My Time With Earth
For the past few weeks, I’ve been working in the landscaping business. So far, it’s most involved the manipulation of earth. Break it. Move it. Place it. Form it. By doing this, I’ve come to know earth energy in a way that has for years elluded me.
To clarify, earth energy has always been difficult for me to tap. Since I started dabbling with Wicca-ish stuff, people have been telling me to use earth energy or else I would drain my own reserves. I would inevitably try, fail and do exactly that. The “putting down roots” just never yielded what everyone said it should. It was a great cleanser, but little else.
So over the past few weeks I’ve been able to completely immerse myself in the energy. What have I learned?
Firstly, earth demands strength. Earth is the epitome of the immovable force. If you are not strong enough to move it, the conversation is over. For all of its immensely deep reserves, it’ll make you work long and hard for it.
Secondly, the deeper you go into it, the deeper it gets into you. A huge influx of deep and raw earth energy can have a very real effect on your body. You become drained unless you’re constantly connecting to it. Your body becomes slower and stiffer. In a way, you become it.
Ultimately, I feel I’ve learned enough about earth energy to at least realize that I won’t be using it in the Wicca 101 way. That may sound like a defeat but it’s far from it. Now that I have a better handle on earth, I can refocus on drawing from other energy sources as instinctively as others draw from earth. I have a much better flow with fire and air these days.
There is more learning to come, of course. I’m just happy I’ve finally “broken ground”.
Warriors in Popular Culture
I took my pagan/warrior name from Dungeons and Dragons (Bahamut, The Platinum Dragon, Lord of Kindly Dragons, lesser deity in the 3rd edition pantheon) while most others use poetic words and aincient deities. I didn’t grow up in those civilizations. I grew up in a world of comicbooks, videogames and cartoons. I feel that choosing a name from that culture is far more true to who I am than the alternative.
I was asked in a recent Skype conference call to make note of characters from those mediums that molded me and which best exemplify what it means to be a warrior. I hope in doing so, I can point you in the direction of not only good stories, but icons to aspire to.
Spider-Man – It would be hard to not begin with Spidey. So many people are familiar with him and his exploits, but what really sets his apart as a mindful warrior is the phrase, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” that his late Uncle Ben imparted to him. A phrase that continually guides his actions. Being a mindful warrior and magikal operator, we understand that we have a power that few truly cultivate, but in doing so, our responsibilty to ourselves and the universe in which we live only grows in tandem. As warriors, we must fully embrace that responsibility.
Naruto – A Japanese manga/anime centered around a young ninja with an extraordinary gift and an extraordinary curse. Following Naruto’s story, one can understand what it means to cultivate a sense of one’s self and one’s path by embracing challenges, not just hardening one’s resolve to the point of ignorance. Naruto does things his way because the ways everyone else use never work for him, and embracing that uniqueness ultimately gives him great power. Magik that works for one person may not work for others. A warrior must always be learning and improving, while never losing sight of who one is at the very core of one’s self. All else is transient, and one’s path must be carved through challanges.
Bleach – a quinisential shounen (young man) story. Again of a person with a gift and a curse. Shounen stories constantly use the mechanic of rising to a challenge through a quest, usually seeking power and knowledge. Bleach is a highly-stylized and expertly-told epic tale for the modern age.
Commander Sheperd – The main character to the science fiction action role-playing game Mass Effect. Sheperd (who can be male or female depending on the choice of the player) is what amounts to a galactic secret agent with a mandate to safeguard all life from the most sinister and extreme of threats. Two things to note. First, Sheperd spends much time collecting and cultivating allies to help him. A warrior must cultivate strong and skilled allies. The second is that how Shepers goes about solving problems can be done either as a Paragon (talk the suicide bomber down) or Renegade (call for a sniper to kill him before he detonates the bomb). Either way protects people, but there are moral implications as well as questions of effectiveness. A warrior must not falter in the face of even extreme adversity, for it is in those extreme situations that it is not just your well-being at stake. Also, which many paths to success may be before a warrior, it is important to know which is truly best, not just the quickest or easiest.
