Sulum Factum Magus

An inevitable step in the process of spiritual maturity, at least for people brought up in the typical western milieu, is the Great Struggle. This comes about after a person commits themselves to the spiritual path, and commits themselves to realising their spiritual nature, however conceived. The reason is that we develop, in our society, various strong ideas about who we are, and what we ought to do, and then confuse these various ideas with our self. We attach importance to them. We attach certain dreams to ourselves and then proceed to use them to give our lives motivation and meaning. In short, we make our conception of self revolve around various beliefs about who and what we are, and what we ought to do with our lives. For most people, this is all very well, and no big deal. After all, in our society, unless you hold firm to a goal, you will achieve nothing, or at least that is the prevailing wisdom that we are taught in our society, and accept without question.

However, the Higher Self, the Holy Guardian Angel, the Soul Self, or whatever you call that aspect of you which is linked directly to the source of all, often has different ideas. It has its agenda as well, an agenda that is often stifled by the typical process of maturation and socialisation in our society. This leads to a soul sickness that manifests as depression, listlessness, joylessness, or hopelessness, and a failure to derives satisfaction from one’s achievements. One’s successes seem hollow. Our response is often to stamp out the voice of the Higher Self even more, we are so attached to our ideas of who we are and what we should be doing.

The path of spiritual development, as conceived in the Western Tradition, is to open up a full connection and communication with the Higher Self, and to begin to act on its agenda, to work with the Higher Will, instead of the lower will. This brings immense satisfaction and fulfilment. It seems very simple, and, once the methods of communication are in place, it is. If only it were not for our image of who we are, and what we ought to be doing! Typically a great struggle ensues, between the lower self and its goals and aspirations, and the simple agenda of the Higher Self. We devote all our time to the pursuit of the goals and aspirations of the lower self, and almost none to the agenda of the Higher Self. However once we begin to embrace the intention of manifesting the Higher Self, as we do in some way on any path of magical development or training worth its salt, this great struggle begins. In fact, it may seem a battle for supremacy in your life, a battle for control of your time and energy. The battle is between the Higher Self, and the lower self, that is, your personality which hugs so tightly the precious ideas of who you are and the goals you have adopted. This battle continues unabated until one surrenders to the Higher Self. However, this may take many years. Eventually, the forces of Spirit contrive to place us in a situation where surrender is the only option, the alternative being a complete nervous breakdown and the falling apart of one’s life. Well, that’s to put it dramatically…of course it doesn’t have to be that extreme…surrender to the Higher Self is possible in an instant. However most of us need to be ground down into a state of surrender by the implacable forces of life.

The reason it works this way in our society is because our society places such a strong emphasis on individuality, and a sense of self that is located in the rational, decision making part of ourselves, based on our store of ideas and beliefs. Indeed, so great is our fixation on this, that most people find it hard to comprehend that there are other ways of constructing a sense of self. The magical journey, at its highest, is, I believe, fundamentally concerned with unmaking this socialised sense of self, to make way for a new sense of self based on the Higher Self and its agenda.

The irony is that the Higher Self is the true you, while the lower self is a construction which we all make in response to our upbringing. This construction wants to run the show. Once we start intending the Higher Self to run the show, the lower self feels threatened. We feel threatened. Our precious dreams are threatened. A step into spiritual maturity is to surrender, to allow the Higher Self to run our lives. Many people construct this idea as surrendering to something outside of themselves. But this is not the case at all. It is you, yourself, that you must surrender to. It is you, yourself, that you must make way for. There is nothing so precious as the agenda of the Higher Self manifesting in your life. But you will have to lose your precious ideas of who and what you are. And for westerners, it is a great struggle, though it doesn’t need to be. For some, it may take the form of a nervous breakdown, or an illness that forces a total re-evaluation of life. For the person on the magical path, the process can be less outwardly disrupting, as through knowledge and awareness, one is able to work with the process, instead of resisting it to the bitter end.

Blessings on your journey…

Robyn

The viewpoint of one who practices the magical arts is different in many ways from the viewpoint of most in Western Society. For example, our justice system is based primarily on people’s actions, and someone’s thoughts or intentions are for the most part irrelevant, precisely because it is so difficult to be sure exactly what someone else’s thoughts or intentions actually are! However even our justice system acknowledges the importance of intentions by taking into account a person’s apparent remorse about a crime in sentencing.

The magical viewpoint is quite different, seeing intentions giving rise to thoughts, which then give rise to actions. The worlds of thought and intention are the precursors of the world of action. Now some of those thoughts and intentions are not conscious for many people, and unconscious thought processes can give rise to actions which are unhelpful or self sabotaging. One task of the magical practitioner is to become conscious of these unconscious thought processes, and where necessary, to direct them in more helpful directions. One of the traditional tools for this work is the Tarot, and the associated exercises in visualisation, particularly working with the major arcana. However that is a story for another day. Today I wanted to pick up on the theme of judgement, which is represented in one of the Tarot trumps.

The Christian Society is based on a mythology of judgement, that when one dies, one’s afterlife experience is determined by the weight of one’s actions during their lifetime, either for good or for bad. The image of judgement is however much older than the Christian version, going back to the mythologies of ancient Egypt, in which the souls of those who had died were weighed on scales held by the immortals, to determine whether they would have eternal life as part of the Great God, or whether they would be damned. (Sound familiar?). The same image is represented on the Tarot trump of Justice.

