Cundo usar la Magia Hace unas semanas volvi a salir el tema recurrente; Cundo usar la Magia?

La respuesta rpida es: analiza lo que pretendes alcanzar con ella. De esto se pueden deducir tres opciones posibles: a) Es un capricho. Mal vamos. El coste por el uso de la Magia es demasiado e levado para gastar nuestros recursos en cosas as. b) Es algo que queremos. b.1 - Lo seguiremos queriendo dentro de un tiempo? Si no es as, pertenece a la categora de "capricho". b.2- Nos conviene?, Aportar algo de valor a nuestra vida? Porque es posible que la consecucin del objetivo no haga ms que atraer nuevos problemas, carencias y ot ros "daos colaterales" a nuestras existencias. b.3- Es realmente lo que queremos? Porque, en no pocas ocasiones, estamos dis persos y confundimos la forma con el contenido. Si el problema es inseguridad, p odemos ponernos como objetivo algo que creemos que nos la aportar, por ejemplo, u n aumento de ingresos o una casa... pero el objetivo ltimo es la seguridad, la fo rma en la que llegue a nuestra vida es secundaria. Por esto es importante defini r bien los objetivos - dentro y fuera de la magia - ; nos ahorra muchos rodeos y unos cuantos disgustos. Y si no tenemos claro este punto... vale la pena parars e a reflexionar un rato sobre ello. c) Es una necesidad. Esto es, es realmente importante para nosotros, nos apo rta algo de valor, es coherente con nuestro propsito de vida, es algo que nos ayu da a crecer, avanzar, o nos servir para construir. Estamos dispuestos a luchar ho nradamente por ello, con magia o sin ella, y a ser consecuentes con la eleccion que tomamos al atraerlo a nuestra vida. Todo tiene un precio, cada eleccin a lo largo de nuestra existencia; pero est e coste no es econmico. Es un coste en consecuencias, en esfuerzo, en tiempo, en recursos personales; en las puertas que se cierran para que otras puedan ser abi ertas. Nuestros recursos para ste pago son limitados; por eso es necesario invert irlos de un modo consciente, buscando el camino ms directo y despejado, la accin ms eficiente. Son muchos, muchsimos los deseos que pueden acudir a nuestra mente, en uno u otro momento, no podemos seguirlos todos, porque no lograremos con ello otra cos a que consumirnos en una perpetua insatisfaccin, acumulando - tal vez - cosas que no sirven para nada, a cambio de perder la oportunidad de seguir aquellas que s nos hubieran servido. Son muchas las circunstancias que enturbian en un momento u otro nuestro pen samiento, hacindonos confundir la forma con el fondo, la apriencia con la necesid ad, lo que creemos que queremos y lo que en realidad necesitamos, la "sensacin de urgencia" con la importancia. La desesperacin no es buena consejera; lo primero que pasa no es siempre la m ejor opcin, ni la ms rpida, ni la ms eficiente. Cuando estamos desesperados es ms fcil ser engaados, incluso - sobretodo- por nosotros mismos!. Es mejor conservar la calma, poner distancia entre nosotros y aquello que de seamos o nos aqueja, discernir sobre su verdadera naturaleza y las acciones que

podemos tomar al respecto. No suelen ser situaciones de vida o muerte y, por lo tanto, no pasa nada si nos tomamos ese tiempo. As las cosas, pocos de nuestros deseos llegarn al punto en el que valga la pen a emplear la Magia por ellos. Bien porque no son suficientemente importantes ( y , en realidad, no vale la pena ni la Magia, ni muchos otros de nuestros recursos ), bien porque hay otras vas ms rpidas de alcanzarlos prescindiendo de sta. Y, sin embargo, cuanto ms definido est el objetivo, ms claro tengamos su natura leza, ms importante sea en nuestras vidas, y ms convencidos estemos de la necesida d de l... ms improbable ser que acabemos realizando algun trabajo mgico para su cons ecucin. De repente, toca a nuestra puerta y entra gentilmente, nos sorprendemos.. . "yo no he hecho nada! Esto es suerte!" De eso nada; lo que pasa es que el "trabajo mgico" ya est hecho, y ni nos hemo s enterado de que lo estbamos haciendo. ... Tal vez sera necesario redefinir, como postdata, la idea que se tiene de lo q ue la Magia es. Para algunas personas, todo es Magia, porque asocian la idea a cierta dimens in que perciben y por la que se mueven de la Vida, incluso de un modo no completa mente consciente; mientras que otras personas no lo hacen. Entonces s, todo lo qu e hagan con sus vidas podr llamarse "Magia" en ese sentido. Pero desgraciadamente para la mayora de personas que emplean el trmino "magia" , ste significa poco ms que una manera fcil de conseguir las cosas a cambio de nada (o a cambio de un precio econmico). La Magia no es esto, y aquellos que emplean frmulas, rituales, amuletos, etc. para solucionar cosas de la vida ordinaria - co mo conseguir un trabajo o encontrar una casa - , slo estn haciendo dos cosas; 1- pierden el tiempo y no obtienen resultados, 2- obtienen resultados porque esos materiales y procedimientos les dan la co nfianza necesaria para que su cabeza haga un trabajo que podra hacer perfectament e prescindiendo de ellos, slo que no se atreve. No es que la Magia a nivel ritual-amuleto-frmula no sirva, es que usarla para solventar ciertas cosas es poco prctico... esta Magia sirve a otro niveles, en s ituaciones en las que tiene sentido el precio que pagamos por usarla. Mientras llega el momento, lo s que hacemos es conocer cmo funciona, cuales so n sus mecanismos, que margen de accin nos permite, cul es su alcance... y porqu es absurdo y contraproducente empearse en aplicarla cuando hay otras opciones mejore s. Limpieza estacional Como cada ao, estas fechas alteran a ciertas personas - entre las que me incluyosobremanera; demasiado impulso que si no se descarga adecuadamente va creando n erviosismo, confusin mental y otras formas de malestar interno que agota. Resulta , por lo tanto, muy de agradecer tener alguna actividad fsica que realizar, y son fechas propicias para la limpieza. Una limpieza estacional en toda regla - esa en la que das la vuelta al colchn y s acas la ropa de temporada - implica dedicacin y planificacin; por eso nos tomamos al menos un da libre del trabajo para "concluir lo que empezamos". Y conlleva tod a una serie de trabajos asociados como sacar todo lo que tenemos, deshacernos de lo intil, y buscar un lugar adecuado para todo aquello que despus de la seleccin c onservamos. Y luego en todo caso siguen el plumero, el agua, los detergentes y d ems.

La limpieza estacional, como una pequea mudanza, es algo que solicita esfuerzo fsi co, mental y, no pocas veces, emocional. Y uno no siempre se ve con nimo de poner se a la labor; pero en ocasiones se hace necesario, y no precisamente por la cas a. En esas ocasiones en las que necesitas resetear tu vida, deshacerte de lo que ya no sirve pero molesta, hacer sitio para lo que ha de llegar, recuperar espacio personal, y reencontrarte contigo mismo. As que en primer lugar rompes con la cotidianidad, y te tomas un tiempo para trab ajar en otra cosa, y estar solo con tus pensamientos. Es diferente el modo en el que uno piensa cuando tiene las manos ocupadas... no da vueltas y ms vueltas sum ergindose en una misma idea prometedora o tormentosa, sino que la observa desde l a distancia, sin darle ms importancia de la que merece, y nos aporta claridad y u n cierto alivio. Claridad y alivio necesarios para el momento en el que sacamos todo lo que tenem os guardado, y pasean ante nuestros ojos tantas cosas que ni siquiera recordbamos que estaban an por all; todos esos objetos que en s mismos no son ms que plstico o m etal o tela, pero llevan asociada una maldita carga emocional. Y entonces vuelve a la memoria el da en que decidimos meter aquello en lo ms profu ndo del cajn, para que el recuerdo asociado en cuestin no nos atormentara, pero no nos atrevimos a deshacernos de aquello de una vez. Y llega la reflexin de si el momento de hacerlo ha llegado, o an lo esconderemos hasta la prxima ocasin. Recuerdo haber tenido una caja de zapatos en la que guardaba cartas y escritos d e otras pocas, slo la abra para revisarla en las limpiezas y otros momentos cumbre. La habitacin revuelta, toda la ropa del armario tendida sobre la cama, el suelo ocupado por las columnas de libros... Llegaba "el momento de la caja", de abrirl a, sacar dos o tres hojas, leerlas abstrada sentada de cualquier modo; recordar, sentir las punzadas de la memoria, de la emocin contenida, sopesarlo, sacar otras hojas, leerlas, soltar alguna lagrimilla, esbozar una sonrisa, rasgarlas y depo sitarlas en una gran bolsa de basura como quien lanza flores al mar. Pero luego te levantas y sigues con la tarea, porque recuerdas? toda la ropa del armario est tendida sobre la cama, y no quieres dormir en el suelo, que tampoco e s el mejor lugar para los libros. El proceso es el mismo con la ropa, con los libros, con tre lo que va a la basura, lo que a ti no te sirve pero o que deberas retornar a su propietario original, y lo recuerdos, de lo que ya no eres/no necesitas, de lo que vas a potenciar. lo que sea... divides en s puede servir a otros, l que te quedas. Todo tiene quieres seguir siendo o

En esta fase entra tambin el cambio de lugar de los muebles... una prctica que res ulta excelente cuando sentimos que el entorno est demasiado cargado, o nosotros n os sentimos atrapados o bloqueados. Se trata de reorganizarse, de buscar nuevas maneras de ubicar lo que ya haba, por esttica o por ganar espacio, o porque descub rimos que un mismo elemento que antes serva para una cosa nos va a servir mejor p ara otra. Como el Tetris, pero a lo grande... como en nuestras cabezas. Luego, ya s, el combate contra la suciedad, que se da en dos modalidades. Modalidad dura (y primera en atenderse): cuando nos enfrentamos a la grasa que s e acumula en los rincones de la cocina a los que no llegan nuestras manos, y a v eces, ni siquiera nuestra vista. Agua muy caliente, estropajos y lo que sea para recuperar el tacto de la superficie original. Es la fase de la limpieza en la q ue podemos descargar sin necesidad de represin todo el enojo - as sea con uno mism o - que nos haya provocado el encuentro con ciertos recuerdos. Le das bien fuert

e, con toda tu rabia acumulada - que va a hacer falta - , y expulsas ambos tipos de suciedad acumulada, la de la cocina y la propia. Es mucho ms efectivo que gol pear una almohada, y sirve para algo. Y,para rematar, echamos un buen chorro de insecticida para prevenir parsitos, que nunca est de ms. Cuando se est bien cansado, es el momento de la modalidad suave: tcnicas ms relajad as como el barrido/fregado clsico, quitamos el polvo y pasamos pao hmedo, acarician do superficies... Y ya por ltimo, cambio de ropa de la casa, momento ideal para estrenar toallas, sb anas, cortinas y colchas. Cuando hemos acabado con todo, descubrimos que ya hemos recordado todo lo que te namos que recordar, que ya nos hemos ensuciado, revuelto, redo y llorado, nos hemo s deshecho de lo que no queramos, aunque con algunas cosas nos ha costado un poco , hemos pensado en lo que s queramos, y en lo que podamos dar a otros; nos hemos pe leado con nosotros mismos y con todo, y tambin nos hemos descargado; hemos visto lugares de nuestras casas que slo nosotros conocemos y nuevas posibilidades de co locar las cosas... Nos hemos preparado un buen lugar en el que estar, y estamos cansados, s, pero tambin relajados y satisfechos. Encenderemos unas velitas, pondremos, tal vez, algn perfume, una msica suave, que vaya "creando ambiente" mientras nos damos un bao, y, al salir, felices de estar en nuestra piel, nos secaremos con nuestras nuevas y suaves toallas, y nos iremo s a relajar an ms... porque el primer sueo despus de una limpieza de este tipo - sob retodo si hemos cambiado la cama de lugar y hay sbanas nuevas - parece siempre ms autntico que cualquier otro. Hay, claro est, otras opciones para acabar el da; pero, en todo caso, si hay que c enar, se cena fuera... slo faltara! Para sacar la basura no hace falta molestar a nadie ... o algunas notas sobre la higiene psquica.