Gurren-Lagann – Do the impossible. See the invisible. Touch the untouchable. Break the unbreakable. That is how the Dai-Gurren Brigade rolls. A warrior can turn a 1% chance of success into a 100% chance. Defying logic and kicking reason to the curb isn’t something sifu Sun-Tsu would likely accept, but when dealing in matters of willpower and quantum potential, sometimes it is the only thing one must do. The image of the spiral is constant in Gurren-Lagann. Everything from DNA to galaxies, a spiral represently life, growth and evolution. A warrior must constantly be pushing one’s self onwards and upwards, overcoming adversity and challanges, becoming stronger and wiser for it.
Green Lantern – GL has become a very interesting read since the inclusion of the other Lantern Corps. While green symbolizes pure willpower without emotional slant, other corps use emotions as their power. Fear, hope, greed, rage, love and compassion. Each one has its own strengths and truth, as well as its own pitfalls. As a warrior, one must fully precieve their own emotional spectrum and wield each emotional as a finely-tuned instrument, never letting it run rampant but never shunning it either. Ignorance of this is why I have a problem with the Jedi/Sith dynamic from Star Wars, where the only two options are supress your humanity entirely or become corrupted by it. Neither is the warrior’s path.
Wolverine – The classic old warrior. James Howlett is constantly and willfully shaping his life into something he wants it to be. His past constantly catching up with him (a horrific and violent past he could not remember until recently) can be viewed as the burden of karmic debt from a past life. However, he never faulters, a strives not only to atone, but to become a better person through his atonement and growth. While sometimes we may feel as the universe is punishing us for something, we must also recognize that no karmic debt is impossible to persevere from. These are challenges meant to teach and impart strength and wisdom. A warrior understands this.
I hope by taking a look at these sources of my personal inspiration, you find some inspiration of your own.
Warrior’s Admonition
Your body is your temple,care for it!
Do not engage in useless activity.
Listen to the Goddess.
Help thyself.
You create your own reality.
The warrior’s path is creativity.
A serene path to enlightenment.
Know thyself.
Create your own reality.
Nurture the ability to perceive the truth in all matters.
Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye.
Learn from your mistakes.
Teach thyself.
Create your own reality.
Do not be negligent,even in trifling matters.
Do not Harbor sinister designs.
Harm none,do what thou wilt.
Master thyself.
Create your own reality.
My Astral Temple
While I have a fairly easy time entering other people’s temples, I didn’t seem to have my own. I had venues in my mind where I felt comfortable but they were rarely defined enough to be called a temple space. Therefore, for the past several weeks I have been constructing one for myself. This is what materialized.
A stone orb several kilometers in diameter, suspended in a azure cloudy sky without horizon, filled with churning nimbus white and black. The sun at perfect noon. This orb is covered on the top with a rainforest, vines hanging over the sides, some as thick as freeways. The bottom has a large hole in it, and water continuously pours out like a waterfall and falls “down” into infinity. The orb is held by four onyx chains extending to the cardinal points, each link as thick as a city block. The stone faces of the orb vary greatly in composition and climbing difficulty.
This orb is filled with chambers and pathways which all spiderweb from the central chamber and connect to the orb’s surface.
The main chamber is the size of a collossium and is spherical. It has a hole in the ceiling so sunlight may fill the chambers via reflective stone surfaces and a small lake on the bottom. This lake and the surface forest are filled with all manner of life, flora and fauna. At the center is a large suspended decagonal platform and connects to other smaller platforms in the space, which connect to the outside chambers. The central platform is where one can perform general tasks such as magik experiements and meditation, while the chambers are dedicated to specific tasks, thoughts, etc. The closer to the central platfrom it is, the more core the use is.
These platforms, chambers and pathways are always in a state of flux and are constantly changing, opening and closing as I evolve. In a way, the layout is not unlike the nervous system or brain, neurons connecting and changing. Some chambers I create, others I work to merely access. If two chambers are connected, they have a commonality, and if a chamber is an offshoot of another, it is an offshoot of whatever that first chamber contained.
This temple is built to be of equal use to me whether I am in my human or draconic form.
