raise the left hand up to your chest;
then extend your arm into horizontal position, with the palm
forward.]
v. Direct thou the beam from thy heart through thy right
shoulder, until it stretcheth to the Sun, and say:
"By Way of Air"
"Via Aeria"
"Kat' Hodon Aitherion"
[Kat' (Odo\n )Aiqe/rion]
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[Suggested gesture: Raise the right arm to the chest and then
into a horizontal position, with forward palm.]
vi. Feel thou the Sacred Tau Cross that blazeth inside
thee. Now cross thy arms over thy Heart, and say:
"Abiding always in the Center. So be it!"
"Semper in Medio manens. Esto!" or "Fiat!"
"En Omphaloi aei menon" (masc.) or "menousa" (fem.). "Esto!"
[)En )Omfalw=| a)ei\ me/nwn] (masc.) or [me/nousa] (fem.).
[)/Estw!]
[Suggested gesture: Bring your arms together and cross them
over your chest.]
vij. As thou makest this gesture the Moon and Sun will
stand together above thy head, nor will they ever move from
there. Moon over Sun and Sun over Tau Cross; thou art the
Holy Caduceus. Thou hast become the Center of the World,
for the Cosmic Axis runneth through thy spine; on thy left
standeth the Path of the Moon, and on thy right the Path of
the Sun, above thee shineth the Cosmic Pole, below thee
lieth the Abyss.
viij. Thou standest upon the Sacred Mountain, the World
Navel, under which hideth the Watery Abyss. At thy back
groweth the Tree of Life, which stretcheth over thy head,
the Navel Cord, for the Mountain and Tree are the Cosmic
Pillar, which supporteth the four Quarters of the Heavens.
From Calypso's Cave between the Tree's roots, which
penetrate the Abyss, are the four springs, which flow to the
four Quarters of the World, and they run with water, honey,
milk and wine. Around the World Tree's trunk coileth thrice
and half again the Serpent. In the Cosmic Tree's leaves
percheth the Eagle of Zeus, guarding the Horn of Amalthea,
from which Nectar floweth into the Libation Bowl, the
Bountiful Breast, which overfloweth, raining Nectar on the
World. Ambrosia floweth up the trunk of the Tree from the
Deep. Illumination cometh from Above and Growth cometh from
Below. The World Tree is the Tree of Destiny and Its leaves
are the Book of Fate, for as they fall, so fall to earth the
winged souls of the folk, ever singing in its foliage.
ix. Divine Helen, Leto's Daughter, with large breasts,
liveth in the Bountiful Cosmic Tree, for she is Its Spirit;
and Her Brothers, the Dioskouroi, Sons of Zeus [Dios Kouroi]
the All-Shining [Pamphaes], the Heavenly Twins of Leto,
command the Sacred Paths on either side. For Castor, who
resideth underground, knoweth the Lunar Discipline and
controlleth the Way of Descent, and Polydeuces, who liveth
above, is Master of the Solar Discipline and controlleth the
Way of Ascent.
x. For learn thou this about the Way of Ascent. It is
under the jurisdiction of Zeus, the Sky Shaker, who giveth
fertilizing rain and nourishing sunlight. He holdeth the
Lightning Bolt of Illumination, and His lightning descendeth
from the Sky. The Way of Ascent is to climb Scylla's
Mountain, which riseth into the clouds, nor can its peak
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ever be seen. Prometheus or Apollo will show thee the Way.
Thy Helper in this journey is the Horse Pegasos, but also
the Soaring Eagle, Dove and Goose. Then wilt thou break
through the Vault of the Heaven, and going through the
Celestial Pole thou wilt ascend the Heavens. For this is
the Way of Light, the Path by Day, the Sun's Way, the Path
of the Sage.
xi. And learn thou this about the Way of Descent. It is
under the jurisdiction of Poseidon, the Earth Shaker, who
giveth fresh water from springs, but also floods and
earthquakes. He holdeth the Trident of Ecstasy and His
lightning leapeth up from the Earth. The Way of Descent is
by the precipice opposite Scylla's cliff, which is the lower
of the two, and from it groweth the Sacred Fig Tree. Climb
thou down from this Tree to Charybdis, by which thou wilt be
drawn into the Watery Abyss. Circe or Herakles will show
thee the Way past the Dog and Gatekeeper. Thy Helper in
this journey is the Serpent Python, but also the Raging Lion
and Bull. Then wilt thou break through the Vault of the
Abyss and, going down the Well, thou wilt descend through
its levels. For this is the Way of Darkness, the Path by
Night, the Moon's Way, the Path of the Mage.
xij. But the Wise know that the Way Up and the Way Down are
the same, for they are both on the Cosmic Pillar, and
sometimes our task demandeth that we go up it, and sometimes
it demandeth that we go down it. When Duty calleth, we
travel by Day or Night as is the need. Ask thou Hermes for
guidance, for he frequenteth the Navel.
II. Pentagrams of the Quarters
xiij. This is the way thou wilt draw the Shining Pentagrams
that wardeth each Quarter. The first ray goeth from the
lower left to the top, and each ray continueth from the
last. And as thou makest each ray, sing a letter of the
Name of the Pentagram.
xiv(a). In Greek the Pentagram hath the Name HUGIEIA
[U(GI/EIA], which meaneth Soundness or Wholeness, so sing
thou the sounds:
"Huuuuuuu, Gggggggg, Iiiiiiih, Aaaaaay, Aaaaaaah."
xiv(b). In Latin the Pentagram hath the Name SALUS, which
meaneth Soundness or Welfare, so sing thou the sounds:
"Ssssssss, Aaaaaaah, Llllllll, Uuuuuuuu, Ssssssss."
xiv(c). Though in English we label the Pentagram WHOLE or
SOUND, its spoken Name is WHOLENESS, so sing thou the
sounds:
"Hooooooo, Llllllll, Nnnnnnnn, Eeeeeeeh, Ssssssss."
xv. Now go thou to the East and make the Pentagram. As
thou callest:
"Jupiter" or "Zeus"
"Iuppiter"
"Zeus" [Zeu/s]
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hurl thou His Thunderbolt through the center of the
Pentagram, and see it fly away to Infinity.
[Iuno / Hera [(/Hra] might also be appropriate for the East
(She is not an Earth Goddess), in which case you should throw
Her Cuckoo-bearing Sceptre, which represents the Celestial
Spirit nesting on the top of the World Tree. (Zeus first came
to Hera in the form of a Cuckoo.)]
xvi. Now with thy Staff forge thou the Fiery Ring, drawing
it from the center of the Eastern Pentagram and stretching
it to the South, where thou wilt make another Pentagram, but
call:
"Vesta" or "Hestia"
"Vesta" [pron. "Westa"]
"Hestia" [(Esti/a]
and throw thou Her Burning Circle.
xvij. Then to the West:
"Neptune" or "Poseidon"
"Neptunus"
"Poseidon" [Poseidw/n]
Hurl thou His Trident.
xviij. Then to the North:
"Ceres" or "Demeter"
"Ceres" [pron. "Keres"]
"Demeter" [Dhmh/thr]
Throw thou Her Torch.
[Pluto / Hades [(/Aidhs] would also be appropriate for the
North, in which case his Helmet of Invisibility should be
projected through the Pentagram. Hades' name may mean "the
Unseen" ["(/Aidhs" < "a) idh/s"].]
xix. Then draw thou the Fiery Ring back to its beginning,
so it burneth on every side. Then will the Barrier expand
above and below until thou art surrounded by the Glowing
Sphere.
[When projecting the Four Weapons through the Pentagrams, the
practitioner might find it helpful to make an appropriate
gesture: as though throwing a dart for Zeus's Keraunos, as
though throwing a frisbee for Hestia's Burning Ring, as though
throwing a javelin for Poseidon's Trident, as though throwing
a knife for Demeter's Torch.]
III. Wards of the Quarters
xx. Now raise again thy arms so thou art the Sacred Tau and,
focusing thine attention before thee (Eastward), say:
"Before, Apollo"
"Ante, Apollo"
"Prosthen, Apollon"
[Pro/sqen, )Apo/llwn]
Apollo will appear before thee in all His Glory, Bow in hand,
facing thee. Then will He turn His back to watch the Eastern
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Quarter.
[Mercurius/Hermes [(Ermh=s], with His Caduceus, would also be
appropriate for the East.]
xxi. West: Focusing thine attention behind thee, say:
"Behind, Diana/Artemis"
"Post, Diana"
"Opisthen, Artemis"
[)/Opisqen, )/Artemis]
Artemis will appear with Her Bow. Then will She turn away to
watch the West.
[Venus/Aphrodite [)Afrodi/th], arising from the waves and
holding Her Zona (Girdle), would also be appropriate for the
West.]
xxij. South: Focusing thine attention to thy right, say:
"On the right, Minerva/Athena"
"Dextra, Minerva"
"Epidexia, Athena."
[)Epide/cia, )Aqhna=]
Athena will appear with Her Aegis and Spear, and turn to
watch the South.
[Mars / Ares [)/Arhs] (with Shield and Sword) or Volcanus /
Hephaistos [(/Hfaistos] (with Hammer and Tongs) would also be
appropriate for the South; Mars was also an Italic vegetation
God, and so might be evoked in the North.]
xxiij. North: Focusing thine attention to thy left, say:
"On the left, Bacchus/Dionysos"
"Sinistra, Bacchus"
"Ep' aristera, Dionusos"
[)Ep' a)ristera/, Dio/nusos]
Dionysus will appear with His Thyrsus, and then turn to
watch the North.
[Pan [Pa/n], with His Pipes, would also be appropriate for the
North. Pan may seem an unlikely Ward, but when Athens honored
Him and asked Him to help defend them from the Persians, he
did so (Herodt. VI.105.2-3).]
xxiv. In thy mind, thank all the Wards of the Quarters for
Their protection.
IV. The Macrocosm in the Microcosm
xxv. Spread thy feet apart and assume thou the form of the
Sacred Pentagram, which Pythagoras hath called Hugieia
(Salus, Whole/Sound). When the Pentagram flameth around
thee, say:
"For around flameth the Pentagram."
"Nam circa flagrat Pentagrammon."
