Sulum Factum Magus

Here is an interesting technique for using the Tarot to gain insight into a problem or situation which is bothering you. I am not sure where this method originates, but it seems a very natural way of working to me. I call it a conversation with the Tarot. First of all, still your mind, and take a few calming and centring breaths, and call upon the assistance of your Deities and/or guides. Then ask a specific question, which has a yes/no answer. Shuffle the cards, regularly turning half of them around, as you hold your question in mind. Then turn over the top card. If the right way up, the answer is yes, if the card is inverted, then the answer is no. The card itself then amplifies or sheds further light on the answer. After considering the meaning of the card, come up with a sentence that expresses the answer.

For example, my question might be, will the job with so and so eventuate? I turn up the inverted page of wands. The cards say, “No, you will be getting bad news about that job, it either won’t eventuate, or will be delayed. A shallow and domineering person is blocking progress.”

That might be all you need, or you might then have a further question, such as, “Are my energies better spent pursuing other opportunities?” Suppose the inverted five of cups turns up. So the answer is “No”. But this meaning needs to be understood in the context of the card, – regrets and disappointments in the past, but better times ahead, and laying the foundations for a more hopeful future. So the answer might be, “No, don’t waste your time chasing other opportunities at the moment, rather focus on laying the foundations for a more hopeful future”.

So now I might want to know how I can start laying those foundations. Perhaps taking some time out to think about things is warranted. So ask “Do I need to take some time out to think about my life goals and directions?” The seven of coins comes up, right way up. So “Yes, but be careful to consider the long term outcome that you want, without getting bogged down by short term considerations, or pressing needs. All difficulties can be overcome in the long run by discipline and dedication.”

So that seems like the end of the conversation – so thank Deities and Guides, and put the cards away, and follow the advice!

I find this conversational method helps me when doing readings for myself, as the usual spreads can often be difficult to interpret for oneself, and contain many ambiguities, which for some reason don’t seem to appear in readings for others! I guess it is a case of sometimes it is difficult to see yourself as clearly as you can see someone else. By framing specific questions with a yes/no answer, the cards can give a clear response, which is amplified by the meaning of the card. Then if something isn’t clear, or you are not sure which of a card’s many meanings is most important in the context of your question, then just ask another question!

Within four or five questions, you should get what you need at any particular time. Further questions after that tend to dissipate energy and confuse the advice in my experience, though of course everyone is different, and maybe it will not be the same for you!

I hope that you will find this technique a useful way of working with the cards. While the cards can give guidance, in the end, we ourselves must take responsibility for our actions. So if the guidance you receive doesn’t seem right, sit with it until you are comfortable with it, or seek other views and angles, either from friends and advisors, or from the cards on another day, or through your inner work, until you are clear on your best course of action.

Blessings,

Robyn :)

The viewpoint of one who practices the magical arts is different in many ways from the viewpoint of most in Western Society. For example, our justice system is based primarily on people’s actions, and someone’s thoughts or intentions are for the most part irrelevant, precisely because it is so difficult to be sure exactly what someone else’s thoughts or intentions actually are! However even our justice system acknowledges the importance of intentions by taking into account a person’s apparent remorse about a crime in sentencing.

The magical viewpoint is quite different, seeing intentions giving rise to thoughts, which then give rise to actions. The worlds of thought and intention are the precursors of the world of action. Now some of those thoughts and intentions are not conscious for many people, and unconscious thought processes can give rise to actions which are unhelpful or self sabotaging. One task of the magical practitioner is to become conscious of these unconscious thought processes, and where necessary, to direct them in more helpful directions. One of the traditional tools for this work is the Tarot, and the associated exercises in visualisation, particularly working with the major arcana. However that is a story for another day. Today I wanted to pick up on the theme of judgement, which is represented in one of the Tarot trumps.

The Christian Society is based on a mythology of judgement, that when one dies, one’s afterlife experience is determined by the weight of one’s actions during their lifetime, either for good or for bad. The image of judgement is however much older than the Christian version, going back to the mythologies of ancient Egypt, in which the souls of those who had died were weighed on scales held by the immortals, to determine whether they would have eternal life as part of the Great God, or whether they would be damned. (Sound familiar?). The same image is represented on the Tarot trump of Justice.

Now it is not only one’s actions that weigh upon or lighten the soul, but one’s thoughts and one’s intentions. Whether you believe in an actual judgement upon death, or whether you believe that this is a symbol of the process of inner development, whereby our actions, thoughts and intentions shape our essential nature and leave their impress upon our soul, it doesn’t really matter. The point for the magical practitioner is that accepting the reality of thoughts and intentions, and their ability to shape the world around one, and to affect others (not to mention one’s self!) for good or for ill, it is a matter of responsibility to be conscious and aware of one’s thoughts and intentions, and to make sure that they are directed in a positive fashion.

In the end, our life is its own judgement. It stands as a testament to what we have achieved, or failed to achieve, who we have become, or failed to become, and the happiness, joy and satisfaction (or lack of it) in our hearts. In any case, the magical life, as I see it, is to live with the reality of judgement, whether by the Gods, or by oneself, and to bring one’s intentions, thoughts and actions into alignment with the desires of the soul self. It starts with aligning the intentions – and this of course presupposes that one knows the desires of the soul. For many people, alas, they have lost contact with their soul desires. Thus the first step is to regain the knowledge of one’s soul desires – not the programmed responses from society or family upbringing, but the true purpose carried in every soul. This in itself is a great undertaking, which once established, lays the foundation of fulfillment.

