"I Release You"
Components:
Photo, drawing, or representation of the individual
Candle (one white as a minimum, a white and black is better)
Bowl
Marker, pen, chalk, or other marking tool.
Ritual:
1. Create a sacred space. Call upon any gods, guides or powers you would invoke for a spell of separation.
2. Prepare yourself mentally & emotionally for doing magic
3. Take the photo, and mark it with the rune: Nauthiz
4. Recite the following:
*Name*, I have bound you.
I have limited you.
I have restrained you.
I have been wrong.
5. Use the reiki mental/emotional symbol (Se He Ki), pass it through all the chakras. Recite:
I unlock the bonds.
I open my eyes.
I see you as you are.
6. Use the reiki distance symbol, connect to the person and send the mental/emotional symbol (Se He Ki) and the breaking of addictions symbol (Iava) across the bridge. Recite:
*Name*, I release you.
I release you from my expectations.
I release you from my needs.
I release you from my demands.
I set you free.
7. Empower the picture or representation with (Iava) and hold it over the candle flame. Once lit, drop into bowl. Recite:
*Powers/Gods/Spirits/Guides*, empower this spell.
Heal the wounds I have inflicted upon *Name* and myself.
Help me to accept *Name* as (he/she) is.
Help me to find joy in our present, free of the future and clear of the past.
As this image is consumed, consume my greed, my jealousy, my pride.
8. Once the image is gone, take time to ground out the negativity that may have come up during ritual. Use the Karuna grounding symbol if you know it.
9. When you are grounded and feeling clear, seal your chakras with the mental/emotional symbol.
10. Place an Algiz over yourself and empower it. Recite:
I protect myself from expectation.
I stay clear of illusion.
I fulfill my own needs.
11. Bring the ritual to a close as appropriate for the gods/guides/spirits you called.
12. Each day for the next 7 days, charge yourself in the morning with the mental/emotional symbol and recite:
I live free of expectation.
I accept the world as it is.
Simple spell, but if done with right intention, it should be quite profound.
It is important to note that you can not use this spell to cut yourself off from another's expectations, needs or desires. This is a spell specifically designed to free yourself and another of YOUR inappropriate, deluded, or misguided expectations and desires.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Rune: Algiz
Names: Algiz, Eolh
Represents: Protection, Connectedness
Alphabet: Z
Color: Purple
Sequence Number: 10 Blume, 14 Meadows, 15 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Magni & Modi
Plants & Minerals: Reed
Potency: Grounding Power
Challenge:
Primary Uses: Defense on all levels, connecting to the divine, grounding, inspiration, for centering and balance during difficult times.
Stroke Order: Vertical down, then left diagonal up-left, the right diagonal up-right
Blume looks upon Algiz as provide protection through awareness. You should be aware of your emotions, but not a slave to them, especially during times of change. Algiz advises that we keep from hiding behind denial or ignorance. Algiz advises timely action, which means one should never rush headlong nor delay too long. Another rune in the cycle of initiation, Algiz provides the safe space in which we can grow.
Meadows present's Algiz as a divine rune of knowledge and protection. It is a shamanic rune, allowing one to delve into the energy-patterns of a specific talent or task. It can be used to connect a shaman to totem animals and to both descend into the unconscious and to raise instinctual or insightful knowledge into consciousness. Algiz can be used as a protective barrier against all harm and to ground negative energies.
Cooper & Tyson add little to the discussion of Eohl beyond what Blume and Meadows. There is some debate as to the actual symbology of Eohl, whether it be an outstretched hand, a branched tree, the horns of an elk, or the claws of a hawk. No matter what the derivative symbol is, they all agree that Eohl is a rune of protection and defense.
Represents: Protection, Connectedness
Alphabet: Z
Color: Purple
Sequence Number: 10 Blume, 14 Meadows, 15 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Magni & Modi
Plants & Minerals: Reed
Potency: Grounding Power
Challenge:
Primary Uses: Defense on all levels, connecting to the divine, grounding, inspiration, for centering and balance during difficult times.
Stroke Order: Vertical down, then left diagonal up-left, the right diagonal up-right
Blume looks upon Algiz as provide protection through awareness. You should be aware of your emotions, but not a slave to them, especially during times of change. Algiz advises that we keep from hiding behind denial or ignorance. Algiz advises timely action, which means one should never rush headlong nor delay too long. Another rune in the cycle of initiation, Algiz provides the safe space in which we can grow.
Meadows present's Algiz as a divine rune of knowledge and protection. It is a shamanic rune, allowing one to delve into the energy-patterns of a specific talent or task. It can be used to connect a shaman to totem animals and to both descend into the unconscious and to raise instinctual or insightful knowledge into consciousness. Algiz can be used as a protective barrier against all harm and to ground negative energies.
Cooper & Tyson add little to the discussion of Eohl beyond what Blume and Meadows. There is some debate as to the actual symbology of Eohl, whether it be an outstretched hand, a branched tree, the horns of an elk, or the claws of a hawk. No matter what the derivative symbol is, they all agree that Eohl is a rune of protection and defense.
Rune: Eihwaz
Names: Eihwaz, Eoh
Represents: Defense, Avertive Powers, Support & Longevity
Alphabet: "e" (ei)
Color: Green
Sequence Number: 9 Blume, 13 Meadows, 13 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Forseti - god of justice
Plants & Minerals: Yew tree,
Potency: Perpetuality that is inherent in transformation & development.
Challenge: To decide and to act without hesitation. Starting and following through.
Primary Uses: for support, perserverence in still or stagnant times, and for hope and faith. It can be used for enlightenment.
Stroke Order: upper diagonal down to right, then vertical down, then the lower vertical down to right.
Blume says that our best defense is forethought and planning. Eihwaz advises a time to pause, to refill the spring and to set one's house in order. It is a time to make decisions, not to "do". Patience and perserverence are the counsel of this rune. As a part of the cycle of initiation, Eihwaz defines our bounaries and shows us the gateway to growth and change.
Meadows approaches Eoh entirely differently from the other rune seers. For Meadows, Eoh is the rune of perpetuity. It is the rune continuation and of totality from life to death, from earth to spirit, from beginning to end. It is a rune of finding the spiritual in every day life.
Cooper is more in alignment with Blume in his interpretation of Eoh. He sees Eoh as the rune of boundaries and limitations. Not of such boundaries and limitations as restraints or obstacles, but to be thought of as one's territory or space. It is a rune of perspective, and helps us to keep from overreaching beyond or abilities or talents. It also sets the limits across which others should not tread, such as individual rights.
Tyson, as usual, is the briefest in his treatis on Eoh. It is a foundational and protective rune which can lend strength and stability in magic. I represents dependability, strength and vitality. In some cases it is thought to be a rune of divination or good omens.
Represents: Defense, Avertive Powers, Support & Longevity
Alphabet: "e" (ei)
Color: Green
Sequence Number: 9 Blume, 13 Meadows, 13 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Forseti - god of justice
Plants & Minerals: Yew tree,
Potency: Perpetuality that is inherent in transformation & development.
Challenge: To decide and to act without hesitation. Starting and following through.
Primary Uses: for support, perserverence in still or stagnant times, and for hope and faith. It can be used for enlightenment.
Stroke Order: upper diagonal down to right, then vertical down, then the lower vertical down to right.
Blume says that our best defense is forethought and planning. Eihwaz advises a time to pause, to refill the spring and to set one's house in order. It is a time to make decisions, not to "do". Patience and perserverence are the counsel of this rune. As a part of the cycle of initiation, Eihwaz defines our bounaries and shows us the gateway to growth and change.
Meadows approaches Eoh entirely differently from the other rune seers. For Meadows, Eoh is the rune of perpetuity. It is the rune continuation and of totality from life to death, from earth to spirit, from beginning to end. It is a rune of finding the spiritual in every day life.