"Peri men gar phlegei to Pentagrammon"
[Peri\ me\n ga\r fle/gei to\ Penta/grammon]
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[If you prefer "For around flame the Pentagrams," then use:
"Nam circa flagrant Pentagramma"
"Peri men gar phlegousi ta Pentagramma"
[Peri\ me\n ga\r fle/gousi ta\ Penta/gramma]
xxvi. When the Sacred Hexagram shineth within thee, say:
"And within shineth the Six-rayed Star."
"Atque intra lucet Stella Sexradiata."
"Entos de lampei ho Hexaktinotos Aster."
[)Ento\s de\ la/mpei o( E(caktinwto\s )Asth/r.]
[If you prefer your Hexagram shining above rather than within,
then say "super" instead of "intra," or "Huper" [(Upe/r]
instead of "Entos." However, I think it's better to have it
within (see the notes for the reason).]
xxvij. The Pentagram signifieth the Microcosm, and the
Hexagram signifieth the Macrocosm. Thus the Macrocosm
shineth within the Illuminated Microcosm.
V. The Closing Tau Cross
xxviij. Repeat thou the Tau Cross as it was at the beginning.
[The following alternative gestures incorporate the relation
of the elements embodied in the Hexagram: As you recite the
text of the Tau Cross, (1) begin with arms crossed, right over
left, on your chest; (2) raise your right arm to the Celestial
Fire, (3) lower your left arm to the Watery Abyss, (4) let the
Fire draw up the Water to yield Earth, by moving your left arm
up to your chest and out to the left, the Way of Earth; (5)
let the Water draw down the Fire to yield Air, by moving your
right arm down to your chest and out to your right, the Way of
Air; (6) cross your arms over your chest, indicating the
Reconciliation, Union and Balance of the Oppositions (Bivium),
Worlds (Trivium) and Elemental Quarters (Quadrivium). I must
admit, however, that these gestures seem somewhat awkward.]
xxix. Thou hast made for thyself a Sacred Space at the
World's Navel. Ascending on thy Right is the Light Path and
descending on thy Left is the Dark Path, but remember thou
that the Wise One knoweth that the Way Up and the Way Down are
the same and that together they make the one Path of Wisdom.
So must it be.
finis
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THE FARMER AND THE GODDESS - A MODERN STORY OF REBIRTH
The night was quiet and peaceful, with only the occasional call of
a whippoorwill to break the tranquil silence. The Moon was an
iridescent ball of silver perched high in the heavens, illuminating
the Earth below. The sky, a lovely shade of midnight blue, was
sparsely speckled with the twinkle of stars. I peered out my
window, enchanted by the beauty of the night. As my eyes wandered,
they came to rest upon the corn field - the corn field that had
broken my very heart.
In the beginning, I had worked patiently and diligently tending the
soil. I tilled it - turning it over and over, so that the new
could surface and the old could rest. I carefully pulled away the
weeds and the remnants of the old crop to make the field ready for
new planting. I fertilized and nurtured it, smoothed and moistened
it. Day after day, I toiled to make it ready. Finally, I plowed
it into even rows and lovingly planted it.
Every day, I tended the seed and watched for new sprouts.
Tenaciously, I ripped the weeds from Earth that would rob the seeds
of the nutrients necessary for their growth. And then one day, I
saw it - a single, solitary sprout that had pushed its way through
the soil! Within the week, the entire field was covered with a
very thin mesh of green, and I felt a joy in my heart that words
cannot describe! The hard work, the aching muscles, and the tender
care with which I had nurtured the field was not in vain - the
Earth which I loved had given birth, and was alive in the greening
of the seed I had sown.
Daily, I worked in the field, delighting in the growth of the corn
- revelling in its freshness - exulting in the part I had played in
its birth. The rains came down, drenching the earth and the roots
grew deep. The sun shone brightly on the young plants and they
grew tall, reaching for the sky. Ears began to form on the stalks,
and all was well with the crop.
But then the drought arrived, and the rains came no more. The sun
still beamed brightly, and the roots moved deeper and deeper into
the Earth in their desperate quest to find water. Alas, there was
not a single drop left with which they could quench their thirst.
The once luxuriant green leaves began to yellow and wither. The
stalks which had stood so proudly against the sky began to shrivel
and crack, and the tender ears, so newly born, dried up in death.
Yes, the corn which I had helped to birth - that which I had loved
so dearly - was gone. Dried up. Dead.
A tear fell from my eye as I stood looking at the field that night,
remembering. A gentle breeze rustled through the old and withered
stalks as I wiped away the tear. And then...I saw something! Or
was it someone? Slowly and silently I crept toward the corn field
to take a better look. I felt my heart beating faster and faster,
as panic began to consume me. After all, it was nearly midnight
and too late for visitors! Whomever was in the field was obviously
up to no good, and I wanted them to leave immediately! My legs
moved faster and faster - more quickly than I had dreamed they were
capable - until I was, indeed, on a dead run! When I reached the
old oak tree that shaded the northern edge of the field, I opened
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my mouth to shout my displeasure at the trespasser; however, I fell
silent as my eyes focused on the sight, and my mouth gaped wide.
For there, in the center of the corn field, was a young woman in
white - her hair as gold as the maize - glowing in the shimmering
iridescence of the moonlight!
Questions ravaged my tired brain, as I tried to assess the
situation and size up the intruder. Who was She? What was She
doing there? Surely She knew She was trespassing - and most
certainly She knew that it was illegal! As much as I wished to
call out to Her, I was mesmerized by Her very presence and found
that I could say nothing. Helplessly, I watched as She moved
through the rows of death. She stopped to caress a dry and
withered leaf, and then smiling, held it to her cheek. Gently, She
reached out and wrapped Her arms about the cracked, brown stalk,
hugging it closely to Her breast. She released the stalk and bent
down to look at one of the ears - perfectly formed, but shriveled
in its deathly demise. Quickly, She snapped the ear from its
stalk, tugged away its husk and swiftly moved toward the outside
perimeter of the field.
Holding the ear of corn high above Her golden head, She began to
dance upon the barren Earth. As if in slow motion, She twirled
about the outside edges of the field, as she softly hummed an
unfamiliar tune. Round and round the field She danced, picking up
momentum as She worked Her way toward the center. Louder and
louder She sang, the volume increasing as Her feet flew faster and
continued to spiral toward the center. Within the matter of a few
seconds, She had become a whirling dervish - dancing with such wild
abandon that the kernels of corn were loosed from their cob, flying
helter-skelter across the field! She glistened in the moonlight as
droplets of perspiration formed upon Her body, and in the frenzy of
Her dance, they too, were flung upon the Earth. Her feet and voice
reached the ultimate crescendo at the center of the corn field, and
She fell upon the ground in total exhaustion.
All was silent. The sounds of the nocturnal creatures had been
stilled. All was enveloped in an unnatural hush - as if time
itself, had stopped. She lay on the Earth, unbreathing, unmoving,
immobile - as still as Death, itself! I stared at Her in horror,
the panic which I had forgotten, rushing back into my brain with
full force. Was She alright? Good Heavens! Was She dead??
Finally, I gathered my wits about me, found my feet and rushed
toward the center of the corn field, where She had fallen in
collapse. My heart beating wildly, I reached out to Her - but She
was gone! She had disappeared into the very ether! All that was
left in Her place was a single corn cob, void of its kernels - the
kernels which had flung from their resting place in the midst of
the Lady's spiral dance.
The sun was shining hotly on my face as I rubbed my sleepy eyes
into total alertness. Where was I? This didn't feel like my bed!
What was causing this blinding light? I was soaked to the bone!
Just what the hell was happening here? Cautiously, I opened my
eyes and surveyed my surroundings. To my dismay, I was lying
smack-dab in the middle of the corn field and my head was resting
in a rather large mud puddle. Clenched tightly in my fist, like
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some precious jewel in need of protection, was a solitary corn cob.
I scrambled to my feet and tried in desperation to collect my
thoughts. What was I doing here? Had I lost my mind?
And then...I remembered! I remembered the cornfield in the
moonlight - the Lady and the dance. I also remembered how Her
drops of perspiration had dropped to the ground in the frenzy of
Her movements. I looked at my feet and the Earth beneath them.
Joy and wonder rose in my heart. It had rained! Merciful Heavens!
It had rained - the Earth was soaked with moisture - the drought
was over!
Gleefully, I ran through the cornfield, feeling my bare toes dig
into the wet Earth - the same Earth which had been so cracked and
dry and barren just yesterday. I ran in joy. I ran in ecstasy. I
ran in sheer celebration of the soil's return to richness - and
then, I stopped dead in my tracks. Something was amiss. Something
had changed. Something was quite unlike it had been before.
Scanning the field, I realized that it was once again covered with
delicate green mesh of newly sprouting corn! In awe, I reached
down to cradle a newly-formed sprout and as my fingers touched the
verdant green leaf, a feminine voice began to speak:
"You were born of me! You are my child and at death you shall
return to me. Fear not of death, dear one, for within its
realm I shall bring you new life! Just as the corn lives again
- so shall it be with you! For all that falls shall rise
again, and that which dies shall be blessed with the gift of
rebirth - the gift of My love!"
-Kalioppe-
The Chocolate Ritual
By: Buckmeister Thu 30 Sep 93
Materials required: On the altar there are brown candles; a Tootsie Roll
(the great big one-as the athame); a large glass with milk in it,(the
chalice); a small dish of Nestle's Quick and a spoon; a small dish of
chocolate sprinkles; a plate of cupcakes and some Yoo-Hoo along with a
goblet.
CLEANSE THE SACRED SPACE:
(Take the small bowl of chocolate sprinkles)
Chocolate sprinkles where thou art cast No calories in thy presence
last. Let no fat adhere to me And as I will So Mote It BE!
Nestle's Quick where thou art cast Turn this milk to chocolate, fast.
Let all good things come to me, and make my milk all chocolatey!
CAST THE CIRCLE(using a toosie roll):
CALL THE QUARTERS:
Mousse of the East, Fluffy one! great prince of the palace of dessert.
Be present, we pray thee, And guard this circle from all moochers
Approaching from the East.
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Fondue of the South, Molten One! Great prince of the palace decadence.
Be present we pray thee, and guard this circle from all diet Approaching
from the South.
Cocoa of the West, Satisfying One! Great prince of the palace of thirst.
Be present we pray thee, And guard this circle from all carob Approach-
ing from the West.