Charge of The Goddess – Original
Listen to the words of the Great Mother;
she who of old was also called among men
Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine,
Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Cybele, Arianrhod,
Isis, Dana, Bride
and by many other names:
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 the 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 things that are yet unknown.
And ye shall be free from slavery;
and as a sign that ye be really free,
ye 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 ideal;
strive ever towards it;
let naught 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 Grail 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 aught in sacrifice;
for behold,
I am the Mother of all living,
and my love is poured out upon the earth.
Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;
she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
and whose body encircles the Universe.
I who 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 rejoiceth;
for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
And therefore let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion, honour and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And thou who thinkest to seek for me,
know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not
unless thou knowest the mystery;
that if that which thou seekest
thee 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.
The Charge Of The God – Original
Listen to the words of the Great Father, who of old was called Osiris, Adonis, Zeus, Thor, Pan, Cernunnos, Herne, Lugh and by may other names:
“My Law is Harmony with all things. Mine is the secret that opens the gates of life and mine is the dish of salt of the earth that is the body of Cernunnos that is the eternal circle of rebirth. I give the knowledge of life everlasting, and beyond death I give the promise of regeneration and renewal. I am the sacrifice, the father of all things, and my protection blankets the earth.”
Hear the words of the dancing God, the music of whose laughter stirs the winds, whose voice calls the seasons:
“I who am the Lord of the Hunt and the Power of the Light, sun among the clouds and the secret of the flame, I call upon your bodies to arise and come unto me. For I am the flesh of the earth and all it’s beings. Through me all things must die and with me are reborn. Let my worship be in the body that sings, for behold all acts of willing sacrifice are my rituals. Let there be desire and fear, anger and weakness, joy and peace, awe and longing within you. For these too are part of the mysteries found within yourself, within me, all beginnings have endings, and all endings have beginnings.”
So Mote It BE!
Hadu
One of the early training assignments in the Order of Scathach is to create your own deity from scratch. This was my submission.
I call him Hadu. He is my god of personal confidence. I named his Hadu because as a kid I played a lot of Street Fighter and one special move I thought I could perform in real life if I really tried hard enough was the hadouken. Back then everyone pronounced it Haduken.
Hadu is a tall and wide-shouldered man who looks to be in his late 50s. Large and very fit. He has short and bristly jet black hair with some specks of silver grey. His hair comes down through his sideburns and frames his jawline in a well-kept mane, ending in a beard and mustache. He has a strong jaw, a determined nose, high cheekbones and a faint but everpresent grin. His eyes are green on black though he almost always wears designer shades. His skin has an honest Mediterranean tan.
He wears a suit. It is the perfect suit for any and all occasions, and seems to change of its own will. Perfectly tailored to Hadu’s needs. it is a deep black, as black as the void of space, as is his tie that changes shape and type for the occasion as well. His shirt is sapphire blue and could have been woven out of the stone itself. His shoes are the finest leather and always shine.
He carries a cane that can double in length on command. This cane is made of oak and is perfectly finished. It has a crystal clear quartz orb on top about the size of his fist.
People know of Hadu but only a scant few know he isn’t human. Everyone he comes in contact with feels he is important, could swear they have heard of him in Forbes or the Wall Street Journal, and usually give him whatever he wants. His deep voice, his swagger, everything about his presence and demeanour say this man is a winner in life and gets what he wants. People call him Mr. Hadu. His first name is Ken.
He gives advice to those with the wisdom to catch it. He is a god who won’t help you unless you have what it takes to help yourself. Those who can’t will never be able to look him in the eye.
Why did I choose confidence? Because I lack it greatly. I have wisdom and I have courage to some extents, but courage is an explosion that blows down obstacles while confidence is the steady torch that lights the way. I have very little confidence. I see him in a suit because I feel the most confident in suits. The blue of his inner shirt represents hope and his green eyes represent will. His cane is a modern magi staff. His confidence pours out into the universe around him, affecting his reality around him because it never wavers. Entrainment with Hadu would allow me to get in better contact with my own confidence.
Firedance Festival 2010
I finally made it out to a fest!