Cooper is more in alignment with Blume in his interpretation of Eoh. He sees Eoh as the rune of boundaries and limitations. Not of such boundaries and limitations as restraints or obstacles, but to be thought of as one's territory or space. It is a rune of perspective, and helps us to keep from overreaching beyond or abilities or talents. It also sets the limits across which others should not tread, such as individual rights.
Tyson, as usual, is the briefest in his treatis on Eoh. It is a foundational and protective rune which can lend strength and stability in magic. I represents dependability, strength and vitality. In some cases it is thought to be a rune of divination or good omens.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Rune: Inguz
Names: Inguz, Ing
Represents: Fertility, New Beginnings, Renewal, Continuity
Alphabet: "ng"
Color: Black
Sequence Number: 8 Blume, 21 Meadows, 22 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Tir
Gods: Freyer
Plants & Minerals: Apple Tree
Potency: Access to broader reality, dream-time, or spirit.
Challenge: to accept your power - your own 'medicine'. To be what you we're meant to be.
Primary Uses: To expand our influence, build a legacy, extend conscious awareness and to improve memory
Stroke Order: Upper-left to middle-right to lower-left, then upper-right to middle-left to lower-right.
Blume looks upon Inguz as the rune of fertility and new beginnings. It is a time to complete old tasks, release obstructions, and prepare for rebirth. This is when the fields of the soul are tilled and sewn as we anticipate the eventual harvest. Another rune in the cycle of initiation, Inguz is the necessity of prepartion. No growth can occur if you have not taken the time to prepare for it.
Meadows sees Ing as the rune of lineage and rebirth. It is both the physical lineage passed down by your parents, and the spiritual lineage passed down from your prior lifetimes. It is the rune of fertilization, the seed, and gestation.
Cooper takes Ing in another direction, speaking not of personal lineage but of communal lineage. It is a gathering of people or powers, It is a rune of fascination, which allows for hypnosis, trance or meditation.
Tyson aligns himself with Cooper in many ways, but is somewhere between Meadows and Cooper in his application of Ing. Ing is the rune of domestication, the hearth, and of common sense. It is a rune of stability and holds sway over the earth as Laguz holds sway over the waters. It is best used to solve domestic problems, as an anchor, and in matters of procreative-sex.
Represents: Fertility, New Beginnings, Renewal, Continuity
Alphabet: "ng"
Color: Black
Sequence Number: 8 Blume, 21 Meadows, 22 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Tir
Gods: Freyer
Plants & Minerals: Apple Tree
Potency: Access to broader reality, dream-time, or spirit.
Challenge: to accept your power - your own 'medicine'. To be what you we're meant to be.
Primary Uses: To expand our influence, build a legacy, extend conscious awareness and to improve memory
Stroke Order: Upper-left to middle-right to lower-left, then upper-right to middle-left to lower-right.
Blume looks upon Inguz as the rune of fertility and new beginnings. It is a time to complete old tasks, release obstructions, and prepare for rebirth. This is when the fields of the soul are tilled and sewn as we anticipate the eventual harvest. Another rune in the cycle of initiation, Inguz is the necessity of prepartion. No growth can occur if you have not taken the time to prepare for it.
Meadows sees Ing as the rune of lineage and rebirth. It is both the physical lineage passed down by your parents, and the spiritual lineage passed down from your prior lifetimes. It is the rune of fertilization, the seed, and gestation.
Cooper takes Ing in another direction, speaking not of personal lineage but of communal lineage. It is a gathering of people or powers, It is a rune of fascination, which allows for hypnosis, trance or meditation.
Tyson aligns himself with Cooper in many ways, but is somewhere between Meadows and Cooper in his application of Ing. Ing is the rune of domestication, the hearth, and of common sense. It is a rune of stability and holds sway over the earth as Laguz holds sway over the waters. It is best used to solve domestic problems, as an anchor, and in matters of procreative-sex.
Rune: Nauthiz
Names: Nauthiz, Naud, Nyd
Represents: Constraint, Necessity, Pain, Endurance
Alphabet: N
Color: Blue
Sequence Number: 7 Blume, 9 Meadows, 10 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Norns
Plants & Minerals: Beech
Potency: to come into being under pressure & restraint... achievment in adversity.
Challenge: You must meet your own needs before you can meet the needs of others.
Primary Uses: Used for meditation and focus, copig with stress, overcome crisis, break through limitations, develop perserverance & endurance.
Stroke Order: Carve the vertical down, then diagonal upper-right to lower-left
Blume see's Nauthiz as the rune of "the shadow self". It is a time to identify patterns of self denial, misfortune and pain. Nauthis advises that we embrace the shadow self, acknowledge our pains and sufferings as teachers and lessons. It is a time to acknowledge our whole selves and with restraint, humor and love, perservere the pain of self realization. Nauthiz is another rune in the cycle of initiation; the teacher disuised as pain and limitation.
Meadows aligns Naud with the "Three Fates" or Norns. It is a wyrd rune, that holds the power of all that came before and opens the potential of all which is to come. Naud is the essense of existing simultaneously in past-present-future. To control what will be, we must take the power, the lessons, of what came before and make conscious choice in present. This means we must own who we are, hold it, fulfill it, before we can choose our fate (what we will become).
Cooper also align's Nyd to the Norns. His is a much more compact concept of inner strength, of fortitude and perserverence. Tyson goes a step darker, stating that Nyd, the strength to survive, would be unnecessary without Haegl: Rune of Hardship & Suffering. The two go, at times, hand in hand. There is no glory in Nyd for Tyson, for the suffering one survives through is not noble or holy.
Represents: Constraint, Necessity, Pain, Endurance
Alphabet: N
Color: Blue
Sequence Number: 7 Blume, 9 Meadows, 10 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Norns
Plants & Minerals: Beech
Potency: to come into being under pressure & restraint... achievment in adversity.
Challenge: You must meet your own needs before you can meet the needs of others.
Primary Uses: Used for meditation and focus, copig with stress, overcome crisis, break through limitations, develop perserverance & endurance.
Stroke Order: Carve the vertical down, then diagonal upper-right to lower-left
Blume see's Nauthiz as the rune of "the shadow self". It is a time to identify patterns of self denial, misfortune and pain. Nauthis advises that we embrace the shadow self, acknowledge our pains and sufferings as teachers and lessons. It is a time to acknowledge our whole selves and with restraint, humor and love, perservere the pain of self realization. Nauthiz is another rune in the cycle of initiation; the teacher disuised as pain and limitation.
Meadows aligns Naud with the "Three Fates" or Norns. It is a wyrd rune, that holds the power of all that came before and opens the potential of all which is to come. Naud is the essense of existing simultaneously in past-present-future. To control what will be, we must take the power, the lessons, of what came before and make conscious choice in present. This means we must own who we are, hold it, fulfill it, before we can choose our fate (what we will become).
Cooper also align's Nyd to the Norns. His is a much more compact concept of inner strength, of fortitude and perserverence. Tyson goes a step darker, stating that Nyd, the strength to survive, would be unnecessary without Haegl: Rune of Hardship & Suffering. The two go, at times, hand in hand. There is no glory in Nyd for Tyson, for the suffering one survives through is not noble or holy.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Personae and Other Realms
Wife is reading a book at the moment, The Magical Personality: Identify Strengths & Weaknesses to Improve Your Magic by Mike Leslie, that I will be curious to read myself. Fortunately, whenever she finds something in things she reads that she thinks would be of use to me, I get a synopsis of the information to digest. (yay for literate spouses!)
The brief discussion we had on the "role play" that is frequently used by magicians to separate themselves from their "mundane selves" when they do magic had me thinking more about HP's obsession with the "theater" of ritual. Wife in reading snippets from the book provided me more thought on the concept that 3 sessions with HP on the subject. The idea, put simply, is that a magician enters into an altered state of consciousness to do magic. This altered state is facilitated through various techniques, including but not exclusively ritual spaces, ritual garb, magical tools, incenses, music, and more. The purpose of this is that you, the magician, must step into a transformative reality where magic is not only possible, but simply done.
