Devotional Preparation For Magic

While a year of pandemic inactivity has often slowed my brain to a crawl, I have continued to plod away at creating a series of Pagan devotional practices. Inspired by the form of Roman Catholic 'novena' prayers these practices involve a more detailed series of prayers, meditation, and offerings than most simple Shrine devotions, without the set-up required for a full Fire-sacrifice rite.

Having completed a set of eight seasonal Pagan calendar devotions, I have been writing works for various more practical purposes (as is the custom with novenas). The list of possibilities is endless, so my initial outline will include one devotional for prosperity and success, one for rescue from ill or danger, and one for preparation for other magical works.

Traditional magical instruction, documentable back into pagan times, includes the idea that magic depends on a ritual relationship with the gods and spirits. Magicians are taught to regularly practice religious devotions, to pray for wisdom, love and power, and thus to come before the spirits in fellowship when we want to ask for (or even demand) something.

Some of the traditional instructions provide prayer-texts and rites of purification for such preparation. More simply instruct the magician to attend the holy rites of the local religion, and empower themselves with the blessings available there. This can work for modern Pagans if we live near an organized Grove or public circle, where we can attend seasonal rites.

However it is personal prayer in the focused zone of a personal shrine that is the heart of such preparation. So I offer these formal prayers and works, at least as fodder for creativity - tunes and themes on which to riff. For some they may serve well as written - that is my hope, after all.

One element of these prayers that may be controversial is the 'confession'. I resisted the idea a long time, but it is simply undeniable that even the oldest traditions we have include such prayers. I wrote one to satisfy myself - may it serve for the spirits.

The work requires only a basic shrine, with a designated fire (candle or more...) and a bowl of ritual water, a censer and a small offering-bowl, and whatever idols or images are proper to your work. A cup of drink is a useful symbol for the Blessing.

For those of us adapting traditional ritual magic to a Neopagan frame, devotions such as this are a firm step toward doing as the ancients seem to have done. Most instructions call for at least three days of preliminary prayer (along with the usual instructions to avoid pointless entertainments and the 'company of fools'), but it might often be the case that more is better in such things.

A Devotional To Prepare for Magic
1: The Reading: In Pagan magical arts, there is a teaching that is often concealed behind instructions for ritual and practice. Those who succeed in speaking with the spirits and gaining their aid are those who have become the kind of people that spirits listen to! It is one thing to know words of power, and to perform effective ritual, but the ancient wisdom teaches that it is by a process of personal empowerment that the magician becomes a conjuror. Tradition frames that process as a system of purification, prayer and blessing that amounts to the preliminary work of magic art.
                As human beings we are, or possess, or express a spirit which is as much a part of the spiritual world as any sprite or imp. Our involvement in flesh and the material world easily distracts us from our place and standing as spirits, creating an ordinary kind of forgetfulness. One intention of a round of preparatory work for magic is to remind us of our spiritual presence, and recall us to the ability to act in that power.
                Through purification, attunement to spiritual powers and focused direction of those powers in the self we can approach magical operations as persons (as beings…) of power, luck and will. Traditonal instructions often include monk-like ascetic measures – refraining from meat, or sexual activity, or even from ‘foolish company’. Those of us who do not bring the concept of ‘sin’ to our spiritual work can think of such measures as ‘acts of will’ – we demonstrate to ourselves and to the spirits that we are masters of our deeds. As a basic method we undertake a series of prayers and contemplations such as this; may fortune favor, in the work.
So let us do the Work:

2: Blessing the Work:
The Fire, the Well, the Sacred Tree
Flow and flame and Grow in me.
In Land, Sea and Sky,
Below and on-high
Let the Water be Blessed and the Fire be Hallowed,
And Let my voice be heard by the Holy Ones!
Now may the Powers of Underworld and Heaven bring their cleansing blessing.
Anoint and cense the hands, and any items proper to the work, saying:
By the might of the Water and the light of the Fire,
this (place/thing/work etc) is made whole and holy.

3: Prayer of Intent

This my will, now hear my voice.
The fire is laid and the water filled, and I remember the Center of Worlds.
Where the Wells of the Deep are full to overflowing
Where the Fire of Sacrifice is my Hearth
Where Nine Hazels grow, or one great Ash,
And the Pillar-Tree of the Roof of the World upholds my holy work.
It is I who come, I…
(and here, tell the spirits who you are)
Whose face you have seen in the Fire of Offering.
Bless me in my intended work, I pray,
(and here describe the working for which you are preparing)
Clarify my heart, honey my tongue
and Let the rite be worked in truth and beauty
In Wisdom, Love, and Power, be it so.

Prayer of Confession and Statement of Virtue
Holy ones, in humility I seek wisdom.
• It is true that I have failed in Wisdom, forgotten Piety, been blind to Vision.
These faults come to us all.
• It is true that I have failed in Strength, forsaken Honor, been lost to Courage.
These faults come to us all.
• It is true that I have failed in Diligence, slighted Hospitality, shorted Generosity.
These faults come to us all.
• (If there is anything specific to say, it should be said here. )
• Yet I seek Wisdom, Piety and Vision; I seek Strength, Honor and Courage; I seek Dilligence, Hospitality and Sensuality. For these good virtues I will strive, though I might falter - I will strive. To that end, I seek the work of wisdom.