I arrived late on Saturday, around three in the afternoon. My friend Samantha was kind enough to help with directions and meet my ride at the check-in, and give us a brief tour. I had more or less missed everything i wanted to do, primary item being the sweatlodge. My friend Ashley and I began putting up out tent on a hill, quite removed from the main areas because it afforded us a spectacular view. Since I had never put up a tent I was very happy to make my first new friend via such difficulties. Gene was not just wonderful in helping us set up, but introducing us to family and friends. Wonderful people all, and if you are reading this, you know who you are.
After chatting for a while and touring the vendors, main ritual was about to start. I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to wear my first sarong, and after getting hollered at by a lovely lady, decided to wear not another article of clothing more.
It was a pretty big circle of close to 200 and was run by my friend Brian. The theme was apparently a Celtic story about the Earth dying so we may live. I forget the specifics but I found it appropriate. As soon as we began to cast the circle, a huge black bow of a storm rushed over the treeline. It ended up passing us completely, but as soon as the story got to a moment of mourning, the sky opened up and rained down hard on us. Half the people in the circle ran off while others, including me, stayed as it seemed perfect for the rit. It was abridged due to the script melting in his hands. The fire didn’t go out though. Go if you’re soaked, stay if you’re insane. I loved every minute of it. Best rit I have ever been in.
After running back to the tent and getting something on that wouldn’t show off my manhood so much (water made the sarong cling a lot), a few of us decided to hit the mud pit. You see there is no difference between spa mud and the mud used in copper molding, except for the price, so a big pit was dug out, a tarp went in and mud was made. We got there and there was already eight people in, all naked. I decided after much hooting and hollaring to get naked as well. Soon it was 15 people, mostly naked and that was about 4 too many for the hole so we were all getting quite friendly. There is a safe for work pic of it on my facebook. After an hour or so we rinsed off in the ice-cold stream, ran for the showers and dried off by the fire. There was plenty of leftover potluck food as well!
The night was good. Homemade wine and cheese tasting at 2am while we listened to the performers and watched the dancers.
Next day we packed up, ate and left. Not incredibly eventful and didn’t get laid, but I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great and wise people, and tried public nudity. Didn’t get drunk or try the special cookies, so I am happy about that.
Hopefully more learning and more time for meditation next time.
Last thing, big props to the girl scouts. They have awesome camp grounds and win for renting it out to us!
Drunk Ghosts
Miscommunication can sometimes be quite comical, especially when dealing with magik.
For instance, I was having a phone conversation recently about how to make someone believe that we were expelling an unwanted etheric entity from their home. The subject was well-read on traditional actions in this case so tradition won the day, or so I thought…
Friend: We can just lay some bay leaves.
Me: Bailey’s? I didn’t know that worked. How does irish cream work for this? I mean, I know Crowley had substance abuse problems but…
Friend: *laughs*
(Several minutes trying to plan a rit that would get a ghost drunk enough to toss out)
The lesson here is, if the universe didn’t want us to laugh about stuff, we wouldn’t be able to. I know people who may have tisked at me or looked down on me for making light, but life is just too damned short not to sometimes.
Before Time Was
Before time was, there was The One;
The One was all, and all was The One.
And the vast expanse known as the universe was The One,
all wise, all pervading, all powerful, eternally changing.
And space moved. The One molded energy into twin forms,
equal but opposite, fashioning the Goddess and God
from The One and of The One.
The Goddess and God stretched and gave thanks to The One,
but darkness surrounded them.
They were alone, solitary save for The One.
So they formed energy into gases and gases into suns
and planets and moons; They sprinkled the universe with whirling
globes and so all was given shape by the hands of the Goddess and God.
Light arose and the sky was illuminated by a billion suns.
The Goddess and God, satisfied by their works,
rejoiced and loved, and were one.
From their union sprang the seeds of all life,
and the human race so that we might achieve incarnation upon the Earth.
The Goddess chose the Moon as her symbol,
and the God the Sun as his to remind the inhabitants of Earth of their creators.
All are born, live, die and are reborn beneath the Moon and Sun;
All things come to pass thereunder, and all occurs
with the blessings of The One, the Goddess and God,
as has been the way of existence since before time was.
Order of Dragons 