The Spiral Dance Part 6

The East corresponds to the element Air, to the mind, dawn, spring, to pale, airy colors, white and violet, to the eagle and high-flying birds, and the power to know. Its tools are the athame and the sword, which are used interchangeably. The athame is traditionally a double-bladed, black-handled knife, but people use anything from kitchen knives to Swiss Army knives complete with corkscrew, so indispensable for opening ritual wine. Many Witches do not own a sword; they are dramatic at large, open rituals but awkward in close quarters.

EXERCISE 23: AIR MEDITATION.

Face East. Ground and center. Breathe deep, and be conscious of the air as it flows in and out of your lungs. Feel it as the breath of the G.o.ddess, and take in the life force, the inspiration, of the universe. Let your own breath merge with the winds, the clouds, the great currents that sweep over land and ocean with the turning of the earth.

Say, "Hail, Arida, Bright Lady of the Air!"

EXERCISE 24: ATHAME OR SWORD MEDITATION.

Ground and center. Hold your athame or sword in your strongest hand. Breathe deeply and take in the power-of Air, the power of the mind. The power of this tool is that of discrimination, of drawing lines, setting limits, making choices, and carrying them out. Remember choices you have made and carried through in spite of difficulties. Feel the power of your mind to influence others and the strength of your responsibility not to misuse that power. You have the force to act ethically, in accord with what you believe is right. Let the power of your intelligence, your knowledge, your moral courage, flow into your tool.

The South The South corresponds to the element Fire, to energy or spirit, to noon, summer, fiery reds and oranges, to the solar lion and the quality of will. Its tool is the wand, which may be a slender branch of hazel, a stout oak staff, or a magically shaped piece of driftwood. The wand is used to channel energy, to direct a cone of power, and to invoke G.o.d or G.o.ddess.

EXERCISE 25: FIRE MEDITATION.

Face South. Ground and center. Be conscious of the electric spark within each nerve as pulses jump from synapse to synapse. Be aware of the combustion within each cell, as food burns to release energy. Let your own fire become one with candle flame, bonfire, hearth fire, lightning, starlight, and sunlight, one with the bright spirit of the G.o.ddess. Say, "Hail, Tana, G.o.ddess of Fire!"

EXERCISE 26: WAND MEDITATION.

Ground and center. Hold your wand in your strongest hand. Breathe deeply, and feel the power of Fire, of energy. Be aware of yourself as a channel of energy. You can change spirit into matter, idea to reality, concept into form. Feel your own power to create, to do, to be an agent of change. Be in touch with your will-your power to do what you must, to set a goal and work toward it. Let your will flow into your wand.

The West The West corresponds to the element Water, to emotions, to twilight, autumn, to blues, grays, deep purples, and sea greens, to sea serpents, dolphins, fish, to the power to dare. From the West comes the courage to face our deepest feelings. Its tool is the cup or chalice, which holds the salt water or ritual drink.

EXERCISE 27: WATER MEDITATION.

Face West. Ground and center. Feel the blood flowing through the rivers of your veins, the liquid tides within each cell of your body. You are fluid, one drop congealed out of the primal ocean that is the womb of the Great Mother. Find the calm pools of tranquility within you, the rivers of feeling, the tides of power. Sink deep into the well of the inner mind, below consciousness. Say, "Hail, Tiamat, Serpent of the Watery Abyss!"

EXERCISE 28: CUP MEDITATION.

Ground and center. Hold your cup cradled in both hands. Breathe deep, and feel the power of Water, of feeling and emotion. Be in touch with the flow of your own emotions: love, anger, sorrow, joy. The cup is the symbol of nurturing, the overflowing breast of the G.o.ddess that nourishes all life. Be aware of how you are nurtured, of how you nurture others. The power to feel is the power to be human, to be real, to be whole. Let the strength of your emotions flood the cup.