Tal cual, antes de pasar a temas mayores de defensa psquica, echemos un vistazo a las ocasiones en las que nos convertimos en potenciales agresores. Como hemos c omentado alguna vez, los fenmenos de ataque y defensa son algo corriente, que se acontecen a diferentes niveles segn la personas o el entorno implicado. Un tal Eric Hoffer dijo que es ms fcil amar a la humanidad en general que al veci no, no se quien es, pero tena bastante razn. Supongo que existen algunas personas capaces de alcanzar alguna suerte de armona universal y esas cosas, pero para el comn de los mortales, no existe nada ms lejos de la realidad. Sera absurdo tratar d e imaginar que de vez en cuando no tenemos malos deseos , pero tratar de reprimirlo s puede ser an ms pernicioso. Es relativamente fcil hacer un envo de basura psquica a otra persona, y, de hecho, al final del da podemos llegar a casa con cantidades importantes de ella, dependi endo de dnde hayamos estado. Otra cosa es el efecto que sta causar en aquel que la reciba, dependiendo de la resistencia de la persona., de su estado anmico, de su salud, o de las cantidades de basura propia y ajena que lleve acumuladas. Cmo influye la basura en nuestras vidas? Tanto la basura fsica como la psquica tiene n el poder de ocupar espacio que debera reservarse a otras cosas, o nos roba movi lidad; incomoda nuestros sentidos; y, llegados a ciertos niveles, empieza a atra

er a organismos molestos, y al fin resulta peligrosa para nuestra salud. En todo caso, y sabiendo eso, plantear unas cuestiones bsicas: 1)Es apropiado amontonar en casa, o incluso comerse la propia basura de uno? Rotundamente no. 2) es necesario que otros carguen con nuestra basura? Tampoco!. Vamos a ser higinicos en la medida de lo posible, por el bien comn y el nuestro pr opio. Para empezar: no es ms limpio quin ms limpia, sino el que menos ensucia . As que ante todo calma, y evitar alterarse o enojarse por tonteras; no detener nuestra atencin en exceso sobre aquellas cosas con las que no estamos de acuerdo, pero q ue tampoco nos conciernen. Esta situacin suele darse en el trabajo, en los transp ortes pblicos, y yendo por la calle en general, porque hay bastantes cosas desagr adables con las que nos cruzamos a lo largo del da. En los libros de Pratchett, cuando el nivel de magia en el aire es elevado, los insultos y palabras malsonantes se convierten en bichos voladores, al salir por la boca. Pues aunque exagerado, ese es el efecto. Evidentemente podemos acunar l egiones de bichos a nuestro alrededor, y expulsarlos de un golpe al encontrar la ocasin de detenernos a limpiar en ambiente. Pero es un poco tonto, sobretodo cua ndo no hay tiempo para detenerse y la faena se acumula. Enviar esos bichos a otra persona no est bien, es ser un sucio igual, pero con ms delito, porque el hecho de querer sacrselo de encima ya implica que somos consci entes de que estamos enviando algo negativo. De igual modo que existen personas con mayor capacidad de generar basura que otr as; pero tambin hay quienes pueden generar menos basura, pero ms txica. Por ejemplo, las personas que poseen capacidades naturales destacadas, y los pra cticantes ms o menos avanzados. Son muy conocidas las historias en las que la inc onciencia, o falta de autocontrol , de estos es causa de desgracia. Para ilustrar, tenemos por ejemplo la historia de la muchacha que ha recibido un don , enamorada de un muchacho, y l de ella, pero la familia no la acepta. Despus de varios conflictos serios, la chica ya harta no aguanta ms y maldice por enter o a la familia... y con ello a su querido. Y la historia acaba muy mal, porque l a cosa no tiene vuelta atrs. El problema estas personas, es que no siempre sus capacidades se han desarrollad o de un modo paralelo; de modo que, en un extremo, encontramos a personas intele ctual o espiritualmente muy desarrolladas pero incapaces a la hora de actuar efe ctivamente y, en el otro extremo, personas capaces de realizar magia con cierta habilidad y potencia, pero sin un mnimo de discernimiento. La historia de los practicantes ms o menos avanzados es que, a pesar de la conci encia sobre sus acciones, pueden quedar cautivados por el efectismo de sus capacid ades, desdeando el hueso de la enseanza a la que han tenido acceso. Lo malo no es tanto que decidan quedarse en el nivel ms bsico de la tradicin, sino que con eso pu eden hacer dao a otros. Y es malo tambin para ellos, porque se ilusionan con sus c apacidades, se vuelven necios orgullosos, se crecen ante sus maestros, y por ltim o, despus de mil oportunidades, se ganan un castigo ejemplar que podran haber evit ado, el golpe final del maestro subestimado que muestra su cara ms seria y contun dente para dejarlos definitivamente fuera de juego. Igual puede suceder con lo que tienen un don natural, aunque no tengan maestros,

existe la figura de aquel que tarde o temprano aparece para detenerlos con con tundencia, lo que no siempre es agradable, (puesto que igual que los hay que no se detienen solos porque no quieren, estn los que realmente no pueden hacerlo) p ero s necesario. An si logramos minimizar el volumen de basura generada, nos queda la duda de qu ha cer con la que no podemos evitar. Pues lo mismo que se hace con la basura normal , separarla, introducirla en recipientes pertinentes, y depositarla en el conten edor adecuado. Y ah empezamos a hablar de reciclaje. El reciclaje permite recuperar como materia primera elementos, tras desecharlos despus de un primer uso. En la basura normal se reciclan el papel o cartn, latas y vidrio, normalmente son recipientes que o cupan el mayor volumen en una bolsa de basura. Por otro lado est el contenido orgn ico, que se emplea en abonos y se devuelve a la tierra. Y por ltimo quedan las su stancias txicas que merecen un tratamiento especial. Podemos pararnos a observar nuestra basura psquica, y ver que tanto se puede reut ilizar con fines constructivos. Encontramos en ella bsicamente grandes proporcion es de ideas-vehculo, que seran los elementos reciclaje; energa que sera la materia o rgnica; y, slo en algunos casos, elementos realmente txicos. As pues, lo conveniente es empezar a separar, recuperar nuestra energa para fines ms provechosos, dar una nueva forma a nuestras ideas-vehculo, y dejar en un lugar adecuado los verdadero s txicos, que aunque no se pueden evitar por completo, pueden tratarse de modo qu e no daen a otros, ni a nosotros mismos. De este modo, optimizamos nuestros recursos, minimizamos el volumen ltimo de nues tra basura, nos movemos ms limpios y ligeros, y no molestamos a nadie. Es importante estar limpio. Aunque es ms fcil ensuciar que limpiar, a la larga, la limpieza genera sus propias armas defensivas. Por ejemplo, en los lugares en lo s que la gente tira cosas al suelo, nadie parece siquiera plantearse que exista otra opcin, y as se amontona la suciedad extra a lo largo del da. Sin embargo, en g eneral, en un lugar limpio, la primera reaccin de un recin llegado que tiene que d eshacerse de algo, es buscar la basura. Igual sucede con el tabaco, cuando vamos a un lugar en el que se permite fumar, se fuma y se fuma sin control, sin embar go, en un lugar dnde no se permite, o en un lugar dnde la mayora de personas son no fumadoras, los fumadores aguantan y resisten su adiccin ( y eso es un esfuerzo). Con todo, hay personas ms propensas a acumular enfados o nervios, esto es, la bas e de la basura psquica comn, y no hay tiempo de detenerse a analizar porque la pri oridad es sacarse la carga de encima para poder movernos otra vez ligeros. Por o tro lado, en ocasiones se da la circunstancia que el mal pensamiento dirigido a al guien ha crecido demasiado, justificada o injustificadamente, y sus efectos empi ezan a ser palpables en nosotros o en otras personas. A veces se inician rencillas por motivos estpidos, que empiezan a rodar ladera ab ajo como una bola de nieve, desbocando en el desastre. As se inician los enfrenta mientos en las familias y el entramado de malicias en las oficinas y clases esco lares, en los que acaba todo el mundo enredado. Y, lo que es ms triste, el ambien te insano dentro de un coven, o grupo de estudio, o grupo de seguidores de una E C. Reconozco que alguna vez me he visto sacudida por emociones violentas, y el impu lso era cargar (mentalmente) contra otros, aunque las sospechas no estaban confi rmadas o en la realidad el caso no era tan grave como para intervenir efectivame nte, incluso cuando yo no quera siquiera molestar, ah estaba el escandaloso impuls o. Entonces no queda de otra que apartarse, darse el tratamiento adecuado, y aco rdarse de ponerse el bozal antes de salir a la calle.