Now it is not only one’s actions that weigh upon or lighten the soul, but one’s thoughts and one’s intentions. Whether you believe in an actual judgement upon death, or whether you believe that this is a symbol of the process of inner development, whereby our actions, thoughts and intentions shape our essential nature and leave their impress upon our soul, it doesn’t really matter. The point for the magical practitioner is that accepting the reality of thoughts and intentions, and their ability to shape the world around one, and to affect others (not to mention one’s self!) for good or for ill, it is a matter of responsibility to be conscious and aware of one’s thoughts and intentions, and to make sure that they are directed in a positive fashion.

In the end, our life is its own judgement. It stands as a testament to what we have achieved, or failed to achieve, who we have become, or failed to become, and the happiness, joy and satisfaction (or lack of it) in our hearts. In any case, the magical life, as I see it, is to live with the reality of judgement, whether by the Gods, or by oneself, and to bring one’s intentions, thoughts and actions into alignment with the desires of the soul self. It starts with aligning the intentions – and this of course presupposes that one knows the desires of the soul. For many people, alas, they have lost contact with their soul desires. Thus the first step is to regain the knowledge of one’s soul desires – not the programmed responses from society or family upbringing, but the true purpose carried in every soul. This in itself is a great undertaking, which once established, lays the foundation of fulfillment.

Once the soul desire is known, one can establish one’s intention to fulfil those desires, and begin to purge oneself of false intentions, those implanted in us by social and parental conditioning, and our immature responses to the limitations imposed upon us by others. Intentions are the seeds of thought and thought processes. With right intentions, our thoughts can be focussed on their fulfilment. However there are many distractions, and one’s thoughts can easily lead one off into false directions. Not that any direction is inherently false, but false in the sense that it doesn’t serve the soul desire. So the next task in the work is to discipline and focus one’s thoughts, and align them with one’s consciously affirmed intentions. Undisciplined, one’s thoughts tend to run in habitual patterns which we mistakenly identify with as our self, or gravitate to the satisfaction of base desires. Not that there is anything wrong with satisfaction of one’s physical desires in a constructive way, but it can become an obsession that diverts one from the work, running in directions that are unhelpful to self and others, unless one’s thoughts are consciously aligned with the soul intentions.

Once one’s thoughts are aligned with one’s soul intentions, they can begin to inform one’s actions, and one begins to see the transformation and flowering of one’s life. At first in small and subtle ways, but as the alignment begins to grow and develop in force, in increasingly profound and far reaching ways. This process will be different for everyone of course, because we all have different soul desires, and different characters, and different arenas of action that we work in. However rest assured that this process will unfold.

Overall, this process represents the concept of “stepping into one’s power.” This power is something that it seems at times our society is designed to strip from us from a young age, so that as adults we will conform to the desires of the state, and fulfil our allotted social function without complaint, and without threatening the interests of the powerful. Indeed, the Christian mythology underlying western society demonises power, as something that tempts one away from the path of love and “turning the other cheek”.

While this may be true of power based on violence or position in the hierarchies of state or corporation, it is not true of the magical power generated by alignment of intentions, thoughts and actions with the soul desires. In my view, the heart of the magical work is about stepping into one’s power in this way. It is about accepting the powerful potential of being human, and working to actualise and express that power. Our choices will determine how that power is used and expressed, and those choices leave their mark upon the soul for those who have eyes to see. In my view, Power and Love must be balanced within one, the twin pillars of becoming, joined in a conjunction that brings forth the Divine Child. In the end, they come to the same thing, as it is a profound act of self love to align one’s intentions, and then one’s thoughts and actions with one’s soul desire, and simultaneously an act of love for all, as the soul desire is to give of one’s gifts to life in some way. And here is one aspect of the mystery of the philosopher’s stone.

How do you know if you have it right? The giving of one’s gifts energises one, and produces feelings of fulfilment, satisfaction and happiness. Love and Power become one. Energy increases and youthfulness is preserved. False giving, the kind that most people do, in which they give away their power, leads to feelings of resentment, bitterness and the feeling of being trapped, used, or disrespected. Energy dissipates, and aging accelerates, for one is calling one’s own death. These feelings and actions trap many in a vicious circle. The magical path provides a time honoured escape route – the alignment of intention, then thoughts, and finally action, with the soul desire. In the final outcome, our life and very being is our judgement, and testifies to whether we succeeded in liberating ourselves from the chains of the “normal” life, or succumbed to our prison cell and its petty pleasures.

And here, with this echo of the wisdom contained in the trump of the Devil, I will close.

Blessings,

Robyn :)

One of the perennial disagreements that comes up from time to time in the Neopagan world is the question of what exactly is to be understood by the Deities. The Wiccan view that all Goddesses are One Goddess, and all Gods are One God, can be traced back through Dion Fortune. This view has lead many Wiccans to feel comfortable working with many different faces of the Goddess. More traditional pagans, on the other hand, sometimes see their Deities as individuals, and distinct from other Deities, having their own individual agendas and personalities. Indeed, sometimes such people get upset by the cavalier ‘use’ made of their Deities by others – without bothering to understand them in their own right, or without having any traditional cultural connection to the Deity.