4: The Vision
Antiphon  of the Vision
Let the Inner Eye be open, let the spirit eye be clear
Wisdom speaks in spirit-vision, let the truth be on me here.

Sitting in your meditation seat, breathe and seek your peace in silence.
Let your bone uphold you
Let your blood beat in you
Let your breath flow through you
For a moment, in silence…
And let the Powers of Earth and Sky rise and shine within you… breathe deep, and let roots draw up the Deep strength… let the bright lights of the heavens be reflected in the Waters within you… Breathe deep, and let the flow of breath move the Shining Waters, filling your whole form… feel yourself… as if you could see yourself… filled with the Shining Waters, the Light and Shadow… from toe to eye to fingertip…
And so you bide… with the Powers in you… Now you will place a seal upon your heart… a sign of power, that expresses your magic… conceive that symbol in your mind… and compose it in vision, placed in the field of the Power of Earth and Sky… When you know clearly what sign you will bear, envision it appearing in the Light and Shadow of the Powers, over your heart… breathe deep, and let the power grow in the vision, as you empower the sign, and the power of the sign flows into your spirit…
And so you bide… filled with your power, charged with your sign… and in such a way you might speak even to the gods themselves… an empowered spirit among spirits…

Antiphon  of the Vision
Let the Inner Eye be open, let the spirit eye be clear
Wisdom speaks in spirit-vision, let the truth be on me here.
 
Prayer of the Vision
The Fire, the Well, the Sacred Tree; Flow and flame and grow in me. To the Three Kindreds I pray – know me as I come before you. To The Fire in me I give the fuel of my heart. From the Well in me I draw the strength of my life. See and know me, as I stand at the fire and call. In wisdom, love, and strength, so be it.

5: Offering to Your Allies
I come to the Shrine, calling!
Fire Shining, Well Flowing
Firm standing, gift giving
I call to the allies of my magic!
Mighty and beloved Dead, you I call
You of my Blood, whose life gives me life
You of my heart, who inspire and guide,
(Name any Ancestors or Heroes you wish to remember…)
Root of my Blossom, Source of Strength
I give my offering, here at my Shrine.
Spirits of Stone and Soil and Green
Of Sea and Wind and Cloud
And even of the Lights of Heaven
(Name any Landwights you wish to specify)
Co-Walkers, Earth-Dwellers
I give my offering, here at my Shrine
Gods of My Altar, You I call
First of the Spirits, Eldest and Wisest
(Name the gods fitting to your shrine, or those proper to the intended work)
Blessing-Givers, Lit by Flame
I give my offering, here at my Shrine.
All you spirits, I bid you welcome. Be warmed at my Fire and quenched by my Well, and be at peace in my service. I make due offering to you with these simple gifts, offering my love and reverence. Let it be as a thousand to you, a feast and a flowing cup, as the silver and gold of my worship. Aid me in my work, uphold me in my magic, as I (state intention)! So be it!

 

6: Antiphon of Blessing
With open heart and centered mind I seek the flow of blessing
Shine from Above and Rise from the Deep
Litany of Blessing
Holy Ones, we remember you
response: Grant me the Blessing
All beings beneath the Fire of the Sun
response: Grant me the Blessing
You to whom I make these offerings
response: Grant me the Blessing
That there be blessing in our spirits, bright and deep
response: Let the Blessing be in me
Let there be blessing in our minds, calm and clear
response: Let the Blessing be in me
Let there be blessing in our Flesh, whole and strong
response: Let the Blessing be in me
That Wisdom guide me
response: That the Blessing be mine
That Strength empower me
response: That the Blessing be mine
That Love sustain me
response: That the Blessing be mine
Antiphon of Blessing
With open heart and centered mind I seek the flow of blessing
Shine from Above and Rise from the Deep

Antiphon of Contemplation
In soul-peace I let light reflect, and shadow bide in the deep
May my stillness reflect beauty, and
abide in wisdom
Now abide a while in silence, and let the whole Power of your intended Working be upon you
Antiphon of Contemplation
In soul-peace I let light reflect, and shadow bide in the deep
May my stillness reflect beauty, and abide in wisdom

7: Final Prayer
So Oh Holy Ones, behold me as I am purified, and empowered, and devoted to the Work. Grant me your Blessing, and I will see the work through. In Wisdom, Love and Power, so be it!

