LIGHT m
Hing
Mysr Dub Rs
L F IGH: rom ng to t ng Ths book contan a wet of medtons, vo and cremonis n ea-baed pra nclug uique aerl er bor uld. Fry lng a orm f rual a no folkloc trado nd p rng relainh bteen hman and e sprtual force of lnd o regon n wc ey e In t boo we b wt te follorc foudatn ut exed many of te ea ad tcnus nt remaa nw aa rey un Far lng co for e mod ea ea ng o eng th dd rlaton bn humy ad t an
Se a Scot uor ad cmpor ow n n UA he as fomally adtte s a "reent ae of etaordnary blty catgoy aard ony o to of cal d fol rcogzd cm n the r and cenc H boo ae bn puble any lgua nd wdly acnoldge as an uy yly lg agc t d ac rato a copo tr a witen an rcord uc fare m eo nd ar poduco ellg books cld h Mrn ao Cc Gods d Godde e ndrWord n ale re: Dmyng Qba Fo a l l o oo a cod rjtertne ISBN -�
) ewa ks
e Well f Lg t: Fm Faey Heal g Ea Heal g
tewart is a Scot, an auth or and a compo ser H e now ie s in
the United States where he was formay admitted as a resident aien of extra-ordinary ai iy, a category awarded ony to hose of exception a and forma y recogn ized achieements n the ars or ences. Hi s ooks ha e ee n pui shed in ma ny anguages, an d he i s widey acowe dged as an authority on mytho ogy, e gend s, magica ars, and ancient traditions As a composer, RJ. Stewart has written and recorded music for feature ms, teeision, and theater production such as ofony Richardson, im Hen son. He, working has a so with workdirectors ed on a numer award winning JBBe m s H is est se ing o oks incude he Merlin arot eltic Gods eltic Goddesses, The Under World Initiation and The Miracle ree: emysting Qabalah.
For a fu ist of ooks and recor ding s see
D BY AM U arlier books by R Stewart in the UnderWorld and Fae series and recording are rerred to i n various chapters
2. . 3 4.
The UnderWorld ( er 98US 5 UK ater US editions) arth Light 99 Initiation UK and at ediand tio ns) Pow er Within the Land ( 992 UK and a ter US editi ons) The Living World o Faery 995 U K and a ter US editi ons)
s:
5. The Miracle Tree emysting Qabalah 2003 , Ne w Page Books, NJ , USA 6. The Secret ommonwealth o lves, Fauns and Fairies ( 692) Re. Roert Ki rk. New edition with com mentary y R.J Stewart, srci nay pu ised y E ement Bo oks UK, now aaia e as free on in e ook at
7 Ballad Magic a ie C D of a presentation and conc ert, in which magica a ads are expore d, and sung in the au thentic tr adi tiona stye , with an audienc e. 8 More Magical Songs: Cassette or CD of src ina magica songs y R.J Stewart. If you cannot otain these ooks or recordings in your oca book store, yo u wi nd a o f the aoe, pu s many more, at where can pur chase them oni ne.
The Wel of Light: Fm Faey Heal g t Eat Heal g
T M of Doul o R.J. Stwart
CPYIGHT J WA © 200
All rights reserved. No part of his publicaion may by reproduced, sored in any rerieval sysem, or ransmied in any form or by any means, eecronic, mechanical, phoocpying, recording, or oheise, wiho prior wrien permission from he auhor
Cover CD artwork and line drawings by Martin Bridge from designs by RJ Sewart © 2.
Prined in he USA Reprined © 26 A caalog record for his boo is available from he Library of Congess ISBN: 978--9791211
PO Box 72 Boulder, c 8672
Ctet
Preface i Acknowledgeents Introduction iii
V
How to se This Book x PAR NE
. 2 3 4 5
Essen tia Deni tions 3 The Faery Races, Their Appea rances, a nd Inner Conta ct 29 The See n Aptitudes for Faery Hea ing 39 Deeper into the Aptitudes 64 Oerings 79
6. The Forms and Visi ons of Faery Hea ing 90 PAR o
7. The Mystery of the Dou e Rose
09
Reoended Work Progra for Se Training 45 Copyright and sage Notie 49 Appendix One: The Initiato ry Baa ds 5 Appendix Two: Initiato ry Songs 64
FA T F LGHT For he las en years or so, have been leading worshops on Faery Healing These classes began as hisorical and folloric eploraions based on old radiional maerial from Scolad, reland, and Erope They were agh a varios locaions in he Unied Saes and Briai, and gradally developed and epanded ino he maerial fond in his boo he srcinal idea was o al abo he old mehods preserved for ceries among conry peopl, which inclded laying on of hands, woring wih sones and plans, and healing hmans and animals Simple healig ars are always fond i associaion wih he fae radiion in one form or anoher As in all of my workshops and classes, here was an emphasis on pracical eperience - on he spirial and sble energeic aspecs of he sbjec, i his case, Faery Healing Aer he rs cople of worshops, hings sared o happen, ad he heme began o ae a sble impes and direcion of is own Whenever he grop did a mediaion or vision, some people wold begin o feel sble energies woring hrogh heir bodies, especially ino he hads began o sense some very specic faery conacs which wold always appear when we worked wih he healng wassill happeing? soon became ha were apping inomaerial a living Wha radiion, acve, wih spiri beingsclear ready o we respond and wor wih s This did no come o of ohig, shold add, for mos o he grops ha agh had already been woring wih ienional coac wih faery beigs They wored wih mehods ha we had eperienced ogeher in previos series of worshops or rom hose described i my boos o he Faery and UnderWorld radiions The fondaion had been laid before, b he nare of he faery edice ha rose p was srprising and powerfl This oo ad CD represen he core of he maerial agh in my worshops, along wih some addiional new maerial never before pblished or agh, especially he secion on The Myste of te Double Rose. This new maerial will be inclded in my ongog wor wih small grops for he fre ecorage yo ry his sprial pah for yorslf is highly rasformaive and deeply rewarding will change yor lie, and, as we ms limaely hope and srive for, i will conribe o healing changes in or world This foreword ends wih a prayer and invocaon ha have sed in Faery Healing for some years Tae i o io he world wih yo and se i freely
Wit s is te Grace of te Siing Ones in the Mystery of Eart Ligt Peace to all Signs and Sadows, Radiant Ligt to all Ws of Darkness, and te Living Oe of Ligt Secret Unknow Foreve Yo can find ou more abo worshops and classes by going o and abo boos and recordings a R Sewar
KNWDN
I would lik to thank th many studnts and fllow workrs in Fary and UndrWorld sirituality who ha workd with m or th yars, scially thos who ha takn art in th many Fary and workshos Unitdincs Stats, and fromthir 993 toaling th r classs snt d ay Thi r suort,inthth ir xr ustions ha c ontribut d towa rds my writing of ths book , spciall y in m y working out o f tchnius to publ ish for gnra l us, now and in th futur Also, J nny Strack f or hr work on th coy diti ng and format tng of th boo k Cor, CD artwork, and lin rawings by Martin Bridg from dsigns by RJ Stwart © 2004 , isit Som arts of this book ha r io usl y aa rd on th Dram owr w bsit , and i n arlir art icl s on th Fary tr adition and UndrW orl d And, I must also than and ackowldg thos inisibl Allis, Cou sin s and CoW alkrs C omanio n Craturs G o-B twns and Mntors of th siritu al ralm of our E, whc h is th Fary Ralm and UdrW orl d that forms th subj ct and s ourc o f this b ook RJ Stwart Cal foia, Wintr 2003
dc
H WLL O H S AR O A SERES
The Well of Light: o aey ealing to Eath Healingis art of
an ong g sri o f tbooks ich I sha tnwork from xr inc, both myoinown andstha o f mywh studnt and writ fl low rs, basd on ractical rsarch and intntional tamwork to on out our undrstanding of thos owrfl ralms of consciousnss and bing, mbodid in Fary t als, myths, lgnds folk magic , and th litratur of th ancint world Earlir books in this sris can b found in th Bibliograhy, and r occasionally citd or uotd hrin You will bnt no rmously from rading and working with ths arlir books that laid th foundation for The Well of Light but you do not ha to rad or study thm to undrtak th mthods th at ar taught h rin T his book stands alon , an d ors many tchnius and insights into Fary aling that ha nr bn blishd and ar unknown in most contmorary txts on Fary m agic TE EOS ARE O O RE EX ER ENE O N
The Well of Light: o aey Healing to Eath Healing is th
rsu lt of mor tha n 3 0 yars of work in th Fary nd Undr Worl d
NODUCION
ix
magical and siritual traditions, and th last tn or mor yars of ractica l work in Fary al ing its lf, both taching and larning with grous of ol in many d iffrnt lacs Th natur o f ths Fary and UndrWorld traditions today, which is somwhat diffrnt from thir folkloric and ancint sourcs, is discussd in dth in th following chatrs ncludd ar many ractcal xamls tha t wi ll bring th radr into a bt tr rla tion shi , an d a mor ful l xr inc , of what may b found within th gratr and radiant consciousnss that such traditions mbody n this intro duction, I wi ll summariz and dscrib th main ascts of th book, and thrf or, t h way in which i t was writt n Fary ali ng i s a form of siritual hal ing known in f olklo ric traditi on. It i mli s a working r lationshi btw n huma ns and t h siritualcloforcs of th land(sirit) or rgioall n is in whic h thy li Th halr works sly with Fary in Fary aling : thy ca n do things that w canot, and w can do things that thy cannot Many rm arkabl rsu lts ar ossi bl though work ing togt hr ! It ha s lon g bn ror td that sc c haling skl ls wr racticd in th folkloric Fary Traditions of Britain, Irland, and Euro n thi s boo k w bg in with th folkloric foundation, but xtnd m any of th idas and tchius into nw aras, riously unown andra, n r bfor ublig, shd alin oms, for th mod rn Earth alin a wayFary of haling thg bc wound d rlationshi btwn humanity and th l ant Fary aling is about l iing cons ciousnss, and our rla tionshi and a ticiation within such l iing c onsci ousnss Thoug h thr ar occasional rfrncs to folklor and traditional sourcs, and arly txt s in th chatr s that fol lo w, thi s is no t a book xcl usi ly on folklor or Fary customs thr ar many book s that dal with th folk lor ic matrial in ways rangi ng from highly acadmic studis to ban al, n insulting, nonsns. This, howr, i s a textbook/o practical experience 0/ Faery Healing a nd Earth Healing writtn within th liing siritual traditions of th Fary ralm and UndrWorld This is a book that hls you, th radr, t o xr inc substantially altrd consciousnss, and to ntr into, and rtu out of, this altrd consc ious ss at wil l.