My own view is that both viewpoints are correct. Just like humans, the Gods have both an individual nature, and a collective nature, a connection to the all. Emphasis on the one, does not mean the other does not exist. Both aspects should be taken into account by the magical practitioner, in my view, who wishes to work with a Deity form. However, when one calls upon a particular face of the Goddess or God to mediate the primordial feminine or masculine powers of creation, one must deal with the individuality associated with that Deity, as well as its ability to mediate the primordial powers. While some Deities are traditionally worked with in this way, others are not – and it is up to the practitioner to make sure that they appreciate and understand how to work with any Deity they decide to call into their orbit.

Part of this “due dilligence” before working with any Deity is to explore why you wish to call upon them, and whether you have what it takes to work with them safely. To many people, there is a question of ancestral connection that must be satisfied. Others go even further, and insist that the right to work with a Deity must be passed on from someone else, in a family or teaching lineage. Others refuse such restrictiveness, and insist upon their right to work with any Deity they feel drawn to.

Whatever you believe about the right to work with a Deity, it should always be well considered and well prepared, to avoid unplanned and possibly unpleasant consequences. Misunderstanding between a Deity and a practitioner can arise just as easily as misunderstandings between two people, and may have unfortunate consequences. So research well a Deity that seems to be calling to you, and consider well whether you want their energy in your life. To work with a Deity is not something that ought to be taken up and dropped on a casual basis, but something that should be approached with clarity and commitment. To become a priest or priestess working with a particular Deity is to bring the archetypal forces and energies of that Deity into one’s life. Do they suit your energy, personality and approach to life? If not, life could become very difficult and challenging.

One method that you may care to try is the following. If a particular Deity catches your attention, and you feel drawn to working with them, first do some extensive research into the Deity. Obtain traditional imagery, traditional icons, and traditional symbolism. Study any mythology associated with the Deity. Examine your connection to the Deity. Is it a traditional connection, are you re-establishing an ancestral connection, or is there some other connection? Many people, for example, consider themselves to have past lives in other cultures, and feel that this justifies them working with non-ancestral Deities. If so, you will know it. If you feel still that the Deity is for you, then, using the appropriate symbols or images, tune into the Deity, and discuss with them the possibility of working together. Find out if it is permitted, and/or advisable. One way to proceed is to make a limited commitment to the Deity, for a year and a day, say, after which one can consider whether one wants to make a deeper commitment. Others seem to know straight away that they are priests or priestesses of a particular Deity, and dedicate themselves on the basis of this. Whatever way you do things, be sure that you know your heart, and stand by the commitment you make.

Working with a Deity is a sacred trust. This is partly because it is through the inner work of the priest or priestess that the form of the Deity is enlivened and energised. A priest or priestess who is out of tune with the tradition and history of the Deity may well create inharmonious forms and energy currents within the body of the Deity, though the soul of the Deity is unaffected. This, I believe, is one reason why traditional pagans resent the indiscriminate use of their Deities.

So while all Goddesses may well manifest the universal feminine creative principle to some degree, there are many that represent quite different energies, whose shape and form harmonises with quite different belief systems, some of which place little or no emphasis on the union of Male and Female primordial essences to create all phenomena of existence. The same goes for Gods. To try and work with such Deities as mediators of the primordial male and female principles is, in my opinion, misguided.

People these days often have multiple lines of ancestry to many different cultures, and hence pantheons. For example, my ancestry is English and Irish. As well as connections to the Gaelic of Ireland and the Isle of Man, I have a Norman French line that is known to me. But like most people of English stock, there will likely be connections to British celtic and pre-celtic people; Vikings, Danes and Teutonic people; and possibly Roman colonists, or Romano-Brits who had taken up the Roman lifestyle, complete with Roman Gods. They may possibly also be connections via France to cults of Isis. Traditionally, the British are said to be descendants of Brutus, descended from the royal family of Troy, and hence descended from the Greek Gods. So that presents another possibility, even though that genealogy is generally regarded as mythical rather than factual. Now, I haven’t chosen to activate Deities from all, or even the majority, of these ancestral possibilities – but it serves to illustrate that most people have a wide choice of ancestral Deities that they can choose to activate if they wish. However it is considered by some that working within a single pantheon, or at least mostly within a single pantheon, is the best approach, and certainly not mixing pantheons within any particular working. So my point above is not that one could or should take Deities from a wide range of Pantheons, but that one has considerable choice, usually, in which pantheon one can choose from.

These thoughts are nothing more than guidelines which may help to keep you out of trouble of various sorts, not the least of which might be upsetting someone by “appropriating” Gods you have no legitimate right to, in their opinion. However, ultimately, it is something one has to decide in one’s own heart, between oneself and a Deity. And sometimes it turns out that a Deity picks you out to work with, not vice a versa. What should you do in such a cease? In the cases I have heard people talk about, it has always been a positive experience, which was instantly taken up, with a deep knowing of the rightness of it. But, if you’re not 100% sure, then follow the procedure above. Do your research, and make a commitment for a period of time, after which you can decide whether to pull back, or go deeper into commitment and service.

A final remark. I believe that the mark of a priest or priestess is a commitment to service, to and through one’s Deities, and hence to all of life. It is a commitment to be changed, to become greater, and to share in the life and consciousness of one’s Deities. It is a commitment to release oneself from the tyranny of small mindedness, and the challenge of giving expression to the greater mind. The ethic of Service helps to keep one’s feet on the ground, and one’s life in perspective.