Incluso a veces, aunque tenemos razn pero no es el momento de actuar, o el modo q ue estamos imaginando en nuestras mentes no es el adecuado. Contenerse no es rep rimirse. No significa interiorizar ese cmulo de malos sentimientos y expresiones agresivas, empujando contra ellos la culpabilidad, al cuarto oscuro de la mente para que surjan cuando les de la gana, sin avisar, y sin que nada podamos hacer para evitar los efectos indeseados de los mismos. Ni significa interiorizarlo co mo una infeccin o un veneno, extendido por la sangre, que nos contamine enteros. No. Hay que sacarlo, pero del modo adecuado. Para empezar, ducha de agua fra, que se nos pase el calentn. Una buena idea es pla ntearse si seriamos capaces de dar la cara por el motivo de nuestro enojo, es de cir, ir a la persona o personas en cuestin y decirles lo que pensamos de ellos, s us actitudes o sus acciones claramente. Si la repuesta es que no, nos preguntamo s porqu no hacerlo, y en un buen nmero de casos, resulta que no lo consideramos ta n importante. Entonces a qu perder el tiempo con malos pensamientos? Corta y punt o. A veces, basta con cansarse; hacer ejercicio, o llorar (de rabia) compulsivament e hasta quedarnos dormidos, y maana ser otro da. Si eso no puede ser, tenemos que tratar de liberarnos de esos malos pensamientos y tensiones internas de un modo limpio. Los escudos y las ataduras no slo sirven para protegernos de otros, sirven para protegernos de nosotros mismos, y para q ue nadie tenga que aguantar nuestros arrebatos. Podemos crear simulaciones, como quien se descarga linchando a palos o agujerean do a tiros a los enemigos de la videoconsola, o el que golpea un cojn. Pero antes de nada, dejaremos claro el propsito, que es desahogarnos y liberarnos limpiamente de la carga que nos pesa; no ver si de paso el objeto de nuestros m alos pensamientos se cae y se parte el cuello. J Personalmente creo adecuado dejar claro este propsito y crear un crculo bien slido. Hay varios mtodos para desahogar nuestra agresividad ah dentro, cada uno sabe el que mejor le funcione. Todo es ficcin, pero una ficcin catrtica, tras la cual , ya relajados, ya barridas las nubes de nuestra mente, podemos ver con mayor clarida d la situacin y recobrar el dominio sobre nuestros movimientos. Yo escucho msica dura, y canto salvajadas varias, muy por encima de lo que yo hara jams; y me sirve para sacarlo todo a la escena del teatrillo personal, y volver a poner los pies en la tierra y centrarme en lo importante. Una vez todo ha salido fuera, es fcil limpiarlo y recogerlo, y nos sentimos mejor , y no hemos molestado a nadie, y, por lo tanto, no tenemos que arrepentirnos, o lamentarnos, de nada. El objetivo no es hacernos indefensos, sino realmente efectivos. Nosotros debemo s elegir cundo y cmo nos enfrentamos a un enemigo u oponente, y nunca dejar que nu estras emociones incontroladas nos muevan a su antojo, y derrochen nuestra energa ; puesto que nosotros cargaremos con las consecuencias de cada una de nuestras a cciones, que menos que elegir a conciencia. Algunos consejos ante molestias

Extracto de un mensaje del 21/5/05 en el foro de Blue Moonlight Lo primero: no abrir la puerta. Evitar en lo posible situaciones de angustia, su

frimiento, ansiedad y desesperacin. Cuanto menos, no ahogarnos ni revolcarnos en ello. Comer bien ayuda. Atarearse en algo. Rerse mucho, pero con ganas. Lo segundo: en sueos, en duermevela, o en plena conciencia, es importante no meno spreciar, o valorar a la baja, nuestros propios recursos. Y saber que obtendremo s ayuda si es necesario. Lo tercero: Saber echar el freno, cuando la realidad empieza a ondear, no dejarn os llevar por las corrientes. "Aqu estoy yo, aqu mis pies, esto de abajo es un sue lo. Y ES MI TERRITORIO. LARGO DE AQU.". Sin compasin. Marcar territorio es til. Tomar conciencia de que hay algo que te pertenece por d erecho de nacimiento y que nadie tiene derecho a arrebatarte... y recordar y hac er manifiesto que no renuncias a ello, mucho ms. - Antes de ir a dormir, realizar ejercicios de relajacin, y crearse un escudo de proteccin, al menos a travs de la visualizacin. Son ejercicios muy sencillos, pero deben ejecutarse con disciplina. - Dejar el athame bajo la almohada. O dejar una vela prendida. O tener cualquier cosa cerca que nos de seguridad y nos recuerde lo que debemos recordar (que no renunciamos). - Si se trabaja en el astral, antes de conciliar el sueo, activar en modo "duro" las protecciones del "lugar seguro" o "centro de operaciones" y visitarlo con fr ecuencia, o al menos dejar un guardin o varios. A veces nuestro "territorio habit ual" puede reducirse automticamente, para mayor seguridad; no es problema, se ir r ecuperando tambin automticamente cuando pase la tormenta. No es conveniente salir a explorar hasta que el ambiente no se haya calmado. ( S, todo esto es de lgica, pero la lgica es algo que se puede perder fcilmente en e stas situaciones.) Si nos dormimos tras estas operaciones, la mente "retiene" en cierto modo los lti mos datos que le enviamos (como cuando le decimos que queremos despertarnos a un a hora, y lo logramos sin despertador) . As, si las entidades X te visitan en sueo s, y an cuando no ests consciente en ellos, vers que llega la "salvacin" por otras va s; bien porque tu "yo onrico" se saque un as de la manga, bien porque aparezcan o tras entidades protectoras. Extracto de un mensaje del 23/5/05 en el foro de Blue Moonlight (...) Si estamos siendo atacados desde el astral, empleemos tcnicas de reajuste y defensa adecuadas a este medio. Son sencillas. Cuando nos acostamos, podemos realizar un ejercicio de relajacin corporal por pas os, destensando los msculos de la cabeza hacia abajo. Una vez relajados, podemos imaginar una serie de crculos de llamas envolviendo nu estra casa, o el lugar en el que estemos, es comn imaginar un crculo interno giran do en deosil (como manecillas del reloj), y uno externo girando en sentido contr ario, extendidos desde la profundidad de la tierra hasta lo alto del cielo. A continuacin pasamos a imaginar un aura de color azul envolviendo nuestro cuerpo , a modo de escudo de proteccin. Una vez mantengamos esta imagen, podemos imagina r un foco de luz blanca, o dorada, muy intensa, por encima de nuestras cabezas, y como si esta luz entrara por nuestra cabeza (p.ej. chackra de la coronilla) y fuera llenando nuestro interior (podemos hacer que pase y conecte por nuestros c entros de poder), volvindonos refulgentes. A estos efectos sirve tambin el ejercic io de grounding.

Otra opcin es construir estas atmsferas con la respiracin, por ejemplo la abdominal , (inspiramos hinchando primero el abdomen, retenemos el aire en el mismo tiempo , expiramos en el mismo tiempo, y mantenemos los pulmones vacos en un tiempo igua l, finalmente expiramos, empujando el abdomen hacia abajo). La cuestin es que el aire entra y sale del color deseado; pero es importante no forzarse con el tema de la respiracin. Simplemente encontrar un ritmo que sea cmodo. A estas alturas pareceremos un gigantesco huevo de pascua astral, jajaja Pero lo s bichos se mantendrn a raya, y probablemente dormiremos mejor. Requiere su tiempo, pero con la prctica, cada vez se arma toda la arquitectura rpi damente, como por reflejo. Y entonces podremos sacrnosla de la manga mientras and emos por la calle, o en el trabajo o la escuela, si nos es preciso. Slo recordar que antes de poner cualquier barrera el ambiente debe estar limpio, -al menos lo suficientemente limpio para que no nos incomode-. La misma visualiz acin o creacin de ambientes puede servir para la limpieza astral; para la ordinari a, habr que hacer uso de la escoba y la pala :P (...) Centrado y Conexin Aunque los ejercicios de Centrado y Conexin no tienen como fin ltimo la defensa psq uica ayudan a crear un escudo automtico vlido en la mayora de casos. Se trata de ej ercicios simples, que suelen efectuarse antes de cualquier prctica mgica, y tambin como hbito regular entre los practicantes no ocasionales. Segn la escuela, o tradi cin a seguir, reciben varios nombres; y aqu se expondrn en sus formas simplificadas . La Torre de Luz. La postura correcta es de pie, encontrando un punto de equilibrio; la espalda re cta, y los brazos relajados, tocando el cuerpo y la mirada al frente. Precede un ejercicio de relajacin mental/fsica cualquiera. A continuacin nos visualizamos (imaginamos intensamente) dentro de una mandorla o aura de color azul. Una vez asentada esa imagen, sin dejarla ir, visualizamos una esfera de luz blanca o dorada muy brillante situada encima de la cabeza, pero s in tocarla y una vez asentado esto, pasamos a visualizar que este resplandor ent ra por nuestra cabeza y va llenando nuestro interior -podemos hacer que pase y c onecte por nuestros centros de poder- y saliendo del cuerpo, el espacio de la ma ndorla, sin llegar a desdibujar el bordes, que sigue azul brillante. El Enraizamiento. Hay muchos modelos de enraizamiento, y aqu vamos a tomar el del rbol, que segurame nte es el ms conocido. Segn el gusto de cada cual se acelera obviando detalles, o se ralentiza para profundizar en ellos. De pie, con las piernas un poco abiertas , nos tomamos el tiempo necesario para encontrar el punto de equilibrio que nos resulte cmodo. Brazos relajados, tocando el cuerpo. Espalda recta y mirando al fr ente. Precede un ejercicio de relajacin mental/fsica cualquiera. Tomamos aire, y lo soltamos lentamente. 1- Empezamos a imaginar que desde la base de la espina dorsal extendemos unas rac es bajarn por las piernas y los pies, y ms all se dirigirn hacia el centro de la tie rra. A medida que estas races profundizan, sentimos las diferentes capas terrestr es; la turba, la tierra dura , el lecho rocoso... atravesamos tambin las corrientes de agua subterrnea, y as hasta llegar al centro incandescente. All nuestras races se