Rocky Road of the North, Cold One! Great prince of the palace of
crunchy. Be present we pray thee, And guard this circle from all cheap
imitations Approaching from the North.
MAIN RITUAL:
HANDMAIDEN(Henceforth known as the Swiss Miss): Listen to the words of
the Mother of Chocolate; who was of old called; Godiva, Ethel M, Sara
Lee, Nestle, Mrs. See, and by many other names:
HPS: Whenever you have one of those cravings, once in a while and
better it be when your checkbook is full, then shall you assemble in a
great public place and bring offerings of money to the spirit of Me, who
is Queen of all Goodies.
In the Mall shall you assemble, you who have eaten all your
chocolate and are hungry for more. To you I shall bring Good Things for
your tongue.
And you shall be free from depression, and as a sign that you are
truly free, you shall have chocolate smears on your cheeks, and you
shall munch, nosh, snack, feast, and make yummy noises, all in my
presence. For mine is the ecstacy of phenylalanine(FEEN-EL-AL-A-NEEN),
and mine is also the Joy on Earth, yea, even into High Orbit for my law
is "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand."
Keep clean your fingers, carry Wet Ones always, let none stop you
aside. For mine is the secret that opens your mouth, and mine is the
taste that puts a smile on your lips and comfy padding pounds on your
hips.
I am the Gracious Goddess who gives the gift of joy unto the tummies
of men and women. Upon earth, I give knowledge of all things delicious,
and beyond death.......well, I can't do much there. Sorry about that.
I demand only your money in sacrifice; for behold, chocolate is a
business and you have to pay for those truffles before you eat them.
SWISS MISS: Hear now the words of the Goodie Goddess, she in the
dust of whose feet are the cheap imitations, whose body graces candy
racks and finer stores everywhere:
I, who am the beauty of chocolate chips, and the sastifying softness
of big bars, the mystery of how they ge the filling inside of truffles,
and fill the hearts of all but Philistines with desire, call unto thy
soul to arise and come unto me. For I am the soul of candy; from me do
all confections spring, and unto me all of you shall return, again....
and again....and again...... and again.
Before my smeared face, beloved of Women and Men, thine innermost
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divine self shall be enfolded in the rapture of overdose.
Let my taste be within thy mouth that rejoices. For behold, all
acts of yumminess and pleasure are my rituals. Therefore let there be
gooeyness and mess, crispness and crackling, big slabs and bite size
peices, peanut butter and chocolate covered cherries all within you.
And you who think to seek me, know that your seeking and yearning
shall avail you not unless you know the Mystery; "We shall sell no
chocolate until you pay for it."
For behold; I have been with you since you were just a baby, and I
am that which is attained at nearly any shop in the land.
Messed Be.
SWISS MISS: Hear now the words of the Chocolate God, who was called
Ghirardelli, Milton Snavely Hershey, Bosco, Fudgesicle, and by many
other names.
HP: I am the strength of the candy rack, and the peice that fell on
the floor, but looks like it might not have gotten too dirty, and the
deepest bitterness of dark chocolate. No matter how you try to resist
the call of chocolate, I will hunt you out and I will become your sacred
prey. I am warmth of hot cocoa in the dead of winter, and the call of
the road that leads you to that really expensive Godiva store downtown.
I give you my creatures, the fire of love of chocolate, the power of
jaw strength to bite off a piece of that frozen Milky Way bar, and the
shelter of Haagen Daz when that big date didn't work out. You are dear
to me, and I instill in you my power of a piece of chocolate that you
had forgotten you had hidden, and the power of vision and magickal sight
with which you can spot a candy counter a mile away.
By the powers of the half melted bar in the glorious sun, I charge
you, by the darkest depths of the bottom of the cocoa pot and lingering
smell of bittersweet chocolate, I charge you, and by the beauty of a
perfectly swirled vanilla butter cream, I charge you.
Follow your heart and your instinct, wherever they lead you. The
wealth in your pocket can buy you treats that a Mayan king would envy.
Take joy in that first bite of lecithin emulsfied cocoa, and in the last
satisfying slurp of Yoo-Hoo. Yet you must be wary of deciet. Eat not
of that which is called "Baking Chocolate" for it is vile and bitter.
Lastly, always remember to leave some chocolate behind you. Be not
greedy, but let yourself be known as a connoisseur. Leave a little for
someone else.
I am with you always, just over your shoulder, or around the next
corner. I am the Lord of Chocolate, and when you have reached the end of
your hoard, I will never be farther away from you that that 7-Eleven on
the corner. I am the spirit of the Wild Child; the Inner Child who can
never get quite enough. If you are a true chocolate lover, then your
soul and mine are interwined.
CUPCAKES & YOO-HOO:
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(The blessing of the Yoo-Hoo)
HP: Be it known that milk chocolate is not better that dark
chocolate.
HPS: Nor is dark chocolate better than milk chocolate.
HP: For both are better than the falsely named "White
Chocolate."
HPS: And neither one is carob.
HP: As the frosting is to the cupcake.
HPS: So the creamy nougat is to the Milky Way Bar.
BOTH: And when they are eaten, they are yummy in truth, for there is
no greater snack in all the world than one made of chocolate.
(The blessing of the cupcakes)
HP: Frosting is keen,
HPS: And the frosting is neat.
BOTH: Great Goddess! Let's eat!
Feasting and drinking(chocolate liquer, if possible), music and
dance.
Dismiss Quarters.
HPS: Oh, ye mighty goodies of the _______________, We thank you
for attending our rites and guarding our circle and ere you depart for
your sweet and sticky realms, We say unto you, "N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestles
makes the very best."
ALL: "Chooooc-laaate."
(After all the quarters have been dismissed, give a final, satisfy-
ing belch at the East.)
Close circle.
AUDIENCE WITH THE KEEPER OF WISDOM
I sat on the cobblestone bridge, listening to the ancient song of
the rushing waters in the brook below and contemplating the day's
events. I had awakened this morning with the strange anticipation and
wariness that generally accompanies the prediction of important
occurrences in one's life. All day, I had gone about my usual routine,
waiting and watching for something out of the ordinary - but to no
avail. There had been nothing of signifance...just another normal day
filled with the dull mundanity of household chores, grocery shopping and
bill paying. Nothing more.
I let out a heavy sigh, and turned my attention to the sheep
grazing in the lush meadow. I pondered their lives and wondered if they
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ever felt the same anticipation I had experienced this morning. I
smiled at the foolishness of my thoughts, knowing full well that the
creatures of the field were content enough in the simpleness which life
had to offer - ample food and water was all they required. No, the
peaceful flock below couldn't be bothered with such nonsense. Maybe I
should follow their lead and just turn my thoughts to the more mundane
side of life.
Looking down at my feet as they dangled over the rushing water, I
became aware of the myriad of color that was reflected from the setting
sun. Mesmerized by the beauty of the kaleidoscopic dance, I watched
intently as the oranges, reds and purples whirled and twirled with each
other on the surface of the brook. The rich shades of the sunset
gradually faded into pastels and then, the irridescence of shimmering
silver. An owl hooted nearby, jolting me fully back into reality.
Good Goddess! Night had fallen! How long had I been there, lost in the
absurdity of human thought? Obviously much too long, from the looks of
things.
I hurriedly scrambled to my feet, shivering as I gathered my shawl
about my shoulders. The night had turned cool and damp, and the misty
veil of fog was rolling into the valley at a rapid pace. The delicate
breeze of early day had been replaced a heavy west wind, and my hair was
whipping about my face and shoulders. Great! There was going to be a
storm, and here I was - in the middle of nowhere - likely to be caught
in it!
As I neared the end of the bridge, I realized that it was too
late. The fog had settled into a mist so dense and heavy, that I
couldn't see my hand in front of my face. There was no use in searching
for cover, as the visibility factor was nil. Aside from that, it was
quite dangerous to wander blindly through the valley mists - even folks
who knew the valley territory very well knew better than to try it.
Several years earlier, one of the area residents had been caught in the
steamy vapors while in search of a missing lamb, and had been found
hours later - miles from the valley - still wandering about looking for
his home. I cursed under my breath as I settled back onto the bridge to
wait out the fog.
No sooner than I'd gotten situated, the fog began to dissipate
nearly as quickly as it had descended. The wind was still blowing in
fierce gusts, but at least now, I reasoned, I should be able to find my
way home. Without another thought, I hurried across the bridge and onto
the path below. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the
silvery moonlight reflected on the water. Suddenly, I realized that
something was wrong - genuinely wrong! The brook had ceased to run!
Disbelieving, I rubbed my eyes and looked again. No, I wasn't seeing
things! Despite the heavy winds and the decline of its course, the
surface of the brook hadn't so much as a ripple. Goddess! The surface
was as smooth as glass! Shock! That was it - I must be in shock! I
began to conjure all sorts of excuses as to why my eyes were playing
tricks on me.
But then...it happened! The winds began to blow from all four
directions at once, their forces concentrated at the center of the still
and lifeless brook. A bit of mist was caught up in the forces of the
gale - twirling this way and that, becoming larger in size and stronger
in density - until all at once, the winds were hushed in deathly
2418
silence. There She stood - a beautiful and terrible visage - atop the
glassy water. Robed and Hooded. Dark and black. Faceless. It was
She! The Devourer of Souls. The Keeper of Wisdom. She Who stirred the
Cauldron of Rebirth. The Shapeshifter. I shivered in fear and
anticipation.
From beneath the hood, She gazed upon me with the invisible eyes
that saw all. Silently, She fixed Her eyes on mine and bade me not to
turn away. Deeper and deeper into Her eyes I went. Deeper. Deeper
still. A myriad of jewel-tone colors began to swirl in my very being -
faster, darker, brighter - until I was the color and it was me! I began
to feel ill. I knew I should turn away, but Her strength was such that
I seemed incapable of the slightest movement. Just when I thought I
would faint from terror, there was a tumultuous clap of thunder and I
realized that it was too late. Goddess! My entire being had been
consumed by Hers!