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)

One of the fundamental guiding principles of many Neopagan paths, and indeed the Western Hermetic tradition, is the characterisation of all phenomena into the system of the four elements, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Many add a fifth element – Spirit, which combines, centres, and harmonizes the other four. In my own work, I use the four elements to characterise the energetic essence of all phenomena that interest me. Books and lists of elemental correspondences are an important step in learning the craft, learning to recognise the common energetic signatures of phenomena and entities from the different dimensions of existence. For example, an elemental association can be found for herbs, gems, metals, minerals and trees by consulting various sources of traditional lore.

However the division into just four energetic types is too gross a division to account for all the fine differentiations one finds in the world of nature. For example, there are thousands of different herbs in use, and their characters and properties are all unique. In order to begin characterising energies on a finer division, one system that can be employed is the sixteen fold division of energetic movement. This subdivides each element into four aspects, themselves corresponding to the four elements. Thus we have Air of Air, Fire of Air, Water of Air, and Earth of Air. Whereas Air as an element corresponds to beginnings, thoughts, communication, the mental realm, and changeability, Air of Air corresponds to the quintessence of Air, the beginnings of thought processes, the conceptions behind planning, the guiding principals, the rules of logic, the very beginning of any enterprise, etc.

Fire of Air is the next stage, corresponding to the action stage of mental endeavour, such as fleshing out a novel once the plot and characters have been defined, talking about plans with others, developing ideas with others, allowing a touch of inspiration into one’s plans. Water of Air is the next stage of the process. It may correspond to getting feedback about one’s plans, it may symbolise the beginnings of emotional attachment to one’s goals and plans, it may correspond to sharing, or the desire to share one’s plans with others, perhaps to gain their support, or admiration. It may symbolise the contribution that the unconscious impulses may make to beginnings and plans, or which may unsettle the mind and cause changeability, or lack of confidence. Earth of Air then corresponds to the process of bedding down, locking in, and making a commitment to the proposed course of action, which prepares us to move onto the element of Fire, which symbolises action.

First is Air of Fire, which symbolises the initial steps, the beginnings, the first testings of action. It may also symbolise actions which are achieved or take their form through mental processes, such as writing letters, creating works of literature, or other mental activities that are themselves acts which affect others. Fire of Fire is the essence of movement and action, enthusiasm and inspiration. Water of Fire represents responsive action, guided and directed by feedback from its environment, or the things upon which the action is directed. Earth of Fire represents habitual action, action that has been locked into place through habit and repetition, or action that is practical in nature, or actions that build over time and repetition to achieve their constructive purpose. Whereas Air of Fire is changeable, Earth of Fire is solid action, and almost impervious to influence.

After Fire in the sun cycle of manifestation, is the element of Water, generally taken to be associated with the harvest, the rewards of action. Also associated with compassion, intuition and the subconscious, and the womb of the great mother. So we might take Air of water to represent the beginnings of the harvest or the rewards, with more still to come. We might also take Air of Water to symbolise intellectual expressions of compassion, or intellectual descriptions of the psyche – such as various forms of psychology and psychotherapy. Indeed any intellectual description or categorisation of intuitive, unconscious, dream or other non-waking realities, could be described as Air of Water. Fire of Water moves us into the active phase of reaping our harvest, and the activity of compassion, intuition, and delving into the greater self in some way. Water of Water, brings to mind the quintessence of Water, of compassion, intuition, the inner life. It is the returning current, and it is the mystery of connection. Earth of Water brings to mind the practical expression of intuition, compassion, and inner development, inner connection with the Great Mother: the habit of openness, the habit of compassion.

The Earth element then takes us through a period of stasis, of breaking apart, of composting to form the substrate for the next cycle of manifestation, the time of digesting experience. So Air of Earth is the intellectual expression of deconstructing one’s experience in order to do something better next time, a conscious reflection on events. Fire of Earth brings to mind a cheerful reflection on how things went, bringing to bear humour on a situation. It is also the active step in decomposition, perhaps symbolised by a wriggling mass of worms turning vegetable scraps into compost. Water of Earth is the final return, the reward of one’s reflection, and the processing of one’s subconscious mind, and of the group mind, below the level of awareness. Earth of Earth, is the final stasis after deconstruction and reflection and intuitive insights have been digested, leading to a stable foundation for a new cycle of manifestation.

Further insight into this division of energy may be gained by considering the court cards of the tarot deck. For example, the Pages represent Air, the Knights Fire, the Queens water, the Kings Earth. So Page of Coins is Air of Earth, Queen of wands is Water of Fire, etc.

This illustration of the four fold division of each of the elements is just one means of further characterising energies, and refining correspondences. We may apply further dimensions of characterisation. For example, we may characterise people physically, emotionally, intellectually and according to personality, each according to the 16 elemental divisions described, which gives approximately 64,000 different characterisations of a person. While every individual is unique, the richness of such a characterisation is sufficient for most purposes!

If you want to play with this system of characterisation, starting with people is reasonable, as people are something everyone has experience with. You might also like to consider dog breeds, birds, flowers, herbs, trees, classical music or motor-cycles – whatever your area of interest is. Select one example a day. For your example, decide first which element to place it in. Then within that element, which division. Consider everything you know about the item. Consider also how you feel about it, what you sense about it, and your perception of its energy.

Be prepared to revise your assessments as you go!

I am sure you will find this a rewarding experience that deepens your relationship with the elemental energies.