Once the soul desire is known, one can establish one’s intention to fulfil those desires, and begin to purge oneself of false intentions, those implanted in us by social and parental conditioning, and our immature responses to the limitations imposed upon us by others. Intentions are the seeds of thought and thought processes. With right intentions, our thoughts can be focussed on their fulfilment. However there are many distractions, and one’s thoughts can easily lead one off into false directions. Not that any direction is inherently false, but false in the sense that it doesn’t serve the soul desire. So the next task in the work is to discipline and focus one’s thoughts, and align them with one’s consciously affirmed intentions. Undisciplined, one’s thoughts tend to run in habitual patterns which we mistakenly identify with as our self, or gravitate to the satisfaction of base desires. Not that there is anything wrong with satisfaction of one’s physical desires in a constructive way, but it can become an obsession that diverts one from the work, running in directions that are unhelpful to self and others, unless one’s thoughts are consciously aligned with the soul intentions.

Once one’s thoughts are aligned with one’s soul intentions, they can begin to inform one’s actions, and one begins to see the transformation and flowering of one’s life. At first in small and subtle ways, but as the alignment begins to grow and develop in force, in increasingly profound and far reaching ways. This process will be different for everyone of course, because we all have different soul desires, and different characters, and different arenas of action that we work in. However rest assured that this process will unfold.

Overall, this process represents the concept of “stepping into one’s power.” This power is something that it seems at times our society is designed to strip from us from a young age, so that as adults we will conform to the desires of the state, and fulfil our allotted social function without complaint, and without threatening the interests of the powerful. Indeed, the Christian mythology underlying western society demonises power, as something that tempts one away from the path of love and “turning the other cheek”.

While this may be true of power based on violence or position in the hierarchies of state or corporation, it is not true of the magical power generated by alignment of intentions, thoughts and actions with the soul desires. In my view, the heart of the magical work is about stepping into one’s power in this way. It is about accepting the powerful potential of being human, and working to actualise and express that power. Our choices will determine how that power is used and expressed, and those choices leave their mark upon the soul for those who have eyes to see. In my view, Power and Love must be balanced within one, the twin pillars of becoming, joined in a conjunction that brings forth the Divine Child. In the end, they come to the same thing, as it is a profound act of self love to align one’s intentions, and then one’s thoughts and actions with one’s soul desire, and simultaneously an act of love for all, as the soul desire is to give of one’s gifts to life in some way. And here is one aspect of the mystery of the philosopher’s stone.

How do you know if you have it right? The giving of one’s gifts energises one, and produces feelings of fulfilment, satisfaction and happiness. Love and Power become one. Energy increases and youthfulness is preserved. False giving, the kind that most people do, in which they give away their power, leads to feelings of resentment, bitterness and the feeling of being trapped, used, or disrespected. Energy dissipates, and aging accelerates, for one is calling one’s own death. These feelings and actions trap many in a vicious circle. The magical path provides a time honoured escape route – the alignment of intention, then thoughts, and finally action, with the soul desire. In the final outcome, our life and very being is our judgement, and testifies to whether we succeeded in liberating ourselves from the chains of the “normal” life, or succumbed to our prison cell and its petty pleasures.

And here, with this echo of the wisdom contained in the trump of the Devil, I will close.

Blessings,

Robyn :)

One of the perennial disagreements that comes up from time to time in the Neopagan world is the question of what exactly is to be understood by the Deities. The Wiccan view that all Goddesses are One Goddess, and all Gods are One God, can be traced back through Dion Fortune. This view has lead many Wiccans to feel comfortable working with many different faces of the Goddess. More traditional pagans, on the other hand, sometimes see their Deities as individuals, and distinct from other Deities, having their own individual agendas and personalities. Indeed, sometimes such people get upset by the cavalier ‘use’ made of their Deities by others – without bothering to understand them in their own right, or without having any traditional cultural connection to the Deity.

My own view is that both viewpoints are correct. Just like humans, the Gods have both an individual nature, and a collective nature, a connection to the all. Emphasis on the one, does not mean the other does not exist. Both aspects should be taken into account by the magical practitioner, in my view, who wishes to work with a Deity form. However, when one calls upon a particular face of the Goddess or God to mediate the primordial feminine or masculine powers of creation, one must deal with the individuality associated with that Deity, as well as its ability to mediate the primordial powers. While some Deities are traditionally worked with in this way, others are not – and it is up to the practitioner to make sure that they appreciate and understand how to work with any Deity they decide to call into their orbit.

Part of this “due dilligence” before working with any Deity is to explore why you wish to call upon them, and whether you have what it takes to work with them safely. To many people, there is a question of ancestral connection that must be satisfied. Others go even further, and insist that the right to work with a Deity must be passed on from someone else, in a family or teaching lineage. Others refuse such restrictiveness, and insist upon their right to work with any Deity they feel drawn to.

Whatever you believe about the right to work with a Deity, it should always be well considered and well prepared, to avoid unplanned and possibly unpleasant consequences. Misunderstanding between a Deity and a practitioner can arise just as easily as misunderstandings between two people, and may have unfortunate consequences. So research well a Deity that seems to be calling to you, and consider well whether you want their energy in your life. To work with a Deity is not something that ought to be taken up and dropped on a casual basis, but something that should be approached with clarity and commitment. To become a priest or priestess working with a particular Deity is to bring the archetypal forces and energies of that Deity into one’s life. Do they suit your energy, personality and approach to life? If not, life could become very difficult and challenging.