The North The North is considered the most powerful direction. Because the sun nevei reaches the Northern Hemisphere, it is the direction of Mystery, of the unseen. The North Star is the center, around which the skies revolve. Altars face North in the Craft. North corresponds to Earth, to the body, to midnight winter, brown, black, and the green of vegetation. From the North comes the power to keep silent, to listen as well as speak, to keep secrets, to know what not to say. The G.o.ddess as Dark Maiden, the new moon that is not yet visible, and the G.o.d as Sacred Bull are the totems of the North, and its tool is the pentacle, the prime symbol of the Craft. A five-pointed star with one point up, set within the circle of the full moon, the pentacle can be engraved on a plate, glazed on a ceramic platter, or molded out of "baker's clay"-bread dough and salt. It is used for grounding energy or as a platter for serving the sacred cakes.

EXERCISE 29: EARTH MEDITATION.

Face North. Ground and center. Feel your bones, your skeleton, the solidity of your body. Be aware of your flesh, of all that can be touched and felt. Feel the pull of gravity, your own weight, your attraction to the earth that is the body of the G.o.ddess. You are a natural feature, a moving mountain. Merge with all that comes from the earth: gra.s.s, trees, grains, fruits, flowers, beasts, metals, and precious stones. Return to dust, to compost, to mud. Say, "Hail, Belili, Mother of Mountains!"

EXERCISE 30: PENTACLE MEDITATION-THE FIVE STAGES OF LIFE.

Ground and center. Hold your pentacle in both hands. Breathe deep, and feel the power of earth, of the body. The pentacle is your own body, four limbs and head. It is the five senses, both inner and outer. Be in touch with your own power to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch. The pentacle is the four elements plus the fifth - essence.

And it is the five stages of life, each an aspect of the G.o.ddess: 1. Birth: the beginning, the time of coming into being 2. Initiation: adolescence, the time of individuation 3. Love Ripening: the time of union with another, of full adulthood, s.e.xuality, responsibility, and love 4. Reflection: the time of advancing age, of repose, integration, wisdom 5. Death: the time of ending, of letting go, of moving on toward rebirth Look at your pentacle, or draw one on a sheet of paper. Label the five stations, going clockwise around the points, and experience each stage in turn, as it occurs in a life span and within the span of each new activity or relations.h.i.+p. Trace the interlocking lines and reflect on their meanings. Love is linked to Birth and Death. Death is linked to Love and Initiation.

In the Goidelic Tree alphabet, each of the five stages was symbolized by a tree, whose name began with one of the five vowels: A: Birth - ailm, silver fir O: Initiation - onn, gorse or furze U: Love-ura, heather E: Repose- eadha, the aspen I: Death - idha, the yew Chant the sounds of the vowels and feel the power of each stage in turn. Touch your pentacle to your body, and let the life force of your own flesh flow into it.

* Goidelic refers to the Gaelic Celts (Irish, Scots, Manx) as opposed to the Brythonic Celts (Welsh, Cornish, and Bretons).

EXERCISE 31 : THE IRON PENTAGRAM.

(A pentagram is a drawn or written pentacle. This is a meditative tool of the Faery tradition and an important training exercise.) Ground and center. In your Book of Shadows, draw a pentacle with interlocking lines and label the points, in order, clockwise: "s.e.x," "Self," "Pa.s.sion," "Pride," and "Power."

s.e.x is the manifestation of the driving life force energy of the universe. It is polarity, the attraction of G.o.d and G.o.ddess, the on-off pulse that sustains the universe, the o.r.g.a.s.mic, ecstatic harmony that sings within each being.

Self Is ident.i.ty, individuality. Each of us is a unique manifestation of the G.o.ddess, and that individuality is highly valued in the Craft. Self-love is the foundation of all love. "Celebrate yourself, and you will see that Self is everywhere."

Pa.s.sion is the force of emotion that gives color and depth and vitality to life. Joy, sorrow, ecstasy, anger, fear, pain, love-the G.o.ddess manifests in all human emotions. We cannot feel any of them in their full intensity unless we are willing to face them all.