In Her Service,

Robyn

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must decide who or what they serve. Do they serve only themselves, do they serve their Deities, do they serve some ideals, their family, their country, the company, or what? Most people bumble along doing what is expected of them, without making any particular conscious choice, and this is fine as far as it goes. But sooner or later one is always confronted with a situation where one must choose. Whose interests will prevail?

Human beings are very good at aligning their personal interests with those of the people around them. Often there is no conflict between one’s own interest and the interest of one’s family, country, employer, etc etc. But sooner or later there will be, and in making the choices that must follow, we show what kind of person we are.

For the most part, it is a juggling act, trying to satisfy the different interests that we have given a stake in our lives – children, partners, work, hobbies, charities, community, wider family, friends, and also for Pagans, we often have relationships with Deities and other-world contacts to consider as well. Some people manage to keep juggling for much of their lives, before being confronted with the necessity of choice. Others are driven to it much sooner by the impossibility of satisfying all these potentially conflicting interests.

The way of the wise is to know thyself – the true self, the soul intelligence that struggles, usually, to exert its guiding influence over one’s life, which for most is managed from the seat of reason, according to the scripts learned in child-hood. When one is in contact with the true self, the conflict between one’s own self interest and the interest of others, human and non-human, disappears. There is simply the right thing to do, at the time. The Buddhists have the concept of “Right Action”, or Dharma, which transcends principles, laws and moral guidelines. Right action is perceived directly by the luminous intelligence which is both individual and collective. It may take considerable courage to enact it. Indeed, in respect of Right Action, we may say there are three sorts of people. Those who don’t see it at all. Those who perceive it, but aren’t able to follow through with it, for whatever reason, and those who see it and act upon it. Most are in the first category. Those who begin to work on themselves spiritually, and start opening up their hidden faculties, first find themselves in the second category. That is they begin to perceive their right action, but lack the means, the commitment or the courage to act upon it. Thus begins a long, difficult and painful journey, of putting what they perceive into practice, of living their right action. At the end of this journey, with the blessing of the Ancient Ones, they may find themselves in the third category, of living the Right Action that they perceive. Such a one appears to others as a Mage or Saint, or a person of accomplishment and integrity, having achieved alignment between their lives and their spiritual vision and faculty. The rest of us struggle on, as best we may, aware of the gulf between our perceptions of right action, and the lives we actually live, but committed to closing the gap as we gain in skills, confidence, understanding, and spiritual independence. And in this journey, we are assisted by our Deities and inner world contacts, who provide a mechanism for contacting the numinous sphere of existence, and opening the perceptions to the true self.

BB

Robyn :)

We all need to work within our limitations, despite what the proponents of infinite abundance might say. It is almost an article of faith in certain New Age circles that the bounty and abundance of Divine Spirit is infinite, and this extends to the physical conditions of one’s life – money, shelter, possessions, experiences and so on. The only limitation is in our our own minds, is the way such people construct their philosophy. This kind of idea, in my view, is born of the idea of an infinitely powerful and good God. If one is alligned with an infinite power, then the logical conclusion is that nothing is impossible, and if anything is found to be impossible, the fault is in the seeker, rather than the infinite power that they seek to allign themselves with. The idea of the infinitely powerful and good God is one side of a very old coin, that has its roots in the Gnostic conception of the world and existance – as created and controlled by two opposing principles – the principle of ultimate Good, and the principle of ultimate Evil. This philosophy is at the foundation of Western culture, and expresses itself through mainstream Christianity as the battle between Good (God) and Evil (the Devil). 

However those who observe nature and its workings observe that there is never infinite abundance of any resource. All life works within limitations. When the limitations of any environment are reached, life must srtrike a balance. Likewise in our lives. The resources available to any one person are limited. Limitations of time, money, physical health and enthusiasm are obvious. More subtle limitations also arise, like whether others are willing to play along with you to bring about what you desire. Even the richest person in the world is not completely free, but must work within the limitations upon them, or soon lose their wealth, or their health, or their relationships. The art of life, and in my view, the art of magic, is about making the most of what is, and where one find’s oneself – even though it may fall short of the lofty ideals born of infinite immagination. Making the most of things requires a keen sence of the limitations one is working under.

Another important lesson that can be learned from observing nature is that what is good for the Lion is bad for the Zebra, and vice a versa. Yet together, the balance of nature is maintained, and life goes on. Good and Evil depend on one’s point of view, and are not absolutes, and cannot, in my opinion, be attached to their respective Deities of infinite Good and Infinite Evil. The pagan concenpt of Deity is much more complex – our Deities can embody the contradictions of life, and recognize and help one become attuned to the natural cycles of life – the times of abundance, and the times of scarcity, the times of felowship, and the times of isolation, the times of joy, and the times of sorrow.

When one observes nature, one observes that much of life revolves arround the union of male and female genders to create the new generation. So the Neopagan viewpoint sees the world as created from the womb of the Goddess, and fertilised by the seed of the God. God and Goddess are not a duality of good and evil, but a duality of male and female, seed and womb, cup and blade, or yin and yang to use the Taoist terms to denote these energy principles.    What is born from the union, takes shape, grows, reaches its natural fulfillment, then fades and passes, making way for the new. The key here is that everything in this world, and everyone, has a nature, which we may grow into and fulfill. The acorn becomes only an Oak Tree, and never an Ash or a thorn. A pumpkin seed becomes a pumpkin vine, and never a tomato bush. Yet it seems that people make their lives revolve around becoming something at odds with their nature, taking to heart dreams and aspirations impressed upon them by parents, society, advertising or the latest fads and fashions.

