Apr

B of A too Corrupt to Fail

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

I couldn’t possibly state the case any better or add anything so this posting is a reprint of the article by Matt Tabbi from the Rolling Stone Online Magazine.

“At least Bank of America got its name right. The ultimate Too Big to Fail bank really is America, a hypergluttonous ward of the state whose limitless fraud and criminal conspiracies we’ll all be paying for until the end of time. Did you hear about the plot to rig global interest rates? The $137 million fine for bilking needy schools and cities? The ingenious plan to suck multiple fees out of the unemployment checks of jobless workers? Take your eyes off them for 10 seconds and guaranteed, they’ll be into some shit again: This bank is like the world’s worst-behaved teenager, taking your car and running over kittens and fire hydrants on the way to Vegas for the weekend, maxing out your credit cards in the three days you spend at your aunt’s funeral. They’re out of control, yet they’ll never do time or go out of business, because the government remains creepily committed to their survival, like overindulgent parents who refuse to believe their 40-year-old live-at-home son could possibly be responsible for those dead hookers in the backyard.

It’s been four years since the government, in the name of preventing a depression, saved this megabank from ruin by pumping $45 billion of taxpayer money into its arm. Since then, the Obama administration has looked the other way as the bank committed an astonishing variety of crimes – some elaborate and brilliant in their conception, some so crude that they’d be beneath your average street thug. Bank of America has systematically ripped off almost everyone with whom it has a significant business relationship, cheating investors, insurers, depositors, homeowners, shareholders, pensioners and taxpayers. It brought tens of thousands of Americans to foreclosure court using bogus, “robo-signed” evidence – a type of mass perjury that it helped pioneer. It hawked worthless mortgages to dozens of unions and state pension funds, draining them of hundreds of millions in value. And when it wasn’t ripping off workers and pensioners, it was helping to push insurance giants like AMBAC into bankruptcy by fraudulently inducing them to spend hundreds of millions insuring those same worthless mortgages.

But despite being the very definition of an unaccountable corporate villain, Bank of America is now bigger and more dangerous than ever. It controls more than 12 percent of America’s bank deposits (skirting a federal law designed to prohibit any firm from controlling more than 10 percent), as well as 17 percent of all American home mortgages. By looking the other way and rewarding the bank’s bad behavior with a massive government bailout, we actually allowed a huge financial company to not just grow so big that its collapse would imperil the whole economy, but to get away with any and all crimes it might commit. Too Big to Fail is one thing; it’s also far too corrupt to survive.

All the government bailouts succeeded in doing was to make the bank even more prone to catastrophic failure – and now that catastrophe might finally be at hand. Bank of America’s share price has plunged into the single digits, and the bank faces battles in courtrooms all over America to avoid paying back the hundreds of billions it stole from everyone in sight. Its credit rating, already downgraded to a few rungs above junk status, could plummet with the next bad analyst report, causing a frenzied rush to the exits by creditors, investors and stockholders – an institutional run on the bank.

They’re in deep trouble, but they won’t die, because our current president, like the last one, apparently believes it’s better to project a false image of financial soundness than to allow one of our oligarchic banks to collapse under the weight of its own corruption. Last year, the Federal Reserve allowed Bank of America to move a huge portfolio of dangerous bets into a side of the company that happens to be FDIC-insured, putting all of us on the hook for as much as $55 trillion in irresponsible gambles. Then, in February, the Justice Department’s so-called foreclosure settlement, which will supposedly provide $26 billion in relief for ripped-off homeowners, actually rewarded the bank with a legal waiver that will allow it to escape untold billions in lawsuits. And this month the Fed will release the results of its annual stress test, in which the bank will once again be permitted to perpetuate its fiction of solvency by grossly overrating the mountains of toxic loans on its books. At this point, the rescue effort is so sweeping and elaborate that it goes far beyond simply gouging the tax dollars of millions of struggling families, many of whom have already been ripped off by the bank – it’s making the government, and by extension all of us, full-blown accomplices to the fraud.

Anyone who wants to know what the Occupy Wall Street protests are all about need only look at the way Bank of America does business. It comes down to this: These guys are some of the very biggest assholes on Earth. They lie, cheat and steal as reflexively as addicts, they laugh at people who are suffering and don’t have money, they pay themselves huge salaries with money stolen from old people and taxpayers – and on top of it all, they completely suck at banking. And yet the state won’t let them go out of business, no matter how much they deserve it, and it won’t slap them in jail, no matter what crimes they commit. That makes them not bankers or capitalists, but a class of person that was never supposed to exist in America: royalty.

Self-appointed royalty, it’s true – but just as dumb and inbred as the real thing, and every bit as expensive to support. Like all royals, they reached their position in society by being relentlessly dedicated to the cause of Bigness, Unaccountability and the Worthlessness of Others. And just like royals, they spend most of their lives getting deeper in debt, and laughing every year when our taxes go to covering their whist markers. Two and a half centuries after we kicked out the British, it’s really come to this?

Bank of America started out in San Francisco in 1904 as an emblem of American capitalism. Founded by a first-generation Italian-American named Amadeo Giannini – it was even originally called the Bank of Italy – the bank set out to serve immigrants denied credit by other banks, and it was instrumental in helping to rebuild the city after the devastating earthquake of 1906.

But like many of the truly bad ideas in history, the present-day version of Bank of America was the product of a testosterone overdose. The concept of an overmassive, acquiring-everything-in-sight, bicoastal megabank was hatched in the terminal inferiority complex of a greed-sick asshole – actually two greed-sick assholes, both of them CEOs of Southern regional banks, who launched a cartoonish arms race of bank acquisitions that would ultimately turn the American business world upside down.

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Apr

Full Awakening Moon Esbat Ritual

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

Full Awakening Moon Esbat

Apr. 07, 2012

Circle of the Dark Moon Coven

Circle of the Dark Moon Coven

You will need these items:

The usual tools, candles, paraphernalia for ritual

Items needed specific to working:

No special items are needed

Preparation:

Cleansing Sacred Space

(Maiden sweeps—with circular widdershins motions—widdershins about the ritual area. When she is satisfied that enough negativity has been removed she sets the besom aside.

Next, she lights the illumination candle.

Except for the above mentioned exceptions, the maiden ensures that the altar should be divided between male objects on the right—God candle, censer, salt dish, HP’s athame/sword/wand, and besom— and female objects on the left—Goddess candle, cauldron, bowl of water, chalice, libation plate (if used), bell, and the HPS’ athame/wand/sword. The pentacle should be placed forward and between the Goddess and God candles.

The maiden also ensures that the chalice is filled and the ‘cakes’ are on the plate. When these tasks are completed, she assists the HPS in any other way deemed necessary.)

Call to the Circle

HPS: (Rings bell to call everyone to the circle.)

HPS: This time is not a time; this place is not a place; today is not a day; and this night is not a night. I stand at the threshold between the worlds. I stand ready to part the veil of mysteries. May the Ancient Ones help and protect us on our journey.

Blessed be.

Coveners: So mote it be.

The Challenge

HPS: (After admission into sacred space, the HPS circulates among the coveners and smudges them with sage or lavender. When this action is completed, the HPS resumes her place by the altar.)

Consecration of the Elements

Charge at the Pentacle

(HP and HP kneel before the altar. The HP is on the right. Both of them place their right hands upon the pentacle. After a moment, they rise.)

Blessing the Salt

HPS:
(places dish of salt upon the pentacle)

�

HPS: I consecrate thee O creature of salt from the Earth,

magickal aid, and seasoning for the Lady’s cauldron upon the hearth.

I cast from thee all hindrance and malignity, so that in my works of magick you may well serve me.

(HPS removes the dish of salt from the pentacle and then places the dish of water upon the pentacle. Then she takes the salt and using her Athame, drops into the water three measures of salt. She stirs the water three times with the tip of her athame. HPS sets the salt aside.)

Blessing the Water

HPS: I consecrate thee O creature of water—bubbles in the cauldron of rebirth—life giving, whether swiftly flowing or falling from the firmament.

I cast from thee all hindrance and malignity, so that in my works of magick you may well serve me.

All: So mote it be.

Blessing the Fire

(HP lights the incense)

HP: I consecrate thee O creature of Fire—force of Magick’s pyre.

�

I cast from thee all hindrance and malignity, so that in my works of magick you may well serve me.

All: So mote it be.

Blessing the Air

(HP places the censer containing incense upon the pentacle)

HP: I consecrate thee O creature of Air blowing free with the imagination to dare.

I cast from thee all hindrance and malignity, so that in my works of magick you may well serve me.

All: So mote it be.

(HP sets the censer aside.)

Circle Casting

(by Earth)

(HP and HPS take their athames and trace the sacred circle. If desired, they may leave a doorway in the northeastern quadrant. They walk together with the HP’s hand upon the HPS’ shoulder.)

HPS: I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, to be a meeting place of love, joy and truth—a boundary between the worlds of men and the Realms the Mighty Ones.

�

A rampart and Protection against all wickedness that shall both contain and entertain the powers raised within—wherefore do I consecrate thee in the name of The Lord of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon.

�

Strengthening the Circle

(by Water)

(Witch 1: Sprinkles the salt and water mixture around the circle)

Witch 1: Rain of water and salt sprinkled upon the ground,

This blessed water sprinkled round and round.

Protect us from wickedness and make our magick sound.

(Witch 1: When their circuit is completed, they replace the water upon the altar.)

(by Air)

(Witch 2: takes the censer and walks about the circle)

Witch 2: Into the night sky, incense smoke, roil, rise, and writhe,

This smoke takes our intentions to the skies

Sunder us from the mundane like a scythe.

(Witch 2: When their circuit is completed, they replace the censer upon the altar.)

(by Fire)

(Witch 3: takes a candle and walks about the circle)

Witch 3: Fire, shine true and bright,

Aid, grant clarity of sight,

Mayest the Gods be with us this night.

�

(Witch 3: When their circuit is completed, they replace the water upon the altar.)

Calling the Quarters

East Hail, guardians of the East: Sylphs of the Airs.

High above in your sky mansions in the atmosphere

Your winds whisper of the imagination to dare.

Come to this circle on this Full Awakening moon Night,

To witness and protect these sacred magickal rites.

(Draw the invoking pentagram of Air)

Hail, guardians of the South: salamanders of Fire,

From your realms of brimstone and fire, your will never fails to inspire.

Come to this circle on this Full Awakening moon night,

To witness and protect these sacred magickal rites.

(Draw the invoking pentagram of Fire)

West Hail, guardians of the West: Undines of the Waters.

Shallow and deep, your tides ebb and flow;

From stream to ocean, you hold depths of emotion, and mysteries to know.

Come to this circle on this Full Awakening moon Night,

To witness and protect these sacred magickal rites.

(Draw the invoking pentagram of Water)

North Hail, guardians of the North: Gnomes of the Earth.

Keeping silent beneath mountains you materialize stone into fantastic works.

Come to this circle on this Full Awakening moon Night,

To witness and protect these sacred magickal rites.

(Draw the invoking pentagram of Earth)

Drawing down the Moon

Invocation to the Goddess

(HPS assumes the blessing position with her back to the coven.)

HPS: I invoke thee and call upon thee, Mighty Mother of us all,

bringer of grain, grasses, and fruit trees tall.