This can not be done physically, although we make use of physical tools to help free our minds to do so. One mental tool we can use is a "magical self" or "persona", a mask or costume we put onto our psyche when we enter into the altered state. This persona functions as another layer of separation from our "mundane selves". Like with a well acted character in a play or game, the persona allows us to suspend disbelief and function with less doubt or resistance to magical transformation. The idea is that "Jay" has to work to get past his inhibitions and limitations to do magic, but "Jay 2" has none of these obstacles to overcome so all of the energy I use to cast a spell will go into the spell, not fight to overcome the resistance of doubt or fear. This is one reason why when you enter into a magical society, whether a coven or something else, you take a "magical name" or "craft name" which you only use when you are doing magic.
No, this is not essential. Magic will work without such separations, guises, masks, and tools. A well trained, discliplined magician can simply "do magic" at any time, in any location, as needed. I can do so, and have done so for years, but the effectiveness of such "spontaneous magic" is greatly reduced. Even simply stopping, taking a moment to mentally construct a sacred space, possibly tracing it out and adding a few vocalizations, is enough to radically increase the effectiveness of a spell. No matter how skilled or experienced the magician, the ritual and preparations improves the work. It is like an artist or architect who "can" draw the lines on the paper without a ruler or protractor, but if he has the tools available, more of his effort can go into the design instead of the act of drawing it.
I myself have not used personae for magical workings in a very long time. I think the last time I had a "magical persona" was when I was nineteen, almost twenty years old. Now that is a story to be told.
Personae long past
My first "magical persona" was, of all things, female. It is from her that my online identity was constructed. Shayde was my very first magical persona. I loved her. The first time I slipped out of reality and looked at myself in "the mirror" (spiritual one of course), the face looking back at me was not one I had thought was my own. She was beautiful, moonlit skin, starry-night hair, eyes the were black as coal yet had a soft radience from them, and moved with a gentle grace I have never embodied since. I think she was the first aspect of myself I truly loved and accepted without question. I even have a drawing I had found of her at a convention, years later, which is honored near my altar.
Shayde's role as my magical persona was usurped about a month, possibly two, into my original coven training (yes, I've been through this before, isn't it fun how life brings lessons back you didn't learn the first time?). "We" (I as Shayde) were doing work, specifically projecting to another location as a lesson on clairvoyance and sensory projection, when another aspect of myself rose up and enveloped us. Dark, powerful, mysterious, supremely confident, Rune simply wrapped his cloaks of mystery about us and when all was said and done, "we" were Rune. Shayde had simply vanished. (as a side note, I also have a framed illustration of Rune by the same artist as the one I have of Shayde)
I did a lot of magic and training in the guise of Rune over the next year. In many ways he was the ideal "magical me" for the time: never doubted his power or place in divinity, arrogant, intolerant of the ignorant or uneducated, mysterious, revered. He was exactly what an immature magical practitioner would want as an image of himself. Rune was just short of being a "power" in his own right (by "power" I mean one of the personified universal powers, like an elemental or an archetype)... at least, that is how he saw himself. He was one to call to the divine, as HP has dramatized for us, "Bitch, here, now!" Well, not exactly like that. HP is big on the gruff, brutal aspects of Babylonians and Celts. Rune was far to "sophisticated" to debase himself with such crudities.
It was in a meditation of self discovery, near the end of my training, when I encountered Shayde again. In this meditation one steps out of the persona because the facets of the magician become independent entities that the magician can interact with. She looked horrible... her hair was frayed and limp, and her moonlight complexion was dull and grey. Her eyes did not shine. Though I could see no bruises, I knew she was abused... and I knew the victimizer -- Rune. I confronted him in this meditation, and he looked upon me as an ignorant child who was throwing a tantrum. To him, the feminine was weak and was best kept in a submissive role. I didn't even know I had a chauvinist aspect in my nature. Of course, at the time, I thought the personae were more like guides than aspects of self (yes, i was young and ignorant).
I tried to work without Rune after that, wanting to reconnect with Shayde, but Rune had become such an integral part of my magical self that it was impossible for me to separate myself from him when I worked. He was also convenient... he made magic easy and I needed only to evoke him slip out of mundane reality, even in the middle of a crowded elevator. My resentment of him, or as I understand now - myself, grew with each attempt to connect with other aspects of myself.
It was during the initiation of one of my coven mates, a day where we were to lend our energies to keep guard while he met his challenges and "died" to be reborn into a life of power, when I had my own challenges and "death". I was later told that I had gone through a "spiritual crisis" and had a form of "self initiation" that day. It was in the afternoon, while out in the woods holding the walls between the worlds for the sacred space, when I had my final confrontation with Rune. I told him that I would do magic myself, without him, and he laughed at me and rejoined me for my stupidity. We duked it out (in my head, astrally, whatever) and I "won".
In his retreat, he spitefully "took back" all the power we had accumulated together by burning out the pathways my training had created. That was how I perceived it at the time. Today I understand that what I had done was reject an aspect of myself that had characteristics I found repugnant. When I ripped him from me and cast him aside, adding him to my "shadow self", I also tore from myself all the "good" that was a part of that persona. I have come to realize that though I did go through a spiritual crisis that day I did not pass through initiation. I even pushed myself out of the initiation circle that evening, physically and energetically because at the time I had been on the verge of initiation... but a broken person can not survive initiation, and I had broken myself.
HP is determined to put me through the "male mysteries" to "reclaim my power." I am becoming aware that he is correct in his assessment that my "power" is stunted. He is, however, way off base as to the "cause". HP perceives that this lack of "masculine power" is due to never having received it... that like so many men, I never grew up. I suspect he is only partially correct there. I believe it was not that I never received my power or matured, but that at the point where I needed to integrate my male aspect, which had subplanted my feminine, and become a balanced -whole- individual, I rejected my masculine self as an abuser... victimizing it as I perceived it had victimized my feminine... and as such completed the victimization of myself. (how horrifically morbid is that?)
I think one of the reasons I have such a strong attraction to and repulsion from HP is that he is so similar to my Rune that I recognize him on a spiritual level. It is as if my spirit is trying to reintegrate and if I can't do it from within it is willing to accept a surrogate. This, of course, would only be a band-aid over a wound that is long past due for healing. It is also unfair to HP to cast him into such a role. It is a role, however, that he does naturally... the arrogant, self-important holder of knowledge and power who is willing to abuse that which he deems unacceptable or weak. (he has many times commented that he misses the Babylonian times --the parties were unrivaled and you could kill your slaves) Anyway, back to the primary topic...
In all the years since that time, nearly 18, I have never been able to completely embrace my feminine aspect again. I've never undstood why. I now believe that my feminine can not fully embrace me because I am no longer "masculine enough". I tore out so much of my mature-masculinity that there is not enough yet for her to "merge with". I have not used a magical persona since that time. Shayde never "fit" after that and I had no desire to find another. I have worn Rune's "Cloak of Mysteries" in magical work several times since then, but it is more like the remnants... a trophy from a battle where there were no victors. It is no longer the impregnable shroud, but a veil of shadows with tears and gaps.
So here I am, in the "cycle of initiation" once again. This time I arrive with no persona to wear when on the "divine stage" of ritual. Wife says that though she has seen me role play and "become" people other than myself for fun, or at conventions, that when I am in ritual I am "Jay" wearing a costume. I am never my "magical self". I think she's right. I know who and what my new persona should be, but I do not believe I have healed enough yet to reclaim enough of what remains of Rune to embrace Shayde and become what I was supposed to be all along. As yet, there is no unified persona that is the rebirth of male & female as lovers.
