Intersections, Flux, and Fertility

So one of my Facebook feeds put forth this question of ones definition of their path and its origins. I liked this question so much that I used it as inspiration for this post. My self definition went something along the lines of; Solitary, Open Source, Thelemite, Chaote, and Shamanic Traditional Hedgewitch.How I got here is a rather long tale, and if I ever tell it all , I will write a book. My purpose rather is tell you, dear reader, of the things that inform my path and perhaps shed a small beam of light into my own Stygian Depths.

Intersections, Intersections, Intersections

O Eleggua! Open the crossroads so that I may pass,

Jai! Ganapati! Remove the obstacles from my path,

Blessed St. Peter, Open the Gates,

Great Goddess Hekate, Guide me through the crossroads Hour,

Cenllysg Brighid,Tell me where I've been and where I'll go,

May the Blessings of the Crossroads keep me ever finding Moksha.

Ah, the crossroads, so much has been written about what to do once your there, but so little about how to access that liminal space. I will not insult you by prescribing a ritual, I'll let you devise that technology yourself, you're clever, you'll come up with something. I love intersections. Those crazy places where things overlap, where strange collisions morph into collusions, and for one brief instant the whole of Universe may be glimpsed, perhaps even briefly unite with and merge into the Numinous Void. Not Jazz Fusion that is a forced intersection, no I'm talking about those accidental spaces. Spaces that crop up at the bus stop, when the homeless woman you've never seen before turns and looks at you. You out of everyone there and she says, " This world is a whorehouse and we're all whores! WHORES!WHORES!" She doesn't get on the bus and you never see her again, but you understand. Intersections in time and space, where everything seems slightly out of place and yet also strangely perfect.

Jimi Hendrix on the Gayageum , Franken-berry and Count Chocula flying spaceships, the loveliness that is Electro-Pagan, HooDoo, VooDoo, and Santeria, these and many other cultural crossroads are all forms of syncretism. In expressions of art and culture this is known as eclecticism. These are my hunting grounds and I suspect that it is so for many Modern Pagans. Unless you are a historical reconstructionist dead set on recreating the rituals of your ancestors exactly then you are borrowing and remixing. Your Magick is just one big Cut-Up. In order to access and maintain contact with the Crossroads, I find it helpful to remain in a state of flux, as much as possible. You cannot make exploits out of the opportunities if you do not remain open to the possibilities. How does one learn to maintain a state of flux? I found these books helpful,Undoing Yourself with Engineered Meditation and Other Devices, by Christopher Hyatt, and Pronoia, by Rob Brezsny. Lets talk about flux.

Flux, Flow, Fluidity

Whether one calls it Flux, Flow, Fluidity, Instinct,the Cauldron of Inspiration, or the Voice of God, positive psychology is what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called it, I find his explanation somewhat magickal, read about it here, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.Optimal Experience, isn't that why we do what we do? Whatever path your on I believe that ultimately we are trying to get the most out of life. For me part of that is to see life as one great manifestation of itself, nothing more, nothing less. The lesson is everywhere, it bubbles up from the ground, is sung to you by birds, is manifested in every breath. Open up to Multiverse, and prepare to embrace the weirdness. This is what happens when one works with Wild Gods, Old Gods, Denizens of the Deep, great Fluidity is needed to ride these waves.

My Friend in Spirit, and on the net, John Halcyon, states it rather succinctly, see the video below.

If you didn't watch the video let me paraphrase, if you did watch, feel free to attack my feeble summary. John basically states that Universe works like a gps, you tell it where you want go and it takes you there. I don't disagree except on point, I think it is more like an improbability engine. All in all the message is the same, faith, trust, openness to the possibilities, all require attentiveness, and effort. Always work must be done to yield results, you can't think a bookshelf into existence without cutting wood. Finding the Flux at the Crossroads yields a rich and fertile treasure, Inspiration.

Fertility, Inspiration, Union

The Union of Opposites is one of Multiverse's oldest and most successful rituals, because it always yields results. A full spectrum of possibilities opens with each new union. Connectivity is liberating, and individuality is comforting, but the meeting of opposites can be anything from orgasmic to apocalyptic. Results do vary. There seems to be fail safe of some sort as most encounters, 51% give or take, tend to be benign or insignificant.There are those times when the intersections are just boring, see fig. A.