By seed, by Hawthorn leaf, by bud and stem,

by flower and root,

O Goddess I surrender myself unto thy truth.

I call upon thee as though beseeching the moon above,

To descend upon me—thy servant priestess—and to show forth your presence and love.

(HPS turns and lights the Goddess candle.)

The Charge of the Goddess

(HPS as the Goddess Herself, faces the coven. If the Goddess so moves her, the HPS may now address the coven using the words of the Goddess Herself. Otherwise she may recite the Charge of the Goddess.)

HP: Whenever ye have need of anything,

Once in the month and better it be when the moon is full,

Then shall ye assemble in some secret place,

And adore the spirit of me,

Who am Queen of all witches.

There shall ye assemble,

Ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,

Yet have not won its deepest secrets;

To these will I teach all things that are as yet unknown.

And ye shall be free from slavery;

And as a sign that ye be truly free,

You shall be naked in your rites;

And ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love,

All in my praise.

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,

And mine also is joy on earth;

For my law is love unto all beings.

Keep pure your highest ideals;

Strive ever towards them,

Let nothing stop you or turn you aside.

For mine is the secret door which

Opens upon the Land of Youth,

And mine is the cup of the wine of life,

And the Cauldron of Cerridwen,

Which is the Holy Vessel of Immortality.

I am the gracious Goddess,

Who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.

Upon earth,

I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;

And beyond death,

I give peace, and freedom,

And reunion with those who have gone before.

Nor do I demand sacrifice;

For behold, I am the Mother of all living,

And my love is poured out upon the Earth.

I am the beauty of the green earth,

And the white moon among the stars,

And the mystery of the waters,

And the desire of the heart of man.

Call unto thy soul, arise, and come unto me.

For I am the soul of Nature,

Who gives life to the Universe.

From me all things proceed,

And unto me all things must return;

And before my face, beloved of gods and of men,

Let thine innermost divine self be enfolded,

In the rapture of the infinite.

Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices,

For behold all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.

Therefore, let there be beauty and strength,

Power and compassion, honor and humility,

Mirth and reverence within you.

And thou who thinketh to seek for me,

Know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not,

Unless thou knoweth the mystery;

That if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee,

Thou wilt never find it without thee.

For behold, I have been with thee from the beginning;

And I am that which is attained at the end of desire.

Drawing down the Sun

Invocation to the God

(HP assumes the Osiris position with his back to the coven.)

HP: You are the stag of seven tines,

Actaeon and Cernnunos to Romulus and Remus.

You are the Lord of all things wild,

You are the consort of She whom we adore and before, you were her child.

You are the stag of seven tines.

Great Father, return to Earth, again,

Come at my call and show Yourself to men.

Shepherd of goats, upon the wild hill’s way,

Lead thy flock from night into day.

You are the stag of seven tines.

Forgotten are the ways of sleep and night—

Men seek for them whose eyes have lost the light.

Open the door of dreams, whereby men come to thee.

Shepherd of goats, ruler of wild things, Descend upon thy servant and priest. O answer unto me.

(HP turns and lights the God candle.)

Charge of the God

(HP as the God Himself, faces the coven. If the God so moves him, the HP may now address the coven using the words of the God Himself. Otherwise he may recite the Charge of the God.)

HP: Listen to the words of the Horned God,

The Guardian of all things wild and free,

Keeper of the Gates of Death,

Whose Call we all must Heed:

I am the fire within your Heart,

The yearning of your Soul.

I, the Hunter of Knowledge, Seeker of the Holy Quest

I, who stand in the darkness, am He whom you call Death.

I, the Consort and Mate of Her whom we adore,

Beckoned forth to Thee,

To learn the secrets of Death and Peace,

Come thou unto me.

I am corn at harvest and fruit on the trees.

I am He who leads you home.

With Scourge and Flame, Blade and Blood,

These are mine own gifts to thee.

Call unto me in the forest wild and hilltop bare,

And seek me in the Darkest Night.

I, who have been called by many names by those gathered in the moonlight.

Speak to thee in thy search, Come to dance and sing;

Come live and love; behold this is worshiping.

I, am thy Father. You are my children.

On swift night wings, it is I who lay you at the Mother’s feet;

to be reborn and to return again to seek .

Know me, I am the untamed wind,

the fury of storm.

Seek me with pride and humility,

and passion in your Soul.

Statement of Purpose

HPS: Welcome everyone.

Tonight is the full Awakening Moon. This full moon is also known as the Seed Moon, and the Wind Moon. For a working tonight we will be doing a little cord magick to create a talisman for summoning a testudo—or psychic shield.

Power Raising

(HPS & HP lead the coven in Witches’ Rune)

Witches Rune

Darksome night and full Awakening moon,
Hearken to the Witches’ rune.
East then South, West then North,
Hear, Come, I call thee forth.

By all the powers of land and sea,
Be obedient unto me.
Wand and Pentacle and Sword,
Hearken ye unto my word.

Cords and Censer, Scourge and Knife,
Waken all ye into life.
Powers of the Witches’ Blade,
Come ye as the charge is made.

Queen of Heaven, Queen of Hell,
Send your aid unto the spell.
Horned Hunter of the night,
Work my will by magic rite.

By all the powers of land and sea,
As I do say “So mote it be”.
By all the might of Moon and Sun,
As I do, my will be done.

(If she likes, the HPS may have the coven chant the Eko Eko chant three times)

All: Eko Eko Azarak
Eko Eko Zomelak

Zod Ru Koz E Zod Ru Koo

Zod ru Goz e goo ru moo

Eeo Eeo Hoo Hoo Hoo

Eko Eko Azarak
Eko Eko Zomelak

Eko Eko Lugh

Eko Eko Brighid.

Main Working Meditation

HP: We call forth now the Elemental

Children of Gaia…

HPS: Children of Gaia, Come to us now, We claim you as our own! (Gestures to all)

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW, WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

EAST: (Steps forward) I am the Air of Gaia:

The winds, the hurricanes and breezes,

The scent of flowers,

The vibrations of birdsong and drums.

I am Gaia’s breath, echoed in your own.

(Steps back into Circle)

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

SOUTH: (Steps forward) I am the Fires of Gaia:

The volcanoes and geysers, the hot fluid core,

Alive and changing, the lightning, the sparks,

The slow smoldering chemistry of life.

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

WEST: (Steps forth) I am the Waters of Gaia:

The rain and rivers, the seas and the snows.

We are the fluid in Gaia’s veins—

Feel us in your blood and tears.

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

NORTH: (Steps out) I am the Earthwork of Gaia:

Mountains and caverns, beaches and canyons,

Crystals, metals, and gems.

We are Gaia’s flesh and bones.

(Steps back into Circle)

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

HPS: The Elemental Forces are here and it is good.

Now let us call forth the living beings:

Children of Gaia.

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

FAUNA: (Steps forward) I am Fauna;

I stand for the animals.

Finned, furred, feathered, scaled and skinned.

We are Gaia’s Children.

We call to the humans to see us as your kin.

(Steps back into Circle)

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!

FLORUS: (Steps forward) I am Florus;

I stand for vegetation.

The canopy of forests, the healing herbs,

The flowers and fruits, vegetables and grains.

We are Gaia’s Children.

We call to the humans to see us as your kin.

(Steps back into Circle)

ALL: CHILDREN OF GAIA, COME TO US NOW,

WE CLAIM YOU AS OUR OWN!!

HP: Welcome, Children of Gaia!

We too are Children of the Mother.

We are your brothers and sisters.

You are part of us, as we are of you.

HPS: She’s been waiting, waiting,

She’s been waiting so long!

She’s been waiting for her Children

To remember, to return.

HPS: Consciousness—what a concept! How

did it come to be? Let’s imagine how it might

have been. How it was for us.

In a time before there was memory, we

lived in our Mother’s belly. We were embedded

in creation, held in her womb, woven

together in the fabric of life.

We were a part of the Earth and Waters,

and the Fires and the Air, one with trees and

beasts and rocks and seasons—a web of

teeming life, merging, connecting all in our

unconsciousness deep within the Mother.

Our Mother’s love was great and her desire

kept us held to her breast, and we suckled

for millennia—cycles of time spiraling

around and around and around.

And then—

In one moment of time, within one millennium,

we reached out of the darkness, and

emerged into the light.

And a dazzle of brightness that was the I,

the Me, the Ego, burst into glory. Our eyes

opened—my eyes opened, and I saw my image

in the waters.

For the first time I knew myself—ME.

You looked and saw yourself—YOU.

I AM ME! YOU ARE YOU! WE ARE

DIFFERENT!

It’s incredible. I know who I am. I can

think about me and my world. I can analyze,

categorize, name things. This is that and

that’s this, and I’ve named everything in the

world and it’s mine to change.

Our egos were a glorious gift. We made

great changes. We learned to speak and to

dance and tell stories and build shelters and

temples and to count and sing songs and track

the stars and to cook and make wine and to

heal the sick and to follow in our hearts where

our life went when it left us.

And it was good. It was very good.

Can you each remember back to your own

childhood or infancy to your own first individual

moment of epiphany? Try to remember

the exact moment when you knew who

you were. The blazing instant you understood

that you were not your Mommy or Daddy,

or the kitty or the TV set. You were your

very own person. (Pause)

And that person had a name. Consciousness is inextricably interwoven with the

magick of naming. We have names. They say that cats and dogs and other animals as well

have a secret name that only they know. We are who we are when we can name ourselves.

And now we will use that power and speak the name we wish to claim for ourselves—

starting with YOU!

HPS: (Points to someone. Then everyone goes quickly deosil around the

circle and says their name.)

HPS: Blessed am I, freedom am I

I am the infinite within myself

I can find no beginning,

I can find no end

All this I am. (Great Goddess…)

HP: Consciousness has come forth on this

planet at various times and in various guises.

It is the product of an inexorable force greater

than plants and animals. Greater than the Elements;

even greater than time and space.

That is the mysterious force of evolution

to which all these things are subject. No matter

what the public schools in Georgia and

Mississippi teach, when evolution is outlawed,

only outlaws will evolve! (Pause for

laughs)

Now we will call upon that force to aid us

in our working today.

FAUNA/FLORUS: (Step forward and read alternating passages.)

We call upon the spirit of evolution,

the miraculous force that inspires rocks and

dust to weave themselves into biology. You

have stood by us for millions and billions of

years— do not forsake us now. Empower us

and awaken in us pure and dazzling creativity.

FAUNA: You who can turn scales into feathers,

seawater to blood, caterpillars to butterflies,

metamorphose our species,

awaken in us the powers that we need to

survive the present crisis and evolve into

more aeons of our solar journey.

FLORUS: Awaken in us a sense of who we

truly are: tiny ephemeral blossoms on the

Tree of Life. Make the purposes and destiny

of that tree our own purpose and destiny.

FAUNA: Fill each of us with love for our

true self, which includes all of the creatures

and plants and landscapes of the world. Fill

us with a powerful urge for the wellbeing

and continual unfolding of this self.

FLORUS: May we speak in all human councils

on behalf of the animals and plants and

landscapes of the Earth.

FAUNA: May we shine with a pure inner

passion that will spread rapidly through

these leaden times.