A Healing Cup of Brigid

Have a pleasing wine-glass or chalice, filled with your preferred drink. Place it upon this sigilprinted or drawn with its versicle. On one side place a lit candle, on the other a glass of Water 

Calm your heart and prepare yourself with whatever bit of ritual you prefer, then begin by composing the vision…

See, above you, first, the Great Hearth of the Heavens…Perfect and precise, yet true for you… as you see it… 

A great open space, clean and neat, with a warm, well-kept fire in the center…

The light of that fire reaches out…Toward you, as a ray of red-gold light… That reveals a shining figure… Of the Goddess…

Behold Her in vision, bathed in Firelight…Brigid of the Healing, dressed in clean white robes…Bearing in her two hands a radiant cup… a chalice… a Quaich…Filled with a steaming brew… Made of herbs and magic…That is Brigid’s Divine Medicine

Let the vision of the Cup-Bearer grow clear in your mind…Be reflected in your heart…

As you invoke:

Brigid of the Hearth-Fire, Brigid of the Forge

Brigid of the Fire of Inspiration Send me your cup!

Brigid above me; Brigid below me;

Brigid on every hand around me;

Brigid, grant me your Blessing.

Bríd thuas linn, Bríd thíos linn, 

Bríd maidir linn; Bríd inár gcroí 

(Breezh hoo-uhs lin, breezh heeuhs lin,

breezh mahjir lin, breezh inor cree)

and make a simple offering to Brigid.

Brigid of the Healing, Heart of Physicians, 

Who heals by Fire’s light. Who heals by Water’s Might

Who makes all pure, bear the Draft to (me)

Cup of Brigid, come in!

Cup of Brigid, Bear the Draft!

Cup of Brigid, bring the medicine of the Goddess of healing!

To this Blessed cup

Upon this Blessed cup

With this Blessed cup

For the relief of infection

For the relief of fever

For the relief of illness

By the Power of Brigid

By the Beauty of Brigid

By the Triple Mercy of Holy Brigid

And the Grace of Brigid’s Cup.

In wisdom, Love & Power, so be it!

And behold the Power flow into the drink upon the sigil, in whatever way is true and real for you. Drink reverently, and with a calm heart.

Two Charms Against Disease

Sheltering in place, here in Ohio, in a county not too hard-hit (yet) by the Covid infection, I contemplate how to apply magic to the situation.
In my personal work I have a long-practiced, nearly-unconscious pattern of applying the Two Powers (as some Druids say - the Underworld and Heaven Powers) to cleansing myself and maintaining a healthy pattern. For those not immediately in Our Druidic work, let me expound a little.
• One can approach the impersonal spiritual energies of the cosmos as the powers of Underworld and Heavens.  Allow me to quote myself, from my "Basics of Pagan Worship":

... the ‘energies’ of the spiritual world. Most common is the work called ‘grounding and centering”. In that technique we make ourselves aware of a flow of “spiritual energies” in the cosmos, and balance those energies in our own bodies and spirits. ...

                At the basic level we address these energies as the Light of the Heavens and the Waters of the Underworld. The Underworld Power is envisioned as the Waters Under the Earth, in which all the wisdom of the past is dissolved. The Power of the Heavens is seen as the Light of the Turning Sky, which brings order, pattern and growth. This duality corresponds to cosmic principles, poles of cosmic structure between which the manifest world appears. ...

                Working with the Fire and Water can be a core technique of practical magic, ... The Fire and Water are the primal powers of creation. When we take conscious control of the Two Powers, through imagination and will, we are doing in the microcosm what the Gods and Spirits do in the greater cosmos.

                The standard of proficiency in this technique of energy-work is to learn to bring (awareness of) the Two Powers into the self quickly and surely. ... From that base any number of specialized forms and applications of the energies can be devised.

The 'Fire and Water' healing charm here is precisely that sort of specialized application. I'm sure it could be worked with any sort of 'grounding and centering' but it is designed for the Two Powers work of Our Druidry.

The second charm here is a direct invocation of the Goddess brigid, who I look to as a primary healer goddess. It calls upon Her Three Powers - immediate daemons of the goddess who I know as the Cup, the Harp, and the Hammer. Details of that concept can be found in the Court of Brigid material. Even if not familiar with those ideas, following the images and poetry of the charm should get you close to the goal.

So here's my wish, for strength to our flesh, skill to our physicians, and the comfort and protection of the spirits on us all.

Healing by Fire and Water

A charm to prevent infection and strengthen wholeness

If desired you may work with a candle-flame and a small bowl of water. The charm can be worked in vision, conceiving the left hand as the Water and the right hand as the Fire.

• Begin by centering yourself in the Two Powers, establishing the Flow and Shine of Underworld and Heavens in your body. When you are ready:
• Extend the left hand (holding the water, or with a small amount in the palm, or only in vision), and understand the Underworld Power as flowing up through you, to concentrate in that hand. Breathing strongly and maintaining that vision, recite:
Deep Water rise,
Dark water bright
Strength from the Deep
All-Cleansing might
(and incant this nine times, charging the water)

• Then anoint the forehead, chest and belly or loins with the water, or place the hand on them in turn, from top to bottom, saying:
Flow, Oh Power, from the deep, through my heart, to my hand, that I may be cleansed,
 that I may be rinsed, that every ill be washed away.
That bonds be broken, and washed away.
That hooks be released, and washed away
That every bit be cleansed, and washed clean.
For the Blessing of the water I give thanks