T W
O T
Make no mistake, the Faery Tradition, Faery Healing, and the related ndeWorld magical arts are not uaint practices of by gone days, but odes of consciousness Our participation within these arts can bring about ery strong and dened changes of consciou sness and subtle energy t hrough speci c practices These practices are enshrined, albit in a fragmentary and cloaked mannr, in those older ancestral traditions handed down through story, song and custom In a book of this sort we go further than merely restating th folkoric content of Faery Healing or Faery magic somethng which is adeuately proided by a number of sources that the rader can asily nd with an internet search, in addi tion to the Bi bl io gaphy offeed at th e nd of this boo k) We go further bcause we seek to apply the foundational material, the magical wisdom of something ou ancestos, it alie in modern practice It becomes that and we bing do rather than something that we read about ER CONA RO AER COSOSESS
S o far I hae outli ned onl y two aspects of this book : ancestal f olk lori c tradition a cotempora ry restatemen t of such create pactical, and ethods fo moden readers There is atradition third to aspct, which is crucial not merely to this book, but to all under standing and practice of spiritual magic, and in this case, to the practice of Faey Healng This aspect is the inne contact the liing consciousness and participation that gies rise to many of th tachigs and practices herein Th deepest matrial in this book comes from years of working with inner contacts This is Theexplored Mysteryinofseer the Double particu larly stru e fo which from theme that al earlieRose r books, bu arises t here hae ar opend out for the rst time, at a deeper leel reealing their true i nnr co ntent an d magic al potential By "inner contact mean actual communion and contact with Faery alli es, with those spiritual beings that are ou cl oses t cou sin s in the metaphysical realms, i the natural realms, and in the
ODUCION
mystrious lacsin-btwn I ha includd som itms from dirct innr contact in srl chtrs, and ha discussd how inr contact works, and how I h transatd th contact tachings into words f or our us within th boo k Onc yo u start working Far y magic , you soon d isc or that it is tamwork Of cours it is what would b th oint oth rwis? t i s not symbolism or fantasy, but ractical tamwork shard btwn humans an d sirit ual alli s If this ida mak s y ou uncom ortabl, you ha not yt shd th smothring and sour old garmnt of ostChristian conditioning, a nd this book i s robably not f or you If, howr, you ar on to th ida that th world is ry dirnt from th consnsual roaganda taught in schools and rin forcd by tl isi on, thn I am sur that you wi ll nd much to insir and bookm I can assrt this bcaus writing it hasintrigu insirdyou and inin this trigud not, o f cours, th long and atint assmbly of txt and rfrncs and chcking grammar that is th ddicatd labor of any comtnt author, but th discory of nw matrial This nw matrial coms from Inr Conta cts: I co mmun wit h my a lli s, m y Fary all is, and so com into scic tachings and ractics Som of ths ar found in thi s book Th wr iting , th x osi tion , th w ords ar min , but th innr concts and th cor mthods com from Fary consciousnss EALN G A WONE WORL
•••
Ifw ar to truly wor k wi thin a hali ng traditi on that will transform our outr world, w must also work ry hard to form good conctions with th through con sciouromantic snss o fism othr g binbraks gs on Earth This is not achid onliin wknd in th woods, on safaris, or on tour shis that ollut th Antarctic It coms only through stady uncasing atint work to rlat to our allis, cousins, and co-walkrs of th Fary and cratur ralms My initial task as writr and mdiator is to attun, commun, dscrib, and o r th rsulting tachings, but ou task, all of us
xii T W
O T
togthr, is to put thm into daily practic Such an ongoing and ddicatd practic in t hart of th concrt and plastic city is instimab ly mor aluabl than a n occ asi onal trip to th coun try It is th practic that is impor tant n ot just th location Fo, if it is don wll and don dply, th practic transforms both th location and our sls So a larg propor tion o f th mat rial in this book coms d irct from th liing consciousnss of th Fary Tradition, though th writing out of this into human txt is my own, as ar any faults thrin Whn you work with th practical mth ods dscribd in th following chaptrs, thy will put you into dpr contact with th Fary ralm and with t h arts of Fary aling T E T REEOL AG ES O AER EA NG
Throughout this book, I ha mphasizd that Fary aling is not about a human focusd ndbasd haling, such as w ar accust omd to xpct, and pay f or, in mo d ist cul tur Thr ar sral stag s to Fary a ling, and w usual ly xpr inc thm in th fol lowing ordr Fary alin g is rst and forost about transformation through intraction with othr ordrs o lif, th Fary racs, th liing craturs of th la nd and sa , and th p lants This tansformation is of itsl f, a hal ing xprin c 2 Th nxt stag is mia tion of th subtl forc s, th lif and dath forcs in allianc with our cousins, allis, and co-walkrs of th Fary ralm This is th stag that includs, but is by no mans li mitd to, indirct hal3) ingr through th S n Aptituds (which dscribd Chaptr th haling forcs may ow to ar humans, animals , plac s, or in a mor gnral wa y (and just as ndl and sign icant) thy may ow uncondi tionally out into th woundd world 3 Th third stag is Earh a lin g, which has within it t hr furthr stags Earth aling is whr w com away fom th focusd
NTRODUCTON
n ds or imbalancs o f an indiidual ntity, b it hum an or oth r, and work on largr tasks This is always tamwork, whrin humans and Fary allis work togthr t cannot b don by humans alon, or indd, by th Fary ra cs alon On of th a ims of this b ook is to promot undrstanding of on of th cor tach ings of th Fary Tr aditi on there are things that They an o that
We annot and there are things that We an o that They annot.
n Fary ali ng, as i n all Fary magic , both sid s, human and Fary, work accor ding t o thi s primary law , and thus s k to work tog thr in harmony an d mutua l rspct Thr is no i da, anywhr in this book, that faris ar imaginary constructs, psychological archtyps (in th Jungian sns), "thought forms or "hlprs Thy ar ral, indpndnt, li ing bin gs with which w shar th world, th stags sacrdof lant Th t EarthEat ahlin g ar as follo ws 3 Undt aking largr tasks, which ar oftn about th itali ty of land or sa, is th rst st ag This may ino l tamw ork on clansing and haling locations that ha bn pollutd or damagd, a nd on opning out th spir itual forcs in "dad zons cratd by human dlopmnt Th is rst ll may also i ncl ud workingpolonluti spcis craturs bn impactd human on or of abus Thrthat is a ha futhr aspct of thi sbywork, whic h is s imi lar to inocu lation, im munization, and df ns 3 2 Th scond ll is ca rrid out dpr down, i n th UndrWorld itslf t consists of haling subtl ris and imbalan cs that ar, both mtaphysi cally and litrall y, in th ralms bnath At this ll , w work not on isi bl and tangibl surfac tasks or imbalancs, or upon liing bings of th outr world nstad w work r motly, in dp tam cons ciou snss , upon th subtl forcs of th land and sa Ths ar usually prsntd to us in a is ion ary form A cla ssi c xampl of this typ of work is found i n th s ction o n Brige Making (in C haptr 6) . A furthr ll o f this scond stag inol s con scio us coop ration in th mgnc of nw l if forms fom th dp Dam o f th World , mdiat d by th Shinin g Ons in th co r an d hat of Earth L ight
V W OF
T
3 3 h thrd ll s dp n th l ng consco usnss and nrgy of th pl ant, a nd s don n that plac whr th Eart h Lght and th Shnng Ons orgnat h s s mostly n th manr of forml ss, wordlss Commun on h ry ac t of buld ng such a communon s, n slf, th Earth alng hs thrd ll, or mod, s only accssbl aftr tranng and practc n th rst two, though w may ouch upon t n sonary xprnc s o hlp us gras p th s ll , ha ncludd a son that us wth my mor xprncd tudnts and groups, calld th Sacred Mounain n Chap r 6) . Now hat ha ntroducd th book , would nt and ncourag you to rad nxt th short sct on on How to se This Book bfor you jump ntosth practcal work Fary ng ocaton, r l stn to ha th CD that com wth t hs book Forofths typ oal f publ found such "how to sctons to b naluabl, both for my own works whrby thy hlp m to clar how th radr mght us th book as wrt , and thus mpro th communcaton btwn us all ), and n th os b ooks by ohr wrtrs, wh os work rad, and from whch la
Hw Ue Bk
Frst, l stn all th w ay through to th CD Scond, rad th book th ough lk a nol Thrd, d o th xrcs s n th rst chap tr, wth out fal
Fouth, work th bo chaptr But bfor youwth do any of ok th ch s, paptr lasby tak a f w mnuts to rad on
Thr ar sral lls to ths book, for n th Fary ralm t s possbl to say many thngs at onc As author, part of my task has bn to sparat out ths s multanous, and somtim s para dox cal , statmnts, mt hods, and ns gh ts Thr ar many ways to work th a book o f ths lk sort,abut as always, rcommnd th at you rad twstraght though, nol, bfor Itryng any practcal work For most of us ths s di cult, as w long to jump n and do thngs, but your p atnc w l l b wl l rwardd Why so? Bcaus as you rad rgh t through th book, you wl l b storng n your mnd many thngs , thoughts, mags, and concpts, som of which ma y not mak sns on a rst radng, plus (I trust) n mor thngs that d o nd d mak sns, nsp , nform, and cr at ral zato ns If you ar so ncl nd, you co uld mak som not s from your rst rading, though thr s no nd to do so, as ths s not an a cadmc txt bu t an nsprational on Th mor you can sat Fary and UndrWorld work n lng mmory, th bttr t wll functon for you You canot tak your
xi W OF L notbook (p apr or lctronic ) to th Fa ry ral, or into th spi rit world a t larg Bi ll Gats notwiths tanding Onc th txt has bn rad, you will nd that th arly dita tion s and is ionary xrcis s in th rst chaptr, ntitld Essential Denitions will bgin to rlat strongly to your rading, and intra ct with your ory o f th txt, prhaps on an unco nsc iou s ll at rst, bu t soon rging into th at nw conscio usnss wh r th huan and Fary rals t This is th thrshold plac whr frsh things co, inspird, into th consciousnss For a psychologist ths "frsh things ar a rsult of procsss of cognition or apparancs fro th unconscious ind This ay ind d b s o, but thy als o co fro i nnr contacts, a th that is cntral to this boo k, and to t h Fary T raditi on it sl f So, haing listnd to thwork CD,with and th radrst thchaptr, book through, plas bgin your practical Essential Denitions This i s a st of short ss ays on b asic s such as th natur of th Fary Ral, Elntals, Titans and Giants, Ti and Ancstors, along with a st of sip l fors or xrcis s for opn ing out consciousn ss ha us d th word fors bcaus ths xrcis s ar not txt-basd isual izations, though w accss th, of cours, through th txt Anothr tr that i ght b hlpful is epowered visions Ths sipl fors, anda th or copl x fos, ar powrd by i nnr contact nd bylatr su btl forcs
Thy ar not rly constructs writtn to arous a snsation or a ood n you do th, sothing happns that sothing cos fro th subtl forc s and th attund inr c ontacts that you rach tough th f o, through th wor king would rco nd tha t yo u do ach of th fos in Essential Denitions onc you ha rad thir rl ant scti ons You sho uld do th at last thr tis ach, in your own ti, at your own ac Thy onl y tak a fw inuts ach, thoug h you c an spnd as uch ti as you wish in th counion phas of any of th isio ns You can thn contin u to do th whnr and whr r you wish, as thy ar sipl, dirct and asy to la Thy will substantially prpar th way for your dpr work with Fary al ing and Earth ali ng
How TO
U T
BOOK
OE I EL INES FOR USING T E E RISES
rhaps yo u ha no t don thi s ki nd of thin g b for, but tough out th main txt I assum that many radrs ha workd with innr ision , and ar xprin cd i n som k ind of innr w ork, as this is not a tota bginnr's book En if you ar xprincd, you sho ud c ons idr th f o owin g mthod which of frs som in sights into how innr working actuay functions for us as contmporary pop l Thr ar four sta gs , a of which mutually i ntract, and ar not truy sparatd from on anothr Th txt stag, rading an d assim iating (ra ding s i nty, th n aoud) 2 Thi isua st ag, mannr int ntiona y buididin g imags th imagi nation n a focusd without straction or(using mandring) 3 Th f ing stag, xprinci ng th innr contact and feeling th subt forcs (Not mry motiona imptus or prsona f lings, but a sns of touc h or body mmory For xampl, think o f how a pac you ha isitd on your tras els This innr touch and mmory is what wi cary you to and f ro to inn r pl acs such as th Crossro ads, th W of Li ght, and th UndrW or d 4 Th tota br mmory stag: with nd that its youffcts can rmm th totali of thpractic, working,you andwi rproduc bacards from th f ingbody m mory o f th third stag This is actualy an asy procss that occurs rapidy, though it sms com p x to dscrib or ra d about I t is asy bc aus w al ha an inhrnt abili ty to do this no mat tr how out of practic w ha bcom du to th articia constr aints o f modist if. So , xpri ncd or not, hr i s th b asic mthod, which, if yo u ar working from txt, is to b gin by radi ng th form/xrci s though to yours f : . Rad it aoud a f w tims unti you ar fami iar with it. Som pop ik to t ap thmss rading it , as this hps to sat it in th mmory Tapin g works wl for th ba sic short forms, b ut may b a chor f or th ong r ons
xviii W
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2 Wen you are fairly c omfortal e and fami liar wit te contents, work inwardly troug te form i.e. do i t. Keep t e ook wit you, ut try not to refer to it. o for te stages of te empowered visi on, step y step, rater tan te sentences of text descriing it Only refer to te ook if you forget one of te steps . ry to use te text as a cl ue, n ot as dogma. Aim f or te vi sionary stages . If you do not ave a strong visual imagination, do not concern yourself or tink of tis as a arrier tere is far too muc empasis on te visual in our culture. e mos advanced spiritual work goes far eyond visio into activ e communion. erely tink, f eel , and see your way troug te stage s o eac form. It w ll c ome ali ve for you. 3 You will know wen it comes alive, ecause you will feel sutleience sensaions, oen inyou te will ody, rater exper s. Someimes indeed,tan see toug te Faeryvisionary eings, ut more oen you f eel teir presence and you r ody w il l respond to teir sutle f orces . Learn to trust ti s sensory experie nce . 4 Wit so me practice, y ou wil l simp ly rememer te. o for te totali ty of it, rememer te eeling, and you are tere . Now te real ma gic egins. USNG TE CD