FLORUS: May we all awaken to our true and

only nature—none other than the nature

of Gaia, this living planet Earth.

FAUNA: We call upon the power that sustains

the planets in their orbits, that wheels

our Milky Way in its 200-million-year spiral,

to imbue our personalities and our relationships

with harmony, endurance, and joy.

FLORUS: Fill us with a sense of immense time

so that our brief, flickering lives may truly

reflect the work of vast ages past and also

the millions of years of evolution whose potential

lies in our trembling hands.

FAUNA/FLORUS: O stars, lend us your burning passion.

O silence, give weight to our voice.

We ask for the presence of the spirit

of Gaia to be with us here, for our own highest

good and for the highest good of all.

HPS: Gaia! Mama Gaia!

Mama Gaia, can you hear?

Gaia! Mama Gaia!

We’re askin’ you to draw near.

‘Cause we’re gonna sing a song

An’ dance around the Fire

Gonna dance all night long,

Raising the energy higher!

HPS: There is power in the name of Gaia. It is an

ancient name, from an ancient land. She has in

turn given her name to science: to geology,

geography, geophysics. Our Mother has a

name and now, thanks to science, she has a

face that we have all seen. Almost all humanity

has seen the lovely image of our home planet

spinning in her blue and white majesty—all

alone in the diamond-dusted blackness of space.

We are going to conjure up the face of Gaia

here today. We will do it as an act of will and

magickal focus. We want to visualize that image

floating here, in the center of our Circle.

All of us together beaming our intent into that

single tightly focused image. Let us close our eyes.

Imagine you are lying back and gazing up

at the night sky. Hold your hand up against

the stars, moving your fingers together and

apart, and watch the auras stretch thinner and

separate. And let this image morph into one of

cell division, as the dividing cell stretches

slowly apart until it separates into two.

From this image, let your imagination “rewind

the film” backwards, within your body,

so the two cells become one, merging with others,

over and over, until all of the cells in your

body become the one original zygote.

And realize that all those trillions of cells

were just multiple subdivisions of the first one,

still comprised of the same protoplasm, the

same DNA. And that’s why you are a singular

being, rather than a colony of separate cells.

But don’t stop there. Continue to follow

the thread of your own DNA back through

your parents, your ancestors, apes, monkeys,

lemurs, tree shrews, reptiles, amphibians,

fish—swimming upstream like a salmon, tracing

the river of life back to its original source—

back to the first cell that ever was.

Consecration of the Wine and Cakes (Symbolic Great Rite)

Great Rite (Symbolic)

(HPS takes the chalice and the HP stands before her holding his athame.)

HPS: You are the spear of the Sun.

(HP lowers his athame into the wine)

HP: And you are the Goddess of the Moon.

HPS/HP: And together we are one.

(HP replaces his athame upon the altar.)

Consecration of the Wine

HPS: (lays her athame down and places the chalice on the pentacle.)

HPS: May this offering to the God and Goddess keep us from ever knowing thirst.

Consecration of the Cakes

HPS: (removes the chalice and replaces it with the plate of cakes before the. She touches each cake in turn with her athame.)

HPS: May this offering to the God and Goddess keep us from ever knowing hunger.

Simple Feast (Cakes and Ale)

(Note: the ceremony of Cakes and Ales now proceeds according to the HPS’ wishes: either the plate and chalice is passed from covener to covener and they serve themselves or each other according to coven custom or the HPS and HP proceed from covener to covener serving them and finally each other.)

HPS: (When all of the coveners have partaken of the simple feast, the HPS places some food and drink in the libation bowl. HPS raises the libation plate in salute.)

HPS: To the Gods.

Coveners: To the Gods.

Closing the Circle

Release of Deities

Release of the Goddess

HPS: (faces the altar, assumes the Goddess position—or alternatively salutes with athame—and recites)

Queen of the Universe who wears a mantle of stars and moonlight, on this Full Awakening moon night,

We thank you for your attending and witnessing these rites.

With your help, we shall start down the path to wisdom’s light.

For this boon, and glimpse

Of your magick, and mystery,

We salute and thank Thee.

Alas, our time together now is past.

We bid thee farewell.

Stay if you will and join our repast.

Leave us if you must.

Ere you leave us, know that all who met here

Did so in perfect love and perfect trust.

HPS: (Extinguishes the Goddess candle)

Release of the God

HP: (Assumes the Osiris position)

Thou art the Stag of Seven tines.

He who’s power is wide as the flood on a plain.

Your wisdom stretches like a hawk across the sky.

For this boon, and glimpse of your magick, and mystery,

We salute and thank Thee.

Alas, our time together now is past.

We bid thee farewell.

Stay if you will and join our repast.

Leave us if you must.

Ere you leave us, know that all who met here

Did so in perfect love and perfect trust.

HP: (Extinguishes the God candle)

Quarter Dismissals

(The HP follows the HPS around the quarters—except where noted—while the rest of the coven remain in place around the circle but mimic the HPS’ gestures. At each quarter, the HPS and HP salute the quarter with their athames. After the dismissal, the HPS, HP, and coveners, draw the banishing pentagram. The banishing pentagram of Earth shall be used for all dismissals.)

North Hail, guardians of the North, Gnomes of the Earth.

On this Full Awakening moon night, we thank you for witnessing and protecting our sacred magickal rite.

Go if you must; stay if you will; but know that we met in perfect love and perfect trust.

(Draw the banishing pentagram of Earth)

West Hail, guardians of the West, Undines of the Waters.

On this Full Awakening moon night, we thank you for witnessing and protecting our sacred magickal rite.

Go if you must; stay if you will; but know that we met in perfect love and perfect trust.

(Draw the banishing pentagram of Water)

South Hail, guardians of the South, Salamanders of Fire,

On this Full Awakening moon night, we thank you for witnessing and protecting our sacred magickal rite.

Go if you must; stay if you will; but know that we met in perfect love and perfect trust.

(Draw the banishing pentagram of Fire)

East Hail, guardians of the East, Sylphs of the Airs,

On this Full Awakening moon night, we thank you for witnessing and protecting our sacred magickal rite.

Go if you must; stay if you will; but know that we met in perfect love and perfect trust.

(Draw the banishing pentagram of Air)

Opening the Circle

(HPS and HP face the altar together. The Deities have been thanked and the Quarters dismissed, therefore, the next action is to ‘take down’ the circle. Since the circle was thrice cast, it should be thrice unwound. Also, because the circle was cast deosil it should be undone in a widdershins direction.)

(HPS walks the circle widdershins while reciting the incantation to dissemble sacred space.)

HPS: O Circle of Power, as I have conjured thee I now release your energies into this blade.

(In your mind’s eye, see the circle dissolve into a wispy energy smoke, which the glowing blade readily absorbs)

Where there once existed a rampart between this world and the Otherworld, the rampart is no more. Once again, our realms are separate. However, the love and joy with which we met here tonight remains undiminished.

HPS: (Rejoins the HP at the altar and then together they face the rest of the coven)

Just as the Moon and Stars must yield to the Sun When night is done,

So must we depart at ritual’s end.

It is time for us to leave this realm of magick, mystery, and the circle of ancestors and friends.

The circle is open but remains unbroken.

Blessed be.

Coveners: Blessed be.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

To download this ritual, click the following link: 2012 – Full Awakening Moon

Tags: Circle of the Dark Moon Coven & School of Wicca, Full Awakening Moon Esbat Ritual, Wiccan Rituals, witchcraft, Wytchecraft, Wytchecraft Classes

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Apr

Witchcraft & Christianity

Posted by: Scrivener in circle of the dark moon, Circle of the Dark Moon & School of Wicca, Circle of the Dark Moon Coven & School of Wicca, Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick, wicca, witchcraft, Wytchecraft

(*)During my years as a practicing Wiccan, or “witch” or gasp “warlock” (yes I use the ‘W’ word), I have had occasion to ask myself this question many, times. With the recent political controversy where the repugnicans would have you believe that Jesus hates liberals and only bible-thumpin’ funda-mentals curry the Divine’s favor, the question suddenly has more than its usual immediacy for me and for my brothers and sisters in Wicca.

First, let me get the usual questions out of the way. Wicca is a real religion, born in the 1950s as a recreation of the Old Religion of Northern Europe, which some believe dates back about 25,000 years. In the mid-1980s, the U.S. Courts accepted Wicca as a legitimate religion and granted us first Amendment rights and freedom from taxation. Therefore, the point is moot, really. The same U.S. Constitution that protects Christianity protects our religious freedom – and a good thing, too. Wicca is the fastest growing religion of the 20th Century.

Wiccans do not believe in an evil deity, and would not worship one if they did—well, I might. Wiccans do not practice human or animal sacrifice—although I am making a list should human sacrifice ever come back into vogue. The most sacred commandment our religion demands of us is to harm no one. If you think about that last statement carefully, it pretty well covers most of the Biblical Ten Commandments – the important parts, anyway. Even more importantly, we do not attempt to convert our friends and neighbors to Wicca. Our faith teaches us that when they are ready for what we have to teach, they will seek us out.

What about me, personally? Am I a New Age nut? Well, that depends on what you mean—or whom you ask. I’m an environmentalist, certainly—rabidly so. On the other hand, I do not partake in illegal drugs of any kind. I am a database administrator working on air force base for one of the largest Native American SB 8A set aside employers in the United States. I am a college graduate. I am a published novelist (“Is Wanting Enough”). I am a licensed pilot with multiple ratings. My favorite hobbies include running/walking with my dogs, bicycling, reading all sorts of books on Magick and Wicca, anthropology, and other religions (Wiccans are some of the best-read people on the planet). Alas, I haven’t the time to read as much fiction as I’d like—I’m still finishing, “The Deathly Hallows.” I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. I currently hold a secret clearance. In what way am I such an evil and dangerous neighbor?

Where does this knee-jerk hostility to the word “witch” come from?

It doesn’t come from the word, certainly. “Witch” is a corruption of “witcraft,” or “craft of the wise.” In fact, the Wiccan religion is sometimes called “The Craft of the Wise,” or just “The Craft.” There is nothing sinister there. Do Wiccans practice magick? Yes—resounding so for those of us in The Dark Moon Tradition—most Wiccans do practice some magick if only in ritual. Do Wiccans have supernatural powers? Yes they do but only those ‘supernatural’ powers innate in everybody and everything in an interconnected Creation. Oddly enough, those same Christians who believe the practice of magick is so evil are often those who most sincerely believe in faith healing. On the other hand, what most Christians fail to realize is that prayer is also a petitionary form of magick. Just think about that for a moment and try to explain the difference between me invoking Hekate or constructing a thoughtform to alter my reality or a Christian praying for their God to grant them a favor. Ahem, I’m waiting .

Let’s get back to the Craft of the Wise. During the Christian Inquisition, nobody really knows how many accused witches were burned at the stake. It is known, however, that a number of village wise women were accused of witchcraft and burned for curing fevers with nasty stuff like moldy bread. Were they followers of the Old Religion? Probably. Were they wise? You bet they were. Did you ever hear of penicillin? I wonder how many centuries of medical knowledge were lost because of a bunch of frightened priests? Can anyone say, “The Dark Ages?”

So where did the idea come from that we were (and are) Satanists?

