End of an Era

Alas, dear followers, the time for this blog is up.

However, please update your favourites with my new blog:

http://journeywithinferi.blogspot.com/

Brightest blessings!!

Invocation for Summer Solstice

Sorry this is a bit late!

"The Sun, so filled with light and heat, pours upon us his abundant strength, falling like honey from the sky, bringing to us this time of fullness. We are joyful, rejoicing in the high time of the Sun's journey; yet we are also mournful as the Sun begins to wane, such is the fate of all things.

The Divine Twins have reached the apex of their strength. Krom and his twin Tyr, the Red One and the Green One are intertwined as brothers and lovers, celebrating the beauty of each other's bodies. Their joy becomes as the light of the Sun and we feel their caress touching our skin. Yet at the moment of their two-fold orgasm, they begin to wane. Thus is the Paradox born - we celebrate life and recognise the journey towards death. Blessed be."

Ritual Planning Using the Tree of Life

Using the Lightning Path, we bring Divine energy to manifest in our material plane (although the Divine and the Material are one and the same, this analogy can be useful). Using the Tree of Life as an analogy for our magic, I propose below a method of ritual planning that considers the messages of each Sephirah to help us clarify what we want from our magic and to understand our deepest motivations.

1. Crown – What is your clear, clarified intention?
2. Wisdom – How will the ritual affect all the areas of your life?
3. Understanding – What are the limitations of the magic?
4. Knowledge – What are the underlying, secret motivations for the ritual?
5. Mercy – Have you done Kala before working the magic?
6. Strength – Have you considered any martial aspects to the ritual?
7. Beauty – How will the Sacred be manifest in the ritual?
8. Victory – What offerings and sacrifices will you bring to the ritual?
9. Splendour – What are the correspondences you will use for the working?
10. Foundation – What has trance and divination told you about the ritual?
11. Kingdom – What is the (elemental) structure/pattern/form for the ritual?

Happy Planning.

A Spell to Balance the Points

One of the main tools in the Feri treasure chest is the running of Pentacles, the two most famous being the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Each of these Pentacles contains points of energy that are important to a healthy life and healthy magic. A Point can reach a state of imbalance in two ways - either through an excess or absence of that energy. For example, an excess of Sex could result in a string of meaningless one-night stands, whereas the absence would be an unhealthily enforced celibacy (including no masturbation!). By running the Pentacles diligently, preferably daily, it becomes easier for the Witch to realise when one or more of the Points are imbalanced. The Diagnostic Pentacles (which show the shadows of Absence or Excess) can further clarify your relationship with the Points.

While the best way to bring a Point into balance is the running of the Pentacles and self-examination (including divination and trance), I have devised a rite to solidify the commitment of bring a specific Point into right relationship with the others. This rite rests on the theory that each Point is supported by two others; the Points that form a triangle. You can use the balanced energy of the supporting Points to help you with any problematic energy. Here is a quick list of the supporting points:

Sex – Supported by Passion and Pride

Self – Supported by Pride and Power

Passion – Supported by Sex and Power

Pride – Supported by Sex and Self

Power – Supported by Self and Passion

For the rite, you will need:

• Three candles (any colours you deem appropriate)
• Three small pieces of paper
• Two quartz crystals (with points)

Place the three candles in a triangle, with the imbalanced Point at the apex. If you like, you could carve the name of the Points into the candle and anoint them with saliva. On two pieces of paper, write what the two supporting points mean to you and try to connect with their energies. Place them underneath their corresponding candles.

Place the two crystals pointing from the supporting Points to the apex of the triangle and visualise a flow of energy hitting the apex. Say: “I call forth the energies of _______, supported by the Points of _______ and _______.”

Light the three candles in whatever order you feel is right and then say they following:

“From apex point of sex doth flow,
The gifts of love that we would know,

That lures us ever toward our pride,
Which shines as law and does provide

Awareness of our self’s domain;
And knowledge of all things arcane. 


A move toward power stirs within
Liberty shared with other kin.


As waves of passion fill our souls,
We grow with wisdom; life’s true goal.