The world began to change around me, and I found myself suddenly
back in time. I witnessed firsthand the Tale of the Taliesin - which
heretofore I had always thought a mere fairytale - and watched in horror
as the Three Drops of Wisdom flew from the Cauldron and spilled onto
Gwion Bach, imbuing him with infinite knowledge. I was taken on the
frenzied chase between Cerridwen and Gwion, and felt my mortal body
contort and twist with every shape that was shifted. As the greyhound,
I tracked the hare who was Gwion. My muscles flexed again, and I dove
into the water as the otter, chasing the salmon who just moments before,
had been the hare. Gwion then took to the sky as a sparrow, and in
flight, I swiftly pursued him as the hawk. I watched knowingly as
Gwion, thinking himself quite safe, smugly turned himself into a single
grain of wheat. And it was I, who in sorrow and pleasure, shifted into
the black hen and supped upon that grain. I felt the swell of pregnancy
and the pains of labor as I delivered the new-born babe. For the very
first time, I began to understand...*really* understand!
Suddenly, I was once again caught up in the rapid whirl of color.
There was a blinding streak of blue-black lightning and after a moment
of excruciating pain, I was hurled forcefully from the essence of the
Goddess and back into my own! So frightening and traumatic was this
experience, I wasn't really sure whether I was alive or dead! I drew a
long breath, blinked my eyes and gingerly flexed my toes. Apparently,
I was allright and everything seemed to be working okay! I quickly
dusted myself off and got to my feet.
We stood looking at each other - I from the bank, and She from her
realm atop the water. Unexpectedly, She opened Her hand and held it out
to me. Inside were three drops of liquid, sparkling like diamonds in
the night. She tossed Her hand to the North, and one of the drops
splashed into the water, forming a very large circle - the Circle of
Causes and Necessity. I drank of its earthy waters and tasted the
poignant flavor of lessons learned, as pieces of my life flashed before
my eyes.
She cast a second drop to the West, and a smaller circle appeared:
The Circle of Blessedness. As I carefully sipped of its waters, my
spirit left my body and for a split second, stood on the water facing
the Wisdom Keeper before re-entering its physical realm.
The third drop, She flung cautiously to the East. From it, too,
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a circle materialized - though much smaller than the rest: The Circle of
the Infinite. As I bent to partake of its knowledge, She stopped me
with Her upraised hand. I understood. Gently, I dipped my finger into
the waters, and for a moment saw all the knowlege that is and ever will
be!
At that very moment, She raised Her hands skyward and Her form
shifted into that of a great red dragon. Opening Her arms, She moved
to the South and lovingly gathered all three circles to Her breast. The
winds gusted from all four directions again, their forces centered
toward the spot where She stood. I watched as She twirled furiously in
the wind and in a matter of seconds, She was gone. The winds died
quickly to a gentle breeze. The brook which had been so deathly still,
quickly burst forth with new life. All was as it had been.
It was just after daybreak, and the promise of a new beginning was
well underway. I sat on the cobblestone bridge to contemplate with awe
and wonder the night's events. I felt exhilarated, happy and humbled
all at once! I had been visited by the She, The Stirrer of the
Cauldron. I had been devoured and rebirthed again from Her body! I was
newly alive with the mysteries she had unfolded to me! I finally
understood! I jumped up from my seat and blew a kiss to the Triple
Goddess in thanksgiving, then happily skipped across the bridge.
As I neared the path toward home, the sheep were being let into
the meadow for their morning repast. One of them had strayed from the
flock and seemed to be coming in my direction. I walked toward him in
an effort to herd him back to the others, and as I grew near, he raised
his head and looked at me. Stroking him gently, I looked into his eyes
and saw a strange look - an odd look - a look of anticipation and
wariness.
-Kalioppe-
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IMBOLG RITUAL
Two women are selected to represent the Maiden and the Crone.
the Priestess will represent the Mother.
The members of the group should bring with them the candles which
they will use for the year for blessing.
The altar is at the Northeast and is covered with a white cloth.
Evergreens are used as decoration. A basket filled with tiny
bundles of straw or wheat rests on the altar [there should be one
bundle for every person participating in the ritual], as well as
two (2) white candles. A black ribbon at least twelve (12)
inches in length is placed in the basket. A single white flower
tied with a white ribbon (to symbolize Bride) and the wand rest
together in front of the altar. Four (4) white candles stand
between the quarter candles. The cauldron is placed at the
South, and a white candle is situated inside. A dark colored
scarf or shawl (for the Crone) and a bouquet of flowers (for the
Maiden) are on the altar, as well as a single white taper (for
the Mother).
Full Circle is cast.
The two women prepare "Bride's Bed." The MAIDEN and the CRONE
pick up the flower and the wand respectively, and take them to
the center of the Circle. They place the flower and the wand
side by side in the center of the Circle, with the heads toward
the altar. They place the altar candles on either side of the
"bed" and light the candles.
The two women and the Priestess stand around the bed and say
together three times:
The Maiden comes to bring us light!
The Winter dies, and all is bright!
The frozen ground shall disappear -
And all shall sprout, for Spring is near!
The Priestess now summons the two women, and the three of them
stand in front of the altar, assuming their Triple-Goddess roles.
The MAIDEN kisses the Priestess (MOTHER) on both cheeks and hands
her a white candle. The CRONE lights the MOTHER's taper. The
CRONE stands to her left. The MAIDEN drapes the shawl over the
CRONE'S head and shoulders. The MAID stands to the MOTHER'S
right and picks up the bouquet of flowers. The PRIESTESS says:
Behold the three-fold Goddess;
Maiden, Mother, and Crone;
She is one - yet She is three
Together and Alone
Summer comes not - without Spring
Without Summer, comes no Winter chill;
Without the Winter, Spring isn't born
The Three, life's cycles, fulfill!
The Charge of the Goddess is then recited. After the recitation
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is finished the Priestess says:
Now let us celebrate Imbolc!
The MAIDEN picks up the besom and makes her way SLOWLY deosil
around the inside edges Circle, ritually sweeping it clear of all
that which is old, useless and unnecessary. MOTHER and CRONE
walk behind her in stately procession. While sweeping, the MAID
says:
With this besom filled with power
Sweep away the old and sour
Sweep away the chill of death
As Winter draws its last cold breath
Round, round, round about
Sweep the old and useless out!
The Maiden replaces the besom and the women resume their places
in front of the altar. The MAIDEN picks up the basket of straw
bundles and presents each member of the group with one. The
CRONE goes to the South, kneels before the cauldron and lights
the candle inside. She explains to the group that the bundles of
straw which they have been given are symbolic of Winter and
Death, but also that any negativity with which they are charged
will be burned along with it. A few moments of silence are
allowed so that each person may charge their bundle with their
own negative thoughts, habits and shortcomings. The CRONE then
collects the bundles, walking widdershins. She then ties the
bundles together with the black ribbon, lights the "community
straw man" and places him in the cauldron to burn, saying:
Thus we melt the Winter!
And warm the breath of Spring!
We bid adieu to what is dead,
And greet each living thing.
Thus we banish Winter!
Thus we welcome Spring!
The Rite of Cakes and Wine is appropriate at this time. All
members have libation, sit and relax and visit amongst
themselves.
When libation is finished, the MAIDEN collects candles from the
coveners to be blessed for use during the coming year, placing
them in a basket. The basket is placed on the altar. The
PRIESTESS says:
I bless thee creatures of wax and light
Casting out all negativity
Serve your purpose, flaming bright
Infused with magic, you shall be
Instruments of light and strength
Wick and wax though you may be
I give you life of needed length
To aid in creativity!
In the Names of the Lord and Lady, so mote it be!
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The candles are then redistributed to the coven members. The
Priestess says:
As we close this celebration of Imbolg, let each of us find joy
in the power of the returning Sun! As each new day dawns and the
light of day becomes brighter and stronger, remember that your
inner light should burn as brightly. Feel the changes in the
earth around you, as the chill of Winter recedes and all sprouts
in the greeness of fresh, new life. Remember the wonder you felt
as you awakened from Maidenhood to Womanhood - from Boyhood to
Manhood. Relive the joy of that awakening and heal any emotional
scars you may have! Breathe deeply of the harmony of the Earth's
new life and and rejoice in your own!
Dearest Bride, Maiden of all that is fresh and new, we warmly
thank you for attending our Rite of Imbolc. As this Circle is
dissolved, we ask that you guide us in our new beginnings and
inspire us with the fresh creativity that you bring to all life.
Routine dissolution.
Outdoor libation to the Lord and Lady.
-Kalioppe-
812 Courtney
Sikeston, MO 63801
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
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This ritual was written at a time when I did not have a
qualified Priest in my group. However, it may easily be adapted
for those groups in which the Priestess and Priest work
together. It may be just as easily adapted to solitary work.
SAMHAIN RITUAL
Place an apple and pomegranate upon the altar. There should
also be a "planted" pot of earth for each participant - these
may be arranged on the altar as well, if there is ample space.
Instruments of divination may be placed within the Circle
perimeter for use during the ritual if you wish. Arrange the
altar as usual and decorate with Autumn leaves, pumpkins, etc.
The Circle is cast and purified the Circle in the usual manner.
Dancing around the Circle in a shuffle step (deosil), all chant
three times:
The Moon is bright, the Crone is old
The body lifeless - the bones so cold
We all live and pay our dues
To die in ones and threes and twos.
Death, dance and play the harp
Piercing silence in the dark
The Woman's old with withered limbs
Death beckons Her to dance with Him
As She accepts the Dance of Death
The Earth is cooled by ghostly breath
To lie in dormancy once more
To have Her strength and life restored
Go to the Western Quarter and draw an invoking pentagram with
the athame to open the gate. Then evoke the dead by saying:
All ye spirits who walk this night -
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter - one and all!
Come ye, spirits of the dead:
Be ye spirit of plant or pet
Or human being who still roams!
Into this Circle you are let!
Speak to us of things unknown!
Lend your energies to this rite!
To speed your journey, we have joined
On this sacred Samhain night!
All ye spirits who walk this night -
Hearken! Hearken to my call!
I bid you in our Circle join!
Enter! Enter - one and all!
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
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Bestow blessings upon the dead, saying:
Oh Mighty Pan of the Summerlands:
Guardian of the beloved dead
We pour forth love on those you keep
Safely, in your peaceful stead
We bless those who have walked the path
That someday, we as well, shall rove
We offer peace unto their souls
While resting in your arms, below
Now is the time for divination (Ouija Board, pendulum, cards,
etc.) and communication with those who have gone on before us.
