The Art of Devotion

I have recently been thinking about how the art of devotion figures in my Feri practice, and what importance is placed up on it. First, I’d like to define what devotion is. My computer’s dictionary defines devotion as ‘love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause’. My personal definition is slightly more specific, in that devotion is ‘any act that is done with a sacred intention to bring you into a deeper relationship with divinity’. I know that’s slightly wordy, but I think the emphasis here is on intention and relationship. In Feri, there is a strong emphasis on your personal relationship with the Gods, Guardians and other Beings and it is up to each individual practitioner to deepen that relationship, make the effort, and figure out what each relationship means.

So, what do I do as devotional acts? Usually I use traditionally ‘religious’ acts, such as prayer, meditation, the use of prayer beads, and chanting. However, I have come to think that my morning practice is a form of indirect devotion, in that it does not offer love or energy towards a specific relationship with a God or spirit, rather it gives me the ability to deepen those relationships on another level. It prepares me for direct devotional acts, by increasing my awareness and expanding my soul.

In Feri, my main direct devotional acts include weekly pujas to Ganesh (which I have neglected recently and really need to get back into), the use of prayer beads for the Star Goddess and the Blue God (and eventually I’ll bead for all the Feri Gods) and meditation on their forms.

But I’ve set myself a challenge to include ‘mundane’ acts in my definition of devotion. After all, why shouldn’t my morning shower and breakfast be a devotional act?

Feri LBRP

I have started studying the Qabala and the Western Mystery Tradition in order to understand how modern occultism has evolved, and one of the most important rituals is the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP). While I have no problem using Hebrew names and invocations to Yahweh, I thought I could configure a Feri-centred version, in order to bridge the connection between my foundational practices of Feri and my exploration and research of Qabala.

During the evocation section, you can use either the names of the Guardians, or the associated archangels. These archangels are not canon, and indeed I couldn't find any two authorities that agreed on the major seven archangels, so I chose the seven that most corresponded to the Guardians. 

1. Opening rite

With your dominant hand, draw down energy to your heart chakra from the Universe above you and say: “In the name of the transcendent Star Goddess, Isis Unveiled”

Draw energy up to your heart chakra from the Earth below you and say: “In the name of the immanent Star Goddess, Isis Veiled”

Stretch out your left arm and visualise the left side of the lemniscate flowing out from the heart then back again, and say: “In the names of Nimue, Mari and Anna”

Stretch out your right arm and visualise the right side of the lemniscate flowing out from the heart then back again, and say: “In the names of Dian y Glas, Krom and Arrdu”

Visualise the energy of the lemniscate flowing through you, along with the powers of above and below. Bring your hands to your heart and say the Star Goddess prayer.

2. Banishing

Face each of the directions and draw the pentagram, breathing and pushing through each pentagram, then tracing a circle.

 

3. Evocation

Face east and say:

Before me, Star Finder (Raphael)

Behind me, Water Maker, (Uriel)

On my right hand, Shining Flame (Michael)

On my left side, Black Mother (Gabriel)

Above me, Heaven Shiner (Metatron)

Below me, Fire in the Earth (Raziel)

And within me, Guardian of the Gate, Keeper of the Black Heart (Anael)

4. Repeat the opening rite. 

I'm planning on adding this to my daily practice, possibly as an opener. If anyone else uses it, let me know how you get on.

Feri Gods and Qabala

I have just read on Muninn's Kiss about how the Feri Gods can be placed on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. I will write more on this when I have time, so this is just a little reminder to myself to include this in my next post...

Sex and Feri

In the Feri tradition, which has been defined as a ‘sex-positive’ religion, sex is seen as a sacred and essential part of Self. While in other Witchcraft traditions there is an implicit sexual undercurrent, mostly expressed through outer polarity of male and female coven members or in the Great Rite (whether actual or ‘in token’), Feri makes it explicit. In regards to sex being an essential part of Self, there is a Feri saying from Victor: “Self is God and God is Self and God is a person like myself”. This saying emphasises the essential relationship between the worshipper and the Gods, which is ultimately sexual. Indeed, when we perform the Triple Soul Alignment we often feel a sexual rush to the genitals and a tingling in the toes and fingers.

In Feri, we have another saying “Everything begins with Sex”. This can be seen as a metaphor for the Divine impulse of creation, the first great Orgasm of the Star Goddess that brought forth the Multiverse, or it can be seen more mundanely as the act of sex between humans, animals, or plants. It can even be understood as Sex = Desire, and all things are done from a desire or a need, which therefore doesn’t limit it to a purely physical act.

So what is the purpose of sex? Is there one? In fact, I think there is more than one, and the meaning behind sex is unique for each sexual being. That being said, I don’t generally ascribe a meaning to sex. I think different sexual acts can have different significance, and the same act in a different situation would shift the meaning yet again. Yet most people would agree that sex is one of the most precious, sensual, special parts of being human. Even masturbation can be spiritually and physically nourishing, if done from the correct frame of mind.

Yet it is also dangerous. Sex can cause unwanted pregnancies and STI’s. When misused, it is rape and child abuse. To a lesser degree, it is using people through enforced prostitution. In the Iron Pentacle, Sex is connected to Power, and this relationship must be fully explored if the practitioner is to have a healthy sexual attitude.

I had sex last night. He is a friend of one of my close friends, and there was a definite sexual attraction when we met. We both knew we were going to have sex, yet we didn’t talk about it, hint at it, or think about the deeper meaning. And we enjoyed it immensely. We might see each other again, or we might not. What’s important is that two people came together (pun intended) and enjoyed the physicality of each other’s bodies, taking us out of our heads and grounding us.

Sex is love, embodied.