LOL, I just had to laugh at the imagery that came up with the last statement. As I now identify my strongest feminine element as my "Taurus" and my primary male aspect (and shadow self) as "Ares Pisces"... would that mean there's going to be cow-sex soon? NO BEASTIALITY IN MY HEAD! BAD! (of course, that never stopped the gods did it?) Of course, if I'm to look at the proper internal masculine-feminine relationship according to He, this would be a chaste relationship of courtly love. My Taurus would be the inspiration/muse and occassional companion of my Ares Pisces when he is war world weary.
This is going to be an interesting journey into magical and emotional maturation.
The brief discussion we had on the "role play" that is frequently used by magicians to separate themselves from their "mundane selves" when they do magic had me thinking more about HP's obsession with the "theater" of ritual. Wife in reading snippets from the book provided me more thought on the concept that 3 sessions with HP on the subject. The idea, put simply, is that a magician enters into an altered state of consciousness to do magic. This altered state is facilitated through various techniques, including but not exclusively ritual spaces, ritual garb, magical tools, incenses, music, and more. The purpose of this is that you, the magician, must step into a transformative reality where magic is not only possible, but simply done.
This can not be done physically, although we make use of physical tools to help free our minds to do so. One mental tool we can use is a "magical self" or "persona", a mask or costume we put onto our psyche when we enter into the altered state. This persona functions as another layer of separation from our "mundane selves". Like with a well acted character in a play or game, the persona allows us to suspend disbelief and function with less doubt or resistance to magical transformation. The idea is that "Jay" has to work to get past his inhibitions and limitations to do magic, but "Jay 2" has none of these obstacles to overcome so all of the energy I use to cast a spell will go into the spell, not fight to overcome the resistance of doubt or fear. This is one reason why when you enter into a magical society, whether a coven or something else, you take a "magical name" or "craft name" which you only use when you are doing magic.
No, this is not essential. Magic will work without such separations, guises, masks, and tools. A well trained, discliplined magician can simply "do magic" at any time, in any location, as needed. I can do so, and have done so for years, but the effectiveness of such "spontaneous magic" is greatly reduced. Even simply stopping, taking a moment to mentally construct a sacred space, possibly tracing it out and adding a few vocalizations, is enough to radically increase the effectiveness of a spell. No matter how skilled or experienced the magician, the ritual and preparations improves the work. It is like an artist or architect who "can" draw the lines on the paper without a ruler or protractor, but if he has the tools available, more of his effort can go into the design instead of the act of drawing it.
I myself have not used personae for magical workings in a very long time. I think the last time I had a "magical persona" was when I was nineteen, almost twenty years old. Now that is a story to be told.
Personae long past
My first "magical persona" was, of all things, female. It is from her that my online identity was constructed. Shayde was my very first magical persona. I loved her. The first time I slipped out of reality and looked at myself in "the mirror" (spiritual one of course), the face looking back at me was not one I had thought was my own. She was beautiful, moonlit skin, starry-night hair, eyes the were black as coal yet had a soft radience from them, and moved with a gentle grace I have never embodied since. I think she was the first aspect of myself I truly loved and accepted without question. I even have a drawing I had found of her at a convention, years later, which is honored near my altar.
Shayde's role as my magical persona was usurped about a month, possibly two, into my original coven training (yes, I've been through this before, isn't it fun how life brings lessons back you didn't learn the first time?). "We" (I as Shayde) were doing work, specifically projecting to another location as a lesson on clairvoyance and sensory projection, when another aspect of myself rose up and enveloped us. Dark, powerful, mysterious, supremely confident, Rune simply wrapped his cloaks of mystery about us and when all was said and done, "we" were Rune. Shayde had simply vanished. (as a side note, I also have a framed illustration of Rune by the same artist as the one I have of Shayde)
I did a lot of magic and training in the guise of Rune over the next year. In many ways he was the ideal "magical me" for the time: never doubted his power or place in divinity, arrogant, intolerant of the ignorant or uneducated, mysterious, revered. He was exactly what an immature magical practitioner would want as an image of himself. Rune was just short of being a "power" in his own right (by "power" I mean one of the personified universal powers, like an elemental or an archetype)... at least, that is how he saw himself. He was one to call to the divine, as HP has dramatized for us, "Bitch, here, now!" Well, not exactly like that. HP is big on the gruff, brutal aspects of Babylonians and Celts. Rune was far to "sophisticated" to debase himself with such crudities.
It was in a meditation of self discovery, near the end of my training, when I encountered Shayde again. In this meditation one steps out of the persona because the facets of the magician become independent entities that the magician can interact with. She looked horrible... her hair was frayed and limp, and her moonlight complexion was dull and grey. Her eyes did not shine. Though I could see no bruises, I knew she was abused... and I knew the victimizer -- Rune. I confronted him in this meditation, and he looked upon me as an ignorant child who was throwing a tantrum. To him, the feminine was weak and was best kept in a submissive role. I didn't even know I had a chauvinist aspect in my nature. Of course, at the time, I thought the personae were more like guides than aspects of self (yes, i was young and ignorant).
I tried to work without Rune after that, wanting to reconnect with Shayde, but Rune had become such an integral part of my magical self that it was impossible for me to separate myself from him when I worked. He was also convenient... he made magic easy and I needed only to evoke him slip out of mundane reality, even in the middle of a crowded elevator. My resentment of him, or as I understand now - myself, grew with each attempt to connect with other aspects of myself.
It was during the initiation of one of my coven mates, a day where we were to lend our energies to keep guard while he met his challenges and "died" to be reborn into a life of power, when I had my own challenges and "death". I was later told that I had gone through a "spiritual crisis" and had a form of "self initiation" that day. It was in the afternoon, while out in the woods holding the walls between the worlds for the sacred space, when I had my final confrontation with Rune. I told him that I would do magic myself, without him, and he laughed at me and rejoined me for my stupidity. We duked it out (in my head, astrally, whatever) and I "won".
In his retreat, he spitefully "took back" all the power we had accumulated together by burning out the pathways my training had created. That was how I perceived it at the time. Today I understand that what I had done was reject an aspect of myself that had characteristics I found repugnant. When I ripped him from me and cast him aside, adding him to my "shadow self", I also tore from myself all the "good" that was a part of that persona. I have come to realize that though I did go through a spiritual crisis that day I did not pass through initiation. I even pushed myself out of the initiation circle that evening, physically and energetically because at the time I had been on the verge of initiation... but a broken person can not survive initiation, and I had broken myself.
HP is determined to put me through the "male mysteries" to "reclaim my power." I am becoming aware that he is correct in his assessment that my "power" is stunted. He is, however, way off base as to the "cause". HP perceives that this lack of "masculine power" is due to never having received it... that like so many men, I never grew up. I suspect he is only partially correct there. I believe it was not that I never received my power or matured, but that at the point where I needed to integrate my male aspect, which had subplanted my feminine, and become a balanced -whole- individual, I rejected my masculine self as an abuser... victimizing it as I perceived it had victimized my feminine... and as such completed the victimization of myself. (how horrifically morbid is that?)
I think one of the reasons I have such a strong attraction to and repulsion from HP is that he is so similar to my Rune that I recognize him on a spiritual level. It is as if my spirit is trying to reintegrate and if I can't do it from within it is willing to accept a surrogate. This, of course, would only be a band-aid over a wound that is long past due for healing. It is also unfair to HP to cast him into such a role. It is a role, however, that he does naturally... the arrogant, self-important holder of knowledge and power who is willing to abuse that which he deems unacceptable or weak. (he has many times commented that he misses the Babylonian times --the parties were unrivaled and you could kill your slaves) Anyway, back to the primary topic...