is book comes wit a C D of empowered vi sions, wit music on te ute and 80 strin ged psalt ery. ost people w il want to li sten to te CD imme iatey I know tat I always do w en I uy a CD ! As wit e ook, listen to te recording all te way troug. Just asor it you may go deeply into te visi onary forms, o r you m ay simply listen. Let it work for you spontaneously at rst. e conte nt of te C D is , in fact, par t o f a progr essio n wic yo u w il l n d i n te suggeste d work progr am at t e e nd of te ook . You d o no t ave to fol low te work program , ut I ca n assure you ta t it wil l e elpful i n your evelopmen t of skil ls in ot Fa ry Healing and in UnderWorld and Fa ery magi c in general. e coi ce i s yours. It is more elpful and eective o nd a small numer of orms or
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workings and do tem freuently wit dedication, tan to slog troug an y work progr am or text step y step witout relating to it Take it eas y, tere i s no rus or panic Indeed, you wil l n d tat your ody and inner sense will respond rapidly enoug to te materi al, ot o n te CD, and in te ook We alrea dy ave ina te aptitudes f or Faery He aling , and we already ave expe rien ce of te spiritual world s, alei t clo aked from us y te drudge ry and tedium of te modeist wor ld e poetr y and music on te CD elps to wip tat clo ak aside Once you ave worked wi t te CD a numer o f tim es, y ou wil l easily rememer te forms or empowered visions on it Tey include some powerful formulaic invocations, wic you will e ale to repe at inwardly and work wit an ywere, any ti me Te work p rogram also s ow s ow to integrat e te tracks on te CD into te mat erial of te main text, step y step WORK NG T ROG TE BOOK
Having listened to te CD, aving read te ook troug like a novel, and ten aving worked wit te simple forms in te rst capter of Essential e ready work tI roug te remaining captersDenitions of te ookyou onewiyll one As to always, would recommend tat you step troug eac stage in te order tey appear, capter y capter Do eac form at least once, ut ten move on to te next, until you ave done t em all at least once Use te work progr am at t e end o f te o ok if you w is, ut do not fail to do eac form, in order, at least once Tis simple metod is intense , and wi ll greatly open out your inner senses and a ptitudes Do no t get stuck on an y one stage, for if it do es not wor k for you now, it wi ll work later And e sid es, it may e wor king at a deep leve l, to surface later troug some as yet unknown pat ter in yo ur spiritual l ife is is Faer y magic , and it doe s not work li ke install ing so wre Intense c oncentra tio n and repea ted effort on an y one ite m are usually counterproductive It is etter to ave experieced te
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wole seuence tan to merely focus on one part of it. f you are unsure aout t e "resul ts of any stage, sim ply move on to te next. Do not place value judgments or merit awards on your inner experience s tey are not col lege studies or employment r ole s. Let us e tankful As wit all skills, te wole is more tan te sum of te parts. ere are wa t seem t o e graded exerci ses in tis ook , from te sortest and simplest to te more complex. ere are stages of interaction, rom te sort visit to te UnderWorld, to igly empo were d excang es of energy troug meditation of Al li es, o- Betweens, and te rea t One s of te traditio n. Yet te simp lest form is a lso te mo st powerful and te so-c alled "eg inner forms are tose tat yo u wi ll use again at te deep est le vel wen you ave gained muc orld experie and UnderW . nce in your r el ationsi ps wit t e Faery r ealm Once you ave worked troug it all take a reak for a wile, and let tings settle witin you and mat ure. At som e later time , read troug te etire ook again, li ke a novel . You wil l e surprise d at ow di fferent it se ems and ow muc id den materia l leaps out at you once you ave experi enced te iner contact and practiced Faery Heal ing. is occurs ecause t e Faery and UnderWo rld con scio us ness as m any multaneous leve lssay , werea s plain text not. Finally, willsisay w at al ways in worksops anddoe cla ssse s do not expect or demand of yours elf to rememer everyting. Some tings will stand out str ongly and vivid ly, oters wil l e vague or even dicul t e way to use tis ook, as descried aove, will poarize and clari many ings for you, esp ecial ly your spiritual sen sitivi ty and your Aptitude s for Faery Heal ing . After tat? Jus t do i t it is yo ur gi, your rigt, your responsi ili ty, y our j oy, and your tru r ole i te world. R.J. Stewart, 2003
AT ONE
1. Eetal et
In thi s C hapter yo u wi ll n d a series of sort es says that dene the essentials of the Faery Tradition, te nderWorld, Titans and iants, T ime and Consci ousn ess, and oter rel ated suj ects They were written a period ofwor timekshops to answer thethey asic uestions tha over t people as k in and cmany asses,of so ar ise from the thoughts and needs of students, Faery enthusiasts, and practicing magi cians of many schoo ls of tought and practic e hese essays are intended as simpe denitions and introductions to many of the i deas i n this ook, and they descrie many of the core con cepts that are expl ored in mor e deta il throughout t he ook It i s recommended that you read this chapter rst, efore procee ding to the in depth ma terial in the main text AERI ES, ARE IRI S AN L EM EN ALS
During my travels in te nited States teaching workshops, one uesti on keep s recurri ng in various f orms "What is the di erence (and/or the connection) etween Faeries, Nature Spirits, and Elementals? Li ke most uestions, tere are sev era poss ile answer s, and none of them are completely true owever, we can draw near to the truth of the matter, espe cial ly though medi tation vis ion , and direct experience of the spirit world of our planet I do not refer to the
4 T W OF spiri word o f anges bu o a of our plane, wic eems wi spiriua ife. In e aery and UnderWorld radiions, we are concerned wi e iving plane and is spiriua dimensions, no wi a remote sirituaiy of so-caed "iger pnes. We repudiae and scorn e pernicious noion a e Ear is someow sinfu and a e Early ream, and e Lunar realm a enfolds i, mus be someow rejeced in order o reac spiriua l eni genm en. E nli genmen begi ns a om e and Ear is our ome. Laer, wen we ave experienced e ransformaive power of e Ear Li g we discover a e Ear and oon ave eir ome wiin e consciousness of Sun and Pnes and a e sol ar word as is ome i n e Sars. By be ing at om e on Ear, eref ore , we are di scov eri ng a we are are ady a ome i n eSoSun Sars. isand essay on aeries, aure Spiris, and Elemenas is inended o ep se e scene for your own experience, o oer some simpe ougs, ideas, uesions, and caenges. Tese calenges apply especiay o popular esabised dogma and propaganda abou aeri es aure Spiri s, and Ee menas . As wi mos spiri ua ma ers e us begin a e end of e l is, and work our way ow rds e be ginn ing. Elementals
Some years ago I ad a conversaion wi e au or Isaac o newiz. He said approximaey) a Elemenals only exis in e formal empe or lodge were e riua magician as creaed em. We di scusse d is for some ime , and I ink w e di sagreed in a f riendly manner. However, is saemen made me ink abou e popuar idea of Elemenas as i is presened in modern lierau re on magic paganism, wiccra, ear myseries , and so for. Tere ce rainly is, I concuded, a probem wi e way Eemenas are oen described, wic is a ey are componens of pure Air, ire, Waer, or Ear, wi a basic consciousness ineren in eir own naure, bu noing el se . Ifwe ink abou Elemenas as sma componens o f "ure Air,
E D 5 Fire, Water, and Eart wit some so rt of limited co nsc iousnes s, we are making tem too as tract and too smal l. Tese "pure E lementa ls are wat saac Bonewitz was talking aout, and tey are indeed mainly found were tey ave een impressed into existence y temple magic. Tey ave no independent existence in natre, and will fade if tey are not constantly maitained. is is similar to many experiment al or analytical situations in sciec e, wic cannot e maintain ed outside laorat ory condition s. Te m agical temple is te la oratory of te magi cian, of course, ut we need to re late to te l ivin g world rate r tan crea te i sol ated entit ies tat a ve no li fe eyond te ma gic al el d of teir crea tio . Durin g te l ate 1 970s , was at sea in te Englis Cannel travel ing troug a terrile storm in wic several sips, including sai lo ats aout in te te Fastnet Race,and we re los t. of isElementals experien ce le are me in no dout existence nature tey large conglomerate eings of one primary Element, ut wit te oter tee also present. Tus te Storm l ived as many uge wind Elementals (Air) and te mountainous seas (Water). t was also its elf a Storm i s made i t, for te dura tio n of its li fe, a Nature Sp irit, de ned y ot power and place . ts pow er was of te many Elementals of Air and Water, and its pl ace was te Eng li s Cannel , were it live dare andperceived moved . and encountered during a gatering Elementals of forces i nto undeni ae , visi le, tangi e pattes te forest re, te volcanic eruption, te tornado, te eartuake. Anyone wit spiritual sensitivity wo as een in any suc events will conrm te presence of a ost of eings tat, like a ive or complex organism, make up te great er eing te total. Ti s is not unusual fo r us to compre end, of course . e uman ody is exactly suc a compound organism. Billions of living creatures work togeter to create tat same ody tat we use to slump on te couc and watc television, or to walk around te world and commune wt te Faer y all ies, trees, p lants, and livi ng creatures. e coice s ours te ody is not. Tus, to att empt to iso late "an Ele mental s like is olat ing an atom peraps exa ctly t e same. t i s a tecnical or ar tci al proce ss.
6 W OF ey al l exi s in Na ure, bu do no exi st naturay in i soaion , for ey are dened uterly by one anoer. Man Fire Eementals make a bonre, or a resorm, bu ey can d so ony roug ineacion wi tose of Air and Ear to build a arger Eleme ntal be ing . It i s a mat er of relaivity and no o ne o f absra ct absolues. We are already Eleentals!
Do not forget, ever, t at yo u are aready E lemental s. ere i s not one, but severa o f tem, mo st likel y a large compe x number, witin yourself. Our bodies are made of Water, Eart, Fire, and Air. Our consciousness and energies are Elemental at is, e pilo sopica or mea pysical concep t o f e Four Elements as relaive states of moton and energy, but not i mied to e mode rn idea of elements as dened in cemist ry and pysi cs. So, to nd Eementals, we need look no furter tan our own bodies and moods. And, I propo se, we sould pay muc more atention to e way our bod ies and emoti ons interact wi places a nd wit wea ter canges. In te Faerybased spiriual radiions, ineracion wi weater and wit pace brings deep in sigts is dea o f ourseves as Eemenals aises a fundamental forinour a working at is especiayteme elpfu ourdiscussion, contex ofand Faery ream, denition te nderW orld, and e a sks o f Faery Hea ing. A beings in naure, corpoea or spiritua, are made up of comina tions a nd ryt ms o f e E ements. u s Faeries, Nature Spirts, umans, t rees, plants, animas, ses, nsects, mountains, oceans, continents, teepone ca ing cards, cewing gum, and ca ned 1.
so drinks are a composed of Eementals in varyig patterns or sets of reationsips Some are igy active, some are reatvel inactive. 2. Occasion aly we w experience arge Elemenals, suc as sos, res , and earuakes. 3 . Elemena ls are n Faerie s or Nature Spirits, bu F aeries a nd Naure Spirits are oen srongy eemenal in eir caracer.
E D 7 Nature Spirits
So , Nature Spirit s are wat? As is so oen te case, w e can discove r wat someting may e y disceing wat it is not. Surely, tey are no t cutesy l ittle cartoon tings posturing upon cut ivated, irradiated, and mutated cut owers or li sping soy to u s om te wellpruned toxinaden trees of suuria I feel, sense, and commune wit Nature S pirits as Spi rits of Place power ful zone s of consciousness a nd energ y in and of suc places as a forest, a il l, or a river ey ave distinct presence, powers, and perceptions, ut tey do no move around eyond teir own ound aries ey are te spirits tat t e Ancients c a ed genii loci te geniuses or j i of place By comparison, and of a dierent order, te spiritual forces of plants, owers, and trees are co ll ective entities witin te na tural world Segments of tese may l ive witin , or comprise organs of , any specic Nature Spirit Suc collecives are found over uge areas, sometimes world wide, just ike umans us a grove of oak trees will e an organ of a Nature Spirit in a valey, ut e co ll eciv e of oak trees tougout te continent, even te p anet, is an oakentity in itse lf tat is not conned i n any smal ler loc aion , ute is plSpiri anetary n its eing t of aiPlace, or Nature Sp irit, mig e compared ro adly to te col lective o f a mode city it as a uniue id entity of its own, and caot depart from its rooed locaion, yet tere are many independ ent eings witin its eld of energy and consciousnes s We co ul d cons ider, as an example , tat m any umans an d oter creatures are part of te organism known to us as New York It as a uniue unmistakale identity and location, yet its individual inaiant s ot are andand arePowers not partapplies of it is same si mple spiritual law of Place, People, to mountains, forests, lakes, valleys , great oceans, pl anets, and sta rs So to return to te teme, Nature Spirits are complex entities made up of a totality of many oter eings, and all involving Elementals Just as umans, animals, and all living creatures are complex interactive eings made of oter eings, so are Nature
8 W OF L Sprts. ey re, oever, rooted pce, e t pce gret or sm , te or cosm c s e d po er. ey re, fct, mt rc es it ic coectve deveops d ives, eve toug memers of t coectve my rve fr from er src ome pce, perps ever to reur. The Racial Soul or Overso ul
s sme ide of te coectve tt s fouded i octo s so preset t e rter cof used cocept of e Rci Sou o r Rc Over sou. e smpest de o of e R c Sou s ts e ou of ce s , o r s, org y uited y te poer of te d i ic t t rce foud ts de tty d coerec e. No rce i s "pure, of course, ut s rody deed y cert dstictve crct erst cs ss oc ted t d i ic te peope ve ved for my geertos (eve f tey do ot ve tt d o). us e oud o t esy c ofuse Sco t it S ede , or Ntive Amerc i S ier , toug ec of tese rc types sre some tigs i commo deep i tei r rci org is. A rce, s co ec ve , s ot mited y t t d, o ever, for ts co ective mprt trve fr t d vidu s t t come from te orgi rce . Wt tme, tese dvdus d teir desced ts c, d oe do, form e coective, trsformed y iter cto t te e d us I m Scot Amerc , ike so my efore me, d Scotd ere I s or s i my sou. But I o oger ive tere d my descedts i ecome, ppropritey, more d more Amer ic if tey c ose to ive d procrete i ti s coutry. At ts stge e mgt cosder tt Acestors c e of my rces, eve toug e of oe or to oy, from our ovous mter or pter es. Some of our Acestors my e Acestors of ski rer t of ood, suc s crftsme, scietists, poets, muscis, or orkers o f Fery mgc . At t s eve of cestr y, rce s rree vt.
E D 9 What abou t the aeries ?