Allow plenty of time for this. [Note: I have found that it is
helpful to have a tape recorder handy within the Circle for
recording any communications that may be "channeled" during this
time. Some people disagree with this suggestion, saying that
the metal of this electronic device causes scattered energies in
the Circle; however, if the recorder has been cleansed and
purified as the rest of the ritual tools, the problem seems to
be resolved.]
When the divinatory processes are completed, the Priestess goes
to the Western Quarter and draw the banishing pentagram, saying:
Blessings be upon thee, oh wondrous Spirits of the
Summerlands. We humbly thank thee for your presence in our
Circle and honor you in celebration this sacred night. We
beseech thee, oh Pan, keeper of the sacred dead, embrace
once again those souls within your keep and hold tightly
to your breast those which have been lost and wandering.
Grant them safe passage to the Summerland, where they may
rest peacefully in your strength until they are refreshed
and reborn again in perfect love. We bid thee all a fond
farewell. So mote it be!
The gate is now closed.
The Priestess goes to the altar and hold up the pomegranate,
saying:
Behold the pomegranate, fruit of Life ...
The athame is plunged into the pomegranate, splitting it open to
display the seeds. She says:
Whose seeds lie in the dormancy of Death!
The Priestess eats one of the seeds, saying:
I Taste the seeds of Death.
The pomegranate is then passed hand to hand through the
participants of the ritual, each eating a seed and saying to the
next person, "Taste the seeds of Death."
The Priestess then holds up the apple, saying:
2425
Behold the apple: fruit of wisdom, fruit of Death...
She then cuts the apple crosswise, saying:
Whose symbolism rewards us with life eternal!
She holds up the apple, displaying the inner pentagram, and
says:
Behold the five-fold star - the promise of rebirth!
Consecrate the fruit and wine. Each person then tastes of the
apple and sips the wine, saying to the next person:
Taste the fruit of rebirth and sip from the cup
of wine of Life.
After libation, the Priestess presents each member of the group
with a small pot of earth, planted with three seeds [preferably
rue or lavendar]. She briefly explains to the group that this
is the season of the seed - it is a time of dormancy, but also a
time of re-generation for growth. Further, as the seed rests in
the earth, they should also take time to rest and re-evaluate
their lives, metaphorically planting only those values which
will enrich and enhance the growth within the Divine Self. She
then instructs them to name the seeds within their pots with
three values they wish to incorporate into their lives, knowing
that as the seeds sprout with new life, their lives will be new,
as well.
After the presentation, all join hands and hold them skyward.
PRIESTESS Thus is the Circle of Rebirth.
All pass from this life through the great god, Pan
But through My love you are all reborn
In the cycles of nature - through the Cosmic Plan.
In living we die - in dying we live
The fruit is first seed, yet seed comes from the
fruit
In the mystery of life and death and rebirth
The Circle turns ever, and I am its root.
ALL RESPOND The Sun conceived in Darkness, cold
In the Shadow of Death, a Life unfolds
A shred of Light begins to burn
From Death comes Life - the Circle turns.
Dismiss Quarters and Dissolve Circle.
PRIESTESS The rite is ended.
ALL Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!
Outdoor libation to the Lord and Lady, and the spirits of the
dead.
-Kalioppe-
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
2426
A BRIEF ASSESSMENT OF NEOPAGAN THEOLOGY
(As offered by Cyprian at the Pan-Pagan Festival August, 1980
CREATION...
Physicists currently interpret physical creation, that is, the
universe as we know it, as having occurred within a time span o
about three minutes...the "Big Bang." Our physical universe is
thought to have been created with the explosion of a hyper-dense
particle which contained every bit of matter and energy that now
exists in the universe, including the matter which forms our
living bodies as we meet here today. This hyper-dense super
molecule also is thought to have been quite small. Dr. Leon
Friedman, director of the FermiLab near Chicago, has indicated it
may have ben no larger than a basket ball. Into this "ball" was
jammed all matter and all energy in our universe. It remained
there until some creative force, some creative urge, disrupted
the status of this primal "egg" and set into being the universe
as we know it. this event occurred with the so-called "Big
Bang," echoes of which have been detected by scientific
instruments.
Our interpretation of the nature of this creative force or
creative urge is opposed to that of Judeo-Christianity in that we
perceive it as feminine...they see it as masculine. We hold that
pre-creation was feminine and this divergence in concept of first
Things, creation, forever separates our Neopagan world-view from
the Judeo-Christians. Briefly consider this, and you may want to
dwell upon it later, our Goddess, of Her own will, receives Her
consort, the God whom she created, and from Their union our
creation is ever revived and sustained. The Christian reviver
and sustainer, on the other hand, was conceived in a most
singular manner. The omnipotent God sent a neuter third party
messenger, and angel, to announce to a virgin that she was
pregnant with the child, Jesus. So there. Zap! What a
put-down! What revival and sustenance can we find in such a
sterile and asexual concept? Even masculine old Zeus copulated
with human females so at least somebody got some fun out of the
process! What we Neopagans find difficult to understand is why
Judeo-Christianity so vehemently turned its back on sex and not
just sex as a physical act but also sex as a gender,
specifically, sex as a feminine gender.
When we seek to deal with Creation we also must situate our place
as human beings within the totality of Creation. The orthodox
Judeo-Christian view gives humans a special place within
Creation; that is, that we are not part of general creation but a
special creation..."Man was created in the image of God"...and
the rest of creation is our plaything..."Yours is the earth and
everything on it." There is no need to expound upon our
rejection of these two fundamental points: of course we are not
created in any special way, any more than is a rock or a tree or
a raccoon or a galaxy, nor do we have dominion over anything. We
are a part of general creation along with every other particle of
matter in the universe.
I hope you grasp the vast difference this makes; it forever
separates us from the Judeo-Christian heritage and it s a gulf
2427
that cannot be bridged. They must forever consider themselves
special and we must forever consider ourselves general and one
with creation. And it is given to us to look at a grain of sand
and in that grain see the sum total of creation and to see
ourselves as part of it and to gibe thanks for the creative force
of the Goddess and Her consort that sustains this creation.
CHAOS...
With Chaos, as with so many other concepts, we must think on at
least two levels, the physical and the mythical, to come to any
sort of understanding of ourselves and what we really believe
about our place in creation. And it is this belief, this
understanding that is the ultimate determination of how we live
as human beings upon this beautiful Earth. That is what we
Neopagans are trying to do right now: learn to think differently
that Western man has thought in nearly two-thousand years in
order that we may live in a renewed relationship with creation.
It is an exciting adventure.
Before there was form, there was Chaos. We may well suppose
Chaos represents the disordered formlessness of matter and energy
in that initial "Big Bang" of the primordial egg in those first
three minutes when creation began. Mythologically, we see this
formlessness as before the Earth and Sky were separated, as
before the four elements, actually the four states of matter, had
coalesced into their separate forms. The myths speak darkly of
this time, of the births of the Titans, Cyclops and 100-handed
monsters, of a father who devours his own young...what better way
to represent Chaos!
We may assume, too, we have our own dark and personal counterpart
to this primal Chaos. Is it that black win that whips at the
raveled edge o sanity? I believe our ancestors felt far more
keenly than we can understand in this present age a constant fear
that what order they had managed to being to their lives, indeed,
what order they could see in creation around them, would suddenly
collapse and they would be plunged into chaos and madness. Greek
myths are redolent with stories of madness and possession. Even
great Heracles fell victim. It is no wonder, then, the gods of
chaos are said to have been chained beneath the Earth, castrated,
even devoured. But they still live, they still can escape.
Brrr!
And to some degree, escape they have from time to time. How else
can we account for the chaos of war, of a Hitler, a Napoleon, a
Viet Nam?
Modern psychology recognizes the chaotic madness that dwells in
all of us, ever ready to pounce and destroy. We may think of it
as a chained and raging primal demi-god, that psychologists
probably use more scientific language but when that chain snaps,
the result is the same; concentration camps, starvation, and on
and on. History is too full of such dismal lists. There is no
need to go on with a recitation or horrors.
But that does turn us at once to the next topic...the
consideration of evil.
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EVIL...
Every religion, great and small, has had to wrestle with the
problem of evil because evil poses a fundamental question: how
can an all-omnipotent god who is all good permit evil to
exist?...and this is whether you interpret evil as some dark
malevolent Satan or whether you see it as death camps, war,
starvation or whatever.
Judeo-Christian theologians have wrestled with the problem of
evil since the very beginnings of the Judeo-Christian faith.
When boiled down, all the more reasonable answers go something
like this: The all-powerful God permits evil to exist so that
man, who is created in God's image, may have a choice between
good and evil. Ultimately, in the Last Days, evil will be
defeated and woe betide those who made the wrong choice! At
first glance this seems satisfactory but we Neopagans cannot
accept it because it sets man apart, as being different from the
rest of creation. This is absolutely contrary to what we
believe. We hold that man is VERY MUCH a natural part of
creation and we have no special place in it. We have no more
choice between good and evil than the stars or a bumblebee.
To the non-Pagan, then, who asks us to explain the existence of
evil we must give a two-fold reply: one, we are not special
creatures so we cannot truly know what evil is or if it even
exists; that which we perceive with our limited faculties as evil
may not be evil at all within the creative scheme. Two, our
three-fold Goddess is possessed of a dark visage, the Hag, which
we no more understand than we do the Lusting Nymph or the Loving
Mother-Creator. The Hag, the Old Woman who lays us out and
prepares our remains for the journey to the Land behind the North
Wind, is no "Satan" but an integral part of the creative process,
which we see as our three-fold Goddess.
If we are pressed hard enough, at the end we must say a Hitler, a
Vietnam war, a starving child are all part of the creative
process although we cannot pretend to know exactly how or why.
We must confess, too, that a statement we simply don't know and
cannot know the nature of evil is easily interpreted as a
cop-out. This is not rue in our case, though, because we do not
believe in special creation, that is, man is not a special
creature molded in the image of the Creator and sharing the
Creator's mind. No, man is simply a part of the overall creative
urge and therefore it is not given to us to know good and evil
anymore than it is to my two cat friends, Buzz and Fang.