One method that you may care to try is the following. If a particular Deity catches your attention, and you feel drawn to working with them, first do some extensive research into the Deity. Obtain traditional imagery, traditional icons, and traditional symbolism. Study any mythology associated with the Deity. Examine your connection to the Deity. Is it a traditional connection, are you re-establishing an ancestral connection, or is there some other connection? Many people, for example, consider themselves to have past lives in other cultures, and feel that this justifies them working with non-ancestral Deities. If so, you will know it. If you feel still that the Deity is for you, then, using the appropriate symbols or images, tune into the Deity, and discuss with them the possibility of working together. Find out if it is permitted, and/or advisable. One way to proceed is to make a limited commitment to the Deity, for a year and a day, say, after which one can consider whether one wants to make a deeper commitment. Others seem to know straight away that they are priests or priestesses of a particular Deity, and dedicate themselves on the basis of this. Whatever way you do things, be sure that you know your heart, and stand by the commitment you make.

Working with a Deity is a sacred trust. This is partly because it is through the inner work of the priest or priestess that the form of the Deity is enlivened and energised. A priest or priestess who is out of tune with the tradition and history of the Deity may well create inharmonious forms and energy currents within the body of the Deity, though the soul of the Deity is unaffected. This, I believe, is one reason why traditional pagans resent the indiscriminate use of their Deities.

So while all Goddesses may well manifest the universal feminine creative principle to some degree, there are many that represent quite different energies, whose shape and form harmonises with quite different belief systems, some of which place little or no emphasis on the union of Male and Female primordial essences to create all phenomena of existence. The same goes for Gods. To try and work with such Deities as mediators of the primordial male and female principles is, in my opinion, misguided.

People these days often have multiple lines of ancestry to many different cultures, and hence pantheons. For example, my ancestry is English and Irish. As well as connections to the Gaelic of Ireland and the Isle of Man, I have a Norman French line that is known to me. But like most people of English stock, there will likely be connections to British celtic and pre-celtic people; Vikings, Danes and Teutonic people; and possibly Roman colonists, or Romano-Brits who had taken up the Roman lifestyle, complete with Roman Gods. They may possibly also be connections via France to cults of Isis. Traditionally, the British are said to be descendants of Brutus, descended from the royal family of Troy, and hence descended from the Greek Gods. So that presents another possibility, even though that genealogy is generally regarded as mythical rather than factual. Now, I haven’t chosen to activate Deities from all, or even the majority, of these ancestral possibilities – but it serves to illustrate that most people have a wide choice of ancestral Deities that they can choose to activate if they wish. However it is considered by some that working within a single pantheon, or at least mostly within a single pantheon, is the best approach, and certainly not mixing pantheons within any particular working. So my point above is not that one could or should take Deities from a wide range of Pantheons, but that one has considerable choice, usually, in which pantheon one can choose from.

These thoughts are nothing more than guidelines which may help to keep you out of trouble of various sorts, not the least of which might be upsetting someone by “appropriating” Gods you have no legitimate right to, in their opinion. However, ultimately, it is something one has to decide in one’s own heart, between oneself and a Deity. And sometimes it turns out that a Deity picks you out to work with, not vice a versa. What should you do in such a cease? In the cases I have heard people talk about, it has always been a positive experience, which was instantly taken up, with a deep knowing of the rightness of it. But, if you’re not 100% sure, then follow the procedure above. Do your research, and make a commitment for a period of time, after which you can decide whether to pull back, or go deeper into commitment and service.

A final remark. I believe that the mark of a priest or priestess is a commitment to service, to and through one’s Deities, and hence to all of life. It is a commitment to be changed, to become greater, and to share in the life and consciousness of one’s Deities. It is a commitment to release oneself from the tyranny of small mindedness, and the challenge of giving expression to the greater mind. The ethic of Service helps to keep one’s feet on the ground, and one’s life in perspective.

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)

Some months ago, I started out putting together a few ideas for busy people to develop themselves along magical lines. Here is another installment  for those in this position. I was talking to a young woman who was interested in Wicca and Paganism over the weekend, very keen to learn, but who found it very difficult to get any time for herself. She was working a job, looking after two young children, and keeping a house, and the thought of finding half an hour each day to pursue some magical studies seemed quite out of the question.

Here is the suggestion that I gave her. There are three times in the day when most people can get five minutes to themselves, at least most of the time. These are the five minutes after you wake up in the morning, but before you get out of bed, the five minutes after you get into bed at night, but before you go to sleep, and the five minutes you get in the toilet doing your daily business. These fifteen minutes can provide a foundation of magical practice, which can take you quite a way in your magical development.

Firstly, lets look at those five minutes in the toilet. Put a book you want to work on in the toilet, and when you sit down to business, open it up and read a page or two. Think about during the day whenever you get the chance. With this you can begin to establish a foundation of knowledge, which every magical practice requires.