Traditi ona lly, Faeri es are said to e t e rst order o f spiritual ein gs in te world, efore umans existed. Tey, like all tings, ave El ementally relative pat tes. Tey ar e made u p of El ementals, as we are, as all tings on tis pl anet are. But tey like us, are not solely E lementa ls . Te wole is more tan te sum of te pa rts. If you want a powe rful magica l prase, tat contains intense practical wisdo m for magica l work, paste tis up were you c an see i t every day the whole is ore than the su of the parts. Faery e ing s wil l o en tend strongly towar ds one Ele ment, and traditionally are said e composed of one primary Element, two secondary Elements, and one almost dormant fourt Element. Te living creatures, in comparison, ave two dormant Elements and two active. A uman as all Four Elements in potential alance, toug usually one is somewat weaker and one somewat stronger. I leav e you to dec ide ow dormant te y are after a meal of nutrition -free urgers and syntetic frie s, wased do wn wit a large drin r epl ete wit colo ring, avoring, and aspartame. Tu s a powerf ul Faery e ing o f te ocean wi ll e o f Water more tan any oter Ele ment, ut it is not a Water Elem enta l. Wen one of te uge ops, Air sort-l W aterSuc Elementals growarine power, alonstorms g witdevel sort-lived Ele ived mentals. E lementals created y oveent Te movement comes from te conscious ness of te deep Tit an eings of telluric or oceanic power, toug to us i t mani fests as weat er, ear tuakes , or vo lcani c eruption s. T e large ve ssels or E lement als, wic we experience as dram atic and dangerous penomena, are tradition all y ridden y te Faery ei ngs , whh exal her wld Elemeal power So here a eerge
excange, Elementals.an nterconnection, ut te Faery eings are not te ore si gni cant is te long -standing traditi on of te independence of Faery e ing s many of tem are not ound y p lace or elmental uali tie s, and can move and interact f reely wit consi derae power. Tus tey are not N ature Spi rits or E lemental s, t oug tey may partici pate for some time in te li fe-c ycl e of certain place s, as do
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umans, and a oer i ving creaures To p u i more simp y, Faer y eings ave independen personaiies, aims, ougs, pracices, powers, spors, cusoms, oves, de sires, and surprise ) ey do no use compuers or ce pone s Tey are f ree spir is, afer a Eemenas, owever , are ut ery and on y dened y e emen a paes eyond wic ey ave no exi sence Naure Spiris are dened y a compex ineracion of power and pace, a fusion of many varie d energie s o f consciousne ss and viaiy In Qaai sic r adiion , e Ele menas ar e said o e e resu, e end produc, of e con scio usness and energy of universa ange ic forces impinging upon our pane Ear, and us generaing a response Al iving eings on e pane, pysica and spiriua, parake of a response, eing energized and, so o speak, given deniion y e ceasee ss Ee men a dance of reaionsips . In Conlusion
A e c ose o f is rs essa y on Ee men as Naure Sp iris, and Faeries, we mig conc ude a umans, iving creaures, and Faeries are compex Tey are made up of compex ineracions of e primary Eemens of Air, Fire, Waer and Ear. Tey a ave afniies o cerain Eemens more an o oers e fiery emperament in a a menco dancer e ear y sreng of e ma le goa e airy power of e rooping Faeries a ceanse e pol ued cii es as ey pass, an d so for. Naure Spiris are less compex, ave ess voiion, u are immensey powerfu roug teir coninuing ineracion wi all e oer eings and Eemenas of a locu s, of a pace Tis is wy we fee disinc sensaions in cerain pars of e fores, in e mounains, or y e sore Eemenas are usuay wiin, and ineracing wi, al oer forms, jus e same as we ave many smaler eniies a comprise our organs, cels, and so for Occasionay arge and emporary Elemenas wil grow ogeer, from many, as naural forces uid ino major evens suc as sorms, vo canic erup ion s, ida waves, and earuakes . Te se acive Eem enas are comprised of a Four
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Elements (l ike everything els e) but with a potent preponderance of on e main Ele ment that is undeniale unti it runs it course. Hints for editation
ry meditating on one sin gle E lement, and then discover how it ei sts in relationshi p to the others. 2 See k to escape f rom sentiment al images of Faeries , ature Spirits, and Elementals. Eplore the images, descriptions, and wisdom tales of our older, worldwide, ancestral traditions rather than the trite products of mode whi msy and coerci alism . 3 Go out in the wor st pos si le weather, on foot, without a Sony Walkman. 1
T E AER EAL
In this second essay of essent ial denitions, we wl l eplore one o f the ma in uestions tha t i s ehind much of the material i n thi s ook, and in p ractical F aery magic in general . What Is The aery Real Who Or What Lives There A nd Why Should We Concern Ourselves With It?
hi s is a ues tion that I have addresse d in a seri es of ook s over the last twelve years or more, an d I am sti ll dis covering new answers . I Such answers are est discovered y practica eperience of the Faery realm and the sutle energi es therein, ut we can go a long way towardsone a asic setmore of denitions thisofarticle. We will the also eplore of the eective in ways eperiencing Faery consciousness and contact so fasten your sporrans tightly. lease note that I am using the spelling "Faery intentionally to distingui s tese spirit ein gs widely repor ted in ance stra l traditi on from the trivi alized fairy image s of mode entertainment. It is a smal l ut helpful di stinc tio n.
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he best way to begin is with the basic essential denitios handed dow to us from folklor ic an d ancestra l traditi on. hes e are surprisi ngl y simp le, and are foud in clo se varian ts worldw ide . I n dco, hwr, w wll focu mai o h Briih ad European beliefs. Why? arty because these are the ones I know best, from traditions that I learned as a child and studied and epanded on as an a dult. A lso , beca use the y act as a wo rking model for the enti re traditio n. Once y ou have t he grasped the basic s, you can di scover for yo ursel f how they share a p lanetary tra diti on by researching comparaive folklore, mythology, and ethnic magical traditi ons . It is the Faery raditi on that i s at the foundation o f all magic and spi rituality worldwide , both as an a ncestral source, and as a layer of deep cons ciou snes s occupe d by many l iving be ings . here is a brief uestitalonbasics and answer which, covers theSo abso lutey fundamen of the seuence, F aery radiion by any name, in any cul ture. Q: hat is the Faery rea lm? A: A protoypical land within and beneath the surface land; an archetype of the natural world; a timeless place of regeneration, beauty, and allure . H mm, soun ds good alread , doe s it not? Q: Who or wha lives there? A: he man Faery races, some human beings and certain Ance stors , and a host o f creatures th at are the spir it co unterparts of animals, b irds, shes, insects, tr ees and plan ts, and the multit ude of planetary life forms from the most minute to the most immense. here are also l arger beings, dee per in, tha t we know less about. In ol d mytholo al traditio ns, these ll ed associated itans (from Greek) or Giants (atingicand Germanic) and are are ca often with mountains, volcanoes, fault lines, forests, glaciers, oceans, planetary zones , and planet ary weather. As some one sai d to me : "It is never humans t hat rule the pl anet, it i s the wea ther that rule s it. Many of th e occupants o f the Faery real m are frien dly towards t heir human cou sins, but not all . Which is hardly surprising, when we
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consi der how bl indly destruc tive we ha ve been. So maybe we need some caution and respect in thi s realm, rather than romant ic wi shful thing? Q : Why should w e concern oursel ves with the Faery realm? A: Bec ause it is a pl ace of regeneration and transformaton. As primal tra diti ons advise us, we l ve in a comple interac tve world of many interc onnect ed being s, not i n an artici al world o f sel f referring anta gonis tic humanity striving against every thing e ls e Su ch are the bas ics of the Faery r adition a s found i n folklo re, Faery tale s, myths a nd legen ds worldwid e. But here is more, a great dea l more. he Faery radtion is the foundation of all spirituality, religion, and all magic. hus, if we are to transform our depleted and abused planet, it is a go od traditi on to eplore , and th e Faery realm is a good p lace to start. Faery raditio n is full of very detail ed methods of relating to our Faery cousins, and to the spiritual creatures. Far from being a whimsical escapist tripping-through the-daisies tradition, it deals with shape-changing, large powerful spirit bei ngs, seeing and sen sing at a di stance, potent and dr amatic heali ng arts, weather chg ing, prophecy, an d seual magic . Oh yes, seual magi c . . which is only one reason why o rthod o religions do no t approv e o f Faery and huma n contacts. Both Chisti anity and Islam, f or eam ple, share the same prohibiti ons against conso rting with Fa eries and Jinn against any comunion wit h the ageles s radiant on es who were in the world b efore huanty , an d who wi ll be in the world wh en hum anity is gone. Let us d igres s, for a momen t, into the cozy rea lm of the skeptc and pose a "w hat i uesti on. What if, de spite muc h hardheaded materiali stic ut li fe ep erienc energetic e, there truly are spirits of the and and sea, invisile powerful forces that shape up las indepe ndent consciousne ss, oen i naccessi ble to huma ns? Would you wan t to contac t them, especi ally if you co uld h elp one another to improve the parlou s state of our mut ual world ? I wou ld gu es s that the answer depends on how concerned we are about the health of the land, the continent, and the planet. I fwe are
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happy to merey punder and po ute, then those Faere s can take a hke who needs em anyway? But, f we are sero usy co nsd erng any and a ways towa rds an nreased awar eness of the nteracton, the ho sm, of a vng bengs on the panet then t h s od ancestra word-v ew s at e ast worth a try, s t not? If the Faery radton s about bengs nherent wthn the subte fe o f the and, just as we are nherent , and f t truy oers worn g methods whereby we can come nto a frendy and creatve reaonshp wth such beng s, then we may even f ee a responsb ty to tr y t, as we as an nspa ton. Very we : here s wh at you d o . . . he We i g h t
1 . Fnd a u et pace f ree of nter rupton. o w there s a ma j or sprtua eer c se n tse f! 2 S t and be st , breathng gen ty. Dr aw n your random thoughts and feengs, and focus on the ground beneath you. If you are outdoo rs, st on the grass or ear th. If you are ndoo rs, reach through the substance of the bu d ng down nto the gro und. 3 Wth your nner vson , your mag naton, see sense and f ee a We n the openng We . j ust n front of your feet. See a so s hftng ght deep 4. Dve dow n nto the We n your nner v son a nd subte s enses. You emerge n a grass y p ace, t from be ow by radant Ea rth ght. You are at a ta standng stone n the md de o fa wde grassy pa n. 5. Here you gve a s pontaneous g, somethng t hat just come s nto your hands, your vson, and your thoughts, to gve uncon dt ona y. You pace t at the foot of the stone. 6. ow be ngs towards youdfrom D rectons somee, come softy, whome e others are more rect,the eveFour n abrupt. ry to :sens see, and fee what they are ke. hey w take many f orms. 7 ommune n s ence wt h them for a wh e : what tma tons, hnts, or uest ons do they oer you ? What vso ns of the human word do you offer them? 8 ow you ret u to the surface wor d . he rs ng radance of the
E D 5 Earth i ght li s you up, and you rise bac out of the Wel l. 9. You nd yourself back in the surface world . Fo r a few moments you sense it differently, as the Faery cousins see it and feel it. Gradually y our human perceptions return. 0 Write a short account of what happene d; mae a son g or a poe m. lant a see, embrace a tree. Stroke a stone, merge with a ower though inhaling its perfume. Remember , the Faery realm i s seual , echanging, a nd sharing subtle li fe force s. Embrace two trees. Soe D o and Don s
here are many prohibitions or taboos in the older Faery raditio ns . Here are a few that appl y today, with so me rea sons for themand Yofuolwilore. ll probably now of others, or di scover the m in F aery tales ever cut any ow ers, nor h ave cut owers in you r dwell ing. Why? he owers are the seual orga ns o f the pl ant and yo u mutilat e and k il l them whe n you cu t them. How would you fee l? 2 e ave small tas ty sweet oerin gs in he same place ea ch day : nothin g too l avi sh, b ut high-e nergy stuf f of all sorts. how it away the day, for has hey had the energy taen from itasby spir net it or Faery be itings. do subtle no t reui re the substance wethedo . hey love sugar and choco late, j ust as w e do , but presumably do not suffer so much from its over-use. Be cautious about leaving them w hisky o r strong beer. raditionall y Faeries ove al cohol, but can become rowdy a nd even p otential ly dangerous . I report all of this from direct eperience, not from a source book, though much of it is found in e arly tets such as The Seret Coonwealh of Elves Fauns Fairies to in several throughout thisand book. If youwhich wantwe to wil readl refer my edition, with apl aces You commentary, there is a free ver sion at wil l also nd some uotes in our later chapters . in e ae realm take it! 3 If o re oere food or drn raditionally we are told not to take it, which mean s take it quikly before they withdraw the courteous and wonderful offer o
1 6 W partae of food and dr in is to share the s ubtle forces of the worl d in which that food and drink was made. his is the secret behind our human oerings to the F aery races, which is d iscussed in C hapter 5 on Oerings. 4. Be cautious with repeated vis ion s or subtle experiences of sexual exchange with Faery lovers not because it is bad or w rong, but because (like al l sensuous activi ty) it ca n become highly addictive. Moderation is a word sel dom found i n the Faery vocabulary . 5 ever cut branch es or plants with steel or iron. Yo u should pic or pull by hand if you have to. Everyone debates this tra diti on, b ut I thin it means si mpl y that you must h ave lo ving contact t o brea a branch with your hand, rather than with a cold unfeeling blade. Gardener s all now how deep ly satisfying it i s to pu ll weeds rat her than cutnot them up.anhat is the very essence of it: touching and pull ing, slicing d dividing. 6. Always eep any promise s that you may mae in the Faery realm. he spirit of intention is everything . he wors t thing you co uld do is to brea a pr omi se made in that archetypal and sacred place . 7. Always be r espect ful to the Cousins : they a re not helper s. Join with me, sisters and brothers, in repudiating and despising the popular notion that Faeries are "helpers. How insulting this human-centric to Faery allies, co t he walers. I suppo sestatement the Faeriesismust, theref ore,cousins, cal l usand humans "hinderers . 8 Expec t the unexp ected. TANS AN A NS
As we move deeper into the Faery realm, we encounter large powers an d larger bei ngs , oen hid den deep in he lands and seas, yet they a ect our li ves profoundly. hese are now n in tradition as itans and Giants. In this ess ay we wil l expl ore some of the basic traditions conce ing these larger spiitual entities of our living wor ld. et us be gin, therefore with three relevant uestions, as mos t things come in threes.
