Sulum Factum Magus

I work with the Lady Epona as part of my personal pantheon. When I first came into the pagan path, I made my dedication vows to the Lady Epona. The first time I recall specific mention of her in my life, was upon reading the book “Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses”, by R.J. Stewart, where there is a beautiful painting of the Goddess, riding, of course, a pony, accompanied by sheaves of wheat, dogs and birds. She has long straight black hair, and dark eyes, and of course rides a white horse. As soon as I saw the picture, I knew that she was my Goddess.

Once in my circle work, which I do as part of my regular practice most mornings, and which usually involves some  inner work with a particular deity or two, it came to me that the Lady Epona has been with me since childhood, and was responsible for the lady’s voice I would hear as a child, calling my name. So I have a strong feeling for the Lady.

The Wikipedia article on the Goddess Epona is well worth reading. From it I summarize some of the following facts. Evidence of the Lady Epona has been found throughout the Roman empire, where it appears she was adopted by horsemen in the Roman legions. From apparent origins in France (then Gaul) she was carried west to Britain and east towards the Balkans, and northwards towards Germany. Shrines were common in stables, and her feast, at least in one location in Italy was celebrated on the 18th of December, around the time of the Winter Solstice. She is often  depicted with a basket of fruit, or a cornucopia bursting with the abundant produce of the fields.

When I first started working with Lady Epona, I felt that nothing really very much was known about her. However the small amount of specific information can be considerably rounded out if we begin to explore the significance of the Horse and Horse Goddesses in Celtic culture. Jannet and Stuart Farrer have written a very good essay on the Goddess Epona in their book “The Witches Goddess”, exploring the themes arising from the spiritual significance of the Horse and related Goddess figures. In Irish mythology, for example, the Goddess of the Land is portrayed as a mare, and Kingship was conveyed by ritualised mating with a sacred mare representing the Land and its Goddess. This theme is also echoed in the story of Epona being the beautiful offspring of such a union, which is told in Plutarch’s Life of Solon. (See the Wikipedia entry for Epona!)

There are a number of Goddesses in Irish and Welsh stories associated with Horses – including Rhiannon, who is depicted in the Mabinogion as riding a milk white mare, and who is forced to carry visitors into the city on her back (like a horse) as punishment for supposedly killing and devouring her baby. Of course, she was being wrongly punished, but that is another story! Also the Irish Goddess Macha was made to race the King of Ulster’s horses, although heavily pregnant. She beat them, and gave birth to twin sons on the finish line. To these we may add other mythological currents that have become entwined with the Lady Epona, such as the stories of Lady Godiva, who rode a white mare naked through the streets  of coventry, in order to redeem the people from onerous taxes. Interestingly, the name Godiva means “Gift of God”. The nursery rhyme 

“Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes”

Although ostensibly referring to Queen Elizabeth the First of England riding a white cock horse to Banbury Cross, one can’t help noticing that the cock horse which the implied subject of the imperative rides, and the white horse that the lady rides are different horses. The Queen of Fairy traditionally rides a white mare, and is accompanied by the sound of bells – so to me the nursery rhyme is also an expression of the mythic complex associated with Epona and the Horse Goddess. The White Horse of Uffington is a testament to the importance of horses in pre-Roman Britain. Though not specifically linked directly with the Goddess Epona, the figure is similar to horses appearing on pre-Roman coinage, and is perhaps evidence of a widespread Horse Goddess archetype which later emerged as Epona.

Across these stories, some interconnected themes emerge – the connection with the personification of the land; the sacred marriage with a king figure; a resonance with lunar symbolism; the battle between the bright and dark lords (the divine twins) for the Lady’s hand; and the wrong done to the Lady through the patriarchal institutions of kingship and law.

In my own work with the Lady Epona, she is the principle Goddess that I work with for magical workings, particularly those involving the sacred marriage. In my personal Pantheon, she holds sway with Lord Cernunnos as her consort, over the workings of magic, and particularly of magic concerned with the realisation of the true gifts, the abundance of nature, and the abundance and prosperity that follows from the giving of the true gifts to life. 

The Empress card in the Tarot is in many ways a harmonious energy and resonance with the way that I work with the Lady Epona – involving a Venusian aspect that honours and encourages the positive expression of sexual love, as well as independance from any form of subdserviance to the male or patriarchal institutions, and presiding over the bounty of nature. For of course it is from the Womb of the Goddess that all bounty and abundance flows, and in order for that bounty to grow and manifest, the seed of the God is required, for which in my work the Lord Cernunnos happily obliges.