By the Iron and by the Pearl,
I claim my being;
I claim my world.

So mote it be.”

Bind the spell in your usual manner and let the candles burn down.

Note, the beautiful poem above was written by Storm Faerywolf. Please check his site out, it is chock full of amazing stuff. He has also written a book that I would highly recommend.

A Feri Lightning Path Exercise

Here is a Feri-ed version of the Lightning Path.

1. See a bright white light above your crown. Inhale white light and intone the Divine name: Ma.
2. A white ray of light travels to your left cheek and activates a grey sphere. Breathe in grey light and intone the Divine name: Arddhu
3. A white ray of light travels to your right cheek and activates a black sphere. Breathe in black light and intone the Divine name: Ana
4. A white ray of light travels to your throat and activates a hollow sphere. Breathe in clear light and intone the Divine name: Melek Ta’us
5. A white ray of light travels to your left shoulder and activates a blue sphere. Breathe in blue light and intone the Divine name: Krom
6. A white ray of light travels to your right shoulder and activates a red sphere. Breathe in red light and intone the Divine name: Mari
7. A white ray of light travels to your heart and activates a yellow sphere. Breathe in yellow light and intone the Divine name: Aah.
8. A white ray of light travels to your left hip and activates a green sphere. Breathe in green light and intone the Divine name: Dian y Glas
9. A white ray of light travels to your right hip and activates an orange sphere. Breathe in orange light and intone the Divine name: Nimue
10. A white ray of light travels to your sex and activates a purple sphere. Breathe in purple light and intone the Divine name: Miria
11. A white ray of light travels to your beneath your feet and activates a brown sphere. Breathe in brown light and intone the Divine name: Aum.
12. Hold your palms up with fingers spread and feel the lightning path within you. Say: I hold within me the Tree of Life, and I myself do live within it. May all the spheres be strong within me. Blessed be.

A Feri Middle Pillar Exercise

The Middle Pillar Exercise, one of the foundational exercises from the Golden Dawn, is a fantastic rite. Here I present a Feri version, with different God names at the Sephiroth to better reflect my tradition.

1. Visualise yourself stood with a black pillar on your right and a white pillar on your left.
2. Visualise a sphere of white light just above your head. Inhale white light and intone the Divine name: Ma.
3. The ray of light descends to your throat and a hollow sphere appears. Inhale hollow light and intone the Divine name: Melek Ta’us.
4. The ray of light descends to your heart and a yellow sphere appears. Inhale yellow light and intone the Divine name: Aah.
5. The ray of light descends to your sex and a purple sphere appears. Inhale purple light and intone the Divine name: Miria.
6. The ray of light descends to below your feet and a brown sphere appears. Inhale brown light and intone the Divine name: Aum.
7. See the white ray rise up either side of you and down through your crown, running the circuit several times.
8. Let the energy gather into your heart and it shines brightly. Place your hands over your heart and say: Ha! My feet are on the Earth! Ha! My sex is in the moon! Ha! My heart is in the Sun! Ha! My crown is in the stars!

Thanks to Veedub for the last lines, I think they're amazing!!

My Revised Qabala-Feri Daily Practice

I have been quite diligent in my daily practice for a good while now, and I am proud of my achievement on this front. However, I would like my practice to better reflect my increasing interest in Qabala. I think it's a good sign that I want to do something practical rather than merely assimilating knowledge (would not like to get trapped in Da'ath...) so I present here my Qabala-Feri daily practice. What do you think?

1. Star Goddess Prayer
2. Prayers to the Ancestors, Gods and Guardians
3. Feri Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram
4. Kala Rite
5. Ha Prayer and Affirmation of Middle Pillar Sephiroth
6. Feri Middle Pillar Exercise
7. Sitting Practice
8. Feri Affirmation (from Cora)
9. Running the Pentacles and Aligning the Hearts
10. Dedication of Merit (prayer for somebody's healing)
11. Tree of Life Prayer (see previous post)

Enjoy!