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What are itans and Gi ants? 2 Why should we bother with them? 3 How mi ght we rel ate to them? 1
here is a comple interaction between itans, Giants, and other life forms, though oen we are unconscious of it. his becomes clear, however, as we eplore Questions 1 & 2 Some of the answers to Question 3 will be proposed , i n part, at the end of this arti cl e I say "in part, because the answers reuire doing, rathe r than reading about. But rst things rst What are itans and Giants? he roots of all answers are found in ancestral mythic tradition. In traditions assoc iated with it ans and G iants, we di scover how storiesareo fthree their classes eistence th eirstories r ole have there o fand primal aboutdeveloped. such beingsWorldwide, (three, of course!). his article refers mainly to European sources as the working mod els for all such store s, in any culture, worldwide . itans and Gi ants are, es sentially, spiritual bei ng s. However, t eir bodies are zones of the planet or continents, or of the oceans, mountains, volcanoes and vast weather patterns. hs is why tradit ion att ributes tid al waves, earthuakes , eruption s, and storm s to the action s o f itans or Gi ants. Three Classes of Myth Concerning Titans or Giants
he rst clas s is that of creaton myths, in which bo die s of vast beings are di smembere d or will ingly sacriced to cre ate the world. Some typical eample s are Y mir the ice Giant w hose skull makes the vault o f the sky in orse creation myth, the dismember ment of Ra i n Egyptian myth, and the ancient Qabalistic tradition o f the Adam Cadmon, or universal primal being. hese are each telling the same story n derent ways. 2 he second cl as s or group of myths, with many variants world wide, describes mentorng. Mentorin g myth s have been given le ss attenton than creation myths in modern literature, bu are especi ally sign cant for us toda y if we seek to conscio usy work 1
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with Titans and G iants to redee m the damage done by humanity to the living planet. In many cultural and mythic traditons, large bein gs are descrbe d as mentor s of humanity teac hin g arts , s cien ce, mathemati cs, music, agri cul ture and so forth. We often forget th at the ancestral cultures had no separation between creative arts and maica ars et ween sc iences and m agica o r sprtua scenc es. A forms o f human endeavor ha a spi ritual and sacro-magi cal rol e. A typical mentoring my th is the ancient Greek or pre-Greek, story of Atlas, the Titan who founds Atlantis, and whose sons become kings of ci vi lizati on. Another is found i n the Old Testament, and n the Book of Enoch wherein Giants intermarry with humans, and teach them skills, arts, and magic. In Celtic tradition certain imortal or semi-divine beings come into the world and teach humanity ts of ci vilization ; they ar often be ing of giant si the ze. ar Eamples inc lude memb erse of the descri Tua thabed deasDanaan in Irish legend, and he Welsh Titan Bran, who (in the legend of Branw en, aught er of l yr in The Mabnogi on) wades t he Iri sh sea, bridges the river iffy with his body, and "caries the poets and mus icians upon his back . The father of Bran and Branwen is lyr, god of the Atlantic Ocean, he Celtic oseidon. oseidon was the Greek god of earthuakes and tidal waves, older than the Olympians andgroup t raditona lly the o f ancient Atlantis . the is myths of god destruction. These balance 3 The hird creation myths, with myhs of mentoring in the center, the place of harmony. erhaps the best known eamples are in orse mythology, where the Giants seek to bring Ragnarok, and the winter that ends the world, toppling the gods and goddesses of Asgard. Thi s theme is identica l to Greek le gend s of the Titans who raise storms earthuakes, and tidal waves in their war with the Oly mpian deit ies, whom they are said to oppose . In a more obscure but no less signicant Celtic tradition, we nd warring and destructive Giants who change the shape of the land. This myth comes from the Proheces of Merln a 2th century tet that conain s a wealth of Breton and W el sh bardi c and druid ic imagery. In the older Greek mythic raditions, we nd that the Titans were srcin ally deiti es of the seven pl anets (Moon, Sun, Mercur y, Venus,
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ars, Jupiter, and Satu). hey descended into the body of the Earth, and the Olympian deities took their places. Robert Graves suggests that the typii ng of the it ans as "bad guys hosti le to the ( sometimes) good deities such as Zeus, era, Apoll o, Hermes, and Aphodite was propaganda W e nd similar prop aganda in other tets and myths, whenever an old form of religion or spiritual tradition is replaced by a more recent one. he stories are not fabricated, but well established myths are slowly molded to a propa gandist ca use . I n Celtic tradition , the Gaels in Scot land a nd Ireland told that the Faery races were angels fallen out of eaven with ucifer, and now embodied in the Earth. his is a Chistianized retelling of an older tradition, similar to that of the itans. Such stories, and m any other s imi lar legends wor ldwide, tel l of spiritual forces life thathere moveonbetween the planets the solarclear system, aecting Earth. Some of thisofbecomes when we eplore the role of itans and Giants in conection with the forces of volcanoes, weather, and continental movement As modern science asserts, these large changes are aected by our planetary orbit and by its re lations hip to sol ar and other planetary forces hese all act upon, and interact with, our earth's oceans, pl ates , and the deep tellu ric or UnderW orld res , the sta rstu in thehus he arttheofthree Earth.groups of myths tell us much about itans and Giants, with interwoven subtle impl ications : Creation, Deve lopment (mentoring) and Destruction. he creation and destruction are on a large sca le, usuall y planet ary, sometimes cosmi c; land an d planet are oen interchangeable with cosmos in primal myths. he development or mentoring theme tells us of conscious care and attention g ive n to the rel ationshi p between d iering orders of li fe, especia lly through the rol e of human ity. A good e ample o this is the myth o the itan Crono s, om the writing of esiod, available in many translations. In this Greek legend a vast spirit ual being rules over the Gold en Age in which all beings l ive i n harmony together Cronos i s described as the mentor of humanity i n a world o f primal and i dylli c pe ace.
20 W OF T irst of all the deathless gods who dwell on O lympus made a gol den race of mortal men who l ived in the time of Crono s when he was reigning in heaven. And they lived like gods without sorrow of heart, remote an free from to il and grie f miserabl e age rested not on them but with legs and arms never failing they made merry with feasting beyond the reach of all evils. hen they died, t was as though they were overcome with sleep, and they had all good things for the fruitful earth unforced bare the uit abundantly and without stint. They dwelt in ease and peac e upon their lands with many good thin gs, r ich in ocks and loved by the blessed gods. (Hesiod, orks and Days, . 09-20) Back Developmen an d Destr The Ttans GiantstoareCreation forces that shape the tplanet. Theyucton. are associated wthan d comin g into bei ng, with de ve opment of li fe on Earth, and with the transformatve (to us destructive) forces. ar from being crude or ignorant stories to "eplain why we have earthuakes, myths of Titans and Giants are models of relations hip . They te ll us about th e large forces in our pl anet, and most mportant , they tel l us that such forces also shape humanity. But of course the y do, for we li ve wit hin the land andbyplanet, andion areship indeed developed, transformed our relat withshape, them . Today w e areand in an age of massive climate changes which many scientists think are the result of human irres pons ibi lity and gre ed . Thi s could be described by the Mythic model we hae lost our living relationship to the lan and planet, embo died o n a larg e sca le by the Ti tans and Gi ants as pl anetary organs . Th eir respon se is transf ormatio n, destruc tion , and eventual regenera tio n and rebalancin g. This raises some important and even uncomfortable uestions for our th eme, and practice, of aery Hea ling and Ear th Hea lin g much of our deepest work has to be done with the Titans and related larger Underorld beings. e will go into this idea of working with the large entites in our later chapters, especially in connection with the ell of ight, and the Mystery of the Double Rose.
E D 2 Consi der this it only nee ds the w eather patter ns to change a lit tle more and the entire viabi lity of human culure wil l be theatened or rendered vo id. We have trigger ed planetary weather changes thou gh po ll ution industriali zation and in dierence to long-term pa tterns in favor of short-term prots. It only needs the volcanic telluric patterns to becom e a l ittle more active to wipe out ma jor centers of popu lation and change th e patte of human i nhabita tio n. We have triggered such activity with our under ground and undersea nuc lear eplosions. Furthermore we have a potent legend that was us about such arrogance in the legend of Atlantis (described in te works of lato ) founded by the itan Alas but ul timately destroye d by human fol ly. We are l iving in a time when the re lationship between hum anity and thepitans and Giants changing in part to rehuman folly.the I say "in art because on isa mythic sc ale ourdue fol ly sults from Mentoring de scribed earl ier we take the wisdom of the it ans o f the UnderW orld a nd msapply it for se l sh une thical en ds. So the destruc tive phase is not merely a huma no-ce ntric pr obl em t is part of a bi gger p icture. As I mentioned earlier the answers to uestions and 2 (Why sho uld we bother wit h itans and G iants and how might we rel ate to ) are by ored ep loring who o wh at the itans andthem? Gi ants areintertwined w e have alsoand e pl why we might wish to have a better el ation ship wth t hem. Why Should We Bother With The?
Firstly we are within them all the time. hose of us who live in California especially on the coasts on the fault lines ow that as a daily truth that cannot be lightly dismissed. his e o many of the unstable areas of the world. And the whole human world is within and like it or not utterly uled by the planetary weather. ave you ever thought of that reader? I am thinking o fi t moe oen n owadays . We ae al l within and subject to the large planetary telluric forces which give rise to weather tidal waves earthuakes and volcanoes. But
22 W OF T they aso ge rse to l fe tself ew orga ns ms appear t he ocea depths where the Uderord fres meet the deep waters. Ideed, ew lfe forms are beg dscoered dow there by our boogsts. Ths s the root of creato, the power of the tas workg to make l fe. So, to gor e the m s possbe, ad m l o s of humas cert aly do just that, but t s ot possble to le wthout them. Ca we uderstad ther patters? Yes, to a certa extet through our sceces. But at a deeper leel we hae to work medtato, so, ad through atered coscousess. As we are already wth the Ttas ad Gats, for they are the ast orgas or zoes of the lad ad paet, we must be able to te ract wt h th em coscously but how ? Ths brgs us to our thrd ues to How Might We Relate To The ?