The most obvious answer is that the moldy bread cure worked, and was unexplainable. A number of other herbal and common sense remedies were surprisingly effective, as “alternative” medicine is re- discovering today. The only way the church could admit these cures worked (and it was a little too obvious to deny) without admitting this was a really good thing was to make the claim that the women practicing these cures had made a pact with the Devil. Heavens, they couldn’t be physicians! Medicine was firmly in the hands of the priests, and the practice of medicine was expressly forbidden to women. At the time I write of, formal medicine consisted mostly of applying leeches to the sick.

Were the village wise women the only problem? No. During this early medieval period, when the Christians were converting Northern Europe at sword point, a lot of dirty tricks were played. The country folk, whom we believe to be the ancestors of modern Wicca, worshiped a Goddess we consider the Mother of Life, and a God we call the Horned Hunter, or God of Death. For us, death is merely a door to rebirth, so there is nothing at all fearful for us in a God of Death. In an effort to make non-Christianity something horrible, the monks who drew the medieval Biblical illustrations “borrowed” our Horned Hunter when they drew depictions of the Christian Devil. You needn’t take my word for this. Any educated person knows that the Greek Pan predates Christianity by some considerable period of time. Take a good look at a drawing of Pan in your nearest encyclopedia. Look familiar? He should. You’ve been looking at him in biblical illustrations dating back to your first Sunday school. Pan is the Greek form of our Horned Hunter. They are one and the same god. Read your mythology. Pan was never evil, just playful.

If all that weren’t enough, Exodus 22:18 was horribly mistranslated in the King James Version of the Christian Bible. The original “Suffer not a poisoner to live among you” became “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Some pretty bloodthirsty fundamentalist preachers want to enforce that mistranslation literally, even today. In August of 1999, Rev. Jack Harvey of Killeen, Texas, was quoted as stating publicly that all witches should be killed. He organized a “March Against Wickedness” for that Labor Day Monday in Killeen (which flopped pitifully), and I believe he was hoping and praying it would erupt into real violence, because he advised members of his congregation to carry guns, in case some of us witches decided to snatch his kids.

Other reasons for fear again date back to medieval times. The reasons have mostly been forgotten, but the fear remains. During medieval times, life was unpleasant. In fact, it was downright horrible for the peasants. Christianity taught the peasants that it didn’t matter, that the material world was to be shunned in favor of a reward in the Christian Heaven. Wiccans did not, and do not, agree. I can still remember my first teacher telling me that it would be difficult to cultivate my spiritual nature until at least my basic physical needs – as in food, shelter, warmth – were met. We are taught that achieving success at another’s expense is wrong (remember we are permitted to harm none!), but success in itself is actually a virtue. In medieval times, daring to hope and work for success was dangerous thinking. It might even have led to a collapse of feudalism. So the Christian hatred of that tenet of Wicca was one part envy, one part fear.

Another envy/fear combination had to do with the fact that Wicca is fun. The Old Religion is filled with laughter and playfulness. Our ceremonies are wonderful parties, full of happy tipsiness and flirtation. By comparison, medieval Christian practices were rather grim. Somehow, the Christians who were trying to convert us had to convince us that slipping off into the woods for a bonfire and a roaring good time wasn’t such a good idea. Do what they would, though, they couldn’t get us to give up our fun. Quite logically under the circumstances, they “borrowed” from us. The use of song and chants in ritual (although why the church couldn’t manage happy song, I can’t say), incense (borrowed from Mithraic ritual)- even some actual elements of ritual itself. You can hear echoes of our cakes and ale ceremony in Christian Communion. Oh, I don’t doubt that Jesus of Nazareth had bread and wine during his Last Supper! That’s as may be, but I don’t think the contents of his last meal became a central part of Christian ceremonies until Christianity clashed with the Old Religion in Europe.

Where did Jesus get the idea in the first place? Mithras, who died following a ritual meal of bread and wine? Or the cakes and ale of the Old Religion? Scary question, isn’t it? For the record, I believe it was Mithras, as he was the secret god of many of the Roman troops occupying Palestine at the time of Jesus of Nazareth. Nevertheless, enough Roman troops were European “barbarians” that it is just possible that some elements of our faith were known to Jesus himself.

20th Century Christian practices never struck me as being a barrel of laughs, either. Wiccans are still having fun. So there is bound to be some ongoing envy, if not outright fear.

I wonder how many Christians know how many of their holidays were originally ours.

Samhain, our New Year celebration, when the walls between the worlds are at their thinnest and our beloved dead walk and feast among us, became Christian All Hallows or Halloween. One ceremony used by pagans to encourage a rich crop (although not at Samhain, which is after the harvest) was the sweeping of brooms over the planted fields. To early Christians watching from a distance, it must have looked like the witches were riding on the brooms or trying to do so. Since Samhain was known to be the witches’ most important holiday, witches riding on broomsticks became the symbol of Halloween. Not so surprising at all.

Yule, or the winter solstice, when we celebrate the birth of the Sun God to Mother Earth and Father Time, was borrowed for the birthday of the Christian Jesus. Most Christian scholars agree that Jesus was actually born in the spring. The Yule log, the tree, and even the Nativity Crèche were originally pagan customs. If you have Wiccan friends, and you thought they were only protecting themselves by displaying a Nativity Crèche at Christmas, you were wrong. Wicans had Nativity Crèches long before you xtians came along to convert us.

Imbolc, our festival of light, when we celebrate the start of the Mother’s return to us, along with the birth of new lambs and flowers awakening under the snow, became Christian Candlemas.

Beltane, our famous (and infamous) fertility celebration when we leap the bonfires in joy at the arrival of summer, became May Day, famous for playful fertility celebrations throughout the Christian world.

Lammas, or August 1st, when we celebrate the fruitfulness of the land – well, how many Christians have celebrated the rich harvest to come down through the centuries?

There are many, many more examples of “borrowing.” And therein lies the real root of the problem. The thing fanatical Christians fear most of all is being forced to admit our kinship.

(*) reprinted with additonal comments/edits

Tags: Wicca & Christianity

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Mar

Me with the pack on our morning walk/run.

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

Me with my pack. From the left is Gaia, a shar pei, Lugh, a min-pin, and the newest member of the pack, Loki, a GSD pup.

Ceasar Milan has nothing on me…except he’s rich, and famous, and has his own TV show…

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Mar

Loki — Today

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

Loki as he is today. The only way I got him to stay still long enough for this picture was to put him in a sit and of course he’s waiting for a treat for sitting pretty.

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Mar

Loki – Pics

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

Whatever happened to that cute pup?

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Mar

I’m still a Friend of Azeroth

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

These days I’m getting my World of Warcraft (WoW) fix (and to some extent my magick fix since I always play a caster) via the Xbox and the never-ending game of Skyrim. I haven’t played WoW seriously in over a year but sometimes I miss it.

Recently in Skyrim, I’ve acquired the Daedric dog, Barbas. Barbas is one bad-ass mutt. Last night we were clearing Wolf Skull Cave and between him and my Dremora summons, they fairly leveled the place. More importantly, he maintained aggro (gamer jargon for the ability to keep all the bad guys focused on fighting them) allowing me to pummel the assorted necromancers and draugers with lightning and fire bolts.

It’s this ability of Barbas’ that made me reminisce about ‘tanks’ in WoW (players whose sole job is to aggro everything onto them.) Using him almost feels like cheating. I’ve gotten so used to getting my arse handed to me that anything less feels like using cheat codes. I know, you can’t use cheat codes on the Xbox, but you get my drift. However, this is exactly how game play proceeds in WoW: the tanks attempt to aggro all the mobs (bad guys) against themselves so the damage dealers are free to fire or melee with impunity (I love Warlocks in WoW—and hunters) while the healers try to keep the tank alive because if the tank dies everybody dies. Oh how I miss those inglorious dungeon wipes. Every day in Azeroth is a good day to die.

I guess at some point everyone leaves Azeroth–at least for a while–and moves on to other lands, on to other adventures, or like the Susan Pevensie character from the Narnia novels, returns to their ‘real’ life. But is Azeroth any less real than the ‘real’ world? Ten million players focusing their intentions on the events unfolding in Azeroth make for the creation of one powerful and enduring thought-form. The Kybalion reminds us that we are all manifestations of the Great Creative Force; we are all part of the universal dream of the gods so while WoW may be a construct of our own design, it is part of the greater universal construct unfolding from the infinite possibilities of the astral and therefore is just as “real” as the √(-1) which is an imaginary number yet is considered real. Imaginary numbers are often used to show the existence of overlapping domains or dimensions so while they are ‘imaginary’ they are also ‘real’ numbers much like our concepts of the mundane manifestation and the astral plane. How is that for a Shakespeare meets Pythagoras type of pun?

True, Azeroth is just the other side of the screen and as such is as near or far as the astral plane. Or perhaps the screen is like palantir (Tolkienese for scrying crystal balls) or more mundanely a window that looks out onto a different world, but, a world no less real than any other manifestation.

Although, in some sense, I have moved on and now travel different lands, unlike the then become self-absorbed Susan whom Peter Pevensie in the final Narnia novel declares “Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia” I remain a friend of Azeroth and no doubt someday my wonderings will again find me wandering its fair plains, mountains, and forests.

Tags: and Magick, Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca, Gaming, Magick, Metaphysics, witchcraft, World of Warcraft

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Mar

Reformatted Post about the Great Work

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

“… And so I dedicate you to the Great Work.”

The preceding phrase is often the ending used in magickal tool consecrations. But what is the Great Work?

Aleister Crowley defined the great work thusly:

“The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego.”

He explains further that the Great Work is different for everyone however no matter the path, the Great Work leads to understanding whereby the practitioner gains the understanding to become a spiritual being freed from constraints of a material existence. Or as the Kabbalists state, the term “The Great Work” is not a term to be found in the literature of traditional Kabbalah, but it is a term which has come to be associated with traditional Kabalistic ideas. Two key ideas underpinning the Great Work are:

1) The universe we live in is not as it should be. In some way it is “damaged”, and only a conscious and deliberate effort on the part of the created will restore it to its intended state. And that intended state is union with the creative force. In a way the story in Genesis where man is driven out of the Garden of Eden (hence separated from the Creator/God.) One could say that the Christian Bible (certainly Fundamentalists would) is a treatise on how to accomplish the great work (i.e. of reuniting oneself with God.)

2) We live in ignorance of our true abilities. We know not what we are or the great power that we are capable of.

According to the Kabbalists, The Great Work is the attempt to undo the damage, and it consists of two parts. The first part is the preservation of knowledge and techniques which enable individual human beings to awaken and recover the knowledge of their true nature. The second part is the deliberate efforts undertaken by these awakened individuals to restore the world to what it should have been.

There is nothing explicitly Kabbalistic about this idea of the Great Work – similar ideas have occurred at many times and places – but the idea that the creation is not what it should have been is one of the key elements of Kabbalistic speculation, and the belief that it is possible for individual human beings to help to repair the damage and restore the creation was and is one of the key motives underlying Kabbalistic practice.

Therefore, the Great Work according to Kabbalah is an act of transformation but an external (if we ignore the concept of interconnectedness) change outside of the practitioner. Of course as Wiccans we believe that we are all part of the one creative force hence any change made to the ‘external’ world affects the internal world of the witch. Some Kabbalists have made similar observations.