A Feri Qabalistic Prayer

"Manifest Star Goddess, grant me the experience of your Kingdom, and provide me with the Foundation of your wondrous reflection. Let your Splendour shine Victoriously through me, and may my Beauty reflect your infinite Beauty. May your Strength and Mercy be ever present within me and my I speak with Knowledge. May I Understand and hold within me the Wisdom of your loving ever-presence. Transcendent Star Goddess, Crown me with your circle of Stars, that I may realise the oneness of All and achieve the consciousness of Nothing. Blessed be, YHVH."

Feri Pantheon on the Tree of Life

The Qabalistic Tree of Life is a glyph that contains all and nothing. But, it is not my intention to explain the Tree of Life. Rather, I would like to share how I have placed the Feri Gods on the glyph and, perhaps more importantly, how I have explored the paths between them. This is a work in progress, so the path names are likely to shift and change and evolve along with my understanding. It would be great to have some feedback - please, look at the glyph and sit with the connections. Do any resonate with you? Why or why not?

Oh, if you click the image you should be able to view a bigger and clearer glyph. If you stretch your imagination, this glyph is not dissimilar to the lemniscate representation of the Pantheon.

Happy Qabala-ing.

5th Annual Brigid Poetry Festival

This meme has been circulating the Blogosphere for five years now - way before I even had a blog! However, I've decided I want in. Here is my offering to Brigid; although I don't work with the Goddess regularly, I know this time of year belongs to Her. Thanks to Reya and Anne Hill for this. Enjoy!

A Simple Rhyme for Brigid

The candles flicker, brightly round

Her head of lights, so gaily crowned,

To greet the year, we sing the sound,

As hand to hand we tread the ground.

As fire warms the heart and mind,

The growing year shall now unwind,

Good health and happiness we'll find,

Beneath every poem, Her name is signed.

So make the pledge, a bell to chime,

That seals the promise for all of time,

We seek connection, pure, sublime;

And honour Her, whose gift is Rhyme.

(Throw coin into the wishing well,

Whisper softly, speak the spell,

Give some milk and ring a bell.

Who knows what Fey around here dwell?)

This, too, is Goddess

Recently, T Thorn Coyle has been discussing the role of immanent Divinity in our world view. If we truly see God Herself as being immanent and transcendent, then all Things are part of Her. This includes inanimate (I use the term loosely, here, of course...) objects as well as living beings, and part of Thorn's discussion is how we are strongly influenced by the dominant monotheistic world-view that sees matter as unimportant at best, fallen at worst. We need to realise the sacredness inherent in every Thing. Part of my practice over the past few weeks has been to try and catch myself when I am doing something routine, such as cooking dinner or brushing my teeth, and saying to myself "This, too, is Goddess". This challenges me, and forces me out of habitual thinking.

Just today I was peeling potatoes for a scrummy gratin and I realised I was in autopilot (or was it trancing?) so I said to myself "this, too, is Goddess". Immediately, I realised my relationship to the potato in my hand had changed - it was transformed from an inanimate vegetable into a sacred Being that was born in the Earth, nourished by wind and rain, harvested by people. I felt the divinity of this small vegetable.

I have been researching I and Thou by Martin Buber, a Jewish philosopher that posited two forms of relationship: the relationship which we see existing between I and Object - distant, cold, unemotional, and the relationship between I and Thou - a sacred relationship that exists between I and God, which is ultimately All. If we can extend our concept of All to actually include all people and objects, we eventually see them as God and ourselves. Maybe this is what Victor was alluding to when he said "God is Self and Self is God and God is a person like myself".

A Feri Wheel of the Year

A few months ago I decided to write my own version of the Wheel of the Year based on the mythology (as I understand it) of the Feri deities. It is my intention to write a complete Feri ritual for each of the Sabbats and post them on here if anyone wants to use them or comment on them. Below is a brief summary of how I view the Wheel. I'll post my Candlemas rite on here soon.