But the problem of what we think of as evil is not resolved by
casting it aside with a simplistic explanation we are not given
to know what it is...although we Neo-Pagans, I think, pretty
generally agree this is a true statement. But just because it is
true does not put the question to rest. There is another
approach, however, and this approach to the problem makes a lot
of ultimate sense for us Neo-Pagans.
As stated earlier, the astro-physicists and we agree on the
probable pre-creation existence of a super-molecule or, in
2429
mythical terms, a "world egg." This egg exploded to create the
universe, Creation, as we know it. If we accept this cosmology,
and it makes sense with our mythos, then we must also accept the
fact there is only a finite amount of matter and energy in
creation. There can be no "new" matter or energy, only matter
and energy that have been recycled. And were not only matter and
energy re-cycled and interchanged then we would run out of matter
and energy and creation would reach a state of status wherein
matter and energy were forever locked in cold sterility. Don't
we, in fact represent this constant play-interplay of matter and
energy as the reviving and renewing union of the Goddess and Her
consort?
Even more germane to our problem of evil; may that which we
perceive so dimly as evil actually be an essential part of this
re-cycling of matter/energy? If so, then we have the key example
of our Wiccan/Neopagan belief in BALANCE. That is, creative
forces must be balanced by destructive forces in order to
preserve the interplay between matter and energy...and we
represent this by the copulation of the Goddess and Her consort.
Perhaps we shouldn't fear our Goddess as Hag nor run in fear when
Pan tosses his horns and roars. Perhaps dimly we can understand
life and death, construction and destruction, the coming together
and the tearing apart, are necessary to sustain Creation.
SIN...
The true nature of sin generally is misunderstood in Western
society and has been for many centuries...one is tempted to
suspect, by design. Sin does not involve right and wrong or good
and bad; these are moral and ethical concepts. Sin concerns
itself with man's deliberate and willful separation from God and
man's disobedience of the Law. The Law is that agreement
established between man and God: "I'll do this if you'll do
that." Although all the major religions and even the so-called
primitive religions deal with concepts which my be equated with
sin, only Christianity has developed sin to a fine art...indeed,
it may be the single pivotal idea which not only separates
Christianity from our Paganism but also from the rest of the
religious world. Obviously, the "sin and guilt" trip has paid
pretty good dividends within the Judeo-Christian heritage. But
these dividends have been garnered at a terrible, terrible price.
We Wiccans and Neopagans may be almost alone in rejecting the
concept of sin. Yet, we must reject it if we are to follow
logically our view of creation and our place in it. Put it
together this way; can a tree sin? no, it can only be a tree; can
your cat sin? no, he can only be a cat; can a human sin? no, he
can only be a human. In other words, none of us can be wither
more or less than our creation. Now, remember what we said about
general creation. If we accept this idea of general creation,
that we are no different from the other life around us, then we
are just as incapable of true sin as the tree or the cat, we can
only be what we are...human. To accept the idea of sin means you
must also accept the idea of special creation, that our human
race is somehow special and god-like and therefore is capable of
sin, and if you think so then you are in the wrong pew.
2430
It seems almost blasphemous to me to think our Goddess would in
some way create us flawed and imperfect...creatures somehow able
to deny our own creation...did She create the tree imperfect, or
your cat? Then why should we be??? We are created as humans to
be humans and we should find joy in that fact, not sin.
This is the great freedom of Wicca and Neopaganism; that we are
free of sin and its guilt trip...that we are left with the
admonition that all joy, all mirth, all pleasure are our Goddess'
rites.
Fully stated, our Rede declares, "An' it harm none, do what thou
wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
Law, in this usage and as we've mentioned, refers to the
relationship between Man and god and this Rede, then, is in total
keeping with our contention that man is not special creation but
has just the same relationship to divinity as does any other part
of creation.
If you have trouble dealing with this, then you are confusing sin
and ethics. And ethics is our next topic.
ETHICS...
Unlike sin, which is a religious concept and which may be
considered as a constant from one age to another...that is,
willful separation from God must be the same for any time and
place...ethics involve a moral choice between what is deemed
right and wrong and with this we come to the realization that
which is right in one time and one society, is wrong in another.
Thus, the moral and ethical standards of, say, 18th century
England and 20th century America hardly are congruent despite a
common heritage.
But it is at exactly this point that we Wiccan/Neopagans have
introduced a novel idea: a moral and ethical constant:
"Eight words the wiccan Rede fulfill; An' it harm none, do what
ye will."
Now, you and I are fully aware that outsiders first learning of
our Rede smirk behind their hands and conjure in their minds all
sorts of images or orgies and such. Well, I've been a Crafter
for thirty years and more, and I've yet to attend a Craft orgy.
so, if any of you are planning on throwing one, I wish you'd
invite me, and do hurry before I get too old to enjoy it!
All of which is by way of saying the Rede is widely
misunderstood. It simply sounds too much like an unbridled
license for hedonism. Of course it is not. But to seek its true
meaning we must first go back a few centuries.
the earliest known literary reference to our Rede, "Do what ye
will," appears in that marvelous Renaissance satire, Gargantua,
written by the French doctor-monk, Francios Rabelais, in 1534.
In Book I, a certain monk is very helpful to Gargantua in winning
a battle and Gargantua offers him several rich abbeys as reward
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but the monk rebukes Gargantua, saying, "For how shall I be able
to rule over others that have not full power and command over
myself?" The monk then asks Gargantua to found an abbey like no
other and thus is established the Abbaye de Theleme and the rule
of the order is, "Fay ce que voudras"...Do what thou wilt. And
this is no libertine license but it is an essential and
straightforward clue to our understanding of the Rede.
The second clue to our Rede occurred during the summer of 1918
when Aleister Crowley painted on the Hudson River cliffs south of
Kingston, New York, this slogan:
EVERY MAN AND WOMAN IS A STAR!
DO WHAT THOU WILT
SHALL BE THE WHOLE OF THE LAW
Crowley, a man of great scholarship and magick, had recognized
the truth expressed in Rabelais and taken it a step further,
which Rabelais could not have dared. (Rabelais' printer was
burned at the stake for heresy.)
Now, keep in min the Law refers to the relationship established
between man and his creation/divinity. All religions have this
relationship spelled out as their Law and this Law usually is
employed to establish the ethical/moral relationship relationship
between men because it is also the ethical/moral relationship
between man and God. One, then, is used to justify the other.
Thus, there was the attempt to trap Jesus between the religious
Law and the moral law but he very handily fielded the question by
answering:
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy
soul, and all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the
Prophets."
And as Jesus recognized a new Law so Crowley saw in Rabelais'
"Fay ce que voudras" a further interpretation of the Law and he
expressed it in red paint on the Hudson River cliffs.
At this point is is possible, even tempting, to go off on some
very fine semantic nit-picking but that is not our purpose and it
would be counter-productive because we are simplistic
religionists and such goings on would be like trying to determine
how many elementals can dance on the point of an athame and it
would only serve to muddy some already confused thinking.
Instead, let me offer two very broad brush strokes based on the
clues already offered. If these are helpful, then I am more than
rewarded; if they are useful thinking tools, then I am twice
blessed! So here goes:
When Gargantua's helpful monk refused the offer of rich abbeys,
saying, "For how shall I be able to rule over others that have
not full power and command over myself?" he established the first
part of our understanding of the Rede. Unless and until such
time as you are able to exert your own will over yourself, "full
power and command," then our Rede, "Do as ye will," has very
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little meaning because you can't truly will anything, and you are
no more than a plaything for every wind that blows. Hardly could
you have rule over others. Thus, the first part of the monk's
statement, "For how shall I be able to rule over others," has
within it the implicit meaning of the first part of our Rede,
"An' it harm none." what the monk is saying here is, "How can I
be responsible for someone else until I can be responsible for
myself?" It would be interesting to further press this
declaration because it stands in contradiction to some classical
Judeo-Christian concepts concerning man's responsibility to God.
And that, no doubt, is the reason Rabelais did not do it.
Remember what happened to his printer!
However, Crowley did press the issue another step. If
self-responsibility is the Law, then Man is responsible for
himself and God is responsible for Himself. So, the interplay
between God and Man suddenly is changed; god must be God and man
must be Man. And now we are back to where we said we were in our
brief discussion of sin...Man can only be man, he can be nothing
else. But he is responsible for that.
I hope all of us see in some way the very deep and even mystical
and certainly always constant ethical demands placed upon us by
our Rede. The Rede is demanding but it yields freedom from the
chronic guilt of the past twenty centuries. And it does not
leave us the luxury of a cop-out, be it God, Satan, Karma, Fate
or a white mule beside a red barn (the mule counts two points).
WORLD VIEW...
In this topic I use the term "World View" to mean how we, as
Neopagans, see the material creation around us. I know I already
have intimated a great deal about this in previous topics but
there is such a fundamental difference between us and the rest of
Western society that I believe we must deal with it more
directly. To do this, we will work from two premises:
1. That Christianity has taught, objectively and subjectively,
material creation somehow is "bad, sinful, evil and corruptive"
as opposed to the so-called pure spiritual creation. that the
Earth, a material creation, is only a way-station toward some
higher spiritual creation, be it heaven or hell, and that this
earthly creation eventually will be destroyed come the
Millenia/Last Judgement as it must be because it is "sinful" and
corruptive of spiritual man.
2. That Neopaganism teaches there is no division between
material and spiritual creation and neither can be considered
inherently good or bad, pure or corruptive. that the Earth is
our home, our only home, and is not some battle ground designed
to determine our future existence in a spiritual heaven or hell.
There are deep-rooted implications behind these two differing
points of view. In the first case, because the material creation
in which we live and are "tested" is somehow inferior and sinful
and is only a way-station en route to a "higher" spiritual
creation then we are free to despise and abuse this material
creation as we see fit. "Yours is the Earth and everything in
2433
it." Love Canal, then, has a perfectly sound and reasonable
Judeo-Christian premise. However, in the second case, if we, as
part of general creation, abuse our Earth, we are abusing
ourselves, exactly as Love Canal had demonstrated. And we must
at the end finally admit the ecological frustration and fury of
this age is because the whimpering ecologists and the Sierra Club
have no theology to guide them...only guilt. The Judeo-Christian
trip all over again. I'm sure we stand in a much better
position.
But don't make the mistake of thinking planetary plunder is an
invention of the 20th Century and its technology...far from it.