Pride encourages us to create, to do, to share, to grow, and to enjoy the rightful fruits of our achievements. True pride is not based on comparisons or compet.i.tion; it is an absolute sense of one's inner worth. Pride carries with it the responsibility of acting in accordance with one's self-respect and respect for Self in others.

Power is energy, inner power, not power over others. When the five points are in balance, the life force flows freely, filling us with vitality. Power is integrity, creativity, courage: the mark of a person who is whole.

Meditate on each of the points in turn, and then explore the links and connections: "s.e.x-Pa.s.sion," "Self-Pride,"

"Pa.s.sion - Power," and so on. Lie down with your arms and legs outstretched so that you form a star. Let your head and each of your limbs be a point on the pentacle. When you are "on the points," they will all be in balance.

If some points feel weak, work on developing those qualities. Absorb the strength of the Iron Pentagram.

EXERCISE 32: THE PENTAGRAM OF PEARL.

The Pentagram of Pearl is a meditative tool, like the Iron Pentagram. Its points are Love, Wisdom, Knowledge, Law, and Power.

Begin as for the Iron Pentagram.

Love is the moving ebergy of life. It is both blindy erotic and deeply personal, a pa.s.sionate, prideful, powerful caring for oneself and others. It is the law of the G.o.ddess and the essence of magic.

Wisdom and Kowledge can best be understood together. Knowledge is learning, the power of the mind to understand and describe the universe. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge - and how not to apply it.

Knowledge is knowing what to say; wisdom is knowing wheter or not to say it. Knowledge gives answersl wisdom asks questions. Knowledge can be taught; wisdom grows out of experience, out of making mistakes.

Law is natural law, not human law. When we break natural laws, we suffer the consequences as a natural result of our actions, not as a punishment. If you break the law of gravity, you will fall. Magic functions within natural law, not outside of it. But natura law may be broader and more complex than we realize.

Power, again, is the power that comes from within, when love, knowledge, wisdom, and law are united. Power, rooted in love and tempered by knowledge, law, and wisdom, brings growth and healing.

Again, meditate on the points and the links between them. Lie in the pentacle position, feel the points as part of yourself, and become aware of your own imbalances. Absorb the beauty of the Pentagram of Pearl.

Center.

The center of the circle is the point of transformation. It corresponds to pure essence, to timelessness, to transparent light, to the power to go, to move, change, transform. Its magical tool is the cauldron, which may be the traditional three-legged cast iron pot, or a clay or metal bowl. The cauldron holds fire: a candle, incense, smoldering herbs, or a bonfire. It may also be a cooking pot, in which fire transforms the food we will eat.

Love is the moving energy of life. It is both blindly erotic and deeply personal, a pa.s.sionate, prideful, powerful caring for oneself and others. It is the law of the G.o.ddess and the essence of magic.

Wisdom and Knowledge can best be understood together. Knowledge is learning, the power of the mind to understand and describe the universe. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge-and how not to apply it.

Knowledge is knowing what to say; wisdom is knowing whether or not to say it. Knowledge gives answers; wisdom asks questions. Knowledge can be taught; wisdom grows out of experience, out of making mistakes.

EXERCISE 33: TRANSFORMATION MEDITATION.

Ground and center. Whisper softly, over and over, "She changes everything She touches, and everything She touches, changes." Feel the constant processes of change within yourself, in your body, your ideas and emotions, your work and relations.h.i.+ps. Within every unmoving stone, atoms are in constant flux. Feel the changes all around you, changes you have made, are about to make. Even ending the meditation is part of the process of change that is life. Say, "Hai, Kore, whose name cannot be spoken, the Ever-Changing One!"

EXERCISE 34: CAULDRON MEDITATION.

Ground and center. Hold the cauldron in both hands. Breathe deep, and feel the power of transformation. You hold the Cauldron of Ceridwen, where the dead come to life. You hold the cauldron in which was brewed the broth that imparts all knowledge and understanding. The cauldron is the womb of the G.o.ddess, the gestation ground of all birth. Think of the transformations you undergo every day. In a moment, you die and are reborn a thousand times. Feel your power to end and begin anew, your ability to gestate, to create, to give birth to new things, and let that power flow into your cauldron.