In all the years since that time, nearly 18, I have never been able to completely embrace my feminine aspect again. I've never undstood why. I now believe that my feminine can not fully embrace me because I am no longer "masculine enough". I tore out so much of my mature-masculinity that there is not enough yet for her to "merge with". I have not used a magical persona since that time. Shayde never "fit" after that and I had no desire to find another. I have worn Rune's "Cloak of Mysteries" in magical work several times since then, but it is more like the remnants... a trophy from a battle where there were no victors. It is no longer the impregnable shroud, but a veil of shadows with tears and gaps.
So here I am, in the "cycle of initiation" once again. This time I arrive with no persona to wear when on the "divine stage" of ritual. Wife says that though she has seen me role play and "become" people other than myself for fun, or at conventions, that when I am in ritual I am "Jay" wearing a costume. I am never my "magical self". I think she's right. I know who and what my new persona should be, but I do not believe I have healed enough yet to reclaim enough of what remains of Rune to embrace Shayde and become what I was supposed to be all along. As yet, there is no unified persona that is the rebirth of male & female as lovers.
LOL, I just had to laugh at the imagery that came up with the last statement. As I now identify my strongest feminine element as my "Taurus" and my primary male aspect (and shadow self) as "
This is going to be an interesting journey into magical and emotional maturation.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
I don't like the post-training exhaustion.
I have been doing energy work and magic for nearly 30 years. I have "consciously" done it since my early teens. I have never been through complete training and initiation in Wiccan Magic, but making the assumption I've not been trained in or initiated into the ways of magic would be a very, very bad assumption.
In just the few training sessions I have attended with HP, I have come to the realization that there are aspects of his techniques of magic that just don't resonate well with me. In many ways, his form of magic uses first 3 chakras for fuel. It is a very valid technique, and it is very common when doing such things as tantra or improvised Kundalini (in this I mean the rising of the serpents from the root upward, but not taking them all the way up). Of course, HP would deny using such "eastern" techniques because this is "celtic magic". (since when did energetic biology or spiritual law function only for one people?)
HP is very driven by the idea of fueling magic with desire, passion and will (ego). His techniques raise energy up from the first chakra, to the third, and then amplify the energy before thrusting it through the 2nd chakra for manifestation. I see it in a spiral, rising up and forward, swinging back in at the 3rd chakra, the chakra flaring with power, and the amplified energy then exiting the back, swooping down, and thrusting through the second chakra and into manifestation. (a small, tight spiral) That's a very technical way of looking at it, but that's how it appears to work. For him, magic must fill the air with heat, making it heavy and thick. Again, this is not wrong, but it is very "base" to me. He wants everything driven by lust, command, and desire. For him, "we are telling the Gods what to do"... to quote "bitch, here, now!" (a simplified goddess summoning) The hubris in this astounds me.
However, I digress...
With as many years of experience with, and training in, magic and energy, I have learned a thing or two on how I respond to different forms of it and what that means. Though there are some commonalities in how people sense things, just like most people see colors in similar ways, energy and magic are perceved uniquely to each participant. This is one of the challenges when working in a group, or with a coven, because you need a common perception or way of working in order for the magic to be amplified and strengthened instead of being comprised of discordant tones.
In my work with "personal power", I have found that the expenditure of it, the use of it as the fuel for one's works, becomes exhausting. This is a tiredness that sinks into your bones and makes it difficult to function the next day. I dislike that greatly. For many people, this is the only kind of energy work they know, it is all they think there is. I know differently. When you fuel your works with power from the divine, from nature, from the gods, or "the source", there is no exhaustion. Yes, you might become tired, like after any strenuous activity physical, mental or spiritual, but the very act of channeling that energy refuels you and renews you. This is not the case with the works we are doing in class. We put so much ego into the magic we do that there is no space left in us for universal will, divine energy, reiki, or what ever else you want to label it, to flow through.
There is a feel of magic or energy that is derived from personal power. It has a particular "flavor", or "sensation" to it. The divine feels very different. For me, personal power is heavy, moist, clingy... sort of like the feel in the air when it is 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Divine energy gives me a chill. It isn't a bad chill, but is like a refreshing, pure, soft breeze that runs down my spine. Even if the results of the divine infusion is the flare of reiki power, or the raising of a temple, in the midst of that inferno is a core of pure, cool, peace that can not be ignored. This is the sensation I feel in the presense of the Gods. I know when HP and HPS have opened a conduit to the divine because I get that soft cool feeling. That isn't to say that all energy from the divine is soft, or gentle, or quiet. I have been present when it felt like a tidal wave of deep-ocean-water has just crashed down on a circle. However, it is, for me, always a chill or cooling sensation. Not all of our circles and sabats have been blessed by a full-force presense of the divine. I'd say they have all had tenuous attendance, and a few have had direct attention, but not every time have we managed to bring the divine into our tangible presense.
In training, I have purposefully striven to use only the techniques and "power" that HP has demonstrated and described. This has, for better or for worse, cut me off from my normal sources of power during our training. From now on I'll have to take time after training to meditate and recharge myself before going to bed. This "dragging my ass" every Tuesday Morning sucks!
In just the few training sessions I have attended with HP, I have come to the realization that there are aspects of his techniques of magic that just don't resonate well with me. In many ways, his form of magic uses first 3 chakras for fuel. It is a very valid technique, and it is very common when doing such things as tantra or improvised Kundalini (in this I mean the rising of the serpents from the root upward, but not taking them all the way up). Of course, HP would deny using such "eastern" techniques because this is "celtic magic". (since when did energetic biology or spiritual law function only for one people?)
HP is very driven by the idea of fueling magic with desire, passion and will (ego). His techniques raise energy up from the first chakra, to the third, and then amplify the energy before thrusting it through the 2nd chakra for manifestation. I see it in a spiral, rising up and forward, swinging back in at the 3rd chakra, the chakra flaring with power, and the amplified energy then exiting the back, swooping down, and thrusting through the second chakra and into manifestation. (a small, tight spiral) That's a very technical way of looking at it, but that's how it appears to work. For him, magic must fill the air with heat, making it heavy and thick. Again, this is not wrong, but it is very "base" to me. He wants everything driven by lust, command, and desire. For him, "we are telling the Gods what to do"... to quote "bitch, here, now!" (a simplified goddess summoning) The hubris in this astounds me.
However, I digress...
With as many years of experience with, and training in, magic and energy, I have learned a thing or two on how I respond to different forms of it and what that means. Though there are some commonalities in how people sense things, just like most people see colors in similar ways, energy and magic are perceved uniquely to each participant. This is one of the challenges when working in a group, or with a coven, because you need a common perception or way of working in order for the magic to be amplified and strengthened instead of being comprised of discordant tones.
In my work with "personal power", I have found that the expenditure of it, the use of it as the fuel for one's works, becomes exhausting. This is a tiredness that sinks into your bones and makes it difficult to function the next day. I dislike that greatly. For many people, this is the only kind of energy work they know, it is all they think there is. I know differently. When you fuel your works with power from the divine, from nature, from the gods, or "the source", there is no exhaustion. Yes, you might become tired, like after any strenuous activity physical, mental or spiritual, but the very act of channeling that energy refuels you and renews you. This is not the case with the works we are doing in class. We put so much ego into the magic we do that there is no space left in us for universal will, divine energy, reiki, or what ever else you want to label it, to flow through.
There is a feel of magic or energy that is derived from personal power. It has a particular "flavor", or "sensation" to it. The divine feels very different. For me, personal power is heavy, moist, clingy... sort of like the feel in the air when it is 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity. Divine energy gives me a chill. It isn't a bad chill, but is like a refreshing, pure, soft breeze that runs down my spine. Even if the results of the divine infusion is the flare of reiki power, or the raising of a temple, in the midst of that inferno is a core of pure, cool, peace that can not be ignored. This is the sensation I feel in the presense of the Gods. I know when HP and HPS have opened a conduit to the divine because I get that soft cool feeling. That isn't to say that all energy from the divine is soft, or gentle, or quiet. I have been present when it felt like a tidal wave of deep-ocean-water has just crashed down on a circle. However, it is, for me, always a chill or cooling sensation. Not all of our circles and sabats have been blessed by a full-force presense of the divine. I'd say they have all had tenuous attendance, and a few have had direct attention, but not every time have we managed to bring the divine into our tangible presense.