Man has abused his Earth since pre-historic times. Primitive
farming and herding practices are among the most destructive
ecological force know. The stripping of the Mediterranean Basin
is ample proof. So is the collapse of the one great Mayan
civilization and the fact that once heavily forested Scotland was
forced to import timber for the Baltic as early as the Middle
Ages. Indeed, we might well argue the concept of a "sinful"
material creation with its implicit license to ravage had to be
invented to excuse the earthly pillage that had been going on for
several thousand years.
REINCARNATION...
I sometimes refer to reincarnation as "the secret belief" because
any number of Christians have admitted to me they believe in
reincarnation as opposed to orthodox Christian teaching or had
had experiences which can only be interpreted as a reincarnitave
experience. whether these people actually understand what
reincarnation really is may be open to question.
At the outset, then, let's establish the very essential
difference between reincarnation and resurrection, as taught in
Christian doctrine. Resurrection means at some future time, the
Millenia, the Last Judgement, etc. you will be pulled from the
grave intact in your present body and you will be in full
awareness of yourself and your previous earthly life; that is,
you will retain your personal identity. thus, with your present
body and personal identity you may be meaningfully rewarded in
Heaven or amply punished in Hell. Heaven and Hell have no
meaning and no promise or threat unless these conditions of body
and identity are met. What good would it be to punish or reward
a disembodied spirit with no knowledge of what it was being
praised or punished for?
Our concept of reincarnation does not meet either of these
criteria. Reincarnation, unlike resurrection, does not
automatically imply ultimate survival of the physical body and
retention of personal identity. So, any discussion of a Pagan
heaven or hell is simply meaningless.
What reincarnation says is survival of life-energy and
life-energy has no one body and no one identity. One of the best
examples to illustrate this concept of reincarnation is the later
stage of the Osiris-Horus myth. In this myth, Osiris is killed
by Seth but he is reincarnated as the child Horus and, in various
forms, the myth repeats. There is no indication Horus ever
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remembers himself as Osiris. thus it is with us, sometimes we
have a sort of "leakage" across this reincarnation insulator and,
with some exceptions, the best we ever get are only
picture-postcard glimpses of our previous life-energies.
ESCHATOLOGY...
Eschatology is only a fancy word for the study of "last
things"...that is, death, the Last Judgement, and so forth. For
us, eschatology must have an entirely different meaning because
we really have no "last things." We are involved in cycles, not
beginnings and endings. As Pagans we must view the entire
continuum of matter, energy, life force and even time itself as
circular. We do not see these things as a piece of string with a
beginning and an ending but as that same piece of string tied
together to form a circle...our Circle...a repeating cyclical
process.
Although definitive physical proof still is lacking, there is a
growing belief among some astronomers and astro-physicists that
the expanding galaxies of our creation will one day stop their
head-long flight and by mutual gravitation slowly and then faster
and faster plunge back together again to form a new primal
super-molecule world egg. From there, it is only reasonable to
assume the creative urge of our Goddess once more will explode
this primordial egg to begin a fresh creation.
And, thus, we have come full circle.
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
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PAGAN MUSINGS
[Tony Kelly of the Selene Community in Wales wrote this
piece in l970. It was published in l97l in the British
edition of The Waxing Moon under the title "Pagan Movement."
Under the title "Pagan Musings" it has passed from hand to
hand and group to group all over the United States. Tony
Kelly was one of the founders of the Pagan Movement in the
British Isles, which, with the Pagan Way in the United
States, began as a single group of researchers into ancient
goddess cults. They later divided, agreeing that each
country required a different approach in bringing back
Paganism.]
We're of the old religion, sired of Time, and born of our
beloved Earth Mother. For too long the people have trodden
a stony path that goes only onward beneath a sky that goes
only upwards. The Horned God plays in a lonely glade for
the people are scattered in this barren age and the winds
carry his plaintive notes over deserted heaths and reedy
moors and into the lonely grasses. who know now the ancient
tongue of the Moon? And who speaks still with the Goddess?
The magic of the land of Lirien and the old pagan gods have
withered in the dragons breath; the old ways of magic have
slipped into the well of the past, and only the rocks now
remember what the moon told us long ago, and what we learned
from the trees, and the voices of grasses and the scents of
flowers.
We're pagans and we worship the pagan gods, and among the
people there are witches yet who speak with the moon and
dance with the Horned One. But a witch is a rare pagan in
these days, deep and inscrutable, recognizable only by her
own kind, by the light in her eyes and the love in her
breast, by the magic in her hands and the lilt of her tongue
and by her knowledge of the real. But the wiccan way is one
way. There are many; there are pagans the world over who
worship the Earth Mother and the Sky Father, the Rain God
and the Rainbow Goddess, the Dark One and the Hag on the
mountain, the Moon Goddess and the Little People in the
mists on the other side of the veil. A pagan is one who
worships the goddesses and gods of nature, whether by
observation or by study, whether by love or admiration, or
whether in their sacred rites with the Moon, or the great
festivals of the Sun.
Many suns ago, as the pale dawn of reason crept across the
pagan sky, man grew out of believing in the gods. He has
yet to grow out disbelieving in them. He who splits the
Goddess on an existence-nonexistence dichotomy will earn
himself only paradoxes, for the gods are not so divided and
nor the magic lands of the Brother of Time. Does a mind
exist? Ask her and she will tell you yes, but seek her out,
and she'll elude you. She in in every place, and in no
place, and you'll see her works in all places, but herself
in none. Existence was the second-born from the Mother's
womb and contains neither the first-born, nor the unborn.
Show us your mind, and we'll show you the gods! No matter
2436
that you can't, for we can't show you the gods. But come
with us and the Goddess herself will be our love and the God
will call the tune. But a brass penny for your reason; for
logic is a closed ring, and the child doesn't validate the
Mother, nor the dream the dreamer. And what matter the wars
of opposites to she who has fallen in love with a whirlwind
or to the lover of the arching rainbow.
But tell us of your Goddess as you love her, and the gods
that guide your works, and we'll listen with wonder, for to
do less would be arrogant. but we'll do more, for the heart
of man is aching for memories only half forgotten, and the
Old Ones only half unseen. We'll write the old myths as
they were always written and we'll read them on the rocks
and in the caves and in the deep of the greenwood's shade,
and we'll hear them in the rippling mountain streams and in
the rustling of the leaves, and we'll see them in the storm
clouds, and in the evening mists. We've no wish to create a
new religion for our religion is as old as the hills and
older, and we've no wish to bring differences together.
Differences are like different flowers in a meadow, and we
are all one in the Mother.
What need is there for a pagan movement since our religion
has no teachings and we hear it in the wind and feel it in
the stones and the Moon will dance with us as she will?
There is a need. For long the Divider has been among our
people and the tribes of man are no more. The sons of the
Sky Father have all but conquered nature, but they have
poisoned her breast and the Mother is sad for the
butterflies are dying and the night draws on. A curse on
the conqueror! But not of us, for they curse themselves for
they are nature too. They have stolen our magic and sold it
to the mindbenders and the mindbenders tramp a maze that has
no outlet for they fear the real for the One who guards the
path.
Where are the pagan shrines? And where do the people
gather? Where is the magic made? And where are the Goddess
and the Old Ones? Our shrines are in the fields and on the
mountains, in the stars and in the wind, deep in the
greenwood and on the algal rocks where two streams meet.
but the shrines are deserted, and if we gathered in the arms
of the Moon for our ancient rites to be with our gods as we
were of old, we would be stopped by the dead who now rule
the Mother's land and claim rights of ownership on the
Mother's breast, and make laws of division and frustration
for us. We can no longer gather with our gods in a public
place and the old rites of communion have been driven from
the towns and cities ever deeper into the heath where barely
a handful of heathens have remained to guard the old secrets
and enact the old rites. there is magic in the heath far
from the cold grey society, and there are islands of magic
hidden in the entrails of the metropoles behind closed
doors, but the people are few, and the barriers between us
are formidable. The old religion has become a dark way,
obscure, and hidden in the protective bosom of the night.
Thin fingers turn the pages of a book of shadows while the
2437
sunshine seeks in vain his worshippers in his leafy glades.
Here, then, is the basic reason for a Pagan Movement; we
must create a pagan society wherein everyone shall be free
to worship the goddesses and gods of nature, and the
relationship between a worshipper and her gods shall be
sacred and inviolable, provided only that in her love of her
own gods, she doesn't curse the names of the gods of others.
It's not yet our business to press the law-makers with
undivided endeavour to unmake the laws of repression and,
with the Mother's love, it may never become our business for
the stifling tides of dogmatism are at last already in ebb.
Our first work, and our greatest wish, is to come together,
to be with each other in our tribes for we haven't yet grown
from the Mother's breast to the stature of the gods. We're
of the earth, and sibs to all the children of wild nature,
born long ago in the warm mud of the ocean floor; we were
together then, and we were together in the rain forests long
before that dark day when, beguiled by the pride of the Sky
Father, and forgetful of the Mother's love, we killed her
earlier-born children and impoverished the old genetic pool.
The Red child lives yet in America; the Black Child has not
forsaken the gods; the old Australians are still with their
nature gods; the Old Ones still live deep in the heart of
Mother India, and the White Child has still a foot on the
old wiccan way, but Neanderthaler is no more and her magic
faded as the Lli and the Archan burst their banks and the
ocean flowed in to divide the Isle of Erin from the land of
the White Goddess.
Man looked with one eye on a two-faced god when he reached
for the heavens and scorned the Earth which alone is our
life and our provider and the bosom to which we have ever
returned since the dawn of Time. He who looks only to
reason to plum the unfathomable is a fool, for logic is an
echo already implicit i the question, and it has no voice of
its own; but he is no greater fool than he who scorns logic
or derides its impotence from afar, but fears to engage in
fair combat when he stands on his opponent's threshold.
don't turn your back on Reason, for his thrust is deadly;
but confound him and he'll yield for his code of combat is
honorable. so here is more of the work of the Pagan
Movement. Our lore has become encrusted over the ages with
occult trivia and the empty vapourings of the lost. The
occult arts are in a state of extreme decadence, astrology
is in a state of disrepute and fears to confront the
statistician's sword; alien creeds oust our native arts and,
being as little understood as our own forgotten arts, are
just as futile for their lack of understanding, and more so
for their unfamiliarity. Misunderstanding is rife.