Secondly, lets look at the five minutes in the morning. This is sufficient to practice moving the attention to a particular energy centre – such as the brow or crown chakra. This is sufficient to visualize a Deity you want to work with, and ask for their blessing. This is sufficient to utter a quick spell or affirmation: “Let this day bring the blessings of the God and Goddess conjoined, May the Child of Promise be conceived and born, may the Great Work take shape and form. For the highest good of all, So Mote it Be.” Of course that’s my spell and intention – you are welcome to use it, or make up your own, depending on your needs, desires, and your understanding of your calling. This five minutes can be used to set the tone and intention for the day to come. If you are working on developing patience, for example, you might want to invoke the spirit of patience to be with you during the day. And so on. Use that five minutes to invoke into your day, the energy or presence which you think will be most beneficial. By doing this, you begin to work with intention and magical will to take charge of your day. Then forget it, and go about your day. The intention will be working in the background, supporting you, and bringing about positive change, and as you build up the regular use of this five minutes, you will begin to notice a difference in how your day goes.

Thirdly, lets take advantage of the five minutes before you go to bed. This time is the portal into the dream world. While most people’s waking life is full to the brim, the dream realm is yours to make of it what you will. You can make use of this time to learn lessons and have experiences that your waking life is too busy to allow! If you want to take advantage of the time you spend dreaming to develop your magical life, there are a couple of things you can do. One thing is to place an object under your pillow that you want to dream on. This could be a herb that you want to learn about, a crystal that you want to connect with, the statue or picture of a Deity you want to work with, a Tarot card that you want to deepen your appreciation of, a book that seems interesting but you just haven’t time to read right now, or just about anything. So place it under your pillow, and as you close your eyes to go to sleep, visualize the object under your pillow as clearly as you can, and say “Lord and Lady grant me a dream to further my knowledge and understanding of …., For the highest good of all, so mote it be.” Then place your attention on your brow chakra between the eyebrows, and allow yourself to drift off to sleep.

So now you are working with magical intention to gain knowledge and experience about things which interest you in the dream state. Don’t worry about remembering your dreams, though you may wake up with the memory of a vivid dream that seems a specific answer to your request. If you have a notebook and pen handy you can jot a few notes to remind you later. But whether you remember your dreams or not, you will be gaining knowledge and experience in a directed fashion, and this will start coming to you in various ways during the day, as it is needed. You may for example find yourself just knowing something you’ve “dream researched”, or you may find a dream memory coming to mind with the relevant information. However it works for you, you will be growing and developing in your magical life, and that is what counts.

So even the busiest person can begin to make headway on their magical path with these three daily practices, that each take less than five minutes. If you are one of those people who say I’d love to have a magical practice, but I just don’t have time, here is a practical method of beginning, which can take you quite a long way.

In Her Service,

Robyn.

One of the fundamental guiding principles of many Neopagan paths, and indeed the Western Hermetic tradition, is the characterisation of all phenomena into the system of the four elements, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Many add a fifth element – Spirit, which combines, centres, and harmonizes the other four. In my own work, I use the four elements to characterise the energetic essence of all phenomena that interest me. Books and lists of elemental correspondences are an important step in learning the craft, learning to recognise the common energetic signatures of phenomena and entities from the different dimensions of existence. For example, an elemental association can be found for herbs, gems, metals, minerals and trees by consulting various sources of traditional lore.

However the division into just four energetic types is too gross a division to account for all the fine differentiations one finds in the world of nature. For example, there are thousands of different herbs in use, and their characters and properties are all unique. In order to begin characterising energies on a finer division, one system that can be employed is the sixteen fold division of energetic movement. This subdivides each element into four aspects, themselves corresponding to the four elements. Thus we have Air of Air, Fire of Air, Water of Air, and Earth of Air. Whereas Air as an element corresponds to beginnings, thoughts, communication, the mental realm, and changeability, Air of Air corresponds to the quintessence of Air, the beginnings of thought processes, the conceptions behind planning, the guiding principals, the rules of logic, the very beginning of any enterprise, etc.

Fire of Air is the next stage, corresponding to the action stage of mental endeavour, such as fleshing out a novel once the plot and characters have been defined, talking about plans with others, developing ideas with others, allowing a touch of inspiration into one’s plans. Water of Air is the next stage of the process. It may correspond to getting feedback about one’s plans, it may symbolise the beginnings of emotional attachment to one’s goals and plans, it may correspond to sharing, or the desire to share one’s plans with others, perhaps to gain their support, or admiration. It may symbolise the contribution that the unconscious impulses may make to beginnings and plans, or which may unsettle the mind and cause changeability, or lack of confidence. Earth of Air then corresponds to the process of bedding down, locking in, and making a commitment to the proposed course of action, which prepares us to move onto the element of Fire, which symbolises action.

First is Air of Fire, which symbolises the initial steps, the beginnings, the first testings of action. It may also symbolise actions which are achieved or take their form through mental processes, such as writing letters, creating works of literature, or other mental activities that are themselves acts which affect others. Fire of Fire is the essence of movement and action, enthusiasm and inspiration. Water of Fire represents responsive action, guided and directed by feedback from its environment, or the things upon which the action is directed. Earth of Fire represents habitual action, action that has been locked into place through habit and repetition, or action that is practical in nature, or actions that build over time and repetition to achieve their constructive purpose. Whereas Air of Fire is changeable, Earth of Fire is solid action, and almost impervious to influence.

After Fire in the sun cycle of manifestation, is the element of Water, generally taken to be associated with the harvest, the rewards of action. Also associated with compassion, intuition and the subconscious, and the womb of the great mother. So we might take Air of water to represent the beginnings of the harvest or the rewards, with more still to come. We might also take Air of Water to symbolise intellectual expressions of compassion, or intellectual descriptions of the psyche – such as various forms of psychology and psychotherapy. Indeed any intellectual description or categorisation of intuitive, unconscious, dream or other non-waking realities, could be described as Air of Water. Fire of Water moves us into the active phase of reaping our harvest, and the activity of compassion, intuition, and delving into the greater self in some way. Water of Water, brings to mind the quintessence of Water, of compassion, intuition, the inner life. It is the returning current, and it is the mystery of connection. Earth of Water brings to mind the practical expression of intuition, compassion, and inner development, inner connection with the Great Mother: the habit of openness, the habit of compassion.