• Abiding in your cleansed state, extend your right hand, holding the flame, or lit incense, or only in vision, and understand the Heaven Power shining down into you, to concentrate in your hand. Breathing strongly in that vision, recite:
Fire of heaven, Fire of the Sky
Moon’s white Silver, Sun’s bright gold
Shine upon me, shine within
That your power I may hold
(and incant this nine times, charging the fire)

• Then use your hand to warm or brighten the belly or loins, heart and forehead in turn with the flame,  from bottom to top, saying:
Shine, Oh Light, from the heights, through my head, to my hand, that I may be made whole.
Let the Light of Formation fill every empty space, and restore me to wholeness
Let the Light of Knowledge fill every empty space, and restore me to wholeness
Let the Light of Illumination fill every empty space, and restore me to wholeness
That I may be whole, and healed, and well.
For the Blessing of Fire I give thanks.

• And clasp the hands before the heart, understanding the whole work, the cleansing and restoration, and affirming.
So by Fire and Water
Let me be cleansed and whole.
So be it.

Brigid’s Protection Against Disease        By the Might of Brigid, Daughter of Danu

By the Mercy of Brigid, Flame in the Hearth
By the Flow of Brigid, Water from the Well
Spirit of the Hammer, Warm the Forge
Spirit of the Quaich, Bear the Draft
Spirit of the Harp, Sing Beauty
So ring, Oh Hammer, in the Cauldron of Warming
Let my furnace burn warm, my power be strong, 

to keep me from all ill.
Be full to spilling, Oh Cup, into my Cauldron of Movement
Let your healing flow through every course, 

to keep me from all ill
Sing like the Birds of Dawn. OH Harp, 

with words of understanding
Let me hear the Song in my Cauldron of Wisdomto keep me from all ill
Mighty Goddess, make strong flesh and bone
Loving Goddess, make clean blood and wind
Wisest Goddess, Make clear mind and will
In my heart and at my hearth
For my kin and for my folk
That we may all be well.

Cleansing and Banishing in Pagan Ritual

(a basic replacement for 'smudging')

Pagan social-media conversations often circle back to the use of herbal smoke for cleansing material spaces, and ‘banishing bad vibes’. In my summary opinion the notion of ‘sage-ing’ or ‘smudging’ has reached the level of superstition, in which people imitate gestures without understanding, seeking an effect. This trend has bumped-up against efforts by native peoples to preserve their own ways, and prevent their dilution by misappropriation. Recent internet notices have warned us against depriving native people of revenue and recognition in our sources of specific plants, and reminded us that merely imitating a picture of a ritual action does not mean we’re actually doing it.

                When I was coming up in the craft in the 1970s we never spoke of ‘smudging’. The first time I saw the ‘shell-and-fan’ set-up was probably in the mid-80s, at a festival.  Traditional western magic performs cleansing of space with a dual approach, using water and fire. That is how I learned to clear a space, whether casting a circle or giving a basic cleansing to a house. Water-and-fire cleansing is also used in western magic to cleanse and pre-bless objects used in magical ritual, whether the ‘tools’, or the physical basis of talismans, charm-bags, etc. While each of these symbols deserves a full research-report, let me say a little about the traditions surrounding ritual fire and water:

Ritual Water

                The central symbol of cleansing in Euro spiritual ritual is water. The work of finding, bearing, and protecting safe water sources is always central to the lives of early people, and such matters make their way from the mundane into the sacred in a variety of customs. Evidence for the use of specially-dedicated water and water-sources extends as far back as written sources allow.

                In the Greek Magical Papyri of the turn of the first millennium ritual water is gathered from different sources for different intentions. So for work with celestial gods, and various blessings one might collect rain-water, while for Underworld work, fertility, etc water from underground springs is preferred. For modern practitioners this offers a chance to consider the sources of water in your region, and to pay direct attention to weather as a concern in magic.

                If you choose to bring water directly from a natural source, try to choose places where you can gather clean, clear water. Water pure enough to drink seems to have been the basic standard for traditional ritual water, and great care was taken to insure its cleanliness and purity. There is no reason to avoid using the tap water from most modern water-systems – ritual water is always formally consecrated.

The summary of the method of making ritual water is to bring pure water, add some further agent of purification, and speak intention over the water. The added element is often salt, though some Celtoids have the custom of ‘silvering’ water – silver has active anti-microbial properties, so that’s cool.

The western traditions of ritual magic (what is often called the ‘Solomonic’ style) use this basic formula with its usual lengthy ritual recitations. There’s a very complete set of such consecrations at the Digital Ambler. 

A simple working consecration is given below.
Fire and Smoke

                Ritual flame is the traditional center of much Euro-Pagan ritual. In archaic forms the central fire receives the offerings of the people, and may represent the very presence of divine power. Its lore emphasizes ritual purity, spiritual power and the Right Order of wholeness and wellness.

                Among Indic ritual traditions the fire retains most of this archaic power, and stands at the center of what remains of Vedic ritual. In Persian religion (‘Zoroastrianism’) the fire becomes the only idol, the very image of the divine. In Hellenic and Roman religion the sacrificial fire consumed the portion of the offerings given to the gods, and was treated as a deity.