Thomas Berry in his book, “The Great Work: Our Way into the Future” builds upon the Kabbalistic thesis that the Great Work is the healing and restoration of Earth. That humankind will transcend itself and become a benefactor of rather than a detractor to planet Earth.

Healing the Earth is a wonderful idea. Becoming more than you can be is also attractive. However, as stated earlier, these are changes made to the external environment while not directly addressing the witch’s internal environment. Of course you could say that any change made to the outside world does in fact affect your internalized world or that change to personal attitudes and practices must come before external changes can be effected. Yet, I believe that this interpretation of the Great Work is predicated on what the alchemists of old believed to be the Great Work.

To the alchemists, the Great Work was not one of transformation but rather a work of transmutation. We are all familiar with the stories of alchemists of old who sought to change base metals (such as lead) into gold. Indeed, Henry Cornelius Agrippa claims to have succeeded following the recipe on the emerald tablet but only in producing gold for weight for weight. Meaning that from an once of gold used for seed, he could only produce another once of gold.

If one as skilled as Agrippa couldn’t produce a fortune in gold then of what use are the secrets written on the emerald tablet? Could the transmutation of base metals into gold have been a metaphor for an internal transmutation as described by Crowley in his definition of the Great Work?

Following is the Latin text (which is the version Agrippa would have had available to himself) engraved upon a sheet of green crystal:

1. Verum, sine mendatio, certum et verissimum:

2. Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius.

3. Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione.

4. Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna, portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo, nutrix eius terra est.

5. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.

6. Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram.

7. Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio.

8. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.

9. Sic habebis Gloriam totius mundi.

10. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas.

11. Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit.

12. Sic mundus creatus est.

13. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi.

14. Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.

Following are two different translations of the above Latin text:

1) Tis true without lying, certain & most true.

2) That wch is below is like that wch is above & that wch is above is like yt wch is below to do ye miracles of one only thing.

3) And as all things have been & arose from one by ye mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

4) The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,

5) the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nourse.

6) The father of all perfection in ye whole world is here.

7) Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.

7a) Seperate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile from the gross sweetly wth great indoustry.

It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven & again it desends to ye earth and receives ye force of things superior & inferior.

9) By this means you shall have ye glory of ye whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

10) Its force is above all force. ffor it vanquishes every subtile thing & penetrates every solid thing.

11a) So was ye world created.

12) From this are & do come admirable adaptaions whereof ye means (Or process) is here in this.

13) Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of ye philosophy of ye whole world.

14) That wch I have said of ye operation of ye Sun is accomplished & ended.

Here is another translation

2) What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is similar to that which is below to accomplish the wonders of the one thing.

3) As all things were produced by the mediation of one being, so all things were produced from this one by adaption.

4) Its father is the sun, its mother the moon.

6a) It is the cause of all perfection throughout the whole earth.

7) Its power is perfect if it is changed into earth.

7a) Separate the earth from the fire, the subtile from the gross, acting prudently and with judgement.

8 ) Ascend with the greatest sagacity from earth to heaven, and unite together the power of things inferior and superior;

9) thus you will possess the light of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly away from you.

10) This thing has more fortitude than fortitude itself, because it will overcome every subtile thing and penetrate every solid thing.

11a) By it the world was formed.

Finally, a third translation:

1) It is true without untruth, certain and most true:

2) that which is below is like that which is on high, and that which is on high is like that which is below; by these things are made the miracles of one thing.

3) And as all things are, and come from One, by the mediation of One, So all things are born from this unique thing by adaption.

4) The Sun is the father and the Moon the mother.

5) The wind carries it in its stomach. The earth is its nourisher and its receptacle.

6 The Father of all the Theleme of the universal world is here.

6a) Its force, or power, remains entire,

7) if it is converted into earth.

7a) You separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, gently with great industry.

It climbs from the earth and descends from the sky, and receives the force of things superior and things inferior.

9) You will have by this way, the glory of the world and all obscurity will flee from you.

10) It is the power strong with all power, for it will defeat every subtle thing and penetrate every solid thing

11a) In this way the world was created.

12) From it are born wonderful adaptations, of which the way here is given.

13) That is why I have been called Hermes Tristmegistus, having the three parts of the universal philosophy.

14) This, that I have called the solar Work, is complete.

As one can see, all the translations are similar and have common themes. Below, I have included an alchemist’s interpretation of the Emerald Tablet.

That is to say, the truth of this our Art is confirmed by Experience, we know it to be truth by very matter of Fact; and notwithstanding all the Sophisms, and Logomachia of the Schools, there is no Argument can stand against Experience. The Waters of the Cataracts of Heaven above, are like to the Waters below, when the great Fountain of the deep is broken up; and the Waters below, are like to the Waters above. There are two parts in our Stone, a Superior part that ascends up, and an Inferior part which remains beneath; and yet these two parts agree in One. The inferior Part or Earth, is called the Body or Ferment. The superior part or Spirit, is called the Soul or Life, which quickens the Stone, and raises it up: The first must be dissolved, and made Water, like the Superior; and the Superior must be coagulated, and made Earth, like the Lower, that they may be united, and become the Miracle of the one Thing; then it will be evidently demonstrated, that whatsoever is below, is like that which is above, and contrarywise. Nor do they differ one from another but by Accident, as Corruptible and Incorruptible, Pure and Impure, Heavy and Light, Clear and Opake, Agent and Patient, Masculine and Feminine, etc. all which are Accidents, not Substances. Heaven or that which is above is Incorruptible, where the pure Elements are made, from a Corruptible matter elevated or lifted up, in the Concavity of which Firmament, the Body or Substance of Luna is Graduated. Hence it is apparent that this our Medicine must resemble Heaven itself, in Activity, Penetrativeness, and Incorruptibility; nor must it work as the Elements in Natural Bodies, which are as it were Dead, and destitute of any Power or Action.

II. Also, as all things were made from One, by the help of One: So all things are made from One thing by Conjunction.

That is, as all things were made or come from One Confused Chaos, by the help of One Omnipotent or Almighty God; so our Stone is born or brought fourth out of one Confused Mass, by the help of one particular Matter or Thing, which contains in it four Elements, Created by the determination of God. Here Hermes points forth the Universal Medicine in imitation of the Worlds Creation; which is performed by one Universal Spirit, and so by a Supernatural Experiment, points forth this Our Natural Work. It is the Opinion of many Philosophers that the Spirit of Natural things, or the Spirit of Nature is the Medium between the Soul and the Body, as being that which makes the absolute and firm Conjunction. But the opinion of some is though the Spirit is said to be the more subtile Subsistance; yet it can be no more separated from the Soul, than Light from the Sun.

III. The Father thereof is the Sun, and the Mother thereof is the Moon: the Wind carries it in its Belly, and the Nurse thereof is the Earth.

As living Creatures beget their Like or Kind, so Gold generates Gold by the Virtue of Our Stone: The Sun is its Father, that is, Our Philosophical or Living Gold. And as in every natural Generation, there must be a fit and convenient receptacle, with a certain likeness of kind to the Father; so likewise in this Our Artificial Generation, it is requisite that the Sun, or our Living Gold, should have a fit and agreeable Receptacle or Womb, for its Seed or Tincture; and this Our Philosophical or Living Silver, i.e. Mercury, which is the Mother thereof. What Sol and Luna are in the Heavens above, the same are Our Gold and Silver in Our Heavens below. The Universal Masculine Seed is the Sulphur of Nature, the first and most Potent cause of all Generation: And if Sol does Live, it is necessary, as Paracelsus saith, to live in some things, viz. in its own Radical Humidity, and most pure and simple Air, which contemperates the heat thereof by its Humidity. The Wind is the Air, and the Air is the Life, and the Life is the Soul, which quickens the whole Stone. And therefore the Wind, Air, Life and Soul must carry the Stone, viz. bring forth Our Magistery: which being brought forth, it must be nourished by its Nurse, which is the Earth; for The Earth (saith Hermes) is its Nurse. The Wind Carries it in its Belly; by which the Universal, Inferior, and Feminine Seed is dilated through the Air, and joyned to the Universal Superior and Masculine Seed; the Air or Mercury is the Womb wherein the two Seeds are conjoyned. The Air arises from Fire and Water, as the Heaven from Fire and Air. Under the Appellation of Fire, is comprehended the most pure substance of the Earth, ascending with Fire: and under the Name of Air the most pure Substance of Water; The Belly or Womb of Nature, is a most pure Breath or Matter, raised from all the inferior Elements, converted into a Volatility or Air, in which is conceived by the help of Luna, the Universal Seed of the Sun, specificated also by the other Lights or Stars. Hermes will have three Elements, two under the Names of Sol and Luna, the third under the Name of Ventus, the Wind. The Earth is the Nurse of this Birth of the Air, by whose Breasts it is Nourished, whence it Sucks the Mercurial Milk, (that is the more thick substance of the Inferior Water remaining yet in the Earth) by which it grows and increases to its Substance and Perfection, as a Child to the Stature and Strength of a Man.

IV. This is the Mother or Fountain of all Perfection, and its Power is Perfect and Intire, if it be changed into Earth.

As if he should say, this Arcanum which I here shew you is the Original and Fountain of all Arcanums and Mysteries, the secret Treasure of the whole World. But it is not brought to its Perfection till it is changed into Earth; then indeed is its Power perfect and intire: that is, if the Soul of the Stone (of which we have spoken before and which may be called the Wind or Air, which is also the Life, Virtue, Power and Spirit) be converted into Earth, viz. a fixt Substance or Matter; so that the whole Air, Spirit, Life and Soul of the Stone may be conjoyned to its Earth, which is its Nurse, and be all turned into Ferment. As in making of Bread, a little Leaven Ferments and Transmutes, a great deal of Meal or Paste: so also must Our Stone be Fermented, that it may become Ferment to the Eternal Multiplication thereof. That which the Wind does bear in its Belly must be converted into Earth, then is the Work completed; which is done by a long and Unwearied Decoction (not by evaporating, but retaining the Spirits) till it becomes inspissated, and in success of time is dryed to a Pouder or Earth. But the time will be long and tedious, therefore you must attend it with Patience, according to the Matter you work upon. Some things are remote from Perfection, other things more remote, and others most remote, whilst other things are near to Perfection, others neerer, and some things nearest of all. He that knows not these things before he begins his Work, may afterwards deplore his Error, with very great loss.

V. Separate the Earth from the Fire, and the Subtile and Thin from the Gross and Thick; but prudently with long Sufferance, Gentleness and Patience, and Wisdom, and Judgement.