In training, I have purposefully striven to use only the techniques and "power" that HP has demonstrated and described. This has, for better or for worse, cut me off from my normal sources of power during our training. From now on I'll have to take time after training to meditate and recharge myself before going to bed. This "dragging my ass" every Tuesday Morning sucks!
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
References for my Runic Studies
I will be pulling the "relevant" information from five books I have used for years. Some of them are Llewellyn, and as such give me the "jitters" (too close to crystal crunching mentality), but like the publisher or not, there is knowledge to be gained from the books.
The reference material for the study group:
The Book of Runes by Ralph Blume
Rune Magic by Donald Tyson
Rune Power by Kenneth Meadows
Rune Might by Edred Thorsson
Esoteric Rune Magic by D Jason Cooper
Enough prep... time to start.
The reference material for the study group:
The Book of Runes by Ralph Blume
Rune Magic by Donald Tyson
Rune Power by Kenneth Meadows
Rune Might by Edred Thorsson
Esoteric Rune Magic by D Jason Cooper
Enough prep... time to start.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Rune: Perth
Names: Perth, Peordh, Pertra
Represents: Initiation, hidden knowledge, the inner self, potential, luck
Alphabet: P
Color: Red
Sequence Number: 6 Blume, 12 Meadows, 14 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Loki
Plants & Minerals: Aspen - Meadows, Apple - Tyson
Potency: Ultimate resource, ever lasting, eternal.
Challenge: Do not fear change, your own failings, or regrets.
Primary Uses: Uncover knowledge, usually hidden or within one self or within the earth (or realm of the dead). It returns us to the core of our being.
Stroke Order: Vertical Down, then the lower left to upper right of the bottom inner angle, then lower left to upper right of the top outer angle, then upper left to lower right of the bottom outer angle, then the upper left to lower right of the top inner angle.
This is probably the most confusing rune to study thus far. I am still trying to integrate the conflicting and diverse interpretations the rune scholars present. The only agreement they seem to have on Perth is that it represents the letter "P" and that it is a rune akin to chaos. Beyond that, their interpretations vary wildly.
Blume looks upon Perth as a mystery rune; it is a rune at the heart of initiation, where nothing external exists and you are encapsulated in the mystery of self. It can mean a radical "death", or permanent separation. What is clear that there are no exceptions and no exclusions, you must let go of everything.
Cooper has similar ideas of Peordh as Blume. He adds to the interpretation that Peordh is both the key to opening the door into the darkness (death or the unknown) but it can also be the barrier separating us from it (life & death, good & evil, order & chaos). We are challenged by our weaknesses and failures. It is a rune of testing, of scouring the soul clean so that we can stand free of self delusions and burdens of our own making. Most of all, it is a rune of solitude... of reflecting upon ourselves in totality as if we were facing death.
Meadows diverts from Blume and Cooper quite dramatically in his interpretations. Like the first two scholars, he claims that Pertra is a rune of hidden knowledge. Were as the others talk of deaths and transitions, Meadows talks about potential and birthing. He sees Pertra as a rune of contained or stored potential and power; that which is passed down to the unborn generation that is their foundation when they come into being. Like the others, Meadows puts Pertra as the rune of individual foundation, of your single uniqueness, of that uncorruptable and eternal core that is "you" no matter how many lifetimes you incarnate.
Tyson agrees with his fellow scholars on in the idea that Peord is a rune for knowledge. After that, he is far and away from his fellows. In some ways, Tyson touches on ideas from Meadows, in that Peord is the apple, a fruit that represents the entire potential of reality and knowledge in a simple, contained space. To Tyson, Peord is a rune of abundance and can be misused to seduce others or to seduce oneself in pleasure and gluttony.
I am not sure how Perth fits into my runic foundation. I have seldom used it in any of my magics, nor have I drawn it often in divinations. It is a "mystery rune" to me, but one I should explore with care and dedication.
Represents: Initiation, hidden knowledge, the inner self, potential, luck
Alphabet: P
Color: Red
Sequence Number: 6 Blume, 12 Meadows, 14 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Loki
Plants & Minerals: Aspen - Meadows, Apple - Tyson
Potency: Ultimate resource, ever lasting, eternal.
Challenge: Do not fear change, your own failings, or regrets.
Primary Uses: Uncover knowledge, usually hidden or within one self or within the earth (or realm of the dead). It returns us to the core of our being.
Stroke Order: Vertical Down, then the lower left to upper right of the bottom inner angle, then lower left to upper right of the top outer angle, then upper left to lower right of the bottom outer angle, then the upper left to lower right of the top inner angle.
This is probably the most confusing rune to study thus far. I am still trying to integrate the conflicting and diverse interpretations the rune scholars present. The only agreement they seem to have on Perth is that it represents the letter "P" and that it is a rune akin to chaos. Beyond that, their interpretations vary wildly.
Blume looks upon Perth as a mystery rune; it is a rune at the heart of initiation, where nothing external exists and you are encapsulated in the mystery of self. It can mean a radical "death", or permanent separation. What is clear that there are no exceptions and no exclusions, you must let go of everything.
Cooper has similar ideas of Peordh as Blume. He adds to the interpretation that Peordh is both the key to opening the door into the darkness (death or the unknown) but it can also be the barrier separating us from it (life & death, good & evil, order & chaos). We are challenged by our weaknesses and failures. It is a rune of testing, of scouring the soul clean so that we can stand free of self delusions and burdens of our own making. Most of all, it is a rune of solitude... of reflecting upon ourselves in totality as if we were facing death.
Meadows diverts from Blume and Cooper quite dramatically in his interpretations. Like the first two scholars, he claims that Pertra is a rune of hidden knowledge. Were as the others talk of deaths and transitions, Meadows talks about potential and birthing. He sees Pertra as a rune of contained or stored potential and power; that which is passed down to the unborn generation that is their foundation when they come into being. Like the others, Meadows puts Pertra as the rune of individual foundation, of your single uniqueness, of that uncorruptable and eternal core that is "you" no matter how many lifetimes you incarnate.
Tyson agrees with his fellow scholars on in the idea that Peord is a rune for knowledge. After that, he is far and away from his fellows. In some ways, Tyson touches on ideas from Meadows, in that Peord is the apple, a fruit that represents the entire potential of reality and knowledge in a simple, contained space. To Tyson, Peord is a rune of abundance and can be misused to seduce others or to seduce oneself in pleasure and gluttony.
I am not sure how Perth fits into my runic foundation. I have seldom used it in any of my magics, nor have I drawn it often in divinations. It is a "mystery rune" to me, but one I should explore with care and dedication.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Rune: Uruz
Names: Uruz, Ur
Represents: Strength, Manhood-Womanhood, Passage, the Ox
Alphabet: U
Color: Dark Green
Sequence Number: 5 Blume, 1 Meadows, 2 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Freyja
Gods: Adumla (primeval Cow)
Plants & Minerals: Silver Birch
Potency: Limitless Potential of creation.
Challenge: The courage to let go of those things you no longer need. Then allowing new possibilities to arise.
Primary Uses: Starting of new endeavors or adventures... possibly a new business or relationship. It aids in anything that involves risk. It can also be used to boost morale.
Stroke Order: Start at the upper left and carve down diagonally to the right. Then down the right vertical. Then back to the upper left and down the left vertical.