                Ritual fire has the same emphasis on ‘purity’ as does ritual water. Fire can be employed to burn trash, cleanse illness, even consume corpses. Ritual fire is to be made with clean, dry materials, carefully laid, with no unintentional or incidental contents. It receives equally-pure offerings of food, oil, etc.

                In many traditional cultures the ritual fire is connected directly to the hearth-fire. Hearth-fire is kept burning perpetually, the spark carefully preserved over each night, for months at a time. Hearth fire was, in many places, renewed annually or bi-annually, to allow for cleaning and purity. In such cases the hearth was extinguished, and new fire brought into the home from one of the blessed ritual fires. For the rest of the year all ritual fire was lit, in turn, from a hearth-fire.

                Some sects of modern Paganism are attempting to establish the keeping of a perpetual tended flame in homes. The old 20^th century dodge was to bless the ‘pilot light’ of a gas stove. (If you don’t know what that it, it’s because the tech has largely passed away, and I don’t think anyone blesses their piezo…). On modern Pagan shrines and altars a flame can be kept in a succession of seven-day candles, in an oil-lamp, or even a gas fireplace or lamp. Such a light is carefully kept through the year, and ritually snuffed and re-lit in a sacred occasion – often at Spring Equinox or Beltaine. In the many circumstances where a ritual fire cannot be lit from a good hearth-fire, then custom calls for a proper incantation recited over proper fuels, and lit at a proper moment.

Blessing by Smoke

                The central formula of cleansing by water and incense is that it is the water which first rinses away pollution, and the incense smoke which then confers blessing on the clean thing or place. In ancient days bad smells were associated, not unreasonably, with ritual and physical uncleanliness, and smells themselves were considered to transmit disease. Thus perfumes were used to drive off such impurity, and to fill the air of a ritual space with scents attractive to good influences, especially those proper to the rite at hand. Thus it was ordinary to clean a room with water and brush, and then to burn pleasant woods, etc, in the hearth, even in cultures that didn’t use ‘incense’ as such. Both Gaelic and Scandinavian cultures preserve very little trace of the use of formulated incense for either religion or household perfume, but might burn boughs of pine, or apple, or juniper to scent their rooms, especially after sickness.

                In ritual magic of the late classical and medieval days evil spirits, as such, were banished by the burning of ill-smelling smokes. No sense of ‘opposites’ involved – burning asafetida and pepper will drive most beings out of a room. Resorting to such measures today would be for the most extreme matters, I suppose.

At the core of this formula, I think, it is the sacred power of the spark of ritual fire that serves to bless and purify, much more than the effect of any specific herb. Of course there are a variety of herbs used for banishing ill in European tradition, lists are easy to find Any combination can be burned on charcoal (maybe mixed with some nice frankincense) to good effect. If you find yourself unable to use smoke in an apartment or public space simply blessing a candle or (more dramatically) a fire in a bowl will be fully in keeping with the core symbolism of the work. Even the light of an electric candle can serve, especially if the space is dark enough for the light to be visible.

                Refer to the ‘digital Ambler’ link above for the full Solomonic version of the consecration of Fire. For small ritual fires a simple prayer or charm is the usual method.

• It is usual to arrange a token ritual hearth indoors. This is easily done by placing a circle of candles around an incense-burner, allowing incense offerings to be made in the center of the symbolic flames.

• Such a Fire should be lit with a proper charm or incantation, such as the one given below.

Purification By Water and Fire:

A Druidic-style 'altar' arrangement

These simple customs can be used to spiritually cleanse a house, a room, or a person or object. Choose a proper place for the altar – at your home shrine if you keep one. For cleansing a house consider starting at the highest reachable point and working downward and out the doors. In a single room an altar might be on the eastern wall or at an eastern window. In any case the simple tools can be arranged as needed, with consideration as to beauty and harmony.

• Bring clean water, and a little salt.

• Prepare a fire, whether a true wood fire or a ring of candles surrounding a censer. If you are clearing a space, be sure the censer can be easily lifted and moved. If purifying an object the censer can be stationary. Have a good supply of incense – enough to last for the whole area you intend to bless.

Druidic arrangement in detail

• On an experiential note, if I am not using herbal incense on charcoal I have come to prefer good, fresh cone incense – Indian brands are usually nice and oily. Cones can be lit at the tip, and will often burn with an open flame for a minute or three, making a dramatic visual and a literal magnification of the ritual fire before snuffing into fragrant smoke. Setting such a cone on charcoal insures the cake will light, as well.

• As a performance note, a full house cleansing will benefit from having two operators – one for water, one for fire. In this way the elements can move through the house together. It is entirely reasonable for a single operator to do the two phases sequentially, but takes more time.

• With all arranged in the chosen starting-place, take up the salt, and conjure the water, saying:

The water is poured into the vessel, and/or the full vessel is raised, saying:

Here we bring the Waters of the Land, 

Clean from the deep, borne by the pure, 

So that everything it touches may be made pure. 