One way that  I work with my Deities is by projection and invocation. In the context of concescrated space, with elemental portals opened and guarded, I invoke the Lord into myself, through concentrated visualisation associated with a regular form of words that over times becomes imbued with evocative power. I then evoke the Lady into the space – through visualisation and her own regular form of words. As the God, and with the Lady, the sacred marriage is then performed. For a male, this may be acoomplished by visualising your hands (the hands of the God) holding the hands of the Goddess, followed by a gentle merging and interpenetration of the two energy fields. For a woman invoke the Goddess, and allow your hands as her hands to hold the hands of the evoked God. Invite and allow the sacred union, but do not impose or force it, or the form it should take. Leave this up to the Gods, and I am sure that you will be, as I have been, surprised, delighted, and humbled by the result.

Although sexual energy is a part of this magical work, it is not in itself a physically sexual practice. The union is energetic and etheric, and while physical arousal may develop, physical stimulation is neither required nor helpful, as it represents a distraction from the point and culmination of the practice. Likewise, the mind should be purified of lascivous or lusty thoughts or immaginings, which are a distraction, and an unwelcome imposition upon the Goddess. She must be given the space to touch you as she will, without the mind trying to impress its desires and fantasies upon the situation.

Often times, if the above guidelines are respected, I find that this practice leads to rapid eye movements, associated with physical arrousal, deep trance states, and the opening of the inner window. This transformation can be assisted by gentle attention on the third eye energy centre, just between and above the eyebrows. In this kind of state, the physical arrousal is akin to the erection that men have while dreaming, in so called REM sleep, and the similar arousal that women experience whilst dreaming. In spite of the physical arousal, it is not inherently a sexual state, but a visionary state. In the olden days, I fancy it was referred to as “riding the broom stick”.

To my way of thinking, this is just the portal of the mysteries presided over by the Lady Epona. Across that threshold, lies a vast territory that though once well known, has been much forgotten by our modern age. It is our birthright to re-explore, and renew our association with these regions. For as the ancients knew, the world arround us is a reflection of the worlds within us. And as the world arround us is, these days, full of hardship, suffering, conflict and exploitation, both of nature and others, so must the inner worlds be filled with conflict and disharmony. Thus the healing of our age must start with the inner journey, and the resolution of the conflict within. Let those who are ready and able take up the task.

Blessed Be,

Rob

In the olden days, there was something they called the water cure, which consisted of bathing, washing, or being sprayed with cold water. It had a great following in the USA, apparently in the 1800s. It was the brainchild of a German fellow called Sebastian Kniepp, and is given in detail in the book “A Healer’s Herbal,” by Brother Aloysius, first published as “Comfort to the sick”, in Holland in 1901. In my ignorance, when I first encountered the water cure, I believed that any benefits were due to hygiene – due to an impression that people in those days didn’t bathe – at least not nearly so much as they do now a days.

However I have since come to realise that there are some very sound principles behind the water-cure, and that it can work very well today, as well as it did in yester-year. It is unlikely, however, for most people these days have become soft and conditioned to their comforts, such as hot running water.

Now what is wrong with having a nice hot shower, I hear you asking? Well, I have come to the conclusion, that it is all about the circulation. Many diseases, ranging from depression, allergies, asthma, and doubtless many others, are either caused or exacerbated by poor circulation. Now that isn’t a medical opinion, it is a personal observation, and one that I expect will be dismissed out of hand by most. But if you are one of the small number of people who are open to such ideas, you might like to improve your health and safeguard against disease with the water cure.

When you have a hot shower or bath, you open all the pores, and the blood moves to the surface. There is a feeling of relaxation and lethargy. The blood moves away from the internal organs. When you get out of the bath, the open pores and the superficial circulation continues. There is a loss of body heat and internal energy. One becomes vulnerable to chills. When you have a cold shower or bath, the pores close, and the superficial blood vessels constrict, sending the blood deeper into the internal organs. There is a feeling of vigour and energisation. There is an increase in internal energy, and a generation of internal heat.

That is the simple crux of the matter. Starting the day with a hot shower, de-energises the body, and makes one vulnerable to colds and flus, through the open pores and the superficial blood circulation. Starting the day with a cold immersion does the opposite. It energises the internal organs, helps to cleanse and renew them, and closes the pores against cold and flus.