Blume discusses the third rune in the Cycle of Initiation, Uruz, as the rune of Passage. Uruz bespeaks of a lean time, or time of darkness, through which we must travel in order to enter a new place or be "reborn." Death of an old relationship, with self or others, is at hand. It is a time of building strength through service and humility. Reversed, Uruz is most concerned with your relationship with yourself.
For the other Rune Scholars, Ur is far more than its challenge (what Blume seems fixated upon). The power of Ur is the limitless potential that exists between the two poles of creation. In the Norse Cosmos, this is the space between Cosmic Ice and Cosmic Fire. This "space" was not empty, or void, but a continual maelstrom of creation known as Ginnung. One could think of this essense or "space" as the limitless "unmanifest" reality... or "possibility"... or "potential".
The magic of Ur is not that of raw, brutal force, but of enduring, nurturing strength. There is argument between scholars as to whether UR represents the Auroch (extinct European Ox, similar to a buffalo) or Audhumbla, the Mother of Manifestation.
Tyson talks greatly of how Ur is representative of the Auroch, untamed power, male energies, courage and virility. He believes that UR is the male half of a pairing of UR and Feoh, pointing us to the many such male/female runic pairings as proof.
Meadows disagrees. He believes that Ur is limitless potential of creation, where Feoh is the creation itself (manifest reality). One is the predicessor of the other. It is said that the great cow walked the sky, her utters dripping with the essense of creation, leaving drops of in her wake... making the Milky Way. In this way, it is almost symbolic of man taming nature... the progression of creation from potential or wild (UR), to realized and domesticated (Feoh).
I think Ur is both the bull with his horns down, prepared to charge, and the cow with her head lowered to feed upon the earth. It is limitless potential and the source from which one can manifest reality.
Ur is best used to help bring ideas into reality, to empower you to complete projects, to find the strength to release the past and build your future, and to shape your reality. As a limitless resource, Ur can be used with other runes, in rune spells, to increase their potential and effectiveness.
Represents: Strength, Manhood-Womanhood, Passage, the Ox
Alphabet: U
Color: Dark Green
Sequence Number: 5 Blume, 1 Meadows, 2 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Freyja
Gods: Adumla (primeval Cow)
Plants & Minerals: Silver Birch
Potency: Limitless Potential of creation.
Challenge: The courage to let go of those things you no longer need. Then allowing new possibilities to arise.
Primary Uses: Starting of new endeavors or adventures... possibly a new business or relationship. It aids in anything that involves risk. It can also be used to boost morale.
Stroke Order: Start at the upper left and carve down diagonally to the right. Then down the right vertical. Then back to the upper left and down the left vertical.
Blume discusses the third rune in the Cycle of Initiation, Uruz, as the rune of Passage. Uruz bespeaks of a lean time, or time of darkness, through which we must travel in order to enter a new place or be "reborn." Death of an old relationship, with self or others, is at hand. It is a time of building strength through service and humility. Reversed, Uruz is most concerned with your relationship with yourself.
For the other Rune Scholars, Ur is far more than its challenge (what Blume seems fixated upon). The power of Ur is the limitless potential that exists between the two poles of creation. In the Norse Cosmos, this is the space between Cosmic Ice and Cosmic Fire. This "space" was not empty, or void, but a continual maelstrom of creation known as Ginnung. One could think of this essense or "space" as the limitless "unmanifest" reality... or "possibility"... or "potential".
The magic of Ur is not that of raw, brutal force, but of enduring, nurturing strength. There is argument between scholars as to whether UR represents the Auroch (extinct European Ox, similar to a buffalo) or Audhumbla, the Mother of Manifestation.
Tyson talks greatly of how Ur is representative of the Auroch, untamed power, male energies, courage and virility. He believes that UR is the male half of a pairing of UR and Feoh, pointing us to the many such male/female runic pairings as proof.
Meadows disagrees. He believes that Ur is limitless potential of creation, where Feoh is the creation itself (manifest reality). One is the predicessor of the other. It is said that the great cow walked the sky, her utters dripping with the essense of creation, leaving drops of in her wake... making the Milky Way. In this way, it is almost symbolic of man taming nature... the progression of creation from potential or wild (UR), to realized and domesticated (Feoh).
I think Ur is both the bull with his horns down, prepared to charge, and the cow with her head lowered to feed upon the earth. It is limitless potential and the source from which one can manifest reality.
Ur is best used to help bring ideas into reality, to empower you to complete projects, to find the strength to release the past and build your future, and to shape your reality. As a limitless resource, Ur can be used with other runes, in rune spells, to increase their potential and effectiveness.
Rune: Othila
Names: Othila, Odal, Odel, Ethel
Represents: Inheritance, Separation, Retreat
Alphabet: O (long O)
Color: Brown
Sequence Number: 4 Blume, 22 Meadows, 23 Cooper - Thorsson, 24 Tyson
Aett: Tir
Gods: Var
Plants & Minerals: Gorse
Potency: Power of Accomplishment
Challenge: Be willing to look back, embrace and acknowledge your past because that is the seed of what you will reap in the future.
Primary Uses: Connecting with ancestors, raising spirits, connecting to latent talents, protecting property and strengthening relationships.
Stroke Order: stroke up to the right, then cross to the left and stroke down to the right, then from the point strok down to the right and then down to the left.
For Blume, the second rune in the Cycle of Initiation, Othila, is the rune of separation. Like a snake, in order to grow you must shed an old skin. Old relationships that no longer support you must be released. Submission or retreat are the council of Othila. Othila is more about the separation of outmoded aspects of self than of physical property, but any and all forms of separation may be required. Adaptability is the skill of Othila. When reversed, Othila calls upon the abandonment of old authorities and habits, but to do so only with clear intent and in accordance with the Universe.
Cooper, Thorsson and Tyson approach Odel as the rune of Inheritance. It is a rune of property, of lineage, and of fortune. It is primarily the fortune of inborn or genetic talents that Odel deals with. The rune is also used in commerce, merchantile and partnerships.
Meadows has a slightly different take on Odal, thinking of it as the Rune of Accomplishment. Meadows seems to address this in a matter of Karma. As we sew so shall we reap. He talks on how Odal helps us to accomplish through persistence and time, safe guarding our efforts so that it can be passed on and integrated into the whole. Not only actions of our present life, but of our past lives, build upon eachother as our spiritual inheritance... a lineage of accomplishments.
Ethel, according to Tyson, represents more than the sum of a single lineage, man's life, or inheritance. It has grown since it was first used by the Germanic Tribes and now also represents the "homeland". It is the sum not only of all of our heritage as a people in land and prosperity, but also of the moraes, laws, and sins of a nation. It is the karma of a people.
Odal maintains order and structure for our property, inheritance, and talents. Odal can help to develop your latent talents, recognize your limitations, maintain order, acquire prosperity, and honour the home (family, partnerships, etc.)
Represents: Inheritance, Separation, Retreat
Alphabet: O (long O)
Color: Brown
Sequence Number: 4 Blume, 22 Meadows, 23 Cooper - Thorsson, 24 Tyson
Aett: Tir
Gods: Var
Plants & Minerals: Gorse
Potency: Power of Accomplishment
Challenge: Be willing to look back, embrace and acknowledge your past because that is the seed of what you will reap in the future.
Primary Uses: Connecting with ancestors, raising spirits, connecting to latent talents, protecting property and strengthening relationships.
Stroke Order: stroke up to the right, then cross to the left and stroke down to the right, then from the point strok down to the right and then down to the left.
For Blume, the second rune in the Cycle of Initiation, Othila, is the rune of separation. Like a snake, in order to grow you must shed an old skin. Old relationships that no longer support you must be released. Submission or retreat are the council of Othila. Othila is more about the separation of outmoded aspects of self than of physical property, but any and all forms of separation may be required. Adaptability is the skill of Othila. When reversed, Othila calls upon the abandonment of old authorities and habits, but to do so only with clear intent and in accordance with the Universe.