Meditations on the elements are part of the training of every Witch. After experiencing the energy of each magical element separately, the apprentice is taught to combine them, in preparation for learning to cast a circle.

EXERCISE 35: THE CIRCLE VISUALIZATION EXERCISE.

(You may lie down, sit comfortably, or get up and enact this exercise. Face each direction either physically or mentally.) Ground and center. Face East. Visualize your athame in your strongest hand, and draw an Invoking Pentacle (as in Exercise 1 3). See it burning with a pale, blue flame. Say, "Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the East, Powers of Air."

Walk through the pentode, and see a great wind sweeping across a vast plain of waving gra.s.s. Breathe deeply, and feel the air on your face, in your lungs, through your hair. The sun is rising, and in its rays a golden eagle s.h.i.+nes as it flies toward you. When you are filled with the power of air, say, "Hail and farewell, s.h.i.+ning Ones."

Walk back through the pentacle.

Turn and face the South. Again, draw the Invoking Pentacle. Say, "Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the South, Powers of Fire."

Walk through the pentacle. You are on a blazing veldt under the hot sun. It is high noon. Feel the sun's fire on your skin and absorb its power. In the distance, red-gold lions sun themselves. When you feel attuned to fire, say, "Hail and farewell, Radiant Ones." Walk back through the pentacle.

Turn and face the West, and again draw the pentacle. Say, "Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the West, Powers of Water."

Walk through the pentacle. You are on a cliff above a pounding sea. Feel the spray and the force of the waves. It is twilight, and the blue-green waves are edged with violet as the sun disappears. Dolphins and sea serpents dive and play in the foam. When you feel attuned to the power of water, say, "Hail and farewell, Flowing Ones" and walk through the pentacle.

Turn and face North. Draw the pentace, and say, "Hail, Guardians of the Watchtowers of the North, Powers of Earth."

Walk through the pentacle. You are in the midst of a lush, fertile landscape, on the slopes of a mountain. Around you are green, growing herbs nourished by fresh springs, and tall, silent trees fed by the minerals and nutrients in the earth. In the distance, grain is waving in the fertile fields. Wild goats cling to the craggy heights above you, while below, herds of wild cattle thunder across the plain. It is midnight; the moon is hidden but the stars are bright. The Great Bear and Little Bear circle the North Star, the still center point of the whirling wheel of the sky. Say, "Hail and farewell, Silent Ones."

Visualize all four pentacles around you in a circle of blue flame. Above your head is an eight-rayed star. Breathe deep, and draw in power from the star. Let it fill you; feel it flood every cell of your body with ight, a cone of light that extends deep into the earth around you. Thank the star, and let the light return to its source. Open the circe by visualizing the pentacles flying off into s.p.a.ce.

Additional tools and used in most covens include a cord, a necklace, a censer, and a Book of Shadows, which has been discussed in Chapter Three. The cord is the symbol of binding, of belonging to a particular coven. In some traditions, the color of the cord reflects the degree of advancement in the Craft of its bearer. The censer is used to hold the incense, and is identified with either the East or the South, Air or Fire. The necklace is the circle of rebirth, the sign of the G.o.ddess. It can be of any design that is personally pleasing.

Of course, candles, herbs, oils, and incenses are also used in Witchcraft. Unfortunately, I don't have s.p.a.ce to go into a detailed discussion of their uses and correspondences, especially as that information is given in the Tables of Correspondences and is available from other sources.6 In general, a Witch depends less on traditional a.s.sociations of herbs, odors, and colors than on her own intuition. If the "proper" materials aren't available, we improvise.

The tools are usually kept on an altar, which may be anything from a hand-carved antique chest to a box covered with a cloth. When used for regular meditation and magical practice, the altar becomes charged with energy, a vortex of power. Generally, a Witch's altar faces north, and the tools are placed in their corresponding directions.