Figure A

When one begins to deliberately alter reality in accordance with ones will, then one has begun to work Magick. How one chooses to manifest that Work is as varied as the people that do such Work. Most agree that it is waste of time to use such effort to bring more evil into the world, others already do enough on that front. as for those that disagree, every batch has its bad apple. I try not to judge, but my desire to see such souls find the errors of their ways betrays my judgments. So I readjust and pray that no one comes to harm. Its all I can do, send Multiverse my love, and feel love in return.

Every day is a quest for me to find that place that helps me remain focused, in alignment with myself,with Multiverse. Always seeking adventure, I go to the Crossroads, seeking the Flux, finding fertile Inspiration for my Work. Pure effort yields pure results. Live free and keep questing.

Fire Elemental Working Part II

So as you may recall from my previous post on the subject, my first series of fire workings yielded mixed results. I've known that I am more of an Air witch than anything else, but  honestly fire left me feeling cold. Then the "elemental" that presented itself to me left wondering if I was doing something wrong. In true Sorcerer fashion I decided to dig deeper, and what I found was astounding.

Many years ago I had my Medicine Cards read. One thing that I remember is Mother Bear presented herself with the message that I needed to work on intimacy issues and learn to trust and surrender myself to love, eight plus years later and I am still working on it. That was what Fire was teaching me. Until I came to terms with my intimacy issues and learned not to use dysfunctional behaviours to garner attention, only then would I progress. As fate would have it, that is exactly what happened.

As Imbolc approached, I realized that my fire workings were coming to an end, I was grossly unprepared. The weather and scheduling were rapidly converging on a ruinous path counter to my bonfire plans. A different working had to be conceived. I decided to combine my Sigil-A-Day 2014 (more about that forthcoming) working with New Moon/Black Moon, Imbolc and Fire Elemental workings all into one ginormous three day ritual marathon. The workings themselves are much too long and specific to go into here, but if you want more info, PM me on Facebook (friend me.) The final result of this being hypnagogic revelations about the exact nature of my wounded ego and the many emotional manipulations I use to protect it. Instead of healing I was spreading my illness to others around me by being an emotional bully. Acceptance of these facts, released a large blockage in my psyche. Their will continue to be many workings in this area of my path.

Air was easy, like Sherlock Holmes I too have a Mind Palace, except mine is a tree house in Elfhame. My natural Mercurial nature leads me to be somewhat of a mental masturbator, so I was already familiar with the territory. Fire, however really challenged me and lead to some fairly deep healing. Out of the two elements I have worked with so far I believe Fire will ultimately prove the more significant working. I have begun to burn away some seriously old and unnecessary blockages to my Great Work, I feel more in tune with my True Will than I have for sometime in my life. This is old Magick.

On the final night of my workings I had a magnificent dream, involving a bear that transformed into a snake. In my previous workings, a spirit presented itself to me that I mistook for my elemental. This being appeared to me as a bear. In my dream, this bear came to me again, and announced that it must shed its skin, so that I could see its true form. The bear stood up on her back legs and split apart, in her place an albino rattlesnake hovered. The snake spit out fire and all the colors of the rainbow danced upon her skin. Then locking her gaze with mine, told me that I was ready to proceed, nothing more. Then ouroboros style, she inserted her tail into her mouth and proceeded to eat until she blinked out. That was it, except that now I continue to see how my damaged psyche has caused me to harm others. I have much work to do, and I believe I may have been called upon to be a vessel of service.

The shores of water have been pleasant so far, but I know that as I plunge into the depths, and as each set of workings builds upon the past, there will indeed be monsters with which I must contend. I shall as always keep you informed. Below I have included a picture I made of the Fire Elemntal based upon myimpressions of her.

This Thing Called Witchcraft

It's a funny thing we do, this thing called witchcraft.Why would one choose such a path? What drives a person to turn their back on the "known" world and instead engage with "unknown"? Who is this strange soul walking the hedgerows, alone? Deep in the forest where only beasts and hunters roam?

I ruminate often on topics such as these, pondering why those such as Ourselves do this strange thing we call Magick, with a k to distinguish it from illusion. Then with all the audacity we can muster that ultimately everything is illusion and reality is largely a matter of consensus and opinion. I am of the opinion that I do concur withe consensus. I walk with others, the shadows, monsters, fairies, animals, and the desolate spaces. Like a "weed" I take root anywhere, but I prefer the quiet places where nature can sing to me her song.