Cooper, Thorsson and Tyson approach Odel as the rune of Inheritance. It is a rune of property, of lineage, and of fortune. It is primarily the fortune of inborn or genetic talents that Odel deals with. The rune is also used in commerce, merchantile and partnerships.
Meadows has a slightly different take on Odal, thinking of it as the Rune of Accomplishment. Meadows seems to address this in a matter of Karma. As we sew so shall we reap. He talks on how Odal helps us to accomplish through persistence and time, safe guarding our efforts so that it can be passed on and integrated into the whole. Not only actions of our present life, but of our past lives, build upon eachother as our spiritual inheritance... a lineage of accomplishments.
Ethel, according to Tyson, represents more than the sum of a single lineage, man's life, or inheritance. It has grown since it was first used by the Germanic Tribes and now also represents the "homeland". It is the sum not only of all of our heritage as a people in land and prosperity, but also of the moraes, laws, and sins of a nation. It is the karma of a people.
Odal maintains order and structure for our property, inheritance, and talents. Odal can help to develop your latent talents, recognize your limitations, maintain order, acquire prosperity, and honour the home (family, partnerships, etc.)
Rune: Ansuz
Names: Ansuz, Ass, Os
Represents: Signals, Messages
Alphabet: A
Color: Purple
Sequence Number: 3 Blume, 3 Meadows, 4 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Freyja
Gods: All Gods, particularly Odin (Loki according to Blume)
Plants & Minerals: Ash (tree), Air Element
Potency: Creative expression of the spirit
Challenge: Communication with the self, nature, or the divine
Primary Uses: Creative Expression in all forms, gaining insight into situations and to attract "luck"
Stroke Order: Vertical down, then lower diagonal left to right, then upper diagonal left to right.
For Blume, Ansuz is the first rune of the Cycle of Initiation (13 runes total). The cycle starts when you receive a sign, a message, a call that connects you to something beyond what you have at present. This may have been a wanted or sought after connection, or it may be totally unexpected. It is a time to focus on self-change and integration of unconscious motive with conscious intent. The rune advises, especially when reversed, to unclog the well by clearing out the old. In times of trouble, Ansuz councils you to "Consider the uses of adversity."
For the rest of the rune scholars, Ansuz is the rune of communication and creative inspiration. It is "the word" in a biblical sense: "And the Lord said..." It is the rune of Sacred Knowledge. Tyson mentions that Os also represents the mouth of a river, or spring, which to the Germanic peoples were synonymous with the mouth of the divine from which all things came. Ansuz is the rune that conveys divine knowledge, clearing away blocks and moving use towards our purposes or growth. It is the bridge between the conscious and unconscious and between logic and creativity. It can be used to connect the right and left halves of the brain. Another aspect of this bridging or integrative power is that Ansuz carries both male and female energies, and reminds us that the divine is both masculine and feminine.
Represents: Signals, Messages
Alphabet: A
Color: Purple
Sequence Number: 3 Blume, 3 Meadows, 4 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Freyja
Gods: All Gods, particularly Odin (Loki according to Blume)
Plants & Minerals: Ash (tree), Air Element
Potency: Creative expression of the spirit
Challenge: Communication with the self, nature, or the divine
Primary Uses: Creative Expression in all forms, gaining insight into situations and to attract "luck"
Stroke Order: Vertical down, then lower diagonal left to right, then upper diagonal left to right.
For Blume, Ansuz is the first rune of the Cycle of Initiation (13 runes total). The cycle starts when you receive a sign, a message, a call that connects you to something beyond what you have at present. This may have been a wanted or sought after connection, or it may be totally unexpected. It is a time to focus on self-change and integration of unconscious motive with conscious intent. The rune advises, especially when reversed, to unclog the well by clearing out the old. In times of trouble, Ansuz councils you to "Consider the uses of adversity."
For the rest of the rune scholars, Ansuz is the rune of communication and creative inspiration. It is "the word" in a biblical sense: "And the Lord said..." It is the rune of Sacred Knowledge. Tyson mentions that Os also represents the mouth of a river, or spring, which to the Germanic peoples were synonymous with the mouth of the divine from which all things came. Ansuz is the rune that conveys divine knowledge, clearing away blocks and moving use towards our purposes or growth. It is the bridge between the conscious and unconscious and between logic and creativity. It can be used to connect the right and left halves of the brain. Another aspect of this bridging or integrative power is that Ansuz carries both male and female energies, and reminds us that the divine is both masculine and feminine.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Rune: Gebo
Names: Gebo, Gifu, GyfuRepresents: Partnership, Gift, Sacrifice
Alphabet: G
Color: Red
Sequence Number: 2 Blume, 6 Meadows, 7 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Freyja
Gods: Hod or Hoder
Plants & Minerals: Elm
Potency: Giving and Receiving; exchange of power
Challenge: accepting concequences for actions
Primary Uses: active partnership with the divine & your higher self, releasing of debt through sacrifice
Stroke Order: Upper Right to lower left, then lower right to upper left.
Though I love nearly all of Blume's explanations of the runes, I think he short changed Gifu. The rune is about so much more than basic partnership, or even partnership with the divine. The concept of divine balance is at work here. In science there is a law that states that nothing is created or destroyed, but simple changes energy states... aka. that all things remain in balance. Gifu is the exemplar of this law.
Whenever we ask ourselves, or the Gods, for assistance, we must be prepared to sacrifice something in return. The phrases "A gift demands a gift," "As I demand so I provide," and "As above so below," all characterize this mystical law. It is at this point, when we ask for the gift, knowledge, and we are then asked for something in return, our sacrifice for that knowledge. Odin hung himself from the great tree, faceing the waters of knowledge, and stayed, starving and weak, until the waters revealed the mysteries of the runes. From the sacrifice, he prospered. So must we do if we are to gain knowledge and power.
Gifu is the threshold to the cycle of initiation in Blume's ordering of the runes. In the most common order, Gifu is the 7th rune and is the point at which an initiate makes sacrifice to become a first level initiate. In both orderings of the runes, it is clear that only through sacrifice can one gain access to growth and change.
Rune: Mannaz
Names: Mannaz, Man, Manu, MadrRepresents: The Self, Man, Humankind
Alphabet: M
Color: Purple
Sequence Number: 1 Blume, 19 Meadows, 20 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Tir
Gods: Njord - sea god
Plants & Minerals: Vine (primarily grape)
Potency: Striving for Perfection & achieving your Potential
Challenge: To "know thy self", the good, the bad, and the indifferent
Primary Uses: self knowledge, self integration, centering, sharpen intellect, awaken intuition, strengthening your relationship with self and others
Stroke Order: Left vertical, up - Right vertical, up - left to right, down angle - right to left, down angle.
Though the majority of my sources put Mannaz in the last half of the rune sequence, I have always liked Blume's assertion that Mannaz is where we start. Without the self, the rest of our explorations in life are pointless. We will, without fail, find that the core of our strength and the source of our weaknesses all rely on the self. The self is not part of the cycle, but is the center of the circle of initiation. No matter where we are on the path, we are always in orbit of the self.
I use this rune to help recenter myself in chaotic times. I use it as a key to unlock my inner self. I use it to help remove barriers or illusions. I find myself both comforted by and uncomfortable with Mannaz. I suppose that simply illustrates my own acceptance and rejection of myself. Whenever life throws me for a loop, it is good to return here and reflect.
In meditation, I visualize the rune emerging slightly differently than the recommended order of strokes (cut or carving directions). I see both standards rising simultaneously, and then bending at the top, reaching for eachother, crossing as they descend to take hold of the other standard, making Mannaz the whole of two halves. Light and dark, masculine and feminine, projective and receptive. It represents the co-creative forces of the universe which are embodied in us. We are the embodiment of creation. You must know this to own your power.
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