The Earth element then takes us through a period of stasis, of breaking apart, of composting to form the substrate for the next cycle of manifestation, the time of digesting experience. So Air of Earth is the intellectual expression of deconstructing one’s experience in order to do something better next time, a conscious reflection on events. Fire of Earth brings to mind a cheerful reflection on how things went, bringing to bear humour on a situation. It is also the active step in decomposition, perhaps symbolised by a wriggling mass of worms turning vegetable scraps into compost. Water of Earth is the final return, the reward of one’s reflection, and the processing of one’s subconscious mind, and of the group mind, below the level of awareness. Earth of Earth, is the final stasis after deconstruction and reflection and intuitive insights have been digested, leading to a stable foundation for a new cycle of manifestation.

Further insight into this division of energy may be gained by considering the court cards of the tarot deck. For example, the Pages represent Air, the Knights Fire, the Queens water, the Kings Earth. So Page of Coins is Air of Earth, Queen of wands is Water of Fire, etc.

This illustration of the four fold division of each of the elements is just one means of further characterising energies, and refining correspondences. We may apply further dimensions of characterisation. For example, we may characterise people physically, emotionally, intellectually and according to personality, each according to the 16 elemental divisions described, which gives approximately 64,000 different characterisations of a person. While every individual is unique, the richness of such a characterisation is sufficient for most purposes!

If you want to play with this system of characterisation, starting with people is reasonable, as people are something everyone has experience with. You might also like to consider dog breeds, birds, flowers, herbs, trees, classical music or motor-cycles – whatever your area of interest is. Select one example a day. For your example, decide first which element to place it in. Then within that element, which division. Consider everything you know about the item. Consider also how you feel about it, what you sense about it, and your perception of its energy.

Be prepared to revise your assessments as you go!

I am sure you will find this a rewarding experience that deepens your relationship with the elemental energies.

In Her Service,

Robyn

I had the privilege and good fortune the other day of coordinating a public ritual for a local pagan organisation, where there were about 50 or 60 participants. As this was the first time I had been involved in facilitating and conducting a ritual for such a large group, it was both a challenge and a learning experience for me. One of the first things to keep in mind is that all the attendees come from different backgrounds and levels of experience with ritual and circles. There were some from experienced coven backgrounds, from a variety of traditions, many solitaries with various levels of experience with public rituals and inner work, and some to whom it was all very new.

From the outset, one of the chief aims was to ensure that everyone was involved in some way with the conduct of the ritual. I firmly believe that ritual works best when each person has an opportunity to put their energy into it. The traditional framework around this ritual was that attendees split up into four groups focussed on the elements Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. The groups then workshop their element to deepen their appreciation of and connection to the element, and then choreograph a way of calling the elemental energy into the circle, and dismissing it. With a good facilitator for each tribe, everyone can feel they have a part to play and an involvement in the calling of their elemental energy. In fact it goes further than feeling an involvement – it is a feeling of group connection and consciousness, where elemental groups work as a unit to bring in and call up their elemental energy. This experience by itself is very powerful.

There are a lot of people involved in making a ritual work properly. For example, as well as the elemental facilitators, we had four experienced pagans channelling four Deities, and wearing the Mantle of their respective Deities in the circle. A High Priestess was the joint focus of the circle choreography. A Gatekeeper challenged all those who wished to enter the circle. Two others worked with the children of attendees, with activities and play, culminating in an entourage of sprites and fairy folk that added an element of the unexpected, and a bit of chaos to the circle. And then there were the old hands, who had participated in previous such events, and knew the ropes and the possible pitfalls of the whole process.

The key to putting all this together in an effective and harmonious way was communication over a number of months – talking to people, and listening to what they had to say; bouncing ideas off people; trying to find the value in all perspectives, and weaving them into the tapestry. Now we are all magical folk, so much of that communication can take place in the magical realms – but not all of it – there is still a need to get together and talk with the key people. With magical communication taking place however, the external communications can work efficiently and productively, because the magical selves of the various facilitators and key figures are already attuned.

One way that I used to help the attunement and to focus the magical communication was to create an object of power for the ritual. An object of power is created through focussed intention over a period of about a month – the period from one full moon to the next is a suitable period. Once the intention has been decided, and expressed symbolically, each day the object is charged with the energies and intentions desired, and the symbols expressing the intent are impressed upon it. The impression of symbols is both physical and etheric. The symbol is first visualised then one visualises the symbol being impressed within the object. This may coincide with physically marking the symbol on the object, but may not. In fact the physical marking only occurs once, but the etheric impression is repeated many times, both before and after the physical impression.

As I am quite fond of working with trees and wood, I selected a piece of tree trunk which I rescued from our local waste transfer station. I sawed off a smooth face, then worked with various grades of sand paper, to end up with a smooth finish. Each morning, I did a little bit, ten or twenty minutes, as part of my morning practice, and while sanding, I linked the object to the energies it would embody.