I would propose that rst we relate through a much eeded sese of humlty ad altered perspec te . he grossy humaocerc stace of o ur moderst culture s destroyg us at o ucerta pace. Dseases, poluto, 1
Through an alterd perspective
dfare ferece ra pacous greed e wpg us outad. . .better. yet we thk we g o gad faster ad faster adarget g better hle we mght cosder te heme of ths book, Faery Heag to be focuse d o cur g d seases o r jure s hrough wor k g wt Faer y al l es , the deeper Ear th Hea g com es oly through a t rasformed relato sh p wth t he tas, G ats, ad UderW orld p owers t hat are the so urces of al l plaeta ry l fe, c ud g humas, Faer es ad lg creatures. 2. Through th e wea her If we medtat ed for three m utes each day o the weather, ad how the weather bds ad looses all lfe, c lud g us humas we would ta ke a small step toward s relatg to te Ttas ad G ats . 3 Through the ountains If we medtated upo the moutas as our Acestors dd we would be opeg our awareess o the bg pcture. What are moutas, after all? Are they just
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an anoying featue that we have to tunnel into t o dive thoug h o y ove o ae they the spine bones, and coe of the land? Yes I ow n o one h as tim e to tavel to th e mount ains We ae too busy sitting in tac jams o t ying to get ou compute s to down load socalle d time- saving fee music But i f we cannot tavel physi cally we can go thee in vision and meditation y it it woks powefully hee ae man y method s fo deep spi itual c ouni on and healing in this book If you wee to wok with only one o two of them egulaly it would change you life and eventually the entie wold 4 Through Fae cousins and allies o w we ae coming to the moe esotei c and specic ta dition s Ou Faey co usins and alli es and the spiit ceatues as co-walkes will help us build a living
elationship itans Giants netwok hey actinnot go- betweenswith butthe as pat of and an oganic theonly tue assense being composed of inteelated ogans of consciousness his techniue i s featued i n many of my ow n wokshop s an d books In essence it consists of meditating upon the Faey allies and euest ing them to make contact with t he l age bei ngs the itan s and Giants then paticipating in that conact It ings a steam of cons ci ousne ss that is non-veal not limi ted y atic ial time and deeply egenea tive In Conclusion
hee is much to think aout in the theme of itans and Giants; we have hadly touc hed upon it in this shot ess ay I hope at least to have oeed you some inspiation some new pespectives And of couse some hope that we can and will come into a new and hamonious elationship with ou living planet. o go futhe you can wok with the methods descibed in o late chaptes. But befoe you do so I would ecommend eading though the est of the essays on Essential Denitions hee ae two moe
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UNERW ORL IRI JALI
In this e ssay we eplo re the basi c nature of UnderWorl d spi ritual ity, an idea th at is gai nin g wider atte ntio n as more pe ople tu to earth based magic and reli gio n. To do any Faery magic or Fa ery Heali ng, we have to have so me foundtion in ou r undes tanding regarding the nderW orl d. There are two mai n aspects of UnderWorld sprituality and magic : Transformation and Regeneration. These have been the two pi llars of the UnderWorld traditions worldwide for m il lenniums, regardless of culture, relig ion race, or geogr aphical location. (I use the spe ll ing UnderWorld intentionally, to refer to a realm o f energy and consciousness, so that we do not think of organized crime unde the su rface o f the planet ! ) During the 2 st centur y, at le ast i n the West, we are nal ly emergin g from a long suppressive phase of group consciousne ss, in which the UndeWorld was euated with evil or, at least undes irabl e, earth foces . Why are such ear th forces unde sirabl e? Because, we have be en told repeat edly that t hey are Bel ow rath er than Abo ve. It takes a long time f or the co ll ective psyche to e merge from relig ious manipulation , and w e nd this sam e divi sive patt e inherent in much of our current spiritual revival. Yet, I would propose that such a nave dua listi c argumen t fals , ev en n terms of common sense . Above and Belo w are il lus ion s fostered by gra vity. Go far enough Below and you come to the sky again. It is the journey through the UnderWorld that leads us to the Stars and liberates us f rom antagoni stic dual ism . ore si mply, all growing t hing s are nourished f rom Bel ow : our very eistence on Earth fails without the life forces that rise fro Bel ow. sAfrom tree cannot with out roots, d th e circula tion of. enegie Be lowsurvive i s the foundation of allangrowth in ou r world In the spiritual traditio ns we discover tha t truths of nature are al so truths of spiri t. If we refer back to ancestr al ti me s, no mo re than a century or so, we nd folk lo ric traditi on s of the Faery and UnderWorld po wers in W estern culture. Some o f these have been di scusse d i n the earl ier es says in this chapter. A litt le further back
SSENTIL EINI TIONS
25
again a nd we be gin to nd Unde rWorld spir itualit y a t the core of the oldest traditions such as those of the Celts the orse and Germanic peoples the Greeks and the Romans and very sub stantiall y in the myths of the ative American nations both north and south. Far om being outmode d old jun and superstition such traditions provide a working model of relationsip between humanity an d the la nd the pl anet couched i n terms of god s and goddesses and practiced as ceremonies and magical techniues. oday we would call this Environmental Magic But in the past there was n o "enviro nment there wa s only i fe. And li fe beg ins and ends in the nour ishing regenerative transf ormative depths of the Earth in the Under World. Where Is The nderWorld?
So where eactly is this deeper UnderWorld that our Ancestors understood to be the source o f li e? I t is somewh at below the F aery realm though it includes the Faery realm and it also includes collective ancestral memories. I will rephrase that for clarity the Faery r eal m is that spir itual dime nsio n where hum anity intersects with all plants and l iving creatures with th e e lemental f orces o f sea wind earth and re. his is where the Faer y races are found some where between the surface world and the deepe r planetar y forces . Indeed they act as go -betw eens or medi ators. he UnderW orld i s deeper than the Faery realm alone and its spiritual forces are mediated to us by the older gods and goddesses the itans and Giants and the vast pl anetary bein g of which the y are all organs parts drea ms and iabitan ts . In ancest ral sacro-magical practices t he UnderW orld wa s oen the realm o f the dark godde ss. Se bro ught tr ansormation as she was and stil l is the goddes s of destr uction an d regene ration. his dark goddess know n by many names w orldwide personie s the trans formative forc es o the p lanet . And yes these are force s that we can and do work with. I say "do work with because we interact with suc h force s con tinuo usl y as part of our l ife on Earth. We could not eist without the dark goddess by whatever name
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she ch oose s to be cal le d. here is a dierence, of course , between intentional work and uncon scio us interaction . I fwe work with these planetary UnderWorld forces intentionally, the transformative process is greatly enhanc ed and accelerat ed. This is o ne o f the so-called "secr ets of the o ld magical traditions: if you consciously interact with the planetary forces of the UnderWorld, you will become transformed. First comes destruc tio n of the false self of delusio n, and then come s rege neration of the true s el f unallo yed by temporar y personality. How do we get int o the nder World?
For many years now I have been using a simple visionary tech niue for people to access the power of the UnderWorld, through the image of the dak goddess. Various forms of this have been publ ished in my boos, and are now widely u sed in worshops and ind ividual spiritual work. Frie nds and fel lo w esoteric p ionee rs rst undertoo this me thod in the 97 0s . In the early 1 98 0s , it was given its rst public use at gatherings in Hawwood College, Stroud, England, sponsored and led b y Gareth Knight (au thor of many book s on Qabalah and white magic) . Since th ose early days thousands of people have used this method to enter the UnderW orld, seek tra ns formatio n, and safely retu again . Here is the shortes t versio n try it for yo urse lf: The Cave and Pool sion
Sit somew here where you wil l not be distur bed. Using your imagination, see, sense and feel before you a spiral stai d escending down a w el l. It leads into the UnderW orld. Feel yourse lf descend that st air, s piral ing do wn and down . You l eave the surface world b ehi nd . At las t you co me i nto a smal l cave where the feeling is one of peace and stillness, in the regenerative calm shadows l it on ly by a tiny lamp hanging f rom the roo f. In the center of the cave is a poo l o f dar stil l water.
E D 27 On the oth er side of the po ol , sense, see, and feel the presen ce o f the dar k goddes s. You must cro ss tough the pool a nd g ive her a gi . Your gi is uncondit ional and sponta neou s. Whatever it may be, y ou g ive it free ly and with no thought of a return. Having given your g, commune awhile with the goddess in si len ce. When you sense th at it is time, you retu across the poo l and climb back up the stairs to the place where you began your vi sion . Sit sti ll for a few moments and read j ust to the surface world again . (Keep a written r ecord o f your eperiences, and do this once or twice a week, no more is ne ces sary.) In Conlusion
If you stay with this very simple eercse, you will nd that it bui lds strongly and th at you can easily enter into it . With practice you may ask the goddess u estions, or she may o er you nsights and tasks. A wide variety of eperences arise from this v ision, which allows our subtle energies to nteract with those owng be neath the surf ace o f the land, those of th e UnderW orl d. In a ti me o f environmental cris is , every e ort that we make to e nter i nto a ne w relationship with th e land and th e pl anet i s of immense value, no matter how small that ef fort may b e. With this simple eercis e we are not merely restating ancestral spirituality through a modern vis ion ; we are pa rticipating i n a realm of cons ciousness and ener gy that has been ignored by materiali stic humanit y for too l ong . ow is the time to transform and regene rate or vi sion o f the pl anet as a li vng being , and ourselve s as part of that being. h is is our task, not merely one of self-development, but of self-healing and Earth Healing. hese e ssays have set the scene and introduced you to some of the practcal work involved in the Faery and UnderWorld traditions. We are now ready to move on to the more detailed and in-depth materi al on Faery Heal ing and Eart Healin g that the main themes of this book.
28 W OF tes
1 . Earth Light; Power Within the Land; The Living World o/ Fae; The nder World Initia tion Various editions 1985-1990, R.J. Stewart. Most recent US editions : Mercu ry ubli shing, 1 99 8/9 2 Fairy Faith in Celtic Co untries W.Y. Ev ans- Wentz; The Faery Encyclopedia Kathlee n Bri ggs . here are many edit ions of these
major reference books. You can often nd them second hand by using online book searches. Robert Kirk, Walker Bete en the Worlds, a new edit ion o/ The Secret Coonwealth o/ Elves, Fauns and Fairies From the 17th 3
Century notebook of the Rev. Robert Kirk of Aberfoyle. Edited with comme ntary by R. J. Stewart, rst publ ished by E lement Boo ks, UK, 198 9. 4 See Eleents o/ Creation Myth R. J. Stewart, El ement Boo ks, 1991. 5 . For the Celtic stories see Celtic Gods, Celtic Goddesses R.J. Stewart, Blandf ord ress , 1 98 6 6. See Merlin: The Prohetic sion and Mystic Le R.J . Stewart, Penguin Arkana, 1 98 6. You an nd a n onl ine edition of the roph ecies, with a commentary , at 7. Greek Myths Rober t Graves, various edition s. 8. Earth Light and Power Within the Land R.J. Stewart, 1991 reprinted Mercury Publishing, 1998.
e Faey Race, e Aeaace, ad e Ctact
his chapter oers a short summary of the esoteric or "secret aspects of the Faery and UnderWorld tradition describing briey the main Faery races or orders of being and how their nature is presented in ancestral tradition. he basis for all of our practical work begins with tradition and myth as these contain rich veins of wisdom preserved for us by the ancestors. From tradition and myth we progress to direct practical work using the ancestral lore as a starting point and touchstone for comparison. his chapter is not intended as an academic tet on folklore or an analysis of mythology. Soe sources are listed in who the Bibliography and literary in the Chapter readers wish to research materialotes from for the those ancient world mytholo gy or col lection s of folklo re. owadays there is much confusion and commercialization regarding the Faery races. Yet their nature is well described in all spiritual traditions worldwide and it is easy to dispose of the nonsense that is found i n entertainment and pseudo spirituality. We can begin with the traditions and then progress to theofFary races directly. Aerand a short of meeting the wealth information in tradition myth,eploration we will progress to des cribi ng the app eara nces o f Faery bein gs, and how we may work with these appearances in direct Inner Contact.