Now it can be quite shocking to have a cold shower. A better way of getting the benefits is as follows. Fill up a bucket with cold water. It doesn’t have to be freezing cold. Fifteen to twenty degrees Celsius is fine. Then wet a washer, and wash your face and back of the neck. Then re-wet the washer and thouroughly wash your left foot. Re-wet the washer, and thouroughly wash down your left leg from ankle to knee. Re-wet the washer, and do your left leg from knee to buttock. Follow on doing each segment of the body, moving from extremity towards the heart. Right foot, right lower leg, right upper leg, left hand, left fore arm, left upper arm, right hand, right forearm, right upper arm etc. Re-wet the washer for each new section of the body. Finish off by doing the lower back, the stomach , the upper back, and chest – always moving towards the heart. Start each cold washer on the outer side of the limb, or the back of the trunk, then move to the inner side of the limb, or the front of the trunk. This is because the back and outer sides of the limbs are less sensitive to the cold, and this will be less of a shock to the system. Finally do the groin and rectal areas, which should be done last for reasons of hygiene.

This procedure is much less shocking to the body than a cold shower. It is also more beneficial, as it gradually concentrates the circulation within the torso and the internal organs.

A lot of men shave with hot water. Shaving should always be followed by splashing cold water on the face to close the pores, or the application of cold wet washers. Indeed, this was the original idea behind aftershave. The evaporating alcohol produced coolness to close the pores – the scent which seems to be the reason for it these days was secondary. However I believe that alcohol may cause damage to the skin over the long term, and it is much better to simply use cold water or cold wet washers on the face after shaving.

There is another very good reason for getting into the habit of the cold water bath. And that is that it exercises one’s mental toughness and exercise of will. The magician should not be at the command of his or her bodily weaknesses, but should be able to over-come minor discomforts in order to harness the rewards of greater health.

The benefits of the application of cold water will gradually manifest themselves over time, as this becomes part of your daily habit. Along with proper diet and good exercise, it is something that can contribute to long lasting health and vigour to an advanced age.

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)

As the name Robyn Wood may indicate, I derive a deal of inspiration from the figure of Robin Hood, who has, in my mind at least, always been associated with the pagan mysteries. Thus it was with great delight that I recently came across the volume “Robin Hood. The Spirit of the Forest” by Steve Wilson. Steve Wilson is no stranger to the esoteric side of things, being associated with the Fellowship of Isis and the Druid Clan of Dana, and known for his work as a Chaos magician. Steve surmises that the stories of Robin Hood have a common source with the Hindu Ramayana, which source also led to the Arthurian Legends and the stories of Finn McCumhail from Irish legend. However this stream was married to the lore of the people of the forest, the fairy archers, whom he contends may have been the remnants of forest dwelling neolithic people. Such forest dwellers, often of small stature, are found today still in the forests of Africa, Indonesia, and South America, often making use of arrows and darts.

With the advent of agriculture, and forest clearing, accelerated by the need for large amounts of wood to fuel the blast furnaces of the iron age, the forest dwellers were brought into conflict with the forest clearers. Through out Brittain, flint arrow heads are still often found, called by the common people fairy darts. While academia assumes these to date from the late stone age, Mr Wilson points out that this is just an assumption, and that there is every chance that forest dwelling people could have survived into historical times, before being wiped out or integrated into the wider population. Such flint arrow heads could therefore be much more recent than supposed.

Mr Wilson then traces the development of the Robin Hood mythology through historical times, looking at historical records of May Day celebrations and the Morris Dance, whose characters were often Robin and his associates. Throughout, there is the theme of the good king pitted against the bad king, in common with Egyptian mythology (Osiris and Set), the Arthurian legends (Arthur and Mordred) and a prevalent theme through much of European paganism and modern neo-paganism and Wicca.

In particular, Mr Wilson finds a resonance with the Welsh stories in which Gwynn Ap Nudd, the lord of the underworld, fights with Gwyrthur Ap Greidayl, a solar hero, for the love of Creurilad, the flower maiden of spring. He contends that this mythic sequence attached itself to the figure of Odin, imported with the Saxons, himself associated with wood and trees, and whom Mr Wilson finds etymologically to be the source of both “Robin” and “Hood”.

Thus in the figure of Robin Hood we have a composite of Saxon deities and Celtic mythological motifs – themselves not so unrelated as commonly supposed, as both have a common Indo-European origin. Rather than the common picture of Celts and Saxons at war, Mr Wilson paints a picture of integration and cross fertilization, as exemplified in the English language itself, where we find a predominance of Celtic words and Germanic grammatical structures.

The book carries on to consider the development of the Robin Hood myth in the current age, considering TV and movie renditions, and the part it has played in the neo-pagan revival, especially Gardnerian Wicca. It concludes with recognition that the spirit of Robin Hood is today more in need than ever, with the way that forest clearing is proceeding relentlessly throughout the world, threatening not only the lives and livelihoods of forest dwellers, but the very existence of humanity. For the great forests are the lungs of the world. These sentiments I heartily endorse.

It is fascinating reading for anyone interested in the esoteric significance of the Robin Hood mythology. The Book is published by Neptune Press, 49a Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LY.