After the object was completed and energised, I shared the symbols with the other people involved in preparing the ritual, and invited them to place the symbols on their alters, and work with the symbols in the preparation for the ritual. Through the connection of the energised symbols, we could all enter the same space, where our magical selves could communicate with each other. In fact, part of my practice was to regularly reach inwardly for all those involved  and to seek their input and communication on this magical level. It is a fine line to tread here, as one does not want to become oppressive or over bearing, but to create the opportunity for an inward meeting of minds to facilitate co-creation.

Having taken care of the inner business of preparation, one must also take care of the outer business. I eventually wrote a script, with the input of the “old hands”, and met several times with people before the appointed hour to run through the script. Each time we saw how something could work better, or identified a detail that had been overlooked. A chant had been written, and was taught to some strong singers well before the ritual. As the ritual was part of a weekend gathering, there was also time to teach the chant to people on the day before the ritual. One dimension of a public ritual like this is the theatrical – costumes, players who know how to project their voices, and people who can remember their lines and deliver them naturally and powerfully are important and cannot be over-looked. Even so, at one point in the ritual the energy in the centre of the circle became so strong that I completely went blank – fortunately the High Priestess was experienced and able enough to extemporise and lead us through the deep structure of the rite, even though the script went out the window!

All in all, the ritual went very well, in spite of the hiccup above, which nobody else seemed to notice. One lesson for me was that knowing one’s lines outside the circle is a different thing to knowing one’s lines inside the circle – where the focussed energy very easily shifts one out of the necessary state of mind! Next time I will make sure I know my lines much better! Another thing I will do next time is to memorise the structure of the ritual. That is, for example, (1) Casting Circle and Entry; (2) Call to Circle; (3) Calling the elements; (4) Calling the Deities; (5) Energy Raising; (6) Blessing and Conjunction; (7) Farewell to Deities; (8) Farewell to Elements; and (9) Lifting Circle. You wouldn’t think you would need to, as the structure of a ritual is so intuitive and natural. However amidst all that energy flying about, having the structure memorised and mentally checking off as we went along, could well have prevented little mishaps such as described above. On the positive side, when the mind goes blank, the Gods step in. And perhaps this is the real lesson – to trust.

In Her Service,

Robyn

I am very lucky in where I live. I have magnificent forests a short drive from my door, and I often go for walks there, to reconnect with myself, nature, and the essentials of life. Indeed, more than luck, because I chose to live where I do, because of my love of the forests – or the bush as we say in Australia. It is so easy to forget in the tumult of the Western World, the bustle of the city, and the intensity of the workplace, that humans are but one form of life on this planet. Western culture takes for granted that humans are superior to all other life forms, and that nature is ours to use, exploit, and to eradicate for condominiums. We can trace this back to Judao-Christian world views expressed in biblical terms as God giving Man dominion over the beasts of the field etc.

However this is not the pagan world view. While pagans believe all sorts of different things, a common thread running through the modern neo-pagan movement is respect for nature, and for other forms of life, based upon a view of humans as one of many life forms, each playing an important part in the bio-sphere of our mother the Earth. The mechanistic view of Western Culture sees nature as blind, and beasts as “dumb”, and humans as the pinnacle of evolution or creation, depending on whether you subscribe to the scientific mythology or the religious mythology.

My view is that the natural world is full of life and consciousness and intelligence, but that most people, imprisoned within their individualistic symbolically mediated communication methods, have lost the art of communicating with this intelligence and spiritual energy that manifests through nature.

Today, my walk took me through the rain forest. A light mist cloaked the trees, and the thick clouds let loose sporadic showers of gentle drops. I passed several glades of native violets, as I walked under the canopy, padding along on a thick bed of leaves. Bright red berries of native raspberries beckoned from the side of the path. On a wet week day, there aren’t too many people about, so there were plenty of birds to keep me company. Inquisitive little finch like birds came to check me out, as I stood still for a breather. Rufous fan tails fluttered up the path in front of me. The Wompoo pigeons were calling in the canopy arround me. Everywhere underfoot were the bright rainforest berries of summer. I stopped to talk to a bird that appeared on a branch in front of me. How are you, I asked it in my mind’s ear. How are the insects? Plentiful, it told me, before hopping along its journey. As I made my way along the ridge line, the canopy thinned out, to make way for magnificent white mahoganies. Gradually the path became thinner and more overgrown, the further I tracked away from the road and the car park. I caught sight of a medium sized black bird flying off in the under brush, and turned a corner in the path to see what looked like two handfulls of twigs, planted side by side in the ground – the bower of the Satin Bower bird, which he uses to attract a mate.

The path opened out onto a small clearing, with a large log along one end. I sat on the log, and called my Deities, and honoured the elements, and sat in quiet contemplation. I expanded my aura, reaching out to embrace the forest around me, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the bush – the many varieties of birds, and the sound of drops of water falling around me onto the forest floor.

There is a music in the sounds of the bush, the twitters and clicks of the birds and insects, and the pat of the falling drops of water gathering on leaves before plopping onto the ground. To become attuned to this music, allow your attention to dwell on your heart as you breath out, and on your third eye as you breathe in, gently, lightly. Feel full of joy and a sense of connection with everything around you. When you feel that you have got the rhythm and pace of this music, allow yourself to join in with it, by making clicking noises with your tongue and popping your lips quietly and gently. Other gentle noises that you can use to join in with this music are the sounds you make by gently sucking air through your top teeth. Try to imitate the sounds around you, of birds, drops, insects, or whatever you can hear.