Yule:

The Star Goddess has taken all within Herself, all the Gods have returned to Her womb, which is the Cauldron of Cerridwen, where She perfects Them and allows them to be reborn. She gives birth to two bright spirits, the Twins. The lemniscate Gods are reborn this night. Melek Taus is reborn from the Love of his Mother.

Candlemas:

The Twins have grown into youths, Dian y Glas and Nimue. They are playful and youthful – they represent the hope of the coming year. They set forth the intention for the year to walk the path of Mystery. Nimue brings her blessings from the well, and Dian Y Glas fills our Godsoul for the coming year.

Spring Equinox:

The Twins revel in the beauty of the Mother – Dian Y Glas and Nimue dance delight, which causes the flowers and bounty of nature to flourish. The Twins begin their courtship and they merge and flow. Their genders shift during the rite, they are male and male, female and female, male and female.

Beltane:

The Twins have matured into full adults. Krom and Mari are sexually mature and the Twins marry. The two candle flames become one and their light brings forth life. The Twins enact the sacred marriage, the Hieros Gamos and we reaffirm our intention to marry the Gods, or renew our marriage vows. The Fey are particularly afoot this night.

Midsummer:

At the height of their strength, the Twins begin to wane. Krom and his twin Twr, the Red Man and the Green One become lovers and make love to luxuriate in their beauty and strength. White Mari, the mother, stirs the magic well from which life can be reborn. The Gods take three drops to transform. The Holy Orgasm that created the Universe from God Herself is also remembered here, just as at Yule.

Lammas:

The Lord has waned, Krom has given himself as a willing sacrifice by the hand of Mari, who becomes Red Mari as she is stained with his blood. The Red Man becomes Black Krom as he is burned in effigy, transformed by fire, to renew the land. All feast to celebrate the life that is given to feed life.

Autumn equinox:

The Twins age further. They become wise ones. The Arddhu now begins his reign. He is the dread God of Death, He to whom all lost things go. He begins his journey to the Underworld, with a last celebration of life, to which we must bade farewell until Yule. Black Ana initiates the Arddhu and prepares him for the journey.

Samhain:

The Arddhu and Ana reign here. They know Death and the Mystery. They are wise. The Arddhu is tested by Ana in the Kingdom of Death and they teach us love and peace in the beyond. But they are also playful, and one must be wary of their tricks. They allow our Ancestors to commune with us easily on this night. They begin their journey back to the womb of the Star Goddess.

Romantic Intentions

What is an acceptable intention? If I have an intention for my life and/or my magic, I have to go through a series of checks to make sure it is a true Intention (capital I). I have to be sure that it is authentic and that all my parts are in agreement – I need to be clear that all of my souls and my body are on board for this Intention. My general process is using divination to explore the elemental implications of my intention. The five cards that I use explore how I feel about my intention through the five classical elements, which is very helpful.

I have been thinking about clarification of intention recently because I am conflicted about my romantic life. I am currently single but my intention is to find a kind, warm, intelligent and sexy partner to spend (at least part of) my life with. However, what are the motivations for this? Is it loneliness? Sexual frustration? Maybe even envy? I don’t know how to solve the paradox of wanting to be independent yet part of a couple. Society tells us that we must be part of a monogamous couple to find true happiness, yet people generally assert that to be independent is equally important. How do people do it?

In Feri, one of the core tenets is that we are not to submit our life force to anyone or any thing. This is true of a relationship too – I must make sure that I am coming from a place of stillness, of readiness and independence in my erotic and romantic encounters. This is difficult, but daily practice helps, especially sitting practice. When I sit, it comes from place of self-compassion and self-exploration. Sitting helps me to find out who I am and where I am going, to paraphrase Cora Anderson.

Another part of this situation is trying to purify myself from Disney-fied expectations (I could dedicate an entire series of Kala rites to this intention alone…). As Witches, we have the power to bring things into our lives, including love. However, the accepted wisdom says that the right person will simply ‘turn up’. Do we then not to magic for fear of conjuring up the wrong person into our lives? How about using a list of qualities that are essential in a mate? Or asking the Multiverse to provide the correct person, whoever that may be? Questions, questions…

…is there an answer?