sumergen en el magma, como en el ncleo energtico terrestre, sintiendo la conexin con la antigua Tierra que ha sostenido todas las generaciones de vivientes de la s que nosotros mismos venimos. 2- Tras tomar conciencia de esta conexin, absorbemos parte de esa fuerza hacia ar riba a travs de nuestras races, atravesando las capas terrestres antes mencionadas , hasta subir por los pies y las piernas, espiralndose en el vientre y siendo bo mbeada por el corazn, extendindose por todo el cuerpo, subiendo por la garganta, p alpitando el la frente, llegando a las palmas de las manos... 3- En ese momento, extendemos lentamente los brazos hacia los lados como si fuer an ramas, surgiendo del tronco. Y visualizamos como de las ramas crecen hojas, y esas hojas empiezan a captar, a respirar la energa y la luz del sol y los astros , y tomamos conciencia de la inmensidad de los cielos, y absorbemos la energa ir radiada desde las alturas lentamente, por los brazos, hacia el interior, hasta q ue recorra nuestro cuerpo por entero como hicimos con la del interior de la tier ra. 4- El resultado es estar atravesados de arriba abajo por un hilo de conexin que e mpieza en lo ms alto, y va hacia lo ms profundo, y envueltos por nuestra propia ir radiacin, y la irradiacin de este eje que, ms all de nuestro cuerpo, envuelve el co njunto de los vivientes. 5- Todo esto puede llevar su tiempo, o hacerse muy rpido. Pero en cualquier caso, uno puede recibir ms de lo que precisa, as que despus de colmarse, es aconsejable volver a relajarse, moverse un poco, y extender las palmas de las manos sobre el suelo, para devolver lo que nos sobra. ----------------------------What It Means To Belong People sometimes ask me what they need to do to become a "Traditional Witch". Un fortunately, It's not really possible to answer such questions in a simple, obje ctive, or universal way. There are many kinds of witchcraft that are "traditiona l"- witchcraft is, after all, a widespread phenomenon, very broad in scope and d etail. I can, however, answer them from my own perspective- and from the perspec tive of the great people I have known who have called themselves "witches"- sorc erers and women of Art who stayed close to the ground and even closer to an unco mmon sort of wisdom and cunning that even today, long after my experiences with them, keeps me in awe. Before I can begin to lay out some guidance towards the path of Traditional Witc hcraft as I understand it, I need to discuss the notion of belonging- and I will do so by discussing what it means to belong to a religion- even though Traditio nal Witchcraft doesn't necessarily have to be someone's "religion". I chose reli gion because it is a force that touches most lives in an extraordinary way, and many understand it well enough. You can look at my criteria of "belonging" with regard to any organized way of t hinking or being that includes people other than yourself within its boundaries. To "belong to a religion", you must consent to its labels, titles, and particip ate in its traditional activities or characteristic patterns of ritual or behavi or. You must consent even further to let yourself see the world in the way the r eligion requires- you embrace its beliefs and its worldview. If (for instance) you call yourself "Wiccan", participate in Wiccan rituals on a regular or semi-regular basis, and see the world in the particularly Wiccan way , (you have a belief that all gods are one god, in the threefold law, etc.) Then you are Wiccan. The very same measures would indicate who is Catholic, or Buddh

ist, Muslim, or any religion. Now, before I can continue on to the topic of Traditional Witchcraft, I must tal k about Traditional Paganism- and I use this as a very general, inclusive term. A Wiccan ceases to be Wiccan when they cease doing these things I mention above. They religiously become a Traditional Pagan when they begin calling themselves so, either by embracing- as a descriptive label- the basic term "Traditional Pag an" or any of its more specific branches (such as Asatru or others); when they t ake part in some form of Traditional Pagan ritual-practice (which can be very mi nimalist) and when they see the world as Traditional Pagans see it.

The Bare Bones of the Traditional Pagan Worldview The "general" Traditional Pagan worldview is simple, indeed; it says, very basic ally, that: -The Land under our feet and all around us is the presence of a most sacred, liv ing reality; -That we and all other forms of life, seen or unseen, are in a timeless and eter nal web-work of sacred powers that all interact with one another and all depend on one another; -That the Underworld- a timeless and mysterious "region" of spiritual powers, it self the constant source of life, mysterious experiences, and numinal forces, is "beneath" the land but also within all things, and that all beings who die aris e later in the Underworld as spirits or strangely existing entities- though cert ainly not all of them become desirable, nice entities. These "hidden beings" or hidden folk go on interacting with us in many strange ways through the medium of the Land itself- for the Land is a gateway to the unseen; -Lastly, "Traditional Pagans" will often feel connected to a place on the land t hrough which they experience the sacred, become attached to that place and assum e the roles of guardians of it. They try to stay warm and close to it. This is a common tendency, and an ancient one. * * * Traditional Pagans don't have a formulaic view of ethics and morality; it is mor e diffuse and open to situational necessity. They will do what they have to do t o keep their families safe and their land safe. They will reverence life, revere nce the memory of the dead, and try to stay well while respecting the needs of o thers, so long as those others return the respect. That's about it, as far as I' ve seen. Any other moral or ethical rules or imperatives are embraced by the ind ividual, or discarded by them; those are personal choices. But all choices have an impact on this world and in the unseen world, and a person goes to the Underw orld to face the good and bad consequences of their choices in this world. "Reincarnation" is best left for Eastern religions and new-agers, however a very ancient notion of "rebirth" does seem to exist at the bottom of the true "Old W ays" of ancient Europe- though this native idea is a vision of a soul's "cycle" through many conditions and forms of life, both in the unseen world and the worl d that is seen. We are all passing through many conditions of life, even since o ur own births, and this notion can be logically extended beyond the grave- death is not a "severing away" from life, but an alteration of life and re-integratio

n into life's web in many new ways. Rebirth isn't about "floating into a new bod y"; it is about the mythical activity of shape-shifting. A person can, pursuant to many old teachings and beliefs from many places, becom e a spirit or even an animal due to their own rebirth cycle; perhaps, if Fate we aves it so, they can "re-become" another person- but such is the nature of life' s flow, the "new" person isn't the same as the last. Each form of life is unique in the moment in which it exists. Yet, a mysterious connection exists between a ll things, and even across what we call "time." These mysteries could give a per son much to think on- maybe even a lifetime's worth of thinking. And that would not be a wasted life! But thinking is not itself enough: we need experiencing, t oo- searching and doing. To become wise enough to consciously begin to shape one's own "cycle of rebirths "- that would be a good goal. Perhaps to become wise enough to transform the unc onscious compulsions that rule our daily lives, and invade our dreams- that migh t be a better goal. But enough on that now. Traditional Pagans will reverence the land in private ways, and attempt to becom e "seers" of how the hidden powers of a place manifest at any given time. Becomi ng such a seer and honoring those powers and their appearances is really the hea rt of "traditional" ritual. "Sacred seasons", or sabbats, or the hidden seasonsthese things vary from place to place. One thing is certain- some days are door s. Some weeks or months or seasons are doorways to a deeper experience of the la nd and the self, as well as the broader community of life. There is no easy "cal endar" round for these doorway-days; one must discover them. Some are very well known from the Isles and Europe generally- Beltaine, Midsummer, Samhain, etc; ot hers are less well known. Every Traditional Pagan will, following along with the ir land, adhere to their own inner and outer calendrical journey. If one feels drawn to worship "Gods"- and indeed, traditional pagans from the di stant past did call many of the other living powers in this web of life "Gods"then they must be either discovered through the inner exploration of the Land an d the self, or one must answer a deep call from within the heart which inclines one towards certain pantheons from the past. From that point, one must build a r itual life that takes these old living powers and their myths into its heart. But one doesn't require "Gods" in their life in some formal, constructed way; th e simple, vast, and timeless power of the Land and all things- called by me the "Weird"- is really enough for a "focus" on the sacred and everywhere-present nat uralness of life, and for a moral focus. More important in the modern day than " Gods" is a reverential focus on "Ancestors"- for the Gods were, after all, the f irst Ancestors of all, so ancestral veneration is, in its own way, a return to a real polytheism such as people had long ago. There are many ways to live in this world. You may choose "none of the above" wi th respect to what I have been discussing. In my way of seeing, just living resp ectfully and contentedly on your land, being in awe of the beauty and power of t he earth and sky, reverencing the ancestors and/or the spirits of your dead fami ly and friends, having great get-togethers with your living family and friends, and generally being a non-meddlesome, non-destructive, sincere person is enough. Such people might call themselves "Traditional Pagans", too- and they'd deserve the title.

From One Meadow, The Road Goes Deeper If you want to be a "Traditional Witch", then there is yet another branch of the road to take. And that branch of the road doesn't have to come from being a Tra

ditional Pagan; for me it did, and I think that the spiritual background and phi losophical orientation of a Traditional Pagan is the ideal "starting point" for a Traditional Witch. I think it is ideal given its simplicity and its focus on t he most important realities of life: that of the Weird, the Underworld, the noti on of the sacredness of ordinary things, the reverence it has for the ancient La nd, so full of light and dark powers, and respect for the ongoing existence of t he dead within the land. But there are witches out there who come out of other backgrounds. Some were eve n Christian, but trust me- I've seen them play witch for a few years and then va nish back to some church somewhere, or seen them sit in church the entire time, with their witchcraft never being anything other than a Saturday night amusement for them and their friends, a kink, a joke. I think that Christianity's war on witchcraft and mysticism has closed it's bord ers completely to witchcraft. I don't believe that the genuine, traditional Chri stian worldview- from any actual, historical denomination- can sustain a healthy or powerful practice of witchcraft. It is simple to see why: its own bible stro ngly condemns witchcraft and interaction with familiar spirits- and witchcraft, in the true, historical, and non-Wiccan sense of the word, requires deep interac tion with familiar spirits. Whoever you are, wherever you are, if you want to be a "Traditional Witch", you have to establish yourself in a comfortable worldview, a comfortable mental "pla ce", a place where you are not held back by fear and absurdity, and then you mus t walk the path that goes below, to the deepest places of human experience. Traditional Witchcraft is about consciously accessing hidden realities, and doin g so to a very intense and extreme degree. It is about accessing extra-sensory r eality, or the Underworld itself, looking into the hidden regions of the Weird, all without losing consciousness of what you are doing and experiencing, and "re turning" to this seemingly ordinary world with the extraordinary powers you enco untered on that "other side" still being carried within you. One of those extraordinary powers will become your "familiar" power or spirit- a helper, an ally, who will be bonded to you by reciprocal oath and pact and serv ice. He or she may come because one of the ancient spirits that men called "Gods " sends him to you, or it may come on its own, seemingly. Mysterious benefactors in the Unseen may come and grant you a familiar; one can never tell. You may ha ve to find one through great struggle; there is no single formula, though there are some traditional formulas for those who are canny enough. You must go, empowered by your familiar, in a state of intense "otherness"- a ance- and encounter the many strange powers and forces of the "other side" in ert wakefulness, and return to this world in wakefulness, never succumbing to e danger, confusion, or unconsciousness that overtakes most people who try to avel far from the beaten path of "ordinary" people. tr al th tr

Then, you must mediate- transmit- in some tangible form- the powers you encounte red and "brought back" from the unseen world, and you must mediate them such tha t tangible or perceivable changes occur in "this world" due to your mediation. Can you remove those fears and depressions or anxieties from your mind that have plagued you for years, through your power? Can you do it for others? Can you ma ke a sick person whole? Can you see vengeance befall a man who has grievously ha rmed others? Can you use your power to gaze into the sky, a deep pool, or the pa inted symbols on cards to divine the future? Can you call to the dead, and meet them on your "flights" into the unseen, or see them rise out of the ground of th eir graves to speak to you through your extraordinary senses?