I do not know or care if my path fits the design of other more Orthodox paths, but as Harold over at The Alchemist's Garden says;

Orthodoxy, shmorthodoxy. Like art, the bottom line is whether magic works. I can testify that using ordinary ink on paper does indeed work, and so can thousands of other magic workers in the course of history. I am sure you have had similar experiences in your magical practice. Sometimes the simplest magic that was never a part of any big huge impressive tradition is the most powerful, and sometimes the most orthodox magic that has the best and most props and cool ingredients and secret words is a huge flop. Partly that’s because of the skill of the practitioner, but partly it’s also a question of the spirits or the energy or the will of the gods or whatever we want to call it. Sometimes the universe works with us and sometimes it works against us.

That pretty much squares with my own experience as I briefly mention in my previous post.What matters most is whether or not you get results. Learning how to fine tune your work so that you yield the results you want is an entirely different affair. With practice you get better results, with work you produce results. Reread that, I use it as a mantra. If you want shortcuts, this not your path. If you want something for nothing, this is not your path. If you are expecting Hollywood style powers, this is not your path.

So we return to the essential question, why do we do this thing we do, this thing called witchcraft? Let's be honest it is fun. What other spiritual path invites you to have an inquisitive mind, does not condemn you for enjoying sex, and says that a walk in the woods is holy? The impulse to learn is encouraged although one must remember that experience is the best teacher and the whole of existence is constantly communicating a lesson. I have never fit in well with off the rack culture, the big box may be fine for some, but no matter how big it is still a box.I need open source culture; That Thing In The Desert, Witchcraft,online communities, wikileaks, Hackspaces, Makerzones, and I need a spirituality that embraces and encourages that state of mind. 

That I believe is why I do what I do......

Tradition, Lineage, and the Solitary Witch

In the wonderful world of spirituality there are many valid expressions of this thing called Witchcraft. Every tradition and lineage has a different take on what the term Witchcraft means, perhaps this is why it has such broad appeal. Whereas I will not disparage the beliefs of others, I do firmly believe that at heart every Witch is a Solitary. What I mean by that is despite tradition or lineage, no advancement on the path of Witchcraft can be made except by the individual.

The last sentence seems on the surface to be a very obvious statement, but there is not agreement on this subject. Many coven traditions are suspicious of the Witch who has never worked with others, and some magickal traditions cannot even be worked as a solitary. These would be traditions that rely heavily on the conferring of degrees and grades. Amongst these Gardnerian Witchcraft and the OTO are probably the best known. I will not pretend to have either the expertise or the patience to cover all such traditions but rather, I will talk briefly about Traditional Witchcraft, Wicca, the tendency to use credentials instead of "actuals" and delve briefly into my very biased preference for my own solitary path.

Traditional Witchcraft vs. Wicca

According to Wikipedia Wicca is : a modern pagan, witchcraft religion. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and it was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. It draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practice. The word witch derives from Middle English wicche, Old English wicce (/ˈwɪttʃe/) (feminine) "witch" and wicca (/ˈwɪttʃɑ/) (masculine) "wizzard".^{[1]
  
And Traditional Witchcraft is defined thus: a term used to refer to a variety of contemporary forms of witchcraft. According to British Traditional Witch Michael Howard, the term refers to "any non-Gardnerian, non-Alexandrian, non-Wiccan or pre-modern form of the Craft, especially if it has been inspired by historical forms of witchcraft and folk magic".[1] Another definition was offered by Daniel A. Schulke, the current Magister of the Cultus Sabbati, when he proclaimed that Traditional Witchcraft "refers to a coterie of initiatory lineages of ritual magic, spellcraft and devotional mysticism".[2]} 
  

^{My Solitary Ways}

<sup>Whereas, both Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft have initiatory lineages, there is also room for the solitary practitioner, who either does not have or want access to covens. I personally began with Wicca as espoused in Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft . As time went by, I found myself drawn more and more to writings of  Robert Cochrane, and Andrew Chumbley, and so my sojourn into Traditional Craft began. I believe this transition was facilitated by my studies of Celtic mythology and Anglo - Saxon Heathenism, and a budding interest in Chaos Magick. There simply were no Traditional Craft covens where I lived and definitely few to no Chaos Mages, so I worked alone.

After moving to Austin, Texas in the early 1990's I found a thriving Pagan community and began to associate with others of a like mind. Time after time I would be questioned about grades and degrees and eyed suspiciously when I confessed to solitary studies. This is when I also decided to stop declaring that I practiced Magick and instead began saying that I DID Magick, more raised eyebrows. Oddly enougt the folks that seemed most open to my independent spirit always belonged to either the OTO or the Temple of Set, this lead me to realize that I really was dubious of organizations that would have me as a member.