Disbelief is black on every horizon, and vampires abound on
the blood of the credulous. Our work is to reject the
trivial, the irrelevant and the erroneous, and to bring the
lost children of the Earth Mother again into the court of
the Sky Father where reason alone will avail. Belief is the
deceit of the credulous; it has no place in the heart of a
pagan.
2438
But while we are sad for those who are bemused by Reason, we
are deadened by those who see no further than his syllogisms
as he turns the eternal wheel of the Great Tautology. We
were not fashioned in the mathematician's computations, and
we were old when the first alchemist was a child. We have
walked in the magic forest, bewitched in the old Green
Thinks; we have seen the cauldron and the one become many
and the many in the one; we know the Silver Maid of the
moonlight and the sounds of the cloven feet. We have heard
the pipes on the twilight ferns, and we've seen the spells
of the enchantress, and Time be stilled. We've been into
eternal darkness where the Night Mare rides and rode her to
the edge of the Abyss, and beyond, and we know the dark face
of the Rising Sun. spin a spell or words and make a magic
knot; spin it on the magic loom and spin it with the gods.
Say it in the old chant and say it to the Goddess, and in
her name. Say it to a dark well and breathe it on a stone.
There are no signposts on the untrod way, but we'll make our
rituals together and bring them as our gifts to the Goddess
and her God in the great rites. Here, then, is our work in
the Pagan Movement; to make magic in the name of our gods,
to share our magic where the gods would wish it, and to come
together in our ancient festivals of birth, and life, of
death and of change in the old rhythm. We'll print the
rituals that can be shared in the written work; we'll do
all in our power to bring the people together, to teach
those who would learn, and to learn from those who can
teach. We will initiate groups, bring people to groups, and
groups to other groups in our common devotion to the goddess
and gods of nature. We will not storm the secrets of any
coven, nor profane the tools, the magic, and still less, the
gods of another.
We'll collect the myths of the ages, of our people and of
the pagans of other lands, and we'll study the books of the
wise and we'll talk to the very young. And whatever the
pagan needs in her study, or her worship, then it is our
concern, and the Movement's business to do everything
possible to help each other in our worship of the gods we
love.
We are committed with the lone pagan on the seashore, with
he who worships in the fastness of a mountain range or she
who sings the old chant in a lost valley far from the
metalloid road. We are committed with the wanderer, and
equally with the prisoner, disinherited from the Mother's
milk in the darkness of the industrial webs. We are
committed too with the coven, with the circular dance in the
light of the full moon, with the great festivals of the sun,
and with the gatherings of the people. We are committed to
build our temples in the towns and in the wilderness, to buy
the lands and the streams from the landowners and give them
to the Goddess for her children's use, and we'll replant the
greenwood as it was of old for love of the dryad stillness,
and for love of our children's children.
When the streams flow clear and the winds blow pure, and the
sun never more rises unrenowned nor the moon ride in the
2439
skies unloved; when the stones tell of the Horned God and
the greenwood grows deep to call back her own ones, then our
work will be ended and the Pagan Movement will return to the
beloved womb of our old religion, to the nature goddesses
and gods of paganism.
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
2440
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Pit
The Lord looked askance at the Fool, who was busy making faces
behind the Lady's back.
"So, which of your Aspects have you enjoyed the most?" he said.
The Fool looked up, wiggling his ears.
"Stop that!" grinned the Lord, "I'd really like to know!"
"Well.....I suppose that it would be a toss-up between Dionysus,
Tyl Eulenspiegel, and Krishna, I guess. Tyl had a whopping good time,
Dionysus got to be pretty much drunk, mostly, and Krishna had those
sweet little milk-maids......THAT was a good time! But Coyote gets to do
most everything. I guess I like Him the best."
The Lord sat back against a tree, folded His hands, and smiled.
"Yeah, ol' Coyote gets to do everything all right...except catch
the Roadrunner," he said.
"Well," said the Fool, with a lopsided grin, "I guess I'm the
only One of Us that perpetually chases Myself!"
The Lady turned, and, Aspecting the Nymph, dropped a large
grasshopper down the Fool's back. She giggled, and ran off over the
fields of Summerland.
The Lord laughed, pounding His fists on the ground as the Fool
jumped and twisted, trying to reach the insect.
Between whoops of laughter, He said, "Did you ever figure out
what 'Updoc' was?"
"Shaddup!" said the Fool.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Fool leaned back against the brick wall of the alley and
said, "I'd like to tell you a story. It seems that a man fell into a
deep pit, and couldn't get himself out. He was in a world of hurt, and
pretty unhappy. Pretty soon, a Subjectivist type of person came along
and said, 'I feel for you down there,' but did nothing."
"An Objectivist wandered by next, and said, 'It's logical that
someone would fall down there.' But he just stood around looking too."
"A Pharisee said, 'Only bad people fall into a pit,' and put his
nose in the air and kept walking."
The Fool took a drag from his cigarette and then flipped it
expertly into a nearby puddle. Somewhere in the distance of the city a
siren wailed.
"Then, a mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit. But
all he did was calculate."
"A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on his pit, but was
too busy interviewing everyone in sight to help."
"A fanatic fundamentalist shouted, 'You deserve your pit!'"
"Then a government tax-man asked if he was paying taxes on the
pit."
"A self-pitying person then whined, 'You haven't seen anything
until you've seen MY pit!'"
"Then a Christian Scientist came by, and said, 'Just believe
that you're not in a pit.' But that didn't seem to help." He paused, and
brushed His hair back from His eyes. After looking around that those who
were listening, He continued.
"An optimist said, 'Things could be worse!' But the pessimist
disagreed, and said, 'Things -will- get worse!' "
"A Wiccan said, 'MURPHY! You &*$%^#@,' while a New Ager jumped
into the pit to share the experience." A couple of people laughed at
this, a bit nervously.
"A Baha'i looked over the edge of the pit and said, 'See the pit
2441
as a Spiritual Experience!' while a Moslem murmured that it was God's
Will that he was in the pit."
"A Satanist just laughed at the man in the pit and kept
walking."
"A conspiracist rubbed his hands together in glee, and said,
'-They- threw you into the pit! I -knew- it!'"
"A Jew said, 'Why are we -always- in a pit?' "
"A Communist shouted 'Why are you in the People's Pit without
permission?'"
"An Alcoholic muttered to himself, 'It's not -my- fault you're
in the pit.....' "
"A Liberal said, 'Those Conservatives must have dug this pit!'"
"A Conservative said, 'See where Liberalism has gotten you?' "
"A TV Evangelist came by and promptly took up a collection from
the bystanders."
" Then, several well-meaning people came by, and wanted to help,
but they were too busy arguing whether to throw him a ladder, or a
shovel, or to hire a helicopter with a rope ladder, or to call the fire
department or police to manage to get anything done."
"A well-known radio cult hunter said, between requests for money,
'See! Satan threw you into the pit!'"
"A doper looked blearily at him, and said, a bit incoherently,
'Far out! Got any more pit?'"
"A Hindu said that the man's karma had put him into the pit, and
a television news commentator shouted, 'Man in a pit! Why is the
government responsible?'"
But then, a Good Samaritan came along, looked at the man in the
pit and at all the others standing around pursuing their own agendas,
and said, quietly, 'Here are two shovels. Let's get you out of the
pit.'"
The Fool looked around at His listeners, grinned, and said, "He
that hath ears to hear with, let him hear."
He shoved His hands into his jacket, and walked away thru the
puddles, idly kicking at an empty beer can.
"Pretty good!" said the Lady.
"Maybe," said the Fool, "But not up to the Sermon On The Mount."
"That one -was- one of Your best," She agreed.
"Yeah," He said, "But even then, they ignored most of it. Oh
well. Some of it caught on, at least."
"It takes a while," said the Lord, "But they -are- learning."
"Yes, they are," said the Fool, "But they have a long way to go
yet."
The Lady smiled warmly, and said, "They'll get there."
Thus it was, and so it is, and evermore shall be so!
---------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Lord and the Lady (and the Fool, of course) looked at the
Men and Women, and were not pleased.
"Look at that! They saw Your Sacrifice, and went and elaborated
it into some kind of magic." The Lady spoke disgustedly. "Cutting out
human hearts. Sacrificial Kings. Ritual burnings. Ritual torture. Blood
sacrifices. Cannibalism. Blood, killing and more blood! What -do- they
think they're doing?"
2442
"I agree it's pretty grim," said the Sacred King, "But it does
work, though in a very limited way. So....what can we do about it?"
"I know what We can do, but it will take all of Us," said the
Fool, unsmiling. "Listen up...."
As he began to explain, the faces of all Three grew grimmer and
grimmer, and sad beyond words.
The Fool incarnated as a Child within a Woman, who was the
Mother and the Maiden. He was born in poverty, and laid in a straw bed.
He grew up in a small village in a backwater nation on the edges of a
great Empire. Some, a very few, knew Him and honored Him, seeing Him as
the Child, truly the Child of Promise, but most simply went on with
their lives, unknowing. When He was of age, He turned, and from Child
became Transformer, and He began to teach.
As Transformer, He went out on the dusty roads of the small,
conquered nation, and taught the Way of Love. Love for -all,- not just
some. He taught of the Brotherhood of Man, and of the Fatherhood of the
Lord.
He taught of the Way of Salvation: to love. To love the Diety,
and to love your neighbor, whoever he might be.
He brought a message of hope to the poor, and a warning to the
opressor.
Around Him, He assembled a small band of men and women, and
taught them His Mystery. But one was given a role to play, and the role
was Betrayer.
A man asked, "Teacher, what shall we do when those that hate us
strike us?"
And He answered, "Turn the other cheek, and let them strike you
again. Give them love in return for hate. If you must take up the sword,
then do it in great reluctance, and only after you have stepped aside
time and time again. Remember that I bring you not peace, but a sword,
for this Path will separate you from your families and friends, and your
enemies will persecute you in their ignorance."
"And forgive your enemies, and those who wrong you, that you may
put away your anger and live in love."
Another asked, "Sensei, what of the poor?"
And He answered, "The poor you shall always have with you, but
give them the tools to lift themselves out of their poverty. Clothe and
feed them, but give them the means of independence also."
"But what of the ric | | |