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One o f the most im portant, yet oen overl ooked traditio ns i s found worldw ide . It teaches that the Faery ra ces (by whatever nam e they may be known in di fferin g lands and cu ltures) are the primal be ing s of his world not of the world as it i s now, but of its proto type or inn ocent rst form . We may gain so me he lpful etaphysi cal insights from an esoteric perspecti ve as well as from inner co ntacts through editatio n on the primal tr adition de scribed above . hese are sim ilar in many wa ys to statements found in a very signicant document, the Seret Coonwealth of Elves auns and airies a hand written note book of Faery evidenc e, eperi enc es, and conc lus ion s by the Rev. Rober Kirk i n the world 1 690 s.is devol ved from tha t of the Faery ra ces, Ou r tconsensual though a proce ss of materializatio n. hus we are of the Surface world, and they are of the world Below. We are living on the hardened skin o f the world, whil e they l ive in the mal leab le ti ssue that forms its foundation. his tissue holds its form in shape, but sometime s sheds and regener ates the ski n. ogether, the many Faery races embo dy an d med iate the l ife and death forces o f the pl anet: are hive -li ke, or forming huge collectives. hese arethe thesmalle beingsr being oen scalled "devas "nature spir its, although this i s somewhat vague and incorrect. Most bein gs i n the Faery realm a re not n ature spirits or el ementa ls. While in the past the differences and connections were known and understood, today t hey are l ost and general ized beyo nd usefulne ss . (See Chapter 1 : Essential enitions he largest beings are the organs of consciousness of great planetary entitie s: o cean s, mount ain ranges, and continental zones. hese are the itans or Giants of ancestral mythology hey also have deep connections to stell ar patterns, especial ly in the r el ative and synchronistic relationships that occur with alignments, rising and setting of star-groups, and lon g-term co smi c patterns of stel lar relationships. Of specia interes to us, and with relevance to our work, are
T F , T A I C 3 those inbetween the smallest and greatest. They form the general orders of Faery beings that may, and oen do, work with humans . They may seem to be human-like, though this is oen a form of communicative mimi cry, wel l describe d in the ol d Faery traditio ns . Some Faery beings still live eclusively in the Dream of the World , in that primal epanding p laneta ry l ife- force and dreaming con scio usne ss that cre ates and generates the sur face world and its living be ings . They hav e no wish to be involved with us, yet they are not hostile to us. Indeed, they are oen unaware of our etealizi ng, material iz ng, and devolve d surface world, which has move d far from the prima l Dream o f the Worl d. Thi s mov ement is due sub stantially to humans, but there are also long-term f orces o f planetary change making slow inevitable contributions to the shiing relrealm. ationshi p between the Sur face World and the UnderWorld and Faery Whil e som e Faeries hav e no deal ing s wth us, others have a deep and abidi ng i nteres t in humans, and are commtted t o working with us. They are, at least i n part, released from the Dream of the World; yet they stil l partake of its forces . A sma ll number are f ree of the Dream entirely, thus being free from their tie to one location or land, and are hghly mobile and powerful. These often act as mentors toscipl humani the traditio of Faery magicoul c and arts and di ines ty, . In n mythc term s,nsthese me ntors d bespir saiditual to correspond to speci c Ttans, as if they are organs or aspects o f the Titans, as in depende nt components o f the greater Titan aw arene ss. Hen ce, we ha ve the legends o f the Titans (such as Atlas and Crono s) who educated early humans in he arts and sciences, and of the Giants (as i n the Jewish and Christi an traditions) who taught subtle arts to humans a nd sought to inuence human evoluti on. Once they are free o f the Dream of the Worl d, such be ings act as med iators of the pl anetary force s of change and evo lutio n, p ercei vin g the Dream without being bound by it. The se great ones sen se, see, and feel the conecti on betwe en Earth and Stars, and form an impo rtant bri dge between our world and the gre ater cos mos . In ol d Ce ltic tradition, they are said to be th e angel s that fel l out of Heaven with ucifer (in a Chri stianized l egend) . This story is a
32 T OF dogmatic rationalization of an ancient creation myth: ight from the spiritua l dimensions "falls into the body of the p lanet, an d many lesser but powerful spiritual be ings move with the i ght. ater, th ese ar cal ld uci f and fall agl s by Christi ans, or I bl is and th e jinn by Musl ims. Regrettably, such legends, myths, and spiritual teachings have become debased and abused in modern interpretations (especially to make money) wherein the mentors are said to be aliens from other galax ies . o one seems t o consider ho w dem eani ng an d ignoble this trite nonsense is: it says, in effect, that humans on planet Earth were just ignorant semi-apes unti l al ien s came along, and bred them and taught them. Such ideas are merely a twisted variant of Darwin ian mat erial ism comb ined with a po st-Christi an condi tioni ng regarding a hu man inabil ity to do anything w orthwhile (i .e ., sinfulness ). pEARAES A ER CO AS
At this point, we can begin to explore some of the classic and typi cal appearances, or presenta tion s of inner contact, i n the aery Tradition. hat does thisormean? It means whoth andsame. whathen they are, and how they seem appear, are notthat always you work with any spi ritual contact, it i s the sense of what they feel like that is of more signicance to us as humans than the visual appearanc. Put more simply, it is just like the human world. A glamorous appearance may mask a tawdry and petty inte rior, be it a house or a human. Much fok wisdom and many aery tales are based on these sorts of truths. But the traditional tales take it further than down-home wisdom, for they oen describe very specifc entities and energies rather than merely confirm psych ological truisms. The legend of Beauty and the Beast is a classic example of polarity magic between a human (Beauty) and a powerful spirit being (the B east), j ust as much as i t is a parable ab out hum an nature and appearanc es . So me aspe cts o f Be auty an d the B east ar e
T F R, T A I C 33 parallel ed in th e initiator y Scottish bal lad of Tam Lin , for both Tam Lin and the Beast are rationalized as e-humans, transformed in so me way d ue to their acti ons Yet, b oth are more than human and many of the dynamics of practical Faery magic are foun in the cal lin g communi ng, an nal redempti on of both Tam Lin and t he Beast. In short both Faery tales teach s that appearances are not all, for behind any appearance there are many levels of consciousness and being
This is especially true in the Faery realm, for the forms that we di sce ar e oen bui lt from images in our ow n imaginatio n This is a sub tle and powerf ul teaching tha must no t be underesti mated o r rationalized i nto a psychol ogical mold . The images th at arise to our iner senses when we are in contac t with Faerie s are not f antasi es, nor are the themsel ves merely products of the human imagina tionFaery or t heraces so-cal ed unconscious mind . hat arises in iner contact is that a Faery being, whic has a pure form of its own, wi ll reso nate with an imag e or memory in the human psyche, the mind, and thus dress itself in that image The proce ss may be automat ic or it ma y be intention al Thi s depends on the sill of both the Faery contact and the human contact The ressin g, appeaances, and mim icry were well nown in the old Faery tradition, wherewere an entire of Rev. postures, colors, and attributes once repetoire nown. The Robert Kirclothing, in his note boo of 692, The Secret ommonwealth ofElves auns and airies describes this tradition briey. Whereas the tradition of appearances was already on i ts way to be in g a lo st art in K irk s day, its principl es are founded on the idea o f resona nt im ages . . some thing that holds meaning for both the human and the Faery We sho uld not see tis as masquer ading or decep tion , but ave to work with it, as umans, to come to the inner understanding of the process. Once we have done so Faery communication and communion bec ome s not onl y easier , b ut als o highl y emp owered. The How and Why of Appearances
The following summary deals with Faery appearances, but te
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principles wil apply to any and al nner Contacts, regardless of spiritu al, magical, or rel ig ious tr adition, since the Faer y tradition is at the founda tion of a spiritu aity and magi c worldwide. No t as a dogma, of course, but as a f oundational aspect of con scio usne ss on planet Ea rth. So the simp le ground r ule s outlined here wil l als o be hel pful for working with other Inner C ontacts . There are some basi c gro ups or c ategor ies that are helpf ul for the human student , magi cian, or Faery pr actitioner to remember . Thi s li st is not intended to be de nitive, but to gi ve broa d groupings th at enabl e us, as humans, to have some rel ative sense of what happens with Faery and inner contact. Fied These areThus, known described in tradition, andthe remain constant in aand reigion or mythic tradition, gods fairy and goddesses have cerain relatively Fied Appea rances, establ ished through time and usage, and vitally important in their interaction with huma ns. The High aery Tradition This Faery tradition has its Fied Appearances and known personae in many Faery taes there is a courtly ambi enc e, with the Faery Quee n and King, th e Warriors,
the Maidens, the Poetmedieval and Prophet, and thetheHerad. These a come from a vaguey zone within coective, semi historica drea m consci ousness . They embody functionswithin Fied Appearances. In the medieval historical manuscripts of Cetic ege nds, drawing upon much earie r ora tr aditio ns, w e nd th at the ambience of the super natura or Faer y realm is pre-medi eval . The cla ssi c eamp les are the descr iption s of the Tuatha de Danaan in the Irish Book of Invasions where we m ight thin k of the appearances as embodyin g both magica and historical ima ges from an earlier era, perhaps the Bronze Age, with weapons of bone and bronze, costumes of crysta and god , and high y sty ized imagery th at merge s into met aphys ica d escripti on. A ll of these, within wh at we mi ght ca the Hi gh Faery T raditio n, nd their w ay into inner contact. The Low aery Tradon In this branch, the appearances are those beloed of popular entertainment and whimsy today he
T F , T A , I C 3 5 pooa, the leprechaun, the banshee, the shimmering maiden, the small winged Faery, the ogre, the giant, the crone, the seductive maiden , the seductive male love r, the seal b eing, and so forth Yet, if we look at the src inal tales of this low, or folklo ric , traditi on, we nd that the dwarf and the leprechaun, far from being cue little guys with pointy shoes, are powerful and fearsome spiritual entities, associated with the geoman tic or telluric forces o fland and earth The Low Faer y Tradition has been h ij acked and trivial ied, especial ly with reg ard to vi sual ap pearances in lm, television, and illustration As with all iner conacts, we have t consider function, and traditional descriptions of actions and functions, rather than be trappe d into a stereotype of human-c entric whi msy If we do thi s, we l ndT raditi great on riches and resources in the appe arances o f the Lowwil Faery Bewar e of false descriptions ! ! ! There a re many supe rcial boos current ly on the ma ret that claim to desc ribe Faery be ing s, usual ly with ig smle s, green coat s or red hats, or gau y wings and simp y dresses These are the products of fantasy, and are the most supercial le ve l of appearances n Faery tradition wha t you se e i s not what yo u get, especi ally if you have a sore of whimsi cal images in your ifmind These but w himsical will for be populated by and Faer y beings necessary, it wouldimages be better you to study attune to the Fix ed Appearances f rom the older tradition s Example s ofthe ig h and Low Faery Tr aditions may b e found in many source texts 2:
Beyond, behind, and below the wellown Fixed Appearances from tradition are the deeper forms, which we might call Fluid Apearances These are usually related to function, so a large powerful b ei ng that oen has a Fixe d Appearan ce as a small bein g wil l show as such in yo ur iner vision and to your in er senses, but in a c hangea bl e and strang e mane r You mi ght see lar ge eyes, or parts o f a huge shii ng patte, for example These deeper forms are oen unusual an d sometim es intensely be autil or unset tlin g to
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a human They rel ate more to the pure energy a nd cons ci ousn ess of the Faery being tha to a huan-centric col le ctive of images, such as are known in the Fied Appearances There are two levels of Flu id Appearances in the Faer y realm h Lss Appaancs At this rst lev el of Flu id Appea rances you will nd those therioorphic forms that cobine, para doic al ly, human and animal, human and bird, insect , or sh You wl l als o d co mbination be ing s: an entity t hat is made up of two or more others in subtle relationship These Lesser Appearances will oen change sape, giv in g rise to th e any stories tr aditions and supersti tions abou t shape shiing in the Faer y realm If you establish a good working relationship at this level, your Faery contact w il oen remain in one s pec ic appearance for prac tical -
purposes Because Itweonly use the termthat "l esser, i t does we aker or less signicant means they are lessernot inmean size and consc iou sness than the net category of Flu id Appear ances h Gat Appaancs This second level of Flui d Appear ances includes those large beings that embody the energies and cons ciou snes s of the mo untains, region s of land, of a lake or river, of a volcano or of an island in the ocean They may also be the greater entity that utters or births smaller entities, for some -
Faery contacts argework and powerful hivesaries beings, where Theseone greater appearances w are ill oen through emis stands for many, and the many ultimatey stand for the greater entity of whic h they are a col lective h oless and Shnng Ons
The deepe st level of Faery co ntact i s found dee p in the body of the land and planet These are oen forless, and are sensed and felt rather than seen They are also known as the Sh ining Ones, which are vast radiant conscious entities that are at the core of the pl anetary Be ing . The S hin ing On es oen appear to us as geometric or abstract shapes of light, with comple networks of inter connection In the deepest teac hings of the Faer y tradition, it i s the Shining Ones that drea all life forms manifesting to the surface
T F , T A I C 3 7 world o f nature Our communion with these greater entities is often through intermedi arie s the Thr eefold All iance of human, Faery, and li ving creature is the classic practical example But there are other intermediaries, especially among the Greater Appearances In practice, the Faery contacts will mae a line or networ of communion if the human contact is unable to come into direct consciou sness with the deeper level s This i s a helpf ul process , and there are many magical arts based upon it The Othe Ones
There are also many obscure UnderWorld entities that are associated with forces of transformation, destruction, and regeneration They have ve ry l ittle conne ction with huma nity, though we can wor with them through intermediaries These Others are especially valuable to us in the more advanced forms of Faery Heal ing, which deal s with heali ng the ris in the subtle f orces of the land or sea , and the greater tas of Earth He ali ng The Go-Beteens
Go-Betweens are transhuman, or exhuman, beings in the Faery realm Traditio nal example s in clude the prophet an d poet Thom as ymer, and the everend obet Kir both are nown histori cal persons (not myt hic o r traditional characters), and both are said to be actively present in the Faery realm, mediating between outer humanity and Faery consciousness and Faery beings Most GoBetweens are not o wn to hi story, of course , and yo u can mae contact with the m at the Cro ssrods, and through th e Wel l of Li ght as described in our other empow ered visio ns This shot outline of the Faery aces se ts he sc ene for man y of the lter cha pters, nd yo u wil l nd tha t much of it come s i nto beer perspective when you practice the techniques described in the following chapters Ultimately, we learn about the Fery races
3 8 T W OF L though direct contact and communion, rather than from denitions in a boo. Furthermore, as discussed earlier, popular denitions can be misleading and trivial, and must be eamined ruhles sly for sentiment, whimsy, and escapi sm In our net chapter, we will move on to discovering your Aptitudes f or Faery Hea lin g, and eplor ing ho w you many activate these, and use them in pr actic e
e Seve Atte f Faey Heal g
he Seven Aptitudes are natural abilities that manifest in individuals in connection with Faery Healing he Aptitudes also relate to other Faery and UnderWorld arts and sills, and w e wil l d iscu ss some o f these relationships as we proceed As our main theme is Faery Healing, however, we will not be able to explore all the complex interconnections in deta il Much of the bacgro und mat erial can be found in the earlier boos in this series he UndeWold Intaton Eath Lght and Poe Wthn the Land or in he Lvng Wold oae
he Seven areunrealized inherent abilities or potentials, although theyAptitudes are usually hey may need intense discipline and hard wor for some people, while in others they simply ow foth when attention s given to them Discovering that you have one or more of the nherent Aptitudes (and we al l have at least one of them) is only the beginning they have to be accessed, developed and usually need to be attuned through dedicated inner wor There are many hints in tradition how toand develop andnew attune the Aptitudes this boo,about we present explore modern methods In that have grown out of the older traditional material through experiment, personal experience, and insight
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WA ARE E EEN IES?