Let this Vessel be the Spring of the Deep for our rite, from which we draw purification.

On Land (add a tiny pinch of salt)

Beneath the Sky  (add a tiny pinch of salt)

And within the Sea  (add a tiny pinch of salt)

Let the Water make pure the earth, make pure this (place), 

Make it whole and Holy, and free from every ill.

• Light the incense, preferably from an altar-candle or fire and as the initial flame rises, conjure it, saying:

I kindle this fire

In the presence of all the spirits

Upon the Land, within the Sea, Beneath the Sky

At the Center of Worlds

I kindle this fire in Wisdom

I kindle this fire in Love

I kindle this fire in Power

To be the Light of the Heavens upon this Earth.

To be a Fire of Welcome to all of good-will

And a blessing to all beings.

So be it!

(• The above is a ‘long form’ for consecrating the Water and Fire. It is best for new students and beginners to us the long form, paying full attention to the intent of the words. When you have some experience, it can be more convenient to use a short for, such as:

• Salt the water, light the flame, and recite three times:

The Fire, The Well, The Sacred Tree

Flow and flame and grow in me

In Land, Sea and Sky

Below and on high

Let the Water be blessed and the Fire be hallowed.)

• The elements having been blessed, we can use them to purify objects or spaces. In Pagan ritual preparation the space in which ritual is about to be done is cleaned with water and fire. Objects which are being dedicated to sacred work are cleansed, and the materials which are used for talismans, as well. Such things can simply be sprinkled with the blessed water, and held in the smoke of the fire or incense.

• The work can be supported by proper visualizations – see the water rinsing away a layer of dirt to reveal shining; see the fire sparkle on and within the item.

• To cleanse a space, start at one corner or position in a room, and go sunwise around the space (right shoulder to the center), first with the water, and then with the smoke.

• To cleanse a house thoroughly start at the highest room in use and cleanse each room in turn, finally cleansing the front door. Doors and windows can be specifically cleansed around their frames.

• For a single-story house one might start at the front door and go sun-wise through the place, cleansing each room in turn.

• It is traditional to speak one’s intention aloud. If you wish you might speak to the work without script, politely instructing (don’t ask – tell) all inharmonious influences to depart. It is also traditional to repeat a charm.

• In our Druidic ritual, we incant, simply:

By the might of the Water and the light of the Fire, this (place/thing/etc) is made whole and holy.

And slightly more detailed:

Fire and Water, Earth and Sky, 

Rooted deep and crowned high,

Ill be gone and good draw nigh, 

Fire and Water, Earth and Sky

• If cleansing a house, the elements might be returned to the original altar, or taken out the final door and spilled/extinguished at the boundary of the property. Sometimes it is proper to take the live elements out the door and work the edges of the property itself, though often this is impractical.

• When finished return to the original Altar or work-spot, and envision the whole work, solid and complete. Conclude with an affirmation of success and blessing, such as

The Blessing of the Holy Ones

Be on me and mine

My Blessing on all beings

And peace to thee and thine.

The Fire, the Well, the sacred Tree

Flow and flame and grow in me.

Thus do I affirm the work of the wise!

               

               

What is a spell?

In the ongoing series of long answers to frequent questions. Pardon my formatting difficulties, please:

 The word ‘spell’ travels with a lot of baggage, and is used with very little technical consideration. It has been redefined especially by fantasy writers in so many ways that sorting nonsense from tradition, and determining a useful technical definition for our modern magic art is a project worth doing.

Linguistically the word means 'a spoken charm or incantation', and so we could limit its meaning to 'the spoken component of a magical rite'. That isn't what people mean, these days, though.

Allow me to begin at the end, and attempt a definition of a spell – we’ll see whether it’s the same at the end.:

“A spell is magical or spiritual work with a specific intended effect and usually a specific target”

In traditional magical literature ‘spells’ are most often small ritual patterns, involving a combination of natural objects, spoken words, proper timing, ‘occult’ symbols and often the aid of specific gods or spirits. Folk magic tends to quietly bury these elements in traditional rules, that often don’t accompany the transmission of spoken charms – one is supposed to know the rules. More formal ritual magic instructions may make a spell seem like a complex working of its own, by listing the work in detail and sequence. Both of these approaches can be practical and correct. I tend toward the latter.

The whole business of using magic to obtain a specific goal may involve multiple smaller sub-rituals, offerings etc. All these ‘spells’ together are often described as a ‘working’.

In our post-European, post-Christian USA there is that tendency to want products neatly packaged and labelled with instructions. So many who ask for ‘spells’ in internet forums seem to want the proverbial ‘magic words’, that make things change in the blink of an eye. This is, in fact no more likely in magic than in medicine, and spellcraft can involve multiple ‘appointments’ to accomplish a goal. 

Here it may be useful to quote and discuss my favorite definition of ‘magic’. It comes from the Greater Key of Solomon

“Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; so that true Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable effects will thereby be produced. Whence magicians are profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of their skill, know how to anticipate an effort, the which to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle.”