If you can do this, then you are a "witch". You are a witch in the historical, t raditional sense of the word. And that's all. Your real initiation is not given to you by other humans; it is given to you when you cross into the Unseen, encou nter powers there, discover power, and return in full wakefulness to integrate t hat power, guided by your will, into your life or the lives of others. From this point, life goes on, but to where, none can say- for the most cunning witches c an even transform their destiny beyond this world, when they must journey into t he Underworld for the final time, at death. No matter where the spirits of the p eople of this world end up, they remain in the same place- the same Weird-wholen ess of reality, and hopefully in cycles of wisdom and peace. The Valley of the Shadow of Damnation If it is your desire to gain a Witching, a Hexing to create some change in yours elf, in this world, or in another in accordance with your own will, you must fin d a boundary between this world and the Unseen, and you must approach it with th e steely nerves that a competent Witch or sorcerer always has. This "walk throug h the valley of the shadow of damnation"- the dark gap in which the sorcerouslyinclined man or woman passes close to the ominous power of the "outside", is bot h frightening and exhilarating. If it were not frightening- if your passage to t he hedge and beyond it does not cause you some feeling of disturbance or tension - you are not properly encountering and channeling the power of the "Outside", f or it, by definition, is always uncanny and bothersome. Before you can search out a Hedge-portal or boundary-edge, the "Hexing edge" of the Witch, you must condition yourself to the feeling of fear and trepidation, l earning to integrate the emotional impact. Hedge-boundaries, in the old days, we re actual hedges or fence-lines, stone walls, and the like. They could have been tree-lines or other natural boundaries. If you are fortunate enough to live in a small town or village that still has such boundary markers, you already know w here you will be traveling to attain Hexing. Of course, you don't go in broad daylight; Witching is attained at night- which is the day-time of the forbidden or reversed art. If you are working to diminish or destroy someone or something, you work during the time when the moon is wani ng to dark. If you are working to obtain or increase something, you work when th e moon is waxing to full. The boundary between one's own village or living place is the ideal place, for its great power- but other places create a "boundary ef fect"- the "halo of otherness" that attracts the Witch seeking the beyond. A gra veyard or cemetery is the most common of such places- and the better if it's dre ary yard is not within sight of dwelling places for the living. A forest-edge or edge of woods is the next best thing- a place where a wall of t rees cuts across a field or meadow. At night, the graveyard or forest edge is id eal for gaining traffick with the Otherness. You should find such a place, as lo nely and private as you can manage, which will become your "covenant place", the place where you reach out to touch the unknown. A very old well- preferably no longer used- in some stand of woods or in some field would be another excellent "hedge" location. When a fog or mist arises at night, the halo of otherness beco mes nine times more powerful- never fail to use the ghostly mist if it arises, f or it is a direct "intruder" or "visitor" from the Unseen, and acts as a tapestr y of power which can give your workings ninefold power. Before you attempt to use any of these covenant places, go there for a long spac e of nights- at night, in the dark, go alone. Sit in the silence or noises of th e night, and fix your mind on the Otherness. If there are places nearby that cle arly disturb your deep senses, go to them and keep a vigil there. Whisper the pr ayers of the faithful backwards when you arrive; do not bring light-sources. You must create the chill within your mind, the paranoia, the worry for body and so ul. When you feel the "burn", immerse yourself in it. When you have done this en

ough nights, you are prepared for Witching- and you will know the time, for some thing will change in you, a feeling of strength. You need not do this "acclimati on" work ever again. When you have found your Hedge-edge, and have internalized the perspectives pres ented in this work thus far, you are prepared to attain to works of Witchery. Mankind's Desires and the Seven Rulers in the Heavens Any desire of your mind or heart is within the range of possibility, but you mus t know which of the seven "Rulers in the Heavens"- or spirits of the seven plane ts of the ancients- governs your desire. The Moon governs the keys of Astral life, psychic visions and travel in an astra l form, as well as the power to transform things- especially emotions, but also to bring the moon's fluid, transformative powers to other situations. The moon r ules over dreams and the dream-realm or state, the seas and waters, the creation of illusions or the art of deceiving people, the growth of plants, the welfare of fetuses and infants, milk and dairy beasts, clairvoyance, the blood-cycles of women, the power to create fear and terror in others, and the fertility of wome n. This current of magical power is called "Lunar". It rules Mondays. Mercury governs business dealings and cunning in dealing, as well as academia, t ests, and scholarly learning. Mercury is the lord of divination, and the power o f the spoken word- especially when the word is used to influence others. He is m aster of theatre, writing, and writers, as well as teachers. His power can influ ence the mind, or matters pertaining to the mind generally. He rules all forms o f communication, and all forms of sorcery in a very general, masterful way. His current of magical power is called "Mercurial". Mercury governs the autumn seaso n. It rules Wednesdays. Venus governs all carnal desires and romantic desires, and the obtaining of love - in the very physical sense, or in a deeper sense. Her power can enchant the mi nd or senses with allure, to make people pliant to the wishes of the Witch. All works or acts of pleasure and beauty fall under her governing. Arts and music al so fall to her; women generally and sexuality as a whole are governed by her. Re lationships and partnerships are influenced by this current. This current is cal led "Venusian". Venus governs the spring season. It rules Fridays. The Sun governs all matters pertaining to health and healing. It also governs ma tters of personal harmony, especially in the mind; it gives luck for all causes and helps to create friendships; those who wish wealth can seek it from this pow er. The sun aids in finding lost possessions, the spiritual enlightenment of the self (by realization of true "Goodness" that rises high above the back-and-fort h of dark and light or good and evil). The sun helps the Witch to influence supe riors, the workplace, social honors, and gain favors or promotions of authority or dignity. This current is called "solar". The sun governs the summer season. I t rules Sundays. Mars governs all "fiery red" curses- curses of wrath, spite, and chastisement. I t governs all conflicts and fights- with weapons or with words. He gives energy and vitality, especially to men; he rules over the professions of the dentist, t he surgeon, the barber, the butcher, policemen, and soldiers. Aggression and phy sical strength are in his purview; the gaining of courage as well. He governs po litics and debates- wars of words- and all competition on an athletic level. He governs men generally and male sexuality. This sorcerous current is called "mart ial". It rules Tuesdays. Jupiter governs all acquiring of wealth- as does the sun, but Jupiter moreso. He

governs the gaining of authority and honors, abundance and growth for the home or bank, all roles of leadership, and ambition. The law is in his governance, as well as materialistic concerns like money. Masculine fertility is also in his p ower, as is protection from evil spirits. He governs weather and the sky-realm, and the act of divination through augury. This current is called "Jupiterian". I t rules Thursdays. Saturn governs all "cold, black" curses- curses of long-lasting spite, long-term affect, or curses that slowly weaken, wither, destroy, or drain vitality. In Sa turn's governance are all buildings, land and the health or fertility of land, p roperty, and the coming of old age. Binding- sorcerously constraining someone or something from taking certain actions or preventing a change in someone or some thing, is in Saturn's grip. All matters of death and funerals, as well as secrec y, the wraiths or shades of the dead, mounds and hills, trees, access into the U nseen world, obtaining esoteric knowledge, and matters of the home are in Saturn 's power. This current is called "Saturnian". Saturn governs the winter season. It rules Saturdays. Of those who are in the Convocation of Shadows, Old Hobb can be petitioned for a ny need, regardless of what planetary current it belongs to. He is the specific master of the Mercuriual current, so all works of that type should enlist his ai d, but he is the Sorcerous Word of the world itself, so all works of Witchery fa ll into his power. The Sky-rainer/Roaring Beast is the lord of the Jupiterian an d Martial currents; those who work Witchery from within those currents will wish to make a specific passage and request to him for aid. The Earth-giver/ Death O men is the specific mistress of the Lunar, Venusian, and Saturnian currents; the Sun is the master of the Solar current. The Esoteric Language of Sigilry When you have fixed in your mind and will what current governs your desire, you must express your will in the language of the unseen world. The language of the Unseen world is also the language of the deep or sub-conscious mind, and the lan guage of the Other; it is a language that few know, and fewer use to communicate their will to these powers and places. It is the language of symbol, for the de ep regions of the self, like the unseen regions of the world, speak in terms of symbols, not the words of the English language, or any other language. The words you speak with those you meet in the village are fine for the sun-lit world; but a deeper, older language, that of sigilry and image, must be used whe n one deals with the Witching world. One must learn to transform the words of th e English language, built from its letters, into signs and sigils which lose the ir conscious meaning, but gain and maintain a deeper "shadow" meaning- thus spea king to the deep self, and through the deep self, to the Other and the unseen wo rld. Before your acts of Witching can be assayed, the deep self and the Unseen must b e "petitioned" in this way, literally shown your will in terms of a symbol or si gil. Creating a sigil is a sublime art, and it begins when you state your will c oncisely in a single written sentence- but your will must be stated in the prese nt tense only, for neither the deep self nor the Unseen world operates in terms of past or future. This is a crucial understanding. If you wish to manifest a ch ange, you cannot state (for example) "I wish to have an excess of money"- for if you manifested this, you would only manifest a condition of mind in which you f ound yourself wishing for an excess of money. You would state "Excess of Money"and manifest that. You would not say "I desire for Mary to be cured of her dise ase"- that would only manifest a wishful state of thinking. You would manifest " Mary cured of her disease."

To create the sigil of your will, take the letters of the written-out statement and remove all redundant letters, and then collapse them into a symbol which no longer looks, to the conscious mind, like a statement. Any sort of symbol can be made; the point is this: you, or an onlooker, will not see the statement, the word or the phrase- but the deep mind will. And so will the unseen world. Any request can be made- for changes in yourself, in another, or the world; harm can be manifested against another, but this requires a few ex tra elements which will be discussed later. Until one's Witching skill has impro ved and been established, it is best to remain with changes to the self and mino r changes in the world of one's life. I shall begin now a full-length illustration by example, which will follow us th rough this Grimoire. It is the story of a farmer, John Screecham, who hates his poor condition and desires to be wealthier. His property borders an old stone wa ll that is also the edge of his village, a sublime point of contact with the "ou tside". His will is governed chiefly by the Jupiterian current of sorcery, so he chooses that well, and his statement of will is this: EXCESS OF MONEY. He takes that sentence and removes the redundant letters, leaving these: E X C S O F M N Y. And he collapses those letters into this sigil: John then lightly burns the edges of the paper or parchment with a candle-flamethe flame that represents his burning desire. John spends several hours or days meditating on his sigil, staring at it without attempting to decipher it's mean ing- just looking at the symbol itself. The deeper powers know what the message is; John need not know with his conscious mind. Until he is ready to make the pe tition, he keeps the sigil in a box, in a private place. A few days later when the moon is waxing, John leaves his home on a Thursday nig ht- Thursday, the day of Jupiter- and takes his sigil, drawn onto paper or parch ment by his own hand, and walks to the boundary-line. The Gate Incantation When you have your petition-sigil made, as John did, you must walk, at dusk or a t night, to the boundary or your covenant place. How you walk is important- you must visualize where in relation to your home the covenant place lies, and move from your door to the place and back again in a counter-clockwise path. John wil l walk from his door, turn left and walk to the gate of his property, down his w est fence-line, and to the covenant place. When he returns, he will not retrace his steps- he will go around the other way, arriving back at his door. It doesn' t have to be a perfect circle, but it must be left-ways. As he walks- as when you walk- he will remember two key "markers" on the walk th ere, and two key markers on the walk back. This will be important for later. Joh n remembers his gate and his fence-line for the walk there, and an old Elder tre e and his barn on the way back. Now, when John arrives at the stone wall holding his sigil-petition, he stops be fore it in the darkness and must make the gate-invocation, an invocation of the Otherness- and it comes in two parts. For the first part, you may say the Lord's Prayer backwards, or repeat the Salute to Old Hobb: Master, low and profane, proud and mighty, thou has brought me to the tower of v ision, where I live in the heights but see thee in the depths; hemmed in by moun tains of virtue I behold thy glory. I come to you as a cunning witch, straddling