Images of the G.o.ddess and G.o.d- statues, sh.e.l.ls, seeds, flowers, or a minor-take a central position.

EXERCISE 36. CONSECRATING A TOOL.

(Tools can be charged -imbued with psychic energy-and consecrated4within a group ritua , during an initiation, or individually. I will describe the rite for an athame: for other tools, simply make the necessary adjustments.) Set up the altar as you want it, and light the candles and incense. Perform the Salt-Water Purification, and cast a circle by doing the Circle Visualization. Ask the G.o.ddess to be with you.

Hold your athame in your strongest hand, saying, "Blessed be, thou creature of art." Do the Athame or Sword Meditation.

Touch it to the symbols of each of the four elements in turn: incense for Air, the wand for Fire, the cup for Water, and the pentacle for Earth. Meditate on the power of each element, and visualize that power flowing into the athame. Say, "May you be charged with the power of (Air, Fire, etc.) and serve me well in the (East, South, etc.), between the worlds, in all the worlds. So mote it be."

Pa.s.s your athame through the candle flame, and touch it to the central cauldron. Visualize white light filling and charging it. Say, "May you be charged from the center of all, above and below, throughout and about, within and without, to serve me well between the worlds, in all the worlds. So mote it be."

Draw or inscribe your own personal symbols on the blade or hilt. Trace over them with your own saliva, sweat, menstrual blood, or other secretions, to create the link with your tool. Breathe on it, and imagine your own personal power flowing into it.

Touch it to your heart, and your lips. Raise it to sky, and point it to earth. Wrap your cord around it (or imagine it, if you don't have a cord) and visualize a s.h.i.+eld of light binding the power. Say, "Cord go round, power be bound, light revealed, now be sealed."

Earth the power, thank the G.o.ddess, and open the circle by thanking each of the directions and visualizing the pentodes dissolving.

In casting a circle, the outer forms used are less important than the strength of the inner visualization. When the Priestess calls the Guardians of the East, for example, she feels the wind and sees the sun rising with her inner sight. She is also visualizing the flaming pentacles and the circle of light surrounding the coven. In a strong coven, one person may perform the outward actions, but all will be internally visualizing the circle and attuning themselves to the elements.

The outer forms can be very simple. Alone, it may be enough to simply visualize a ring of white light around the room, or turn to each direction in turn and tap the wall. A group may join hands and picture the circle, or one member may walk around the others. The circle may be marked out ahead of time with chalk, stones, string, flowers, leaves, or sh.e.l.ls, or drawn invisibly with the athame as it is cast.

This chapter opens with a description of a formal circle casting. At first, trying to remember the words and actions, visualize the elements, and feel the power will be far more difficult than trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. But with practice your concentration will improve until the entire sequence flows easily and naturally. You may wish to create your own invocations, instead of using the ones given. Here are other examples: A CIRCLE FOR HEALING DURING STRUGGLE.

by Alan Acacia.

hail guardians of the watchtower of the east, powers of air: blow the staleness away, fill our lungs.

help us bring freshness into our lives.

let there be clear skies, clear minds for us to see our way.

let our words create a safe s.p.a.ce.

blessed be.

hail guardians of the watchtower of the south, powers of fire: come into our hearts, warm us.

help us emerge from hibernation, isolation, to greet each other.

let pa.s.sion glow on our birthright as we fight injustice.

let our emotions out from all their hiding places.

blessed be.

hail guardians of the watchtower of the west, powers of water: rain on us, quench our thirst.

help us remember the ocean womb from which we come.

now let all of us be connected.

let our moods be flowing back & forth until all is one.

let the drought of separation be over.

blessed be.

hail guardians of the watchtower of the north/powers of earth: strengthen our resolve, keep us centered.

help us be here, now.

let our bodies be strong for loving each other.

let the dizziness of the workday pa.s.s, & all of us find ourselves together on one planet.