The way of the wise is to seek to know and understand one’s true nature, to accept it, and allow one to grow into its fulfillment. To some, this may appear to be the way of limitation, accepting that we can’t be or do anything we want. To the wise, it is the way of freedom – for in fulfilling one’s true nature, one most truly makes connection with the deep magic of alignment, fulfillment, and becoming, the deep magic of allowing the child of promise, the off-spring of the God and Goddess, to fulfill its destiny. The way is to keep the mind, its goals, and its aspirations harnessed to the deep knowledge of self that is deeper than the thoughts, closer than the heart, and flows ever upon the cord that connects us to the Great Mother, so close as to be imperceptible, which recognizes no ‘otherness’, only life in its becoming and transformation in the ever whirling spiral dance of life.

Blessed Be

Robyn :)

Sometimes life throws up some difficult choices, and it’s hard to know which way to go. There may be the voice of reason saying one thing, the heart calling in a different direction, a variety of talents and possibilities demanding to be given time and attention, various people in your life ready with advice, some good, some bad, and somewhere lost in the clamour, the calling of the soul.

Sometimes the biggest problem is being immobilised by the need to choose, and not knowing which direction to take. So we do nothing, and allow the status quo to carry on. However this is rarely in our best interest.

One of the sayings I am fond of is that often, it’s not so much about making the right decision, but making the decision right. Some people become immobilised, because they can’t figure out the right decision. Maybe they can’t figure it out because there is no alternative that is right, with all the others wrong. Any alternative would do, if only one would make a decision and stick to it. Making the decision right, means to commit to a course of action, and put your best foot forward, whatever you have chosen. This commitment will in turn bring with it energy and enthusiasm, and this will act in the situation to give the best chance of a positive outcome.

Another aspect of ‘making the decision right’ is the process of coming to a decision. My philosophy is to work with a balance of all the human faculties. I try to think things through from a practical perspective (engage the mind). I try to come to an awareness of my feelings about each alternative, and the source of these feelings, whether they be from fears, or past experiences positive or negative, or indications of a soul calling. I also engage my intuition about the various alternatives, perhaps through tools such as a tarot spread, which incorporate also the willingness to take guidance from guides and inner world contacts, and my own higher self. I may also engage my imagination in trying to picture to myself how life will turn out under the different decisions, what I will be doing each day, where I will be living, my state of mind, the happiness of my self and my family, whether I am in tune with my soul calling and so on. After such a process, the decision is often much easier. You’ve made the decision right, so you can make the decision right!

There are a number of tarot cards that are tied up with decisions and choices. The three that come to my mind are the seven of cups, the lovers, and the hanged man. The seven of cups is seen in many decks as the need to make a choice, or being unable to decide on a direction, because there are many possibilities before one. Often this is seen as a positive sign, indicating choices and options, but when reversed, may mean stagnation or immobilisation through inability to make a necessary choice. The lovers is said to indicate a time of choice in the process of individuation. The young man pictured in the card must choose between loyalty to his mother, and the desire and love for a young woman. It marks the process of growth and becoming one’s own person, separating from the parental influence and guidance, and making one’s own way in life. On a deeper level, the mother represents to me the internalised bonds, the apron strings, that often tie a young man to his mother. These are bonds of strong emotion which also circumvent one’s life experience. There comes a time when the safety of home must be left behind in order to experience the full richness of life. The young women represents on a deeper level, the calling of soul, which ever beckons one to follow, and to leave behind one’s comfort zone. The symbolism on this level applies as well to either sex.

To me this card then represents the fundamental choice which must be faced time and time again by the person who wishes to grow into their spiritual maturity – the choice to follow the calling of soul, and leave behind the familiar. It is all the more poignant for the love and comfort that surrounds one in the familiar. It would be easy enough if one’s present was full of conflict and misery when soul called you to something different. However when one’s life is full of love, comfort, and the many satisfactions of a happy home or work environment, it is a much more painful choice when soul comes calling you to something different. But the call must be answered, for to refuse it, leaves one strangely hollow, and a little disappointed. Domestic comfort and the loves of home begin to lose their shine, for the soul begins to pine. Yet it is still a choice, as one cannot be forced to follow the call of soul.

Another card that talks about choice is, to me, the hanged man. The card is often interpreted to mean sacrifice. However I see it as sacrifice in the sense that something must be cut away from one’s life in order to make space for something new. Otherwise the new has no room to grow and develop. However it is not easy to cut away parts of one’s life – there is always a cost attached. It may be a monetary cost, for example, forgone income when one chooses to work part time in order to give oneself time for study or a project of personal importance. It may be the cost of foregone dreams or goals, as in for example giving up practising the violin, and the dream of performing, in order to spend time writing a novel. To me, the card represents the hoary old truth that only by painful sacrifice can worthwhile things come about. Considering the sacrifice involved in almost any undertaking, is it worth it? My view is that only the call of the soul is capable of justifying the sacrifice required.