Allow me to paraphrase:

“Magic is the study of the secret and spiritual forces of nature, their character and powers, so that by applying proper force at the proper place and time effects can be produced which have been called ‘magical’. So magicians learn to predict effects by knowing cause, which makes them seem to be wizards.”

Can I tighten it up?:

“magic is the knowledge of the hidden (occult) powers of things, and of the spirits, and the application of those powers to produce effects.”

So spells are a specific application of this principle – the application of the occult powers of natural and spiritual things to work personal will.

Spellcraft Inside Polytheist Religions

In many world traditions of polytheism and animism the use of religious symbols, rituals and skills for the immediate personal gain of worshipers and their families is a normal part of the work. These traditions teach rites for prosperity, health, fertility and inspiration, much the same as the desires of modern magic-users.

Sadhana 

A symbolic arrangement for a sadhana

            The Sanskrit term ‘sadhana’ can be translated as ‘a specific practice or form’. In dharmic religions the term is used both for the prescribed spiritual practice a teacher might set for their student, and also for specific sets of practices intended to produce results. The latter are patterns that may include proper herbs, proper colors and numbers of candles, proper offerings of incenses, flowers, etc and of course a proper spoken incantation (i.e. ‘mantra’ in Sanskrit). These patterns are often transmitted through what amount to spellbooks, and are an orthodox part of Hindu and some Buddhist religion

Ebbo 

Offering array for an Ebbo

            In the post-African religions of the New World ‘Ebbo’ is a word meaning offering or sacrifice. It can be applied generally to religious offerings to the spirits, but it also refers to specific patterns of practice intended to produce specific outcome – i.e. spells. The forms of some such ritual offering are determined by the spirits themselves, but there are also specific traditional forms, including arrangements of specific numbers, types of fruits, colors of candles, etc., arranged in the proper way, place and time, with the proper invocations. Again, by the terms of western magic, this amounts to a ‘spell’.

Late Classical Paganism

Remnants of traditional Euro-middle-eastern polytheism and spiritism were preserved in the important proto-grimoire called the Picatrix. This ritual manual focuses primarily on the Planetary powers, themselves remnants or reflections of Olympian Gods. The rites usually center around an image or idol of the spirit, and then use number, color, type, etc, to determine a proper set of offerings. This style of offering-ritual, preserved for us in text over the past 2,000 years or so, bears a remarkable resemblance to other forms of spirit-based devotional spellcraft.

A planetary rite of offering

This style of devotional, offering-based ritual seems ready to introduce into our modern polytheist efforts. Drawing on lore, tradition and the inspiration of the spirits rites of this style could be devised in nearly any ethnic system. Of course ethnicities will each have their distinct customs, which can add to the depth of such designs.

Folkloric and Popular Spellcraft

Offering-based spells that draw on the spiritual power of core cultural gods and spirits are one side of the coin of traditional spellcraft. The other is the vast body of lore that employs the ‘occult' (i.e. hidden or little-known)  powers of natural things’, along with the basic principles of mechanistic spellcraft.

The latter were defined by Frasier as “sympathy” –like affects like; and “contagion” – that which has been in contact continues to influence the contact. These are not so much the actions of spirits but natural principles, which operate regardless of the spiritual environment in which they are used. These techniques, plainly called ‘tricks’ in some traditions, become dressed in the mythology of whatever culture takes them up.

For instance, the ‘packet talisman’ – a small bag or wrapped packet containing herbs, stones, seals etc. can be identified in the 16^th century scholastic occultism of Agrippa, yet it also arrives in the New World through Congo ethnic custom, producing the ‘gris-gris’ or mojo-bag of the hoodoo tradition. Such a charm-bag employs sympathy by using herbs and stones of the proper resonance, and employs contagion by the wearing of such a charm next to the user’s skin. Charm-bags are made with prayers to saints, invocations of the polytheistic gods, or even animistic address to the aggregated spirit of the charm itself. This is icing on the basic mix that makes the spell.

Crystal 'grids' use the powers of semi-precious stones
to accomplish specific goals.

Colored candles or lights, proper incenses and perfumes, traditional or discovered magical sigils and seals, all of these are part of this category of spellcraft. Image-magic, the old hair-and-fingernails gag, the use of photographs, drawings or even the written name of a target, all of these use sympathy and contagion to ‘transmit’ the intention of a practical spiritual work. Often these methods are employed along with offering and invocation to direct the power of whatever spirit is offered to.

Wrapping Up

So, then, a spell is a ritual or set of rituals intended to employ spiritual or occult power for a specific practical goal. This sort of practice may exist as part and parcel of a religion or spiritual tradition. If it doesn’t it almost certainly exists just outside of it, relegated to some category like ‘witchcraft’. In my opinion our Neopagan religions, as we construct them, can benefit from making such techniques integral to our spiritual work.

Seeking A Familiar: A Festival Summoning Rite, 8/2018

This August, at the 20^th annual Summerland Gathering in SE Ohio I led an operation to allow the

participants to make a personal spirit alliance. I framed this alliance as seeking “a familiar” – that key individual ally that magicians work with to gain wider entrée among the spirits, and direct aid in practical magic. It was an interesting and, I think, productive effort overall, and I’ve made some choices of direction as a result, for further workings of the rite.