Hitherto he has only discoursed the Theory, he now comes to shew you the Practical Part, shewing first the Purification of the Matter of the Stone. You must do it gently, by little and little, not Violently, but Prudently and Wisely, after a Philosophick manner: By Separating he means Dissolving: for Dissolution is the Separation of parts: Some will have it, that by the Earth here, he means the Lees or Dreggs of the matter, which is to be Separated from the Fire, the Air, and the Water, and the whole Substance of the Stone, that it may become Pure, and free from any Putrefaction or Defiled Matter: and this the Spagyrick Philosophers say is the first Operation or Preparation of the Matter or Parts of their Stone. But some understand hereby, the Separation of the four Elements, and this doubtless is the thing if it be spoken of a Spagyric, and not Vulgar Separation. Under the Appellation of Fire, the two other are understood, viz. Air and Water; for the Fire cannot want or subsist without Air, nor is the Air without Water; for Air is made of Water by the Mediation of the Fire, by which it is forced to Ascend upwards. But as to the Earth, it partly Ascends and is made Volatile, and partly remains fixed below. By separating the Earth from the Fire, some will have it, that he would have the Thick to be separated from the Thin, not the Thin from the Thick, because the Earth is thicker than the Fire. But by separating the subtil from the gross, is to be understood, the subtilizing of the Thick Matter, and Spagyrically to reduce that subtilized Matter into Aether or Spiritual Air. But this most prudently be done which gentleness, long Suffering, Patience, etc. that is according to the Laws of Art, but gently, even with a gentle Heat according to Natural Generation. The Instrument of Nature, and of the Spagyrists Fire, without which the Work cannot be done. This Fire is either Internal or External. The Internal is proper to the substance or Matter, and Naturally dwells within it, which you must prudently stir up and Excite. The External is either Violent, or Temperated in four several Degrees. The Violent is that with which some things are Calcined, other Sublimed, others (as Metalls) Liquefied or Melted. The Temperate in its several Degrees, imitate or resemble Nature, and are used for Putrefaction, Digestion, and Congelation, or Circulatorily to dissolve and fix. But Various are these kinds of Fire which are to be applied according as the Subject requires, and the prudence of the Artist directs, being continual without interruption from beginning to the End.

VI. It Ascends from the Earth up to Heaven, abd descends again from the Heaven to the Earth, and receives the Powers and Efficacy of the Superiors and Inferiors.

Here it to be observed that though Our Stone be divided in the first Operation into four Parts, which are the four Elements, yet as we have already said there is but two principal Parts of it, One which Ascends upwards and is Volatile, and another which remains below, and is fixed, which is called Earth, and ferment which Nourishes and Ferments the whole Stone. But of the unfixed or Volatile part we must have a great quantity, that I may Nourish the purified Matter of the Stone, till it be made to Ascend, is sublimed, and subtilized: then being thus subtilized and made Volatile, it must be incerated with the Oyl, extracted from it in the first Operation, which is called the Water of the Stone, and so often Boyled by Sublimation, till by Virtue of the Fermentation of the Earth exalted with it; the whole Stone does again descend, from the Heaven to the Earth, and remains fixed and flowing; that is, that the Corporeal be made Spiritual by Sublimation, and the Spiritual be made Corporeal by Descension: Here is a Circulatory Distillation admirably declared, and the Construction of a Spagyric Vessel, to the Similitude of Nature. It Ascends from the Earth, i.e. from the inferiour part of the vessel; to Heaven, i.e. the superiour part: The matter generated of Sol, and Luna ascends, i.e. the thick Terrean substance thereof is converted or resolved, into Heaven, viz. into a subtile substance like to Heaven: he demonstrates the Spagyrick solution, by what Instrument and Artifice it is done; then he teaches the Fixation, It Descends again to the Earth; as if he should say, after its substance is dissolved and made to Ascend under the Obedience of the Internal Celestial Virtues or Powers, standing there the determined time of Its Maturity, it returns again, or descends, that is to say, the Spirit is made Corporeal, which was before a Body or made from a Body, Spiritual, which is nothing but the Philosophick Riddle. Fac Fixum Volatile, & rursus Volatile fixum, & totum habebis Magisterium. And by this means it will obtain the Virtues of the Superior and Inferiour Powers, i.e. the Heavenly and Volatile Power, to penetrate, grow, increase or multiply: and the Earthly Power to give Substance, Corporeity, and Fixity.

VII. In this Work, you acquire to your self the Wealth and Glory of the whole World: Drive therefore from you all Cloudiness or Obscurity, Darkness and Blindness.

Possessing this Stone thus perfected, you possess all the Wealth and Treasures of the World; so that you may live free from Care and Trouble, from Discontent and Fears, from every Sickness and Disease: It is a Remedy for all Diseases both of Body and Mind: It strikes at the root of Infirmities; and destroyes that which would destroy or undermine the Health and Prosperity of the Humane Body. This Stone, this Wealth, this Treasure, though it be but like to a Grain of Mustard-seed, yet it grows to be the greatest of all Trees, in whose Branches the Birds of the Air make their Nests, and under whose shadow the Beasts of the Field dwell.

There is no Comparison of the Powers of other Natural things, to the Power of the Stone, for it is able to overcome and master all other Powers: it can convert common Quick Silver into a Congealed substance, and Transmute it into fine Gold or Silver: and it can Penetrate and Peirce through all other hard solid or compact Bodies, and strike them with a never fading Tincture, so firm and fixt, which the Power and Strength of the Strongest and most Violent Fire can never conquer or overcome. This is as much as if he should say, it is the compleat Virtue of total Nature, the Power, Efficacy and Potency of all things, and even (as it were) above Nature, so that it may not improperly be said to be a Work Metaphysical, for that it seems to act above or beyond Nature. It overcomes or conquers all things, that is, it makes all subtil and thin things (as Quicksilver) thick and coagulates them: and on the contrary it Penetrates all thick and solid things, i.e. It makes every hard Metal whether Perfect or Imperfect (as Sol, Luna, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus) subtile and thin, and brings them to the greatest Perfection, expelling all the Malign and Dark Spirits possessing them and giving to them Tincture and Fixity, by its Subility and Spirituality.

The Creation of the World he brings as a Prior Example, or Exemplification of the Work of Our Philosophick Stone, for as the World was Created, so is Our Stone composed. As in the beginning the whole World and all that is therein was a Choas or confused Mass, but afterwards by the Virtue Word, Power, or Spirit of the Great Creator, a Separation was made, the Elements were divided and rectified, and the Universal World was produced and brought forth Beautiful and Perfect in Number, Weight and Measure. So also in this our work, we separate the Elements, which we divide and rectifie by many sublimations, depressions, and percipitations, whereby the perpetual and wonderful conjunction is made, which is the product of the prime matter, and the root of the Golden Kingdom, in which power is produced into Act.

Hermes Trismegistus signifies the Thrice greatest Hermes, for that he had the Knowledge of the three Principals of the Universe, viz. Salt, Sulphur and Mercury, answering to the Body, Soul, and Spirit; Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal, of which he had the true Knowledge, he knew the way how to separate them, and conjoyn them again, to make the fixt Volatile and the Volatile fixt, to take away Tinctures, and restore better again, all which are contained in Our Philosophick Mercury which is the Womb in which Our Philosophick (which is the true) Gold is Generated. It is said to be perfect, because I. It contains all the Principles. 2. From its never fading Color. 3. Its never perishing Body. It is resembled to a grain of Wheat, which unless it Dies, it brings forth no Fruit; but if it Die, and is Putrefied, passing through Death and Putrefaction or Dissolution, to Life and Heaven, there by perfecting its Nature, it is infinitely profitable. What he has delivered concerning this Matter, viz. of the three Colors, Black, White, and Red; of the three Principles, Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury; of the three Subsistences, Body, Soul, and Spirit; of the three Operations, Volatilization, Tincture, and Fixation; of the three States, Imperfection, Anihilation, and Perfection, he declared to be True and Compleat, and that the Stone thus Generated (existing and being in one only thing, viz. the Philosophick Mercury) by a series of Natural Operations, is Perfect and Intire, wanting nothing.

Regarding the Mandala at the Beginning of the Article

The Azoth of the Philosophers is a meditation mandala showing each stage of the Great Work.

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Mar

A Few Notes about the Alchemical Great Work

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

The Great Work

By Duir Gwalchmai

“… And so I dedicate you to the Great Work.“

The preceding phrase is often the ending used in magickal tool consecrations. But what is the Great Work?

Aleister Crowley defined the great work thusly:

"The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego."

He explains further that the Great Work is different for everyone however no matter the path, the Great Work leads to understanding whereby the practitioner gains the understanding to become a spiritual being freed from constraints of a material existence.  Or as the Kabbalists state, the term "The  Great Work" is not a term to  be  found  in  the literature of traditional Kabbalah,  but it is a term which  has come to be associated with traditional Kabalistic ideas. Two key ideas underpinning the Great Work are:

The universe we live in is not as it should be. In some way it is “damaged”, and only a conscious and deliberate effort on the part of the created will restore it to its intended state. And that intended state is union with the creative force. In a way the story in Genesis where man is driven out of the Garden of Eden (hence separated from the Creator/God.) One could say that the Christian Bible (certainly Fundamentalists would) is a treatise on how to accomplish the great work (i.e. of reuniting oneself with God.)

We live in ignorance of our true abilities. We know not what we are or the great power that we are capable of.

According to the Kabbalists, The Great Work is the attempt to undo the damage, and it consists of two parts. The first part is the preservation of knowledge and techniques which enable individual human beings to awaken and recover the knowledge of their true nature.  The second part is the deliberate efforts undertaken by these awakened individuals to restore the world to what it should have been.

There is nothing explicitly Kabbalistic about this idea of the Great Work - similar ideas have occurred at many times and places - but the idea that the creation is not what it should have been is one of the key elements of Kabbalistic speculation, and the belief that it is possible for individual human beings to help to repair the damage and restore the creation was and is one of the key motives underlying Kabbalistic practice.

Therefore, the Great Work according to Kabbalah is an act of transformation but an external (if we ignore the concept of interconnectedness) change outside of the practitioner. Of course as Wiccans we believe that we are all part of the one creative force hence any change made to the 'external' world affects the internal world of the witch. Some Kabbalists have made similar observations.

Thomas Berry in his book, "The Great Work: Our Way into the Future" builds upon the Kabbalistic thesis that the Great Work is the healing and restoration of Earth. That humankind will transcend itself and become a benefactor of rather than a detractor to planet Earth.

Healing the Earth is a wonderful idea. Becoming more than you can be is also attractive. However, as stated earlier, these are changes made to the external environment while not directly addressing the witch's internal environment. Of course you could say that any change made to the outside world does in fact affect your internalized world or that change to personal attitudes and practices must come before external changes can be effected. Yet, I believe that this interpretation of the Great Work is predicated on what the alchemists of old believed to be the Great Work.

To the alchemists, the Great Work was not one of transformation but rather a work of transmutation. We are all familiar with the stories of alchemists of old who sought to change base metals (such as lead) into gold. Indeed, Henry Cornelius Agrippa claims to have succeeded following the recipe on the emerald tablet but only in producing gold for weight for weight. Meaning that from an once of gold used for seed, he could only produce another once of gold.

If one as skilled as Agrippa couldn't produce a fortune in gold then of what use are the secrets written on the emerald tablet? Could the transmutation of base metals into gold have been a metaphor for an internal transmutation as described by Crowley in his definition of the Great Work?

Following is the Latin text (which is the version Agrippa would have had available to himself) engraved upon a sheet of green crystal:

Verum, sine mendatio, certum et verissimum:
Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius.
Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione.
Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna, portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo, nutrix eius terra est.
Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.
Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram.
Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio.
Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum.
Sic habebis Gloriam totius mundi.
Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas.
Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit.
Sic mundus creatus est.
Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi.
Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.