The hanged man also resonates, for me, with a story told about Merlin, when he had returned to court after spending time alone in the wilds as a madman. A boy was brought before him, and he was asked to prophesy how the boy would die. “By falling from a high place”, said Merlin. Then in order to trick the sage, the boy was dressed in different clothes, and brought back. Merlin was asked again to prophesy the way this apparently different boy would meet his death. “By hanging from a tree”, said Merlin. Again the boy was taken away, and this time dressed up as a girl, and brought back. Merlin was asked to prophesy how the ‘girl’ was to die, and he replied, “Women or no, by drowning”.

On becoming a young man, the boy was hunting a stag, if I remember correctly, and died by falling from a rock, upon which his foot got stuck in the cleft of a tree, and he ended up hanging upside down with his head in a stream flowing under the tree, and so drowning. So as it turned out, all three prophesies were fulfilled.

Curiously, considering what I posted recently about him, the Norse God Odin is also associated with hanging from a tree (in this case Yggdrasil, the world tree), and the threefold death, and thus also is associated with the Hanged Man of the Tarot. It is also curious that in the last year, I have taken to sleeping with one leg cocked foot to knee, for no particular conscious reason, just as depicted in the tarot card. Hmmmm.

Blessings

Robyn :)

Personally speaking, I neither impose on my Deities, or make supplications to them in my magical work. I find the imposing of the will (on a Deity) somewhat problematic, as it places one above one’s Deities. Nor do I like supplication – in my view the resort of the week and the powerless. So I don’t place myself below my Deities either.

The old wisdom that I live by is that the Gods admire and respect strength. They won’t come to the aid of someone so lacking in self respect he or she feels the need to grovel before them. Nor will they bow to the will of the arrogant.

The middle way, which I endeavour to follow, is that there is a sacred marriage between the practioner and the Gods, which when combined exceeds the individual will and power of the practitioner alone. Thus from within this magical union one neither compels nor supplicates, but Wills and manifests – with the combined will of the sacred marriage. However the combined will may sometimes be surprising – in that it is not always what one thinks it ought to be from one’s less exalted every day consciousness!

Blessed Be,

Robyn :)

There is a difference between who we really are and who we think we are. It’s something I have written about in my book “The Great Work”, where I talk about the difference between the rationo-centric self, and the true self. Basically the story is that our locus of self identity becomes fixated in the rationo-centric mind. I use this term because it is a little more than the rational mind, which most people understand as the ability to reason and approach life logically by thinking things through. However the rationo-centric mind describes something a bit further than this. It describes how our self concept develops through discriminating between self and other, and adopting various rules and concepts about our self as though true. It is the part of you that says “I am this” and “I am that” and “I Like this” and “I don’t like that”. Now these sorts of statements often start as an understanding of ourselves, in response to a particular situation. But the trouble is, we change, and the situation changes, but these self concepts become part of our identity, and we hold on to them as if they were our most prized possession, long after they have passed their use-by date.

It is an example of the way we build up a mental construct of who we are, and then allow it to imprison us, by cutting us off from new experience. The relevant Tarot trump is the Tower – showing how when this happens, the divine thunderbolt arrives to knock down the tower of mental constructions, giving us the gift of a fresh start to rebuild something more suitable for our stage of life and the times we face.

An example of this process occurred to me just the other day. When I first became interested in the pagan pathway, I was very drawn to my Celtic ancestry. I identified strongly with the Deities, traditions, mythology and legends from the Celtic current. I cultivated Celtic Deities, and worked within that current quite happily. In fact, it became part of my sense of self. I was a “Celtic Wiccan”, or a “Celtic Pagan”. However what we think we are, is not ever who we really are, and in spite of our mental constructions to the contrary, our true self and true identity will manage to insert themselves into our lives, sometimes in spite of our best efforts to keep them at bay.

Often it becomes clear only on looking back, how the unseen hand has been at work, in spite of our efforts to limit our experience to a particular realm due to a mental construction of “I am this” and “I am not that”. For example, readers of these pages will have heard about my trip to Denmark, in which I visited the Troll Church, and had an experience of the Dragon Power, and my subsequent explorations and experiences with this energy through Dragon Walking. In one such experience, I encountered the astral form of a fellow wearing a brown hooded robe. At the time it came to me that he was one of the hooded ones, which I assumed to be an order of initiates working with the Dragon energy. Since then, I have had an inclination to do a little exploration with the Runes, something that I had previously avoided, being outside the “Celtic Universe”. And of course, my chosen name, Robyn Wood, resonates with the mythical figure Robin Hood, who Steve Wilson informs me is none other than the figure of Odin, transported to English shores and merged with Celtic mythic motifs. It appears that he often appears wearing a hood. Hmmmmm.

So the picture is starting to become a little clearer…and the lesson is that we are more than our self concept at any particular time. When the gifts arrive from the Gods, be ready for them, however they come. They may well come in an unfamiliar disguise! After all, most of us these days have many lines of ancestry – and perhaps it is time for me to explore some other lines, as well as the Celtic.

Blessed Be,

Robyn

My first wife’s ex was Vietnamese. They were involved in a bitter custody dispute, which involved a bit of sorcery of the oriental type, some of which came my way. No lasting damage, but scary at the time. One time I was pinned to the ground in a dream, and my nose pinched closed so that I couldn’t breathe. I woke up very distressed – fairly leapt out of bed, waiving my etheric sword about and jumping around the room! Took me a good half an hour to settle down. Anyway, folks might be interested in the following thoughts that have come out of that and other experiences over the years.