the thorny hedge that keeps the powers of iniquity from overwhelming the world of daylight. I seek your darksome wisdom and powerful hand in my works of sorcer y, the craft concealed under night from the eyes of righteous men. Let the Other reveal itself to me, and give force to my task! Then, the Gate Incantation, which calls upon the Other, the shadow of society it self, and the shadows of the great powers: Come now, dark uncanny Other, be you roused Shadow of my life, unseen twin whose face I lack, Come too, people of old Hobb, the demon lusty and sooty black: Come now, savage folk, hateful masters, barbaric fires: Come now hidden powers of the world of all the dead: Come Hobb, come Roaring Bull, Come Watcher at the Death-Bed. A sign of my desire here is inked with pen and fire And carried to the edge of the spirit-haunted hedge: Come now, dark unearthly Other, and seize it well, Come now, wielding all the powers of hell, And see my will manifest, by moon and shadowed forest. First an omen, the Devil's own talk; A game of masks, a witch's road, a reversed walk; Then a witching, a counterclockwise turn, A pantacle of signs, a sevenfold charm, Ere the art is accomplished at my behest.

At this point, the Witch must cross over the hedge or boundary, and either bury the petition in the earth on the other side, or hang it from a tree-limb on the other side. If one is in a graveyard, merely walk a few steps forward or to a tr ee, and do your work of "giving" the petition. If one is using an old well, drop the petition into the well. A request is thus made to the Unseen, and one has d one as the Witch does and "crossed over"- the mighty process has begun. The requ est made by the incantation has these parts: 1. 2. 3. 4. First an Omen, the Horned's own talk A Game of Masks, A Witch's Road, a Reversed walk A Witching, a Counterclockwise turn A Pantacle of Signs, A Sevenfold Charm

So first, John must return home- following the leftward route, and memorizing tw o more markers- and then goes to await an "Omen". That is the first portion of t he Witching.

The powers of the Otherness must now send the Witch an omen that the operation c an proceed. They have the petition; it has been forcefully made, and takes time to absorb into the strangeness of the Other place, to catch the hidden winds the re, to snake and writhe about in the deep shadow, all the way to the ears of the source-powers. The omen that will arrive to give the sign to proceed will take one of four forms: 1. 2. 3. 4. Dreams Night Visions An Animal A Voice

Only the Witch can know when the Omen arrives- but they will know. The "burn" in the soul will be bright and certain. It may be a strange animal that suddenly c rosses their path, on their way home from the petitioning, or later; it may be a dream or a vision; whatever form it takes, it must occur within 28 days of maki ng the petition, or the Witching cannot be done for that petition. John Screecham, three days after his petitioning, has a dream of a strange woman walking down a road in the country with him. When he wakes up, he immediately k nows that this dream was no ordinary dream, but the Omen he was awaiting. The Ot her- or one of the powers from beyond- has bid him to continue on with the Spell , which he certainly will. When the visitor has arrived- the second omen- the time has come to take the Rev ersed Road, the walk which will take the Witch across the hedge in his or her su btle form, just as the initial walk took them across it in their physical or coa rse form. This second journey will bring the sorcerer or sorceress together with the Witching or Hexing they need to fulfill their work. When the walk to make the petition was taken, the Witch walked "left-ways", and memorized four markers- two along the way, and two back. Now, those markers will be used to facilitate the journey as a subtle body or a wraith. This is the "wi tch flight" or shimmering through the astral that will move the mind of the Witc h into a condition where the Other can be met directly and the Witch can receive from it the Hexing. After the visitor has arrived, the Witch will either be forced to go very quickl y- if the visitor was night or lust- or will have time to choose when to take th e Reversed Road, through the meeting of any of the other visitors. If the Witch has the luxury of choosing, they should choose to go on the night sacred to the operation (Thursday night for Jupiterian workings, etc.) But any night truly wil l suffice, and the closer to All Hallows or Walpugis, the better. At any rate, the procedure is the same: the Witch will retire to a private place with no possibility of disturbance, and lie down. Whispering the backwards pray er, or the salute to Old Hobb, followed by a private address to the Other for ai d, they will close their eyes and let their body rest and become relaxed. Slidin g down a bit into a state where they begin to feel sleep coming on, they will ap ply their wits and will halt the "downward slide", and stop in a state that is s omewhere between sleep and wake. To go all the way to the unconsciousness of sle ep would thwart the Spell being woven. From that "between" state- the state called Twilight Rest- they will visualize t hemselves standing up and walking out of their door, and taking the walk again t o the Hedge. To aid in this, they use the memorized markers. Visualize yourself walking up to the first marker, and see it in good detail, which will instantane ously "bring" you there. Then go to the next. The next stop, logically, is the H edge itself. When you arrive there, cross over, and just a ways beyond, luminous in the dark, will be the Other, in the Masquerade form it took through the Game of Masks. Wa lk to it, and then release yourself to it- go passive and let your mind become l ike a mirror which does nothing but reflect the image of whatever the Other says or does. The Other will, through actions or deeds, lead you somewhere or do som ething that will impart the Witching to you. There is no way to know what it wil l do, but it will accomplish its task in due time. In such states as this, inten sely subjective visions and oneirogogic images will occur without the ability to predict them- which is true to the nature of the Unseen world. One must remain calm and collected.

Sometimes, the Witching may be an object or force that the Other gives to you; s eize it and absorb it into your chest, and then walk away, over the Hedge again, and to your third marker, then to your fourth, then back home, to your body in torpor. John Screecham lies down and moves in Shimmering to the Hedge, using the markers he memorized on his physical walk. Across the Hedge, Dahuc is waiting by a stan d of trees. Dahuc takes his antlered cudgel and strikes a tree, forcing it to op en, and within, a luminous ball of what seem to be bird's wings and bones and th ick, rich soil is waiting, Dahuc takes it and hands it to him. He pulls this str ange charm of Witching into his chest and leaves, returning to his slumbering ph ysical body. * * * After you have returned, open your eyes and stand. The Witching is now in you- t he power to accomplish the goal that the sigil declared. Something of order- you r mind and subtle body- plunged into the unformed world, and was changed by it; you have removed something of the unformed world and carried it into the world o f order, so it is changed as well- but there are dangers for those empowered wit h Witching. Certain symbols and substances in this world will destroy the Witchi ng, causing that which you intend to fail. Crosses- the symbols not only of the church and the light of order, but of the " fourness"- the four corners of the earth and sky or the directions of the world (all signs of order) will destroy the Witching, discharging it and driving it ba ck to formlessness, if you pass too close to one, or pass under a door over whic h a cross hangs. A five-angled star, a Pentagram, with one point "up" and the ot her four "downward" will also banish the Witching if you pass too close to one, touch one, or pass under a door or wall upon which one is hung. A hexagram or he x-sign, a six-angled or pointed figure, will do the same. Touching salt or flour will also banish the Witching in you, or water in which salt has been dissolved . Church-yards, ground that has been consecrated to the Christ, will also banish it. These signs- the cross, the pentagram, or the hex-sign- are traditional warding symbols, intended to keep things of the "Otherness" away. Alone they have powerbut they become a thousand times more powerful if a Witch or sorcerer (or some magically potent person) finds a way to use Witching on them, to empower them wi th a working that specifically drives away witches, sorcery, or wicked spirits. Yes- witching can be used on them to empower, even though they are symbols of or der- but that "witching" power, and the process used to attain it, is different from the witching way described here. These days, you will not have to worry abo ut finding "empowered" crosses or hex-signs, at least not much; at most, people traditional enough to have hex-signs on their barns or crosses over their doors simply hang them for their old associations. But they still have power, and shou ld be avoided. Small crosses worn around the necks of people as mere fashion-sta tements will not affect you, but a cross of quality hung around the neck of a fi ercely faithful person of order, will, so avoid them. It goes without say that, for no reason whatsoever, should you wear a cross yourself, nor an upright penta gram on a necklace or a ring, nor a hex-sign; they will prevent the Witching fro m entering you. Also, avoid touching or passing near cold iron, which can sap away power from Wi tching. The sound of bells- especially church bells- will shake and scatter the Witching power, so try to stay as far from those as you can, though hearing one distantly will not thwart you- or only a little, if it does affect you. The Witc

hing will remain in you until you discharge it or it is disrupted or discharged by some other force. Go as quickly as you can to a private outdoors place, or a very private, quiet c hamber, and better it be a chamber under the earth, if you can manage it- like a cellar or basement. In this place (and it is almost always better outside, and better near a Hedge-place, or a place with the "halo of otherness"), use ashes o r a stick to draw a circle in the ground around you, counterclockwise. As you dr aw it, say, three times: NONA : DECIMA : MORTA Then light a candle- or, better- a fire- in the center. Take a parchment or pape r and a pen- not a cheap, ball-point pen, but a calligraphy-style pen with excel lent ink- and draw a big circle. Do not worry about the perfection of the circle or anything you draw; it must be done by your hand with the Witching influencin g you. It does not have to be artistic or even aesthetically pleasing in some pa rticular way. Simply draw the circle on the paper- counterclockwise again- and i n the center of that circle, draw the sigil of your will (the same one you place d on the petition.) Around it, place the sign three times of the planetary ruler of the work. And be tween those three signs, in the three spaces made, write the name that the Other masqueraded under for this work. This is called the "Sigil-Pantacle." John, in a circle of ash, near a blazing fire, creates his sigil-pantacle by dra wing his sigil in a circle, and placing two Jupiter-seals and one Saturn-seal ar ound it- he is a farmer, and will make his wealth through his land and his farm, which are both parts of the realm of Saturn. Had he been working to protect his home from evil or disasters, he would have done the same- the realm of Saturn d eals with the home, just as Jupiter's realm deals with protection from evil powe rs. John writes DAHUC around the outside, as well, and his sigil-pantacle is don e.

In lieu of writing the name of the Other around the pantacle, you may place the sigils of its name around the pantacle.