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)

One of the great pleasures of life, in my opinion, is browsing through a second hand book shop, especially one that has a decent selection of the esoteric and arcane. During a recent visit to Hobart, I was delighted by such a bookshop, on the corner of Hampden Road and Montepellier Retreat, in the historic Battery Point area. I ended up buying two volumes here, one on astral travel, entitled “Leaving the Body”, by D. Scott Rogo (Fireside, New York, 1983) and a second entitled “Sexual Alchemy” by ceremonial magician Donald Tyson (Llewellyn, St Paul, 200). I can thoroughly recommend both these volumes as worthy of study.

I was considering buying a third volume as well, that was nestled among the miscellaneous works on witchcraft and psychic development – a small red volume by Aleister Crowley, entitled “The Book of the Law”. This book was said to be channelled by Crowley from his Holy Guardian Angel, and is written in very cryptic language. However the introduction is very readable, by Crowley himself, as I recall. From this volume comes the oft quoted “Do what thou will is the whole of the law”. This is followed by the just as often over-looked reference to “Love under Will”, and an explanation by Crowley about how the Will is to be understood, and its relation to the prosecution and achievement of the Great Work. As I recall, the gist of this explanation was that the divine will of the magician unites with the overarching divine will, and the Great Work is the awakening of and achievement of the Divine Will manifesting through the personal will.

This I found very interesting, as I have written, as you may now, a book which I have entitled “The Great Work”, which details my approach and take on achieving just this union. In my book, I place more emphasis on the planetary consciousness, with the Great Work seen as a planetary awakening. However the planetary awakening requires the union of the individual will of each person with the Divine Will, or the planetary will if you see things that way.

However, I didn’t end up shelling out the $10. To be frank, I couldn’t understand the channelled bit. And any way, I do my own channelling! It is an important part of any magical path, in my opinion, to begin to receive instruction from the Deity forms and spirit beings one invites into one’s field of awareness. Such instruction is worth more than dozens of books by the wisest sages. In my own experience, it may come in two main ways. Firstly, it may arise as a very natural knowingness of what to do or how to proceed, with no obvious source. Thoughts take shape in one’s mind, or spontaneous workings arise during one’s practice, especially during ritual or meditation with the presence of one’s Deities or Tutelary spirits evoked. When this happens for me, there is no sense of any foreign entity, but that in the depths of who I am, there is some connection with the source of such knowledge. Perhaps it is being unlocked from some past life experience, or perhaps it is transferred through resonance activated by ritual and Deity presences that act as conduits for such knowingness, or transmitted from a tutelary spirit or Guardian Angel. Whatever the mechanism, knowingness is made available to the sincere practitioner, and this knowledge is of great value.

That being so, I am still a great lover of books. I will tell you some of the reasons why. Firstly, a book can broaden the viewpoint, and bring experiences and viewpoints into frame that otherwise may have remained unappreciated. Secondly, a book can help to put one’s own experience into perspective, and to confirm that one is on the right path, so to speak. Thirdly, a book can provide information and the benefit of another’s experience, which can be valuable in one’s own practice. When one is working alone, this can be especially helpful, as one has nothing to compare one’s experiences with. When working in a group, it is not so much of a problem, as one has a working party and coveners or lodge brothers and sisters to talk things over with.

As I am for the most part a solitary practitioner, I find books especially helpful in this third sense, to validate what I am experiencing in my ritual and magical work. A lot of my personal practice revolves around the Sacred Marriage of Male and Female essences, so I found “Sexual Alchemy” by Donald Tyson very helpful, to provide some validation for some of the experiences I have been having. It presents an apparently practical system of instruction in achieving sexual union with a spirit lover, as an emanation of the Goddess, and provides a thorough survey of Shamanic, Cabalist, Chinese, Buddhist, and Hindu tantric practices, with references to similar practices in the Western Hermetic tradition. The approach is oriented towards the ceremonial magic side of things. Of course, this may not be to every one’s taste, and other approaches are certainly possible when it comes to the celebration of the Sacred Marriage, with or without sexual intercourse, physical or spiritual. As time goes by, I intend to discuss this subject more in these pages. The important point is that there is a merging between the male and female principles of creation, in order to renew and re-invigorate both the individual and the life that surrounds him or her. The connections that emanate from each of us, through friendships, relationships, and daily activities carry the vibrations of harmony and renewal instigated by the sacred marriage, spreading out like ripples on the surface of a pond. Thus life is renewed and made whole. This is indeed the Great Work, and it is a supreme irony that most in the Western World see anything to do with sexuality as degrading, perverse or demeaning, and completely ignore its beneficial, sacred and wholesome practice.