Summerland is primarily a gathering of Druidic Pagans working in ADF and is held in a 4H camp with good facilities. With chancy weather on the day of the rite we chose to use the small hearth in the large, covered pavilion for the rite. This may have reduced the romantic-setting factor, compared to an outdoor firepit, but the mechanics of making rather a lot of offerings were probably improved.

The rite itself is a fairly complex thing, as modern rites go. It is based on my understanding of the patterns of grimoire spirit-arte, adapted for group work. It relies on entrancement and vision to provide the ‘appearance’ of the spirits, but treats them as real and specific entities, whose alliance we intend to make. Let me give a summary outline, in lieu of the full script:
• Preliminary entrancement and centering
• Blessing of the ritual space
• Establishment of ‘the Gate’, and invocation of a gatekeeper God to ward the Gate and the work.

• Preliminary offering to All Spirits, as the Three Kindreds of Gods, Dead, and Landspirits.
• Invocation of the God of the Rite – In this case Dagda Mor, as God of Magic, and especially his person of Ruad Rofessa
• Receiving the Blessing of the Gods – in this case as an anointing of the eyes with blessed water, to induce spirit-sight.
• Convoking the ‘Court of the Willing’ – all those spirits who are inclined to gather at our Fire

• Oath and Binding of the Convoked spirits: Very gently done.

• Individual calling: a litany during which each participant called to an individual spirit, if one would come
• Treating with the spirit: time of silence for individuals to speak or experience the result.

• The License to Depart, and closings as usual.
Once participant described the rite as having ‘quite a few moving parts’, but it took about an hour including the periods of silence and vision.

The work went smoothly, from my side of the fire, with L and I doing a pretty tight job with the multi-stage ritual. Though we worked in a large ‘hangar’ of a room with merchants etc, the ambient noise was both quieted and nicely vanished behind the trance-work, I thought. There’s nothing like live fire and regular oil-offerings to help concentrate attention.

The new and chancy portion of the outline is the transition from the presence of the Host of those who arrive, and accept the Oath (see my other articles onthis method) to the individual alliances, done personally, by each committed participant. I devised a repetitious litany of calling to lead into the trance silence, and recited a quiet charm about alliance while they worked. There was the common wait for the last members to open their eyes and make contact to signal that they had finished, but no specific rescues were needed.

The ideal model for a festival-working like this would be to have briefings both before and following the ritual itself. It can be an imposition in an event’s busy schedule to take that much space, and so I had no de-briefing round-robin of responses from the company. I did have conversations with a number of them, and responses ranged from “I saw the crowd of spirits’ among those less experienced to what seem significant personal alliances. In a festival setting I am always pleased if even a core number of folks really get their button pushed by the work. I will call this a reasonable win on points.

First Steps with a New Ally
In Lieu of a chance for instructions and further work I’ll include some notes here.

• Your memories and impressions of the contact may vary in the hours and days following. Your final impressions should be balanced against your first impressions, as you get to know the spirit.

• Represent the spirit at your home shrine. You may have a sense of the form, or proper image – cards from oracle decks, nature-images, etc may provide options. Relatedly:
• Consider deriving a sigil, if you have not been shown one. Sigils are derived by various occult methods from the letters of the spirit’s name. The sigil can be combined with an image to good effect as a real-world anchor for the spirit.

• Develop a simple yes/no/maybe divination tool, and begin using it to converse with and confirm messages with the spirit. I have used plain and fancy two-sided coins, sets of three dice, short packs of red and black playing cards. Get used to actually abiding by the omens of such conversations, even while you open yourself to direct conversation.

• Instruct the Familiar. Bring them to your shoulder explain to them important things in your life. Do not assume a spirit understands material life the same way you do. This can also be done, together, in vision.

• Assign your familiar simple tasks after explaining the elements and target clearly. Consider using divination to see whether the task is doable.

• A Simple Charm To call the New Ally to You

• Arrange the spirit’s sigil, or contact-item, and have the proper offering, according to the pact.

• Hallow the space with a simple blessing unless a more formal offering is required.

• Speak the Spirit’s name and call it to you in simple words, then recite the central part of the Charm of the Pact. I provide the whole text, as in the rite:

• The Charm of the Pact

So this we swear, we two, and make our pact,

Between my mortal spirit and your own

By my eyes’ light and blood within in my veins,

By flesh and breath, and by ancestor’s bone.

Our troth we give, together, you and I

You by your power, me with offerings true

Come when I call, and aid me as I will

And all due honor I will give to you

If ever I should fail to keep the pact,

Or you should fail to come when I do call

Then null shall be our bargain, done and done

      And each depart, with harm to none at all.

• Greet the spirit and make the offering. Converse as you may.

• Charge the spirit as you will.

• End the session with a polite send-off.

I just posted a longer rite that employs the Familiar for a specific practicalmagic goals by sending it as a herald. That can be a next-step, and a way to work with your ally for more distant goals.