Once the sigil-pantacle is done, it is time to imbue it with the Witching. Hold it in front of you, close to your face, and gaze into it. The Witching in you mu st be "spoken" into it. State, with force, the Sevenfold Hexing Charm: The Word I speak, shaping with the witching in me aye Lordly in might, the word of the most high: Firstly divided was darkness from light, night from day, Secondly divided the waters above from the waters below, Thirdly divided the earth from the bitter brine, Fourthly raised were the two great lights of the heavenly vault, And established the procession of night and day, the wheel of season and year, Fifth, a plenteous life called from sea, and called into sky: Sixth, the beasts and reptiles called forth from the land, And this work of my hand, mine own holy image, receiver of my life and will,

I give now shape and entity. I charge thee Pantacle, ___; rest not until ____; know my law and thy purpose. Seventh, now I rest, my words spoken, my Will satisfied, And this work I do sanctify. So Mote it Be. Amen.

As you say this, you open a "tunnel" through your mouth and throat for the Witch ing to leave your chest and body and go "into" the Pantacle. In the third to las t line, you give the pantacle its purpose, concisely. You need not use both of t he statements ("I charge thee" and "rest not until") unless you need to. John Sc reecham's line was "I charge thee Pantacle, bestow wealth upon me, an excess of money- rest not until I am content; know my law and thy purpose." He leaves the circle of ash by saying "Fiat, fiat, fiat" and walking clockwise around the insi de of the circle once and walking away. The Treatment of the Pantacle When you are done with the Charm, what happens next depends on the purpose of th e Pantacle. Normally, the Pantacle is rolled up, folded up, and bound shut with a black, whi te, or red thread or cord, and stuffed into a small bag, to be worn as a charm o r carried on the person. It can also be framed and hung in the home, or kept in a box in the home. If the Pantacle was intended to affect the life or mind of an other, it must be delivered to them- they must touch it, or it must be placed so mewhere near them, whether or not they know about it- hidden in their home or on their property. To truly "work" on someone else, you must gather something of theirs- they shoul d voluntarily give you something like hair, nail clippings, or a small article o f clothing that has been worn often- if they ask you to work on them. If your wo rking is a hostile one against them, you will need to gain something "of them" t o wrap in the sigil-pantacle when it is done. The sigil would also have to incor porate their full name. For instance "MARY SMITH FREE OF ANXIETY" made into a sigil is a good example- w ith Ms. Smith granting you a small lock of her hair to help in the charm. If you can't get a material link in this way, you can still try the working, but it wi ll be more difficult and of less power. And you would still need to get the pant acle as close to them as possible. Of course, by the time you create a pantacle for "MARY SMITH DEAD OF FEVER", you can be certain that she won't be helping you , so you may have to be crafty- assuming you are big enough of a bastard to do s uch a thing. Using mommets or poppets is also useful for affecting yourself or o thers- out of all-natural materials, incorporating parts of yourself or the targ et person, make a small doll, and sew the empowered Pantacle into the doll, near its heart. Then, deliver it as usual. Pantacles do not have to be drawn onto paper or parchment- they can be carved in to wood or onto objects, especially if they are intended to give that object som e power. Once carved into an object or onto wood, and the Sevenfold Charm said o ver them, the Witching in them is sealed in and safe, just as it is sealed in an d safe once it is bound by thread or cord into a parchment-scroll or folded up p arcel. The only way to discharge the pantacle or object after that is to destroy it in fire, or cast it into swift running water and leave it there for more tha n a few minutes- for the running water will carry away the Witching. Rain, however, will not affect a Pantacle, unless it is a paper pantacle and the sigil is soaked and destroyed by it. The grooves in wood or metal from a carvin

g cannot be washed away by rain- but a swift stream or river will still destroy even a carved pantacle that is immersed in it. Letting a pantacle rot in the ear th will also, over time, undo the Witching. We will discuss, in the final section of this work, that of Wortcunning, how you can burn herbs and plants sacred to the ruling planetary power and allow the sm oke of it to cascade over the Pantacle during and after drawing or carving to ad d more force- and if you are rolling up a parchment pantacle, you can capture fr esh herbs of the proper alignment in it, and bind them in, to add to the force o f it. If John Screecham had wanted, he could have carved his sigil-pantacle on a flat, round piece of wood, and colored it in with a mixture of linseed oil and red oc hre, or some lamp-black, egg yolk, honey, and gum arabic, making a thick black i nk or paint. Hanging that Witched pantacle above the door of his barn, facing hi s fields, would be ideal. His farm- and his financial fortunes- will likely be t urning around very soon. The simple phrase "PROTECTED FROM EVIL SPIRITS" is fine for a personal pantacle of protection- note how it is phrased in the present tense. Of course, evil spir its or powers are not the only threats one may desire protection from- accidents , hostile spells, and disease are all good things to gain protection from. One t hing is for certain: the ancient charm of the Witch Bottle is a good thing for e very man, woman, or child to have- and they are easy to make, and work almost in definitely, so long as they are not discovered or broken. I suggest that all who engage in Witchery of any kind make one- or several- and hide them about. Take a jar or bottle- it must be glass- that you can close well, and fill it hal f-way up with broken glass, nails (preferably rusty, old ones), needles, pins, a nd other sharp things. Then, fill it up the rest of the way with your own urine. Cap it tightly and wax it shut, and bury it somewhere secretly. It creates a my stical "double" of you- your essence in it will attract some or all of hostile s orcery hurled at you, and that Witching will be destroyed by the nails and sharp items in the bottle, and discharged into the earth. For everything that is seen, a shadow exists, on the other side of the hedge. Re ality is not a one-sided story; it has a sublime depth, a hidden half, which is the territory of the Witch and sorcerer. The world or reality as a whole is sing ular entity- the two "halves" of which I speak are not ultimately, eternally sep arate; but from our human perspective, they appear to be, and they behave as tho ugh they are. They are perceived in two different ways. They appear to interact. Witchcraft is an art, a practice within the world bound by perception, and thus it must be approached in a certain manner. Wholeness is a curious and good philo sophical idea, but when you wish to assay a Crafting, seek a Witching, you have to align yourself to the perception that walls us all in: we are in the world on the sunlit side of the hedge, and a dark world awaits beyond. Everything has a shadow there. To know the "Convocation of Many Shadows", you mu st begin with yourself. The Other exists; the Other has two faces- a shadow-face , and a face of mystery that cannot be glimpsed at first. The Other may appear, at first, as an entity of fearsome, blood-chilling aspect, for the "other" conta ins not just the mystery of our beings, but all of the darkness that is our heri tage as whole beings. It contains our repressed material, our fears and denials, that we have pushed deep down within, and ignored. When you push something deep down far enough, it crosses your personal hedge, th e hedge that separates your conscious self from your unconscious region of mind. But as it sinks deeper, it reaches the "World-Hedge", the dividing line between the daylit world and the nighted Otherness. With enough denial- and there is pl

enty to go around- your own personal demons and skeletons can be forced even out into the Unseen world, where they have the potential to grow even more mighty t han if they had just remain packed in your own basement. They grow in strength, and begin to affect you from the deep- they inspire you t o paranoia, to illogical hatreds, to depressions, to anxieties, to all manner of psychic mayhem. When you finally pierce the hedge and move across- either withi n to the depths of self, or beyond to the Unseen, you should know that a welcomi ng committee will likely being awaiting you. Thus, the harrowing begins. No witch can be a witch without facing the challenge of personal darkness. This is no call to "destroy" the darkness within, or slay the foe with some sword of light- how ludicrous! This is a call to accept and i ntegrate the powers that have grown dark and repressed in you- for they are your "other", intense, vital parts of you that have merely grown strong because of y our refusal to allow them a place in your wholeness. It is certainly easier said than done, but until it is done, the "Other" cannot meet you and bring you the power of Witching. When it is done, those dark powers reveal themselves as your deepest vitalities, and the Other now appears, as a f ully-formed spectral twin, a doppleganger or "double-walker" with you through li fe. You will meet this being one day or another- now, as a Witch, with the power of the Lord of the Unseen giving you the power to do so (and after you have int egrated your darkness) or when you die. That being, again shadowy, will happily harrow you then, leaving you no peace in your grave. Now or later... answer this dilemma for yourself and do as you will. The Other appears as a human being, though can appear in that manner in various ways; male or female, part beast and part man, and any combination of living for ces you can imagine. In its purest form, it is an alluring female for men, and a man for women. But it is a shape-shifter; it can be anything. Before it is met in its friendly form, when it appears in its shadowy hostile form to those who h ave not worked out the dark puzzle of self, it maintains its power to shape-shif t, the more to cause mayhem. This power is the "familiar" of the witch- the Other can take animal his is the form it often takes to work side-by-side with Witches who ed this level of mastery. To attain this "beast familiar", the Witch ch Old Hobb directly and ask for this boon; the visionary experience e familiar is met is a key to the witch's future power. form, and t have achiev must approa in which th

But the "beast" form is only part of the story. The Other can be attained and wo rked with as a partner in the Art in a multitude of forms, as we shall see soonusing the "Game of Masks", it can interact powerfully with the Witch, in many c apacities. You are going to approach the shadow-world, seeking your own shadowboth its spiteful form and its familiar form- so that you can see what is beyond the dark mirror. There is a court of shadow, where everything reveals its "othe r side", everything becomes reversed. The Doppleganger-Familiar you know of. It is the primary source of a Witch's pow er, now and always. The Craft draws upon resources from shadowy reaches of the s elf and the world to accomplish its working. Now you must learn of the shadows o f people collectively, as they form themselves into a society- for they exert a force on the world seen and unseen.