Following are two different translations of the above Latin text:

1) Tis true without lying, certain & most true.2) That wch is below is like that wch is above & that wch is above is like yt wch is below to do ye miracles of one only thing.3) And as all things have been & arose from one by ye mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.4) The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,5) the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nourse.6) The father of all perfection in ye whole world is here.7) Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.7a) Seperate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile from the gross sweetly wth great indoustry.  It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven & again it desends to ye earth and receives ye force of things superior & inferior.9) By this means you shall have ye glory of ye whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.10) Its force is above all force. ffor it vanquishes every subtile thing & penetrates every solid thing.11a) So was ye world created.12) From this are & do come admirable adaptaions whereof ye means (Or process) is here in this.13) Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of ye philosophy of ye whole world.14) That wch I have said of ye operation of ye Sun is accomplished & ended.

Here is another translation

2) What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is similar to that which is below to accomplish the wonders of the one thing.3) As all things were produced by the mediation of one being, so all things were produced from this one by adaption.4) Its father is the sun, its mother the moon.6a) It is the cause of all perfection throughout the whole earth.7) Its power is perfect if it is changed into earth.7a) Separate the earth from the fire, the subtile from the gross, acting prudently and with judgement.8 ) Ascend with the greatest sagacity from earth to heaven, and unite together the power of things inferior and superior;9) thus you will possess the light of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly away from you.10) This thing has more fortitude than fortitude itself, because it will overcome every subtile thing and penetrate every solid thing.11a) By it the world was formed.

Finally, a third translation:

1) It is true without untruth, certain and most true:2) that which is below is like that which is on high, and that which is on high is like that which is below; by these things are made the miracles of one thing.3) And as all things are, and come from One, by the mediation of One, So all things are born from this unique thing by adaption.4) The Sun is the father and the Moon the mother.5) The wind carries it in its stomach. The earth is its nourisher and its receptacle.6 The Father of all the Theleme of the universal world is here.6a) Its force, or power, remains entire,7) if it is converted into earth.7a) You separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, gently with great industry.  It climbs from the earth and descends from the sky, and receives the force of things superior and things inferior.9) You will have by this way, the glory of the world and all obscurity will flee from you.10) It is the power strong with all power, for it will defeat every subtle thing and penetrate every solid thing11a) In this way the world was created.12) From it are born wonderful adaptations, of which the way here is given.13) That is why I have been called Hermes Tristmegistus, having the three parts of the universal philosophy.14) This, that I have called the solar Work, is complete.

As one can see, all the translations are similar and have common themes. Below, I have included an alchemist's interpretation of the Emerald Tablet.

“I. This is true, and far distant from a Lie; whatever is below, is like that which is above; and that which is above, is like that which is below: By this are acquired and perfected the Miracles of the One Thing.

That is to say, the truth of this our Art is confirmed by Experience, we know it to be truth by very matter of Fact; and notwithstanding all the Sophisms, and Logomachia of the Schools, there is no Argument can stand against Experience. The Waters of the Cataracts of Heaven above, are like to the Waters below, when the great Fountain of the deep is broken up; and the Waters below, are like to the Waters above. There are two parts in our Stone, a Superior part that ascends up, and an Inferior part which remains beneath; and yet these two parts agree in One. The inferior Part or Earth, is called the Body or Ferment. The superior part or Spirit, is called the Soul or Life, which quickens the Stone, and raises it up: The first must be dissolved, and made Water, like the Superior; and the Superior must be coagulated, and made Earth, like the Lower, that they may be united, and become the Miracle of the one Thing; then it will be evidently demonstrated, that whatsoever is below, is like that which is above, and contrarywise. Nor do they differ one from another but by Accident, as Corruptible and Incorruptible, Pure and Impure, Heavy and Light, Clear and Opake, Agent and Patient, Masculine and Feminine, etc. all which are Accidents, not Substances. Heaven or that which is above is Incorruptible, where the pure Elements are made, from a Corruptible matter elevated or lifted up, in the Concavity of which Firmament, the Body or Substance of Luna is Graduated. Hence it is apparent that this our Medicine must resemble Heaven itself, in Activity, Penetrativeness, and Incorruptibility; nor must it work as the Elements in Natural Bodies, which are as it were Dead, and destitute of any Power or Action.

II. Also, as all things were made from One, by the help of One: So all things are made from One thing by Conjunction.

That is, as all things were made or come from One Confused Chaos, by the help of One Omnipotent or Almighty God; so our Stone is born or brought fourth out of one Confused Mass, by the help of one particular Matter or Thing, which contains in it four Elements, Created by the determination of God. Here Hermes points forth the Universal Medicine in imitation of the Worlds Creation; which is performed by one Universal Spirit, and so by a Supernatural Experiment, points forth this Our Natural Work. It is the Opinion of many Philosophers that the Spirit of Natural things, or the Spirit of Nature is the Medium between the Soul and the Body, as being that which makes the absolute and firm Conjunction. But the opinion of some is though the Spirit is said to be the more subtile Subsistance; yet it can be no more separated from the Soul, than Light from the Sun.

III. The Father thereof is the Sun, and the Mother thereof is the Moon: the Wind carries it in its Belly, and the Nurse thereof is the Earth.

As living Creatures beget their Like or Kind, so Gold generates Gold by the Virtue of Our Stone: The Sun is its Father, that is, Our Philosophical or Living Gold. And as in every natural Generation, there must be a fit and convenient receptacle, with a certain likeness of kind to the Father; so likewise in this Our Artificial Generation, it is requisite that the Sun, or our Living Gold, should have a fit and agreeable Receptacle or Womb, for its Seed or Tincture; and this Our Philosophical or Living Silver, i.e. Mercury, which is the Mother thereof. What Sol and Luna are in the Heavens above, the same are Our Gold and Silver in Our Heavens below. The Universal Masculine Seed is the Sulphur of Nature, the first and most Potent cause of all Generation: And if Sol does Live, it is necessary, as Paracelsus saith, to live in some things, viz. in its own Radical Humidity, and most pure and simple Air, which contemperates the heat thereof by its Humidity. The Wind is the Air, and the Air is the Life, and the Life is the Soul, which quickens the whole Stone. And therefore the Wind, Air, Life and Soul must carry the Stone, viz. bring forth Our Magistery: which being brought forth, it must be nourished by its Nurse, which is the Earth; for The Earth (saith Hermes) is its Nurse. The Wind Carries it in its Belly; by which the Universal, Inferior, and Feminine Seed is dilated through the Air, and joyned to the Universal Superior and Masculine Seed; the Air or Mercury is the Womb wherein the two Seeds are conjoyned. The Air arises from Fire and Water, as the Heaven from Fire and Air. Under the Appellation of Fire, is comprehended the most pure substance of the Earth, ascending with Fire: and under the Name of Air the most pure Substance of Water; The Belly or Womb of Nature, is a most pure Breath or Matter, raised from all the inferior Elements, converted into a Volatility or Air, in which is conceived by the help of Luna, the Universal Seed of the Sun, specificated also by the other Lights or Stars. Hermes will have three Elements, two under the Names of Sol and Luna, the third under the Name of Ventus, the Wind. The Earth is the Nurse of this Birth of the Air, by whose Breasts it is Nourished, whence it Sucks the Mercurial Milk, (that is the more thick substance of the Inferior Water remaining yet in the Earth) by which it grows and increases to its Substance and Perfection, as a Child to the Stature and Strength of a Man.

IV. This is the Mother or Fountain of all Perfection, and its Power is Perfect and Intire, if it be changed into Earth.

As if he should say, this Arcanum which I here shew you is the Original and Fountain of all Arcanums and Mysteries, the secret Treasure of the whole World. But it is not brought to its Perfection till it is changed into Earth; then indeed is its Power perfect and intire: that is, if the Soul of the Stone (of which we have spoken before and which may be called the Wind or Air, which is also the Life, Virtue, Power and Spirit) be converted into Earth, viz. a fixt Substance or Matter; so that the whole Air, Spirit, Life and Soul of the Stone may be conjoyned to its Earth, which is its Nurse, and be all turned into Ferment. As in making of Bread, a little Leaven Ferments and Transmutes, a great deal of Meal or Paste: so also must Our Stone be Fermented, that it may become Ferment to the Eternal Multiplication thereof. That which the Wind does bear in its Belly must be converted into Earth, then is the Work completed; which is done by a long and Unwearied Decoction (not by evaporating, but retaining the Spirits) till it becomes inspissated, and in success of time is dryed to a Pouder or Earth. But the time will be long and tedious, therefore you must attend it with Patience, according to the Matter you work upon. Some things are remote from Perfection, other things more remote, and others most remote, whilst other things are near to Perfection, others neerer, and some things nearest of all. He that knows not these things before he begins his Work, may afterwards deplore his Error, with very great loss.

V. Separate the Earth from the Fire, and the Subtile and Thin from the Gross and Thick; but prudently with long Sufferance, Gentleness and Patience, and Wisdom, and Judgement.

Hitherto he has only discoursed the Theory, he now comes to shew you the Practical Part, shewing first the Purification of the Matter of the Stone. You must do it gently, by little and little, not Violently, but Prudently and Wisely, after a Philosophick manner: By Separating he means Dissolving: for Dissolution is the Separation of parts: Some will have it, that by the Earth here, he means the Lees or Dreggs of the matter, which is to be Separated from the Fire, the Air, and the Water, and the whole Substance of the Stone, that it may become Pure, and free from any Putrefaction or Defiled Matter: and this the Spagyrick Philosophers say is the first Operation or Preparation of the Matter or Parts of their Stone. But some understand hereby, the Separation of the four Elements, and this doubtless is the thing if it be spoken of a Spagyric, and not Vulgar Separation. Under the Appellation of Fire, the two other are understood, viz. Air and Water; for the Fire cannot want or subsist without Air, nor is the Air without Water; for Air is made of Water by the Mediation of the Fire, by which it is forced to Ascend upwards. But as to the Earth, it partly Ascends and is made Volatile, and partly remains fixed below. By separating the Earth from the Fire, some will have it, that he would have the Thick to be separated from the Thin, not the Thin from the Thick, because the Earth is thicker than the Fire. But by separating the subtil from the gross, is to be understood, the subtilizing of the Thick Matter, and Spagyrically to reduce that subtilized Matter into Aether or Spiritual Air. But this most prudently be done which gentleness, long Suffering, Patience, etc. that is according to the Laws of Art, but gently, even with a gentle Heat according to Natural Generation. The Instrument of Nature, and of the Spagyrists Fire, without which the Work cannot be done. This Fire is either Internal or External. The Internal is proper to the substance or Matter, and Naturally dwells within it, which you must prudently stir up and Excite. The External is either Violent, or Temperated in four several Degrees. The Violent is that with which some things are Calcined, other Sublimed, others (as Metalls) Liquefied or Melted. The Temperate in its several Degrees, imitate or resemble Nature, and are used for Putrefaction, Digestion, and Congelation, or Circulatorily to dissolve and fix. But Various are these kinds of Fire which are to be applied according as the Subject requires, and the prudence of the Artist directs, being continual without interruption from beginning to the End.