Many people who involve themselves in witchcraft, sorcery, or psychic pursuits seem to, at one stage or another of their journey, believe themselves to be the victims of some kind of psychic attack, particularly if something freaks them out. Most of the time, I believe that it is just not the case. If you belong to a coven, group or brotherhood, and have a more experienced magical mentor, talk to them without delay! Here is a checklist for working through if you believe yourself to be under some kind of psychic attack.

(1)Are you drinking alcohol regularly or excessively, or smoking pot, or taking other psychoactive recreational drugs?
If yes, there is a good chance that substances are affecting your judgement and awareness. Desist for a period of one month and review situation. Most times a straighter frame of mind will reveal that there was no psychic attack at all. Even if the attack is real, avoiding all substance use will make you less vulnerable.
(2)Are you receiving prescribed medication for depression, anxiety, or other mental or emotional condition?
If yes, note that some medications may have a side effect of paranoia or delusions in some people. Discuss with your prescriber about changing your medication, reducing your medication, or weaning off your medication.
(3)Are you under stress, or feeling anxiety about work, a relationship, or other life situations?
If yes, you may be feeling hyper-sensitive. It may be attractive to blame someone else for your troubles. Take steps to squarely deal with the situations that face you. Talk to friends. Get professional counselling to support your efforts to take the bull by the horns.
(4)Do you feel that you are constantly under psychic attack from various different people and/or groups?
If yes, you are either a royal arsehole, have a penchant for pissing people off, or (most likely) you need to get some professional help to deal with your delusional thinking.

If you have answered no to the above four questions, and are otherwise healthy, sane and balanced, you may well be the victim of a psychic attack. If so continue the checklist by asking
(5)Who/or what is trying to attack me psychicly?
Is there someone you have really pissed off? Perhaps by ripping off a large amount of money, but most likely by sleeping with their partner or ex-partner, or by leaving a relationship, or through a custody dispute, business dispute, etc. If so, it is possible they are angry and vengeful enough to be bothered attacking you psychicly. If so, do they have the skills? If yes on both counts, maybe you are indeed being psychicly attacked, and need to do something about it.

Most people, unless they are practiced witches/sorcerers, do not have the skills to mount an effective psychic attack. God botherers may on occasion subject you to prayer sessions. And ordinary people can project a lot of negativity, usually without realising it, but neither of these are bothersome unless you make yourself vulnerable by believing they can affect you. A shield of energy/white light/etc is more than adequate – this is the mantle of the Lady for those who cultivate Her presence.

When dealing with focussed attacks by magical practitioners, the simple truth is that any attack on you requires the attacker to make themselves vulnerable. This is because any attack requires their attention to be placed on you. Anyone with a modicum of training and awareness can sense the attention, and follow it back to its source. So any attack provides an opening in the attackers defences.

The best defence against any psychic attack is to withdraw all attention from the supposed attacker, as your attention provides a psychic link which the attacker can use. If there are photos of the “attacker” in your house, take them off display. Remove any objects which remind you of the supposed attacker, etc, as these will pull your attention towards the attacker, and so open a connection. If you find yourself thinking about them, immediately start thinking about something else, for example a protective deity.

What can a psychic attack actually do? Mostly, it can just influence your state of mind. It succeeds if you become fearful, or believe that you are being harmed, or may be harmed. It is really no different to bullying, by any other method, wearing you down into a state of no confidence and a loss of faith in your own abilities.

Most psychic attacks are only as effective as one allows them to be – as it is one’s own vulnerabilities that first surface in a psychic attack. So if you have an episode of being psychicly attacked, the first thing to do is to give thanks for the opportunity to deal with your vulnerabilities. Without such a vulnerability, there is little that can be done against you. Also it is a great learning opportunity to deal with a psychic attack. Mostly you learn what your insecurities are, and how to overcome them! There are some paths that believe in pitting trainees against an adversary in order to test them out and toughen them up. However I find this a bit on the uncivilised side, and think that there are better uses of people’s time and energy.

So if you are being psychicly attacked, there will be a reason – you’ve upset someone with the ability to do such a thing. The best course of action is to withdraw all attention from said attacker, and make your aura impervious to their attention, by whatever visualisations/energy work is your predilection. Refrain from drugs and alcohol. Get plenty of good sleep. Close up your aura on going to bed. Remain alert and aware for any foreign energy impinging on your auric field. Most importantly, place your attention on a higher plane of vibration by whatever means you are accustomed to. Some believe in hitting back. However in hitting back, you also make yourself vulnerable, as you must place your attention on your attacker to do it! Make a considered judgement about whether you can get away with it first!

The rule of three fold return is an interesting one. I believe there is a return of energy – whether tit for tat, or threefold it doesn’t matter. Since I believe in a threefold return for misuse of power, I do aim to see that it happens when misuse is directed towards me. However I believe we are all connected within the body of Herself, so that being hurtful to someone else is damaging to Herself – not withstanding the need to defend oneself (psychicly or physically) from others who hold to a more individualistic viewpoint. So I often allow people’s negativity to dissipate harmlessly, rather than bouncing it back, especially if they are unaware that they are projecting it, as people often are these days.

While not doubting there are some individuals around who like the excitement of psychic duelling, the old saying applies – those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Better, in my view, to spend one’s energies creating a world in which all people can realise their full potential without the need for dealing with pointless conflict.

Blessed Be,
Rob