If you have made the correct preparations, you will find yourself being a part of this magical music. There will be no separation. The energy that moves the rain, the birds and the insects will also be moving you, and you will be part of the music.

There is no further description of this that I can give – except to encourage you to try this out for yourself. You won’t regret it, I am sure.

Blessed Be,

Robyn.

I was feeling a bit down in the dumps this morning, and wanted to get some insight into the reasons why. Of course Pagans have their ups and downs as much as anybody – myself included. Indeed, it has been my experience that the more one commits to following some path of spiritual development, the more ups and downs one has. Of course it could just be me, but I believe that one of the reasons is that most paths of genuine spiritual development involve attunement to something greater than and outside ourselves, and the growth of awareness and sensitivity. This automatically puts one at odds with the human world that we have created and have the pleasure of living in – which encourages lack of awareness, the dulling of sensitivity, and a robotic existance in service of the employer. Sensitivity and awareness leads one to the conciousness of pain – there is so much pain in this world, so much unrealised potential, so much thwarted desire for expression of the true self, so much hunger and poverty, so much destruction and abuse of nature, so much mechanisation of all aspects of life.  The pain of people is not the only thing. The pain of the non-human world also comes crashing through when the gates of sensitivity and awareness begin to open. The pain of slavery, the pain of clear felling, the pain of destruction. I was talking to someone the other day who mentioned that they’d been reading a book by someone whose main thesis was that depression and despair are unavoidavble in today’s world, because at a deep level, all of us feel the depression and despair of the destruction that is being wrought upon our dear Mother Earth. Of course many are successful in shutting off theses feelings, and immersing themselves in their egocentric existance, making a virtue of seperation and independance. Yet every genuine spiritual path that I know of makes it its business to broaden the consciousness, to break down the egocentric self conception, and open an awareness into the collective intelligence that embraces all.

Dealing with these feelings that well up from the deeps can be over-whelming for people who first set their feet on the path. Especially so for paths that embrace the modern Pagan world view, that the world is alive, and the body of Our Goddess, our dear Lady, our Mother. There is only one thing I know that can counteract these feelings, and that is to embrace and fulfill one’s true nature – the path, in my view, laid out by the Blessed Mother, which leads to that point where inner and outer meet and become one. In this, there is the cure  for the wound, and for the wasteland, the inner distress, and the outer distress, respectively. I’ve written much more about this in my book “The Great Work”, so won’t further belabour the point here.

Back to my story – I decided to draw a tarot card in order to gain some insight into the melancholy condition in which I found myself this morning. It was the page of coins. The deck I chose to use this morning is “The Circle Tarot”, put together by Ann Franklin. It is a very Pagan deck, featuring a lot of traditional British, Wiccan and Druidic symbolism, and the interpretations are very alligned with my own Pagan spirituality. It is always an education to draw one of these cards, which feature the sacred sights of the Brittain and Ireland, herbs, trees, totem animals and God forms familiar to Celtic and Wiccan pagans.

The interpretation for the Page of Coins was the need to pay attention to balance in the physical body – a balance of exercise and relaxation. The implication being that I had become out of balance. This was fair enough, and a welcome reminder. The next card that came up was the seven of cups. In the Sacred Circle deck, this card is associated with delusion, and the need for careful choices. I am no stranger to this card, and its message. One of my regular stumbling blocks is trying to do too many different things, and being unable to choose one direction over another – for fear of loss. Yet life will force the choice that isn’t made pro-actively, after much distress, usually, and failure in many directions for want of focus and commitment.

Of course, being a Pagan, I have several Tarot decks, so naturally I felt like checking on things with another deck. What card should be first up? You guessed it, the Page of Coins! What card should come up second? None other than the seven of cups! OK, OK, Ancient Ones, I get the message!

However the interpretations given by my second deck (The Dragon Tarot by Peter Pracownik and Terry Donaldson) are a bit different. Page of Coins is given the intepretation “the desire for a new line of work”, and the seven of cups “The need to choose among several options”.

It is interesting to note the different interpretations, especially of the page of Coins. How can these be reconciled? Both interpretations are expressions of the Page energy (Air, changeability), applied to the Earth element (Physical Body, Money matters, Job). Yet another traditional interpretation is of Good news (communication – air) about a job (Money – Earth).

For me, perhaps it is an indication of needing new beginnings in the Job world – of finding a job that more closely alligns with my Nature. The inattention to this need then leads to physical imbalance in the body. I will keep you posted how I go!

I wrote the above almost six months ago, but somehow didn’t get around to posting it. In the interim, I have been offered, and accepted, a voluntary redundancy package from my workplace. Page of Coins and Seven of Cups indeed!

BB,

Rob

I recently bought a motorcycle, after about ten years out of the saddle, due to travel and then putting all spare finances into buying a house. Partly, the reason was to try and use less petrol, and do my bit for global warming, and save on my monthly transport bill. But of course a major motivation was simply to enjoy riding again!  Of course it is quite an exercise buying a motorcycle – gathering information, deciding on a budget, and what type of bike to look for. To cut a long story short, I eventually made my decision, and bought a bike. However after some weeks, I found that I was getting a sore back – something that has never happened to me before. Perhaps it was age catching up? I tried all sorts of things. Different riding positions. Putting weight on the pegs going over pot holes. But nothing seemed to be working. The problem was getting worse. So, what to do?