Over the years I have developed my own path out many varied and seemingly disparate schools of magick. My personal path consists of a combination of Anglo-Saxon Heathensim, Traditional Witchcraft, Chaos Magick, Medieval Germanic Santeria, Bon Shamanism, Tantra, Taoism, and Syncretic Philosophy. There is not a coven nor would I want one, that can support my diversity of spiritual exploration. I am a Mage and a Sage.</sup>

^{Hard Polytheism vs. Soft Polytheism}

^{Again I will refer to Wikipedia for a succinct though not complete comparison of Hard and Soft polytheism.}
"Hard" polytheism is the belief that gods are distinct, separate, real divine beings not psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces. Hard polytheists reject the idea that "all gods are one god." "Hard" polytheists do not necessarily consider the gods of all cultures as being equally real, a theological position formally known as integrational polytheism or omnitheism.
This is contrasted with "Soft" polytheism, which holds that gods may be aspects of only one god, psychological archetypes or personifications of natural forces.
Soft Polytheism is prevalent in New Age and syncretic currents of Neopaganism, as are psychological interpretations of deities as archetypes of the human psyche. English occultist Dion Fortune was a major populiser of soft polytheism. In her novel, The Sea Priestess, she wrote, "All gods are one god, and all goddesses are one goddess, and there is one initiator."^[22] This phrase is very popular among some Neopagans (notably, Wiccans) and incorrectly often believed to be just a recent work of fiction. However, Fortune indeed quoted from an ancient source, the Latin novel The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Fortune's soft polytheist compromise between monotheism and polytheism has been described as "pantheism" (Greek: πάν pan 'all' and θεός theos 'god').^[who?] However, "Pantheism" has a longer history of usage to refer to a view of an all-encompassing immanent divine.

I find myself more in line with soft polytheist and am definitely syncretic in my belief thanks to my study of Jungian Archetypes. Most, although not all of the Traditional Craft people I have met over the years tend to have more of a hard polytheist stance. This is more pronounced amongst revivalist traditions like Asatru.

Credentials vs."Actuals"

I am not sure if this is always the case, but my experience has been one where those with degrees and grades, tend to be folks who can jump through the necessary hoops to attain their traditions acceptance but do not seem well versed in anything else. Let me clarify, magical and sorcerous technology covers a wide range of possibility, but often I have met individuals whose degrees and grades mean nothing more than blind obedience. This seems to me no different than mainstream religious thought.

Part of what drew me to  Witchcraft was its "outlaw" nature. Much like tattoos, the intervening years have seen a softening in society's stance towards witchcraft in general. This is due in part to many Wiccans fighting for the right to be free from persecution and recognized as a legitimate religious expression that deserves the same protection under the law as any other religion. Fine, but to my thinking this has also lead to a less potent form of witchcraft, which I call pop craft. Everyone has their own path, mine just happens to be antinomian, anti-authoritarian, and anti-hierarchical.

Actual Witchcraft, whether coven or solitary in its basis has always been, ecstatic, wild, and shamanistic. We confront the tame world of man and society, and instead find solace in Nature. We commune with the dead, cross the hedge into the land of the Fey, and speak with plants and animals. The memorization of rituals and dances are not as important, as healing a rash with comfrey, or sending a fetch to find something that has been lost. Group healing rituals to restore balance and peace to our overtaxed planet are great, but without an ability to also be able to affect change on the fly, I am dubious of one's claims of power. In fact, I am dubious of anyone's claims to power, if you are after power rather than empowerment, witchcraft is not the path for you.

There you have my rather nuanced and biased view of Wicca, Traditional Witchcraft and the Solitary Path. I welcome questions, comments, and criticisms, but have some sympathy and as always show some respect.

 

 

Fire Elemental Workings

Starting back at Samhain, I moved from Air Elemental workings to Fire Elemental workings. No significant progress had been noticed until recently, when the elemental presented itself to me fully. I definitely get a feminine vibe, and not sure why bear, but I feel I have turned a corner. Now to begin having open and clear communications. Hopefully.

Yule Goats

So apparently the Yule Goat is a thing. It makes sense actually.

Technoshamanism Pt. 2

Water Divination when you can't get to a stream.