Every collection of people, from a family to a society, has a shadow- the sum-to tal of their own otherness. The ideals espoused by families and societies have s

hadows- and the two powers flow together. Four "social creeds" have formed in the West over the centuries. Each of these c reeds has had more or less strength at different times; often they overlap and b ecome mixed. All four creeds now exist, though some are more powerfully expresse d than others. Each of these "society personas" has a powerful shadow. Learn the m now: the four social creeds that have arisen in might are "The People of God", "The People of Science", "The People of Liberty", and the "Civilized People". The People of God center their endeavors around religion and faith. Their symbol s are the cross, and the person of Jesus Christ. Faith is their watch-word. The Puritans were such a people- though the People of God can be found everywhere, e ven today. On the other side of the thorny hedge is their shadow- the People of the Devil. The People of the Devil center their endeavors around self-worship an d sensual pleasure. Their symbols are the hooved image of the devil himself and the head of a Goat. Godlessness- or Hedonism- is their watch-word. You can meet these people everywhere too- everywhere the People of God are, you'll find them. The People of Science center their endeavors around reason and rationality. They despise religion and superstition. They are prideful in the power of their mind s, narcissistic to the extreme. They like to produce results, and their sciences do, indeed, yield many good things- good from one perspective, at least- but th ings with a dark price to be paid for the world. Their symbols are the Lamp and the Caduceus Wand. Reason is their watch-word. On the other side of the hedge is their shadow- the People of Superstition. The People of Superstition center their endeavors around magical rituals that st ave off disaster and tame unseen forces in the world- they are paranoid and part icular in the extreme about how they live. They can turn in an instant on other people, even members of their own families or communities, that they come to bel ieve are possessed of evil spirits, or witches. Their symbols are the great vari ety of magical symbols that have been created throughout time, some painted in b lood, to affect magical changes. Irrationality- or Fear- is their watch-word. The People of Liberty center their endeavors around attaining freedom and libert y and creating a perfect society for men and women- Freedom is their watch-word, and the majestic eagle and trumpets of triumph are their symbols. These people are truly well-intentioned, but argumentative and not beyond (ironically) forcin g their ideas of freedom onto others. Their creed of freedom often allows evils within their society to grow unchecked that shouldn't. Across the hedge, their c ollective shadow is called "The Enslavers"- whose symbols are brands and chains, and whose watch-word is Oppression. The Civilized People are, in their own minds, the pinnacle of human existence; n o society before theirs has ever attained the heights of refinement and wisdom t hat they have, and their symbols are the Rotunda, the School-house, or the Court house. Progress- or competition- is their watch-word, and their lives are consum ed with pursuit of control over nature and minimizing anything that might be unp redictable. On the other side of the hedge, their shadow-society is called "The Wild People", whose lives are symbolized by huts and bonfires, and whose watch-w ord is Barbarism. These people don't care for progress at all, only survival at the most minimal level, content to continue doing things as they have always bee n done. We have gone from the personal level of shadow to the social level of shadow- an d as with the individual, the shadow of a society or a people exerts an impact o n the entire world. Now, we will leap to the third level beyond persons and coll ectives of persons- the Divine powers of the world.

Like other forces, Divine forces also have a shadow-side. This may be the most d isconcerting perspective of all for those unprepared to face the otherness. The world is awash, on both sides of the hedge, with forces or entities- full and po werful non-human persons- that have been crucial to life and death since the for mation of the world. Some have been the Gods of the heathen, and still are. Some form the spiritual backbone of Christianity and other religions. All are experi enced by human believers and non-believers in various ways. They fall into two c ategories, of course: the conscious or "revealed" Divine forces of the world, an d the shadow or "hidden" Divine forces of the world. What will drive some to madness is the simple fact that they are parts of one an other, two sides of a divine power divided by the hedge. I shall list them now, and pair them with one another, before describing them in detail. The Witch must understand that these powers are the major sources of power- either the vital p ower of the life of this world, or the power of witching or Hexing from the unse en. Conscious or Revealed Divine Forces of the World The Christ, or the Scapegoat, the Self-Giving Spirit The Sky-Rainer, The Light of Heaven The Earth-Giver, The Green Gowned Mother The Sun, The Healer and Strengthener The Graces or Charites: Beauty, Mirth, and Cheer Living Men and Women Saints and Angels or Messengers of Providence Shadow or Hidden Divine Forces of the World Old Hobb or Hobbamock, the Wild Power, The Self-Strengthening spirit The Storm Spirit, called The Loud Crier or The Roaring Beast The Death Omen or the White, Ghostly Woman, the Watcher at the Death Bed The Cold, or King Frost, The Flesh Easter, the Eater of Strength from the Limbs and Corpse The Ungraces or the Furies: Ugliness, Strife, and Sorrow Restless Shades or Wraiths of the Dead Spirit-Familiars

The Christ... Old Hobb The Sky-Rainer... The Storm Spirit The Earth-Giver... The Death Omen The Sun... The Cold The Graces... The Furies Living Men and Women... Shades or Wraiths of the Dead Saints and Angels... Spirit Familiars

The dark heresy of these final and ultimate occult pairings is very pernicious, at least to those who have carefully ignored the necessary dark "other side" of divinity. The Christ is the very real spirit of self-giving or self-sacrifice fo r the good of others; he takes the burdens of others and is punished or killed f or their iniquities. He gains power by giving away the self; his dark other side - Old Hobb, or the Devil, is wild and cunning, not caring to sacrifice himself,

but to strengthen himself. This being together is the divine "Word" of creation, the intelligent, shaping spirit that formed the world in accord with the deepes t patterning of Providence. He/They are the life spirit, the true person and sha dow of "God" in the occult and the exoteric sense of the word. Jesus taught his people to pray the "Lord's Prayer"- the most repeated prayer in Western history; and in it, he adds a curious line- very curious when one remem bers that the prayer is addressed to God, the all-good: "Lead us not into tempta tion..." Why should God lead his faithful into temptation? The answer is simple; God has a shadow side. Those interested in a deep analysis of this occult theme should consult Carl Jung's work "Answer to Job" for deeper insights. The Lord's Prayer recited as it is written is powerful for the works of the sunl it world: tradition holds that it drives away wicked and mischievous spirits. Th e folklore of Witchcraft has given it a sinister use, as well: chanted backwards , it either conjures the Devil or adds power to Witching works. The occult logic behind this long-held belief should be plain by now: reversed, the prayer to Go d becomes a prayer to his Shadow, and summons Witching-force; it taps into the O therness. Old Hobb is the Master of Witchcraft; he is both the traditional "devil" of the masses, but something else, as well: far from the caricature of evil that he is shaped as by the masses, he is the vitality of the Divine Word, its power to cha nge and enliven and destroy. He has all the creativity of the "Right" logos, but as the "Left" logos or the reversed word, his creativity is of a sorcerous vari ety, supreme in cunning. It is no surprise that tradition holds that Jesus' deat h was an immediate descent into Hell, or that he emerged from that place holding the "keys of hell and of death"- the death of all beings is a descent deep belo w, to face the shadow, and hopefully integrate it, thereby overcoming death. The Christ is associated with the lamb; Old Hobb with the goat. * * * The Sky-Rainer and the Earth-Giver bring us to the doorstep of two more ancient, primal powers, known by all men from the dawn of time, before the illumination of humans to the mysterious workings of the Word or Logos- though it was not the coming of Christ that was the first revelation of the Logos to human beings- th e Logos, the world-creating spirit and the dark god of sorcery, was known in man y forms earlier. But the "Sky Father" or the Rainer and the "Earth Mother" or th e Giver, have been in the center of human spiritual life since forever. They still exist as vital powers, where they always have been- above and below u s, still giving rain and light, still giving beasts and produce, still the etern al parents of all living. The Sky-Rainer took the position of "God the Father" a fter the advent of Christianity; he held a position very similar before, all ove r the heathen world. The men and women of this world know them now by their beau ty and their life-sustaining gifts; the farmer, perhaps, maintains the last inti mate spiritual closeness with the Green-Gowned Mother under his feet. But these Divine powers, too, have their shadows: the Storm Spirit, or the Loud Crying, Roaring beast, associated with snorting bulls, is the shadow of the Sky; destructive weather and his rage are also known to mankind- and his ability to empower Witch-hexings of vengeance and wrath. The shadow of the giving Earth its elf is even more chilling and more sublime to the Witch- in folklore, the ubiqui tous image of the "Death Omen" or the ghastly pale White Woman or the Watcher at the Death Bed, the Spirit of Death (not unlike the Classical Persephone or Heca te) reigns in the dark regions under the earth, over the shades of the dead. She is the queen of Hell, the "Devil's Dam" as they say; but not an evil figure her self, merely a Saturnian, darkly wise one whose heart cannot be moved by the ple

as of the dead. She is also the "feerie queen" or feminine spirit of many a Witc h's coven who teaches sorcery and empowers it. She appears in this world as cats and owls. The Sun, as we shall see later, was held in the craft of herbalists and wortcunn ing Witches in New England to be a "healer and strengthener"- almost a supreme d ivine power for their craft. The Sun is precisely that- the deliverer of humans from the frost and snow and darkness of the Dim half of the year, and the ruler of the bright half. He is the radiant image of life triumphant in the heavens. B ut his shadow is "The Cold"- King Frost, Jack Frost, the giant spirit of freezes and snow, of ice and deathly chill. This is the cannibal spirit that consumes l ife and flesh. Beauty, Mirth and Cheer are the graces of the sunlit world- the three highest at tainments of human life in the village. They are not just emotions or feelings o r sense-experiences; they are living spirit-persons, divine powers. And their sh adows are just as real- Ugliness, Strife, and Sorrow. Everyone experiences them in the mind and body; those who can cross the hedge can experience them as perso ns. The Cunning Witch does good to avoid them in either case, for they are stran ge and savage, not easy to control or influence. It is strange to report, but living men and women are divine powers, too- for Go d did become Man, after all, and God's spirit lives in men and women. A living m an or woman contains within him or herself the wholeness, the "world entire", an d the murder of a man or woman is one of the most extreme intrusions of disorder into order- something that swings the Pendulum of the Murderer's soul harshly i nto the dark region over the hedge. The dead gather on the other side of the hed ge; they are the shadows of living men and women, though only in one sense; a li ving man or woman's "Other" is their true shadow; the collective shades or wrait hs of the dead are no longer the "Other", but the remnants of their lives in thi s world, impressed in the strange medium of the Unseen world. The final great Divine forces known to men and women in the sunlit world are the messengers of God, and their human allies- the Angels and the Saints. The conce pt of Godly messengers did not begin with Hebrewism, or Christianity or Mohammed ism, but with the heathen Greeks and Romans, who attached to all their Gods choi rs of messengers, daimons that could cross the space between God and man. Who ca n say what these spiritual messengers truly are, but tradition has it that they comfort those pious and holy in need, and deliver messages from Providence. The cult of Saint-worship maintains the ancient idea that the heroic dead can become Angelic messengers of a type, powerful beings from the beyond that support the living. The shadows of these concepts are none other than familiar-spirits, or the "Othe rs" of the witch-men and witch-women, and the "Other" which accompanies each sor cerer. Did the great saints of old, speaking to their helping and comforting ang els, merely perform a great reversed "witching" of their own, a holy sorcery, sp eaking to the same powers as the Witch when she spoke to the dark Other in some familiar beast form? Certainly. Again, this disconcerting idea will terrify some , and bestow upon others an understanding that unlocks many doors. Saints have t heir angels; the Witch has her familiar- different experiences, different beings , but when the hedge is removed, not as different as the pious or the wicked wou ld like to believe. And the boundary lines between the world that is seen and un seen begins to fade. Take now these understandings of the great Convocation of Shadows, and proceed i nto the next portion of this Grimoire, and prepare yourself for instruction in t he Art of Witching- the process of creating Sigil-Pantacles and speaking the lan guage of the Unseen, for the obtaining of all desires.