I fell back on the principles of the previous post – energy and attention. First, I began to ride with some attention on the painful areas. I noticed that there was a lot of tension there.  I was holding the muscles of my lower back in a state of tightness and contraction. Every time I went over a bump, my whole back was being jarred, due to the tension, leading me to tighten the muscles even more, and make things worse.

I then began to allow some energy to flow into the area, and with that energy, the muscles could unwind and relax. My back and pelvis began to mold and fit themselves into a more natural position that suited the design of the bike and the saddle.  Now the bumps aren’t so jarring, as with more relaxation, I can move with the bike, instead of against it. The back is now much better! Of course you don’t have to be a pagan to figure out the necessity of relaxing – but using attention and energy can cut short what otherwise might develop into major difficulties.

BB,

Robyn

There is quite a difference between the way the ordinary person looks at the world, and the way that an occultist or magical practitioner looks at the world. And this is nowhere more manifest than in the way that one approaches a problem. For the ordinary person, a problem is something to be ignored until it gets so bad that an expert has to be consulted! Well, at least for a lot of people! However for someone on a path of magical and personal development, a problem is an opportunity to grow in all sorts of different ways.

Firstly, it is a chance to develop personal qualities such as courage, integrity and perseverance. Secondly, it is a chance to develop magical skills.  Problems almost always have a direct cause. We manifest them ourselves, with the energies and thoughts that we habitually construct around us and within us. Of course many people reject this assertion, believing it to victimize the unfortunate as being the cause of their misfortune. However the adept doesn’t apply this maxim to others in judgement – only to him or her self.

So a problem in your life is a chance to use magical skills of perception to discern the underlying cause, in your own mind and emotional body, that has been the seed for the problematic circumstance to manifest around you. This concept appears in the Arthurian corpus as the relationship between the wounded king and the wasteland of his kingdom.

One key to this kind of discernment is the use of focussed attention. Many schools of body work hold that emotional wounds are held in the body as tension, pains and knots, where energy is tied up and unable to flow freely. A technique that can be of great value is to go into a meditative state or light trance, and place your attention on an area of your body where there is pain or tightness. Breathe slowly and deeply, and visualize the breathe entering and leaving your body through the pain or area of tension. Allow whatever happens to happen. You may find that certain images come to mind. Allow them to, but don’t seek to grasp them, or hold on to them. Just acknowledge them and allow them to pass. The same may occur with feelings and emotions. Indeed, you may be shocked at the intensity of feelings that can arise. However acknowledge them and let them pass without becoming absorbed in them.

Another tool that can be used is the direction of energy. Where attention is placed, anergy will follow. There are two currents of energy which I mainly work with at this time – the Earth current, and the Source Current, associated with the red and white dragons. The red current is hot and comes from deep in the Earth, and is wonderful for healing the physical body. The white current is cool, and comes from deep within the Spiritual realms, which I conceptualize as being at the centre of the universe. It is wonderful for healing the spirit and mind. Once you have breathed into a location of pain or tightness for a while, and unlocked the locus so that images or feelings are released, allow the flow of feelings and images to naturally come to an end. Then open up one of the energy currents by dividing your attention in two. Place one half of your attention on the source, the centre of the earth for the red current, or the centre of the universe for the white current, and the keep the other half of your attention on the place of pain in your body. The energy will begin to flow.  This flow of energy can dissolve the templates that have been formed in our body-mind-spirit system, which manifest as pain and tightness in the body, as negative thoughts and poor self image in the mind, and gradually manifest around us problems in relationships, job, etc etc that sooner or later come to a head.

These templates are somewhat like beliefs that we hold about ourselves, or the world, little scripts that give us direction, that we play out in every facet of our lives. To the magical practitioner, any problems we might have can only be temporarily solved, unless these templates are removed or re-written. The flow of energy can be used to dissolve these templates, simply by intending to do so.

Thus we come to the second part of the magical approach to problems. The creation of new templates that better serve  our ends. In contrast to some eastern paths, which seem to seek to transcend or remove such templates, the western path as I understand it is about taking charge of these templates, and energizing them in a constructive manner.

Once the flow of energy comes to a stop, and the templates have been dissolved, which may take one a number of occasions over months or even years, one can begin creating new templates. One way to do this is through affirmations. An affirmation can be enhanced by expressing it in symbolic language, and visualizing it as it is repeated. A practice to try after you have worked with an area of pain or tightness in the body, and become aware of the release of energy and thought patterns and old images therein contained, is to use those images and energies as the basis for a positive template reconstruction, an antidote, as it were, that corrects the negative pattern and transforms it into a positive pattern.

Express this positive template as a short sharp sentence – an affirmation – such as “I deserve prosperity, health and love”. Allow the correct affirmation for you to present itself in your light trance state. Ask the help of your guides or Deities. Then express the affirmation as a symbol. Use runes, astrological or alchemical symbols, or whatever symbols system you are familiar with. Another method is to take the consonants from your affirmation, only once for each, even if some letters are used more than once, and arrange them into a connected design which you can visualize. With your mind’s eye, place the symbol representing the affirmation at the location of the pain or tightness you are working with, and once again open the flow of energy. This time allow the energy current to flow through the symbol into your being.

This is just a beginning of course. As you work with these ideas, you will find your own wisdom, your own guidance, and your own way of best working with energy and attention to solve problems. Magic is seen by most who first come to the path as about effecting change within the world through application of focussed will. However after a while, one realizes that this natural process is going on all the time, twenty four hours a day. The wise person takes charge of what she is manifesting in this way. You may well find that there is little else that needs to be done in the way of magic!

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)