Pearls and Swine

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." –Attributed to the Nazarene

PORK

Aaah, the delicious pig. I'm sorry if you do not enjoy swine-flesh, I do not mean to offend. That being said I am going to defend the pig a bit, for I feel there is no better totem for earth as the pig. Both revered and feared, the pig has a rich history and a long association with magic, the underworld, and fertility of the land. Pigs are not what I want to talk about, but rather pork. Pork was always a meat of luxury, raising a pig was like raising a child and used about the same amount of resources. As a result of the expenditure incurred when one decided to raise a pig, its meat was reserved for special occasions; Seasonal Feasts, Holy Days, Celebrations, etc. Pig is an embodiment of the fertile Earth, Pork is communion. Ultimately that is my aim, communion.

I have felt very connected lately to a very international community of people dedicated to the various currents of the Craft as expressed by traditional methods. It pleases me that more and more often I am reading blog-posts and articles, listening to pod-casts, and participating in discussions stressing the importance of  Thaumaturgy. I feel very strongly that the Western Tradition has spent far too long venerating Theurgy and the Logos. Hoary praise for the PIG, meanwhile ignoring the pleasure of  bacon. I feel that some of the aforementioned conversations have been a bit one-sided, always a call to use physical components to ritual, but ignoring the actual thaumaturgic work that various members of the craft are manifesting. My earth work has deepened my appreciation of Sacred Artists, Hexenkrafters, Wort Cunners, and Rebel Saints. It is my intention during this Year of Knives, to highlight individuals and organizations that are making manifest their Sacred Vision. Yes honey, I'm bringing home the bacon.

 PEARLS

Prolonged Earth work has led me to new depths, and encounters with serpentine energies of a most primal nature. Strange thoughts have occupied my mind, I am indeed being educated by Tutelary Spirits. St. Cyprian opens the doors, makes the introductions, and offers suggestions for improved technique. I know this energy, it has worn many guises in my own life, this is what make me think. St Cyprian, Old Horny, Ganapati, Hekate, Santisima Muerte, and Babalon all overlap to some degree in their aspects. More like nodes on a spectrum rather than completely differentiated from one another. Again and again I find this to be true across traditions, techniques and religions. There are certain energy forms that manifest around humans across millennia that seem to exhibit the same strange and interesting properties.

The Snake or rather the Serpent, for instance, occupies many niches in folklore and spirituality, but

they all exhibit similar properties. Most interesting is that the part of our brain that is called reptilian, is where one will find Serpent Wisdom. One can also find the serpent Kundalini coiled at the base of the spine. Like wise in the depths of the underworld one can find the Cosmic Serpent that encircles All. These are Mysteries laid out in plain sight, much as the magic of dirt is often ignored, so too the Sacred Mundane is neglected. The Serpent Path is the Crooked Path and there is wisdom in this. The Way of the Witch is a meandering way, and sometimes there is no path at all, merely an exploration through the brambles and boggy creek bottoms. Just like the Serpent.

Cthonic Spirits and serpentine energies, these are my companions on the path through my Earth work. The treasures I gain are manifest as well as transcendent. I will soon begin introducing you to others who make the transcendent manifest, those who not only work the Materia Magica, but actually make the Magica Materia.