VI. It Ascends from the Earth up to Heaven, abd descends again from the Heaven to the Earth, and receives the Powers and Efficacy of the Superiors and Inferiors.

Here it to be observed that though Our Stone be divided in the first Operation into four Parts, which are the four Elements, yet as we have already said there is but two principal Parts of it, One which Ascends upwards and is Volatile, and another which remains below, and is fixed, which is called Earth, and ferment which Nourishes and Ferments the whole Stone. But of the unfixed or Volatile part we must have a great quantity, that I may Nourish the purified Matter of the Stone, till it be made to Ascend, is sublimed, and subtilized: then being thus subtilized and made Volatile, it must be incerated with the Oyl, extracted from it in the first Operation, which is called the Water of the Stone, and so often Boyled by Sublimation, till by Virtue of the Fermentation of the Earth exalted with it; the whole Stone does again descend, from the Heaven to the Earth, and remains fixed and flowing; that is, that the Corporeal be made Spiritual by Sublimation, and the Spiritual be made Corporeal by Descension: Here is a Circulatory Distillation admirably declared, and the Construction of a Spagyric Vessel, to the Similitude of Nature. It Ascends from the Earth, i.e. from the inferiour part of the vessel; to Heaven, i.e. the superiour part: The matter generated of Sol, and Luna ascends, i.e. the thick Terrean substance thereof is converted or resolved, into Heaven, viz. into a subtile substance like to Heaven: he demonstrates the Spagyrick solution, by what Instrument and Artifice it is done; then he teaches the Fixation, It Descends again to the Earth; as if he should say, after its substance is dissolved and made to Ascend under the Obedience of the Internal Celestial Virtues or Powers, standing there the determined time of Its Maturity, it returns again, or descends, that is to say, the Spirit is made Corporeal, which was before a Body or made from a Body, Spiritual, which is nothing but the Philosophick Riddle. Fac Fixum Volatile, & rursus Volatile fixum, & totum habebis Magisterium. And by this means it will obtain the Virtues of the Superior and Inferiour Powers, i.e. the Heavenly and Volatile Power, to penetrate, grow, increase or multiply: and the Earthly Power to give Substance, Corporeity, and Fixity.

VII. In this Work, you acquire to your self the Wealth and Glory of the whole World: Drive therefore from you all Cloudiness or Obscurity, Darkness and Blindness.

Possessing this Stone thus perfected, you possess all the Wealth and Treasures of the World; so that you may live free from Care and Trouble, from Discontent and Fears, from every Sickness and Disease: It is a Remedy for all Diseases both of Body and Mind: It strikes at the root of Infirmities; and destroyes that which would destroy or undermine the Health and Prosperity of the Humane Body. This Stone, this Wealth, this Treasure, though it be but like to a Grain of Mustard-seed, yet it grows to be the greatest of all Trees, in whose Branches the Birds of the Air make their Nests, and under whose shadow the Beasts of the Field dwell.

VIII. For the Work increasing or going on in Strength, adds Strength to Strength, forestalling and over-topping all other Fortitudes and Powers; and is able to Subjugate and Conquer all things, whether they be thin and Subtil, or thick and Solid Bodies.

There is no Comparison of the Powers of other Natural things, to the Power of the Stone, for it is able to overcome and master all other Powers: it can convert common Quick Silver into a Congealed substance, and Transmute it into fine Gold or Silver: and it can Penetrate and Peirce through all other hard solid or compact Bodies, and strike them with a never fading Tincture, so firm and fixt, which the Power and Strength of the Strongest and most Violent Fire can never conquer or overcome. This is as much as if he should say, it is the compleat Virtue of total Nature, the Power, Efficacy and Potency of all things, and even (as it were) above Nature, so that it may not improperly be said to be a Work Metaphysical, for that it seems to act above or beyond Nature. It overcomes or conquers all things, that is, it makes all subtil and thin things (as Quicksilver) thick and coagulates them: and on the contrary it Penetrates all thick and solid things, i.e. It makes every hard Metal whether Perfect or Imperfect (as Sol, Luna, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus) subtile and thin, and brings them to the greatest Perfection, expelling all the Malign and Dark Spirits possessing them and giving to them Tincture and Fixity, by its Subility and Spirituality.

IX. In this manner was the World made; and hence are all the wonderful Conjunctions or Joynings together of the Matter and Parts thereof, and the Marvellous Effects, when in this way it is done, by which these Wonders are effected.

The Creation of the World he brings as a Prior Example, or Exemplification of the Work of Our Philosophick Stone, for as the World was Created, so is Our Stone composed. As in the beginning the whole World and all that is therein was a Chaos or confused Mass, but afterwards by the Virtue Word, Power, or Spirit of the Great Creator, a Separation was made, the Elements were divided and rectified, and the Universal World was produced and brought forth Beautiful and Perfect in Number, Weight and Measure. So also in this our work, we separate the Elements, which we divide and rectifie by many sublimations, depressions, and percipitations, whereby the perpetual and wonderful conjunction is made, which is the product of the prime matter, and the root of the Golden Kingdom, in which power is produced into Act.

X. And for this Cause I am called Hermes Trismegistus, for that I have the knowledge or understanding of the Philosophy of the three principles of the Universe. My Doctrine or Discourse, which I have here delivered concerning this solar Work, is compleat and perfect.

Hermes Trismegistus signifies the Thrice greatest Hermes, for that he had the Knowledge of the three Principals of the Universe, viz. Salt, Sulphur and Mercury, answering to the Body, Soul, and Spirit; Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal, of which he had the true Knowledge, he knew the way how to separate them, and conjoyn them again, to make the fixt Volatile and the Volatile fixt, to take away Tinctures, and restore better again, all which are contained in Our Philosophick Mercury which is the Womb in which Our Philosophick (which is the true) Gold is Generated. It is said to be perfect, because I. It contains all the Principles. 2. From its never fading Color. 3. Its never perishing Body. It is resembled to a grain of Wheat, which unless it Dies, it brings forth no Fruit; but if it Die, and is Putrefied, passing through Death and Putrefaction or Dissolution, to Life and Heaven, there by perfecting its Nature, it is infinitely profitable. What he has delivered concerning this Matter, viz. of the three Colors, Black, White, and Red; of the three Principles, Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury; of the three Subsistences, Body, Soul, and Spirit; of the three Operations, Volatilization, Tincture, and Fixation; of the three States, Imperfection, Anihilation, and Perfection, he declared to be True and Compleat, and that the Stone thus Generated (existing and being in one only thing, viz. the Philosophick Mercury) by a series of Natural Operations, is Perfect and Intire, wanting nothing.

Regarding the Mandala at the Beginning of the Article

The Azoth of the Philosophers is a meditation mandala showing each stage of the Great Work.

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Feb

Oimelc Working

Posted by: Scrivener in Circle of the Dark Moon Coven and School of Wicca Wytchecraft and Magick

A bit belatedly I’m posting the working from our Imbolc Ritual for 2012

HP: The young Sun King now begins to feel the first stirring of

desire for the Lady. The Goddess patiently awaits her future

lover. The Rites of Spring are near, and the year is in its

waxing phase. The Sun’s presence is ever‐more increasing and the

darkness runs and hides.

HP: From now to Beltane, is the pathway less dark. Thus, shall

the journey be made through to Beltane, renewed in strength and

happy in love.

HPS: (The High Priestess now turns slowly, addressing those assembled.

As she speaks, the Maiden walks slowly into view down the

processional towards the Circle, until she stands at the Northern

Gateway.)

HPS: Long Winter is now passing away and the buds will soon swell

on the Apple tree bough. The Earth gladly receives the plow in

preparation for the celebration of life. For the Queen and the

King will begin to wear the garden’s green and will speak in a

single voice!

HP: (Acknowledges the physical presence of the Maiden)

HP: Behold! Brighid has come! Brighid is welcome!

(The Maiden enters the Circle and lays the Cross on a mat

situated just South of the Altar)

Maiden: Greetings to you, not only from myself, but from the Mother

and the Crone as well. All seasons of the Earth are important

and must have their course, but now, I weary of Winter, and I

long for the greenness of Spring, and all that it encompasses. I

strongly desire the companionship of my Lover‐to be!

(The Maiden searches the Circle of people and draws him out. She kneels before him and invokes the God Lugh:)

Maiden: Lord of Death, Resurrection, Life, and the Giver of Life!

Lord who is within us, whose name is Mystery of Mysteries!

Descend we pray thee, upon thy servant and Priest!

HP/Lugh: (moves over to the Altar, picks up the Phallic Wand, and places it on Brighid’s Bed (the mat). The Maiden addresses the God:)

HP: I grow weary of the darkness. Let’s join to hurry Winter along its way so we can enjoy the pleasures that await us!

(HP/Lugh starts the Balefire in the South, and while doing this, the Maiden sweeps the Circle three times while everyone chants)

Coveners: Return, return, return, return

The earth, the water, the fire, and the air.

HP: The Key to unlocking Winter’s hold is to erase its memories!

(The HP/Lugh now holds up a sprig of evergreen and hands it to the Maiden Goddess. She tosses it into the Balefire. She then picks up a basket full of everyone’s desires and wishes for the coming season, and says:)

HPS/Maiden: Behold! In my hands I carry Hopes and Wishes for the coming

seasons. I place them in this fire and as quickly as the

memories of Winter fade, let the Hopes and Wishes just as quickly

take root!

(The Maiden tosses them into the Balefire, and HP now says:)

HP: My dear Lady and Lover‐to‐be, do us great honor by gazing

into the Crystal and give your people words they can hold as

their own!

HPS/Maiden: (Brighid picks up the Crystal Ball and holds it between her

hands. She gazes into it momentarily before saying:)

HPS/Maiden: All the gods are one God, and the goddesses, one Goddess,

and there is but one Initiator. And to every man, his own Truth,

and the God within.

HP: Come! Let’s feast and make merry on this great occasion!

HP: Now that we all have feasted and made merry, come with me

now, our bed of Love awaits us!

HPS/Maiden: (Protesting lightly, responds:)

HPS/Maiden: Oh! How I’ve longed for you through the Dark days of

Winter! But My Love, though our bed is ready, we still must wait

a short while. Our time of Union is not yet upon us, but the

Rites of Spring, and of Beltane, are not far off!

(The HP/Lugh looks slightly disappointed, but smiles lovingly at her. She slowly leaves exits the Circle. He follows her, not wanting her to leave, but stops at the Circle’s edge. She turns and says to him:)

HPS/Maiden: My Heart is with you, and Destiny will bring us back

together soon! As the Cup is to the Knife, so am I to you!

(She now disappears out of sight)

HP: Even though the Maiden has departed, her presence continues

to increase! Light chases away the Darkness, and soon, the

Maiden shall reign Supreme! The Winter grows short, and the

leaves shall return to the trees! New Life shall spring forth,

and New Love along with it! The Wheel turns, and the Young Lord

and his Lady shall meet to consummate their Love. So ends this

prelude to Spring! May the coming season bring you much joy and

happiness!

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Full Awakening Moon Esbat Ritual

Witchcraft & Christianity

Me with the pack on our morning walk/run.

Loki — Today

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I’m still a Friend of Azeroth

Reformatted Post about the Great Work

A Few Notes about the Alchemical Great Work

Oimelc Working

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