he Sev en Aptitud e are a et o f mutually interacting abil itie or taent which ar dned for b w e A e li t would be a f o ow: Woring with Waer 2 Woring with Stone 3 Woring with Al i e and Co -Waer 4 Worin g with P ant and Herb 5 Woring with Living Cre ature (animal, bird, he, inect) 6 Woring with Touch or Stroing: uing the hand, or ome time one hand or a pec ic nger Uual ly the palm of the hand or tipwith Signature (which are powerful pattern in the 7 nger Woring urrounding environment) There i no order of merit or uperiority in our lit, and it i not a checi t for acuirng il l or abi itie The Seven Ap titude are impy inherent abiitie that may be awaened through intent, through Faery or UnderWorld initiation, through practice, or a ometme happen, pontan A Faery heae r may ue oneeouy. or ore o f the Aptitud ometime in euence, ometime w oring tog ether imultan eouly Thu in fooric tradition, woring with both water and tone oen go together, in variou permutation In a greater ene, water i the univeral medi um of ubte energi e , o we could ay that woring with water perm eate al Seve n Aptitude in an inn ite number of way A the Faery tr adition i dened by it ao ciatio n with Faery bei ng , we cou ld al o ay that the Aptitde f or woring wit h Al li e and Co-Waler i found in every branch of Fae Healing to a greater or le er degree. So , do not t ae the Aptitude a a literal checl it, but more a a tart ing poi nt to help y ou di cover and develo p your potential In practice, there are alway two or more Aptitude intera cting when we wor on Faery Hea lin g
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N NG OJR ES
Before woring with one or more of the Aptitudes, we have to di scover wh ich of the Seven is best suited to us as individual s. This is oen not a matt er of c hoic e or preference or even o f inspiration. Poe tic all y we mi ght say th at the Aptit udes ch oose us , rathe r than that we choose or discover or learn them This same spiritual law applies to woring with companion creatures, for it is the living creatur es that choose u s as partners and al lies, and we do not sele ct them. One of the mo re d ic ult tass for a contempo rary man or woman wishing to develop sil ls in F aery Healing is that o f nding, or being found by, thei r Aptitudes. The Aptitudes are i nerent, usu ally more or le ss dormant within us. a re How canon wepersonal nd andexperience, awaen them? methods describe d next based as welThel as from practical group wor over several ye ars In woring with groups of people, I have developed a simple visionary method which anyone can follow, preferably woring outdoors. This outdoors woring seems essential for nding the Aptitudes if you live in a busy city you should try to wor in a garden or par . Once y ou have found your basi c Aptitude(s) y ou ca n then wor anywh ere, i ndoors or out. Note: The following methods are enhanced by woring with the recorded vis ions o n the CD that accompa nie s this boo. ditati n n : indin g th ttuds (woring alone)
Find a quiet outdoor place. 2 Spend s ome time in silent medita tion, becoming s til l. 3. Attune to the Four Elements, Above , and Bel ow, then retu to stil lness at the cent er of the Seven D irections. 4 Let your Aptitude sur face om deep within you . Do not choo se anything; let it come spontan eously into the stillne ss. 5 . When you are ready, retu to outer awareness. Write som e short notes on your experience. 1
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hs deceptve ly s impl e medtaton m ay not work mmedi ately or eas ly so do no t beco me mpaten t ry the medtat on regul arly at the same tme each day or nght but no more than once per day o much eo t s always cou nterpoduct ive with nne r work nin g ditatin n : indin g th tituds
(workng alone )
Aer some famlarty wth our basc Medtaton One you mght like to rene your method of workng As there are Seven Apttudes see k nsi ghts nt o one per d ay for seven days Beg n your meditaton wth a s mpl e intenton to med tate on the Apttude f or that day but not wt h any forced o r acqu st ve desire to "get that Apttude as this will close thetghtr veryope ablty that you to balancng open Fnd ng inner powers s l ke walkng a delseek cate of conscosness wll see you through to the other side but no amount of intense c oncentra tion will po wer or determinaton can nd that bal ance for you Your se lf-mot vatio n must be suspe nded n order t o stay pois ed hs rene ment of our Med taton One ma y help wit h surfacng the Apttdes and will also allow many insights and nner awarene ss o f the Aptitudes to de vel op Make short notes aer each medtaton t is likel y that some of the Apttudes w l l be c losed to you do not let this wo rry yo u there s pl enty of work to be done wthn an y one Apttude and each o f them i s s uci ent for any he aling work that you are all ed to d o f you pers stently push tow ards Apttdes that are naturally losed to you you may eper ence a reducton of those that are easy so be warned In tme and wth practce of other nner dsc plin es you wll be able to open out Apttudes t hat were cl osed to you intally should you need to do so o O E ES A EAR?
he way n whch th e Apttudes surface vares from per son to per-
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sn They wil mae themselves nwn in simple individual wr will be dierent t the way in which we eperience their "surfacin g within grup wr Sme eampl es f grup wo r wil l be disc ussed shrtly In our intense wrshps r eperiential grup sessins, n preli minary desc riptin is gi ven of what might arise, s that we d nt preem pt r precnditin the eperience In a b f this srt, the writ er has th e di lemma f hw li ttle r hw much t say ! The eampl es that I f fer are not, theref re, a ful l l ist r a detai led gu ide fr reference They are mere y eample s frm persnal eperien ce, and frm many sessi ns wring with thers i n grups 1 The Aptitudes ay coe to you as visions during yur silent meditation utdoors In the mstC-Walers direct manner, yu may have eeting visions f water, stnes, r Allies, plants, animals, touching r string, and woring with Signatures or pattes In grup w r, we use this spntaneus vis in idea within frmal visu alizati n The in divi duals e ach have heir w n visi n f Aptiudes while woring within an verall guided scenari or vis ualizat in tha t is shared by the entire gru p, li stening to the vic e f the narrator Aptitudes aise easphysi physical 2. Thethe Oen Faery wr, bdy wilay l generat cal sesensations nsations arisin g inwith respnse t subtle ene rgie s 3 The Aptitudes ay co e a s Eleental ntuitio ns You may have intuitions abut ne r mre Aptitude These will nt cme as intel lectual r f rmulated cncepts in wrds They en arise as an aniy for, r deep se nse f, Air, Fir e, Water, Earth, Sy Abve, r Land Bel w I have used this with gd results in grup wr A guided visualizatin based n the Elements, Sy, and UnderWrld, will en lead t spntaneus individual insights and intuitins about the Aptitudes 4 The Aptitudes ay becoe appaent in deas If medita tins n the Aptitudes d nt prduce obvius r early "results, yu may nd hi nts in y ur dreams Remember th at dream wor in the
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Faery and UnderW orld tra ditions is not ps ycholog ical . In the older tradit ion s, rather than in material ist therap y, dreams ar e either taen literal ly o r are "read according to i nterpretiv e material f rom within the tra dition s themselves . You will robabl nd it helful to follow the widely used recommendation of eeping a simple dream journal. Ruthlessly ignore dreams th at are not relevant: you wi ll recog nize Faery and UnderWorld dreams by their intensity and by the quality of Light (Earth Lig ht), which oen i lluminates them Y ou may also nd that you come to eperience a combination of waing meditational ins ights ad itense dream eperiences about th e Aptitudes 5 he Aptitudes ay be evealed to you o ithin yo u by an A ll Cousin, o Co-Walke This often occurs in meditations, dreams, and visions Faery contact also comes suddenly in ieveryday circumstances ; so do not assume th at you must be n some altered state for a Cousin to reveal Aptitudes to you As with all spiritual contacts, use your discretion and common sense, and do not let yourse lf be pii e-led by yo ur own fantasie s or wishf ul thini ng. 6 he Aptitudes ay pesent theseles toyou in th e natual old This is the most t radit ional and reli able presentation One or more Aptitude w ill co me to you thr ough the environment (t his is why a goodlyudes). amount ofwill outdoor wor isInessential for discovering Aptit How they come? very direct and litera l your ways it may pour with rain upon you, you may trip over a stone , yo u may sense unseen pr esence s, ce rtain bird s, animal s or insects m ay come to you, your hands may bu or itch to touch something, or you may feel an in tense commu nion with the shi ing patterns of light, of air, of clo uds i n the zone imme diately around you This l ist is a typical set of manifestations of all Seven Aptitudes, but there are many, man y other po ssi ble manifestations of each Aptitude, as you will di scover Do not allow sentiment or wishful thining to tric you into maing f als e ide nticatio ns. An epressi on or maifestation of the Aptitudes is always accompanied by an enaced awareness, a heightening of the vital energie s, a shi of percepti on It is ot merely a synchr onisti c or coi ncidenal event
T S A F H 45 ditatin T w: indin g tituds thrug h adlssnss
The physical presen tation of Aptitud es, com ing to you from the land or zone a round yo u, is made more li ely by a comb ination of still ness and wa lin g meditation . There is a parado and a myster y in this, for the Aptitude within you comes to you from the living land, an d not th rough sel f -absorption or personal introspect on and self- analysi s. Begin wi th stillness and t he Directions (as des cribed in Medtation One), 2. All ow yourself to wal and meet the Ap titudes, or for them to wal with you. he n retu to stil lne ss. 3inner ith p ractice, possib le to merge wal ing medit ation wit h stillness. hisitisi sthe art own as "roadlessness in Celtic tradition, while each of the older spiritual traditions has its own versio n: the Aust ralian Abori ginal walabout, the Native A mercan visionquest, and so forth. 4. You may nd that certain Allies or Cousins are connected to specic Aptitudes. his connection between Faery beings and "supeat ural powers (which are, in trut h, simply natural owers that we have denied) is eempl ie d in many foltale s. Let us briey consi der each of the Aptitudes i n tu n this chapt er, we wil l eamine the si mple st basic attributes and meth ods of each Aptitude. Then, in Chapter 4, we wll loo at deeper and more interactive or adv anced me thods . I n later c hapters, we will consider the spiritual and planetary correlation of the Seven Aptitudes of Faery He alin g, thr ough he Mystey ofthe Double Rose. WORKI NG I WA ER
his is one of the mos t widely described methods o f Faery and spirit healin g. ater is u sed i n various w ays, and (as mentioned above) plays a medi ating role in many o f the other Aptitudes. Remember
46 T W OF T tat the Elements interconnect with one another, ad that each Ee ment has some thing of the other three withn i t Water, o f course, s present n all body uids and in all life forms to a greater or lesser degree, so it is o f vital importa nce in any healing process Traditional ly, water s use d n several ways f or Faer y He ali ng A bo wl o f spring wat er (ide all y from the location i wch you are working , tough tap wa ter wil l work if nee ded) is o ften carged or empowered by breathing upon it Tis may be used to bathe an ai cte d area, to drn k, or for placin g in a roo m for puricat o f you are fortunate yo u can u se water from a e aling sprin g, but be cautious wit this, as suc springs have unique teluric powers ad inner Faer y or spirit contacts Beca use a spring is known t o be therapeutic f or tradito na or other reasons, does not alw ays i ply tat it is susprings itable fwere or allhanded uses ndown tra dtio nal culturand es , wisdom te powe rs of different in folklore teachings Today our ta sk is more di cult, a s we hav e to lea ane w ow to work wit sacred o r heal ing waters in a way that is apt and proper for the radically change d con ditions of the 2 st ce ntury n all examples of chargg or empowering water, the charge is not permanent Because water puries and cleanses, bowls of charged w ater le in a room must be empt ied away, id eal ly onto the eart into athat rivers or seafor Dowashing not tip "used water springorWater used actions mustback alsoito be a disposed of carelly , as above Water that someone drinks, of course, works its way through the body You may use charged water for feedi ng plants, trees, stones, loc ali tie s, and so forth, but you sh ould not employ "used water f or watering p lants Thes e are the s mpl e basi cs of te Aptitude f or Water, but ther e is a great deal more n water working , and we s all return to it i n the second part of ts Summary WORKG OES
Tis s widely descrbed in traditio, either n its own rigt or in conne cti o with w ater Typi cal eamp es from folklore i clu de the
T S A F H 47 power of standing stones or hol ed stones at ancient site s, sacred or blessed stones (usuall y smal ) used for healing , and the traditi onal method of letting aiction pass nto a stone or stones (usually sel ected for this oneti me purpose) oring wit h stones fall s into two simpl e categorie s in the rst, a curative , puri ing or energizi ng power passes from the stone to the subect, and i n the sec ond, imbal anced subtle f orces are passe d from the subect into the stone In the rst category we nd stones tha t have a ti mel ess p ower within them as far as we are concerned, it does not run ou t e also nd us e of sel ected stones that are empowered o r charged for a spe cic tas Thi s may be for a one-time heal ing, or it ma y be for l ong-term use In the second category, the stone draws or receives unhealthy or imbalanced drawing omngthi teinsubect he stone its elf is then forces, cl eansed, oftenthem by placi runnin Usually g watert e wil l retu to this import tra dit ion of stones and water together shortly The stone can also be buried, cast into a lae, river, or the ocean Traditio nall y there are payers or verse s that are u sed to formulat e intention and to see the bl es sing of spiri tual powers Stones in the r st category may be "permane nt or "temporar y If they are permanent they are handed down, usu all y in famili es , or are empowered by ceremon y These arewe positive stones, andespecia (withoutllygoing into a pseudoscientic jargon) might say that they have a benec ial agen cy or power vest ed in them long term Stones in the second category are usualy temporary They are oen piced up specically for a tas; sometimes they volunteer themselves in Roadless Meditation More arely, we will nd or wor with a stone that has a permanent quality of cleansing or drawing out of imbaance into itse hie the temporary stones are returned t o the en vironment and cl eansed by natural forces , the permanen t stones o f this type are retained and clea nsed by special techiques, to be u sed again Stones in this second catego ry could be de scrib ed as "ne utral or "passi ve if the y are temp orary, and might be though of as "catabolic or "negative if they are used more per manently By ne gative, we do not imply bad, but more in
48 T W
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the sens e f pl arity, fr they have a rawing r takin g pl arity that is used beneci all y We can summarie the basic use f Stn es as fl lw s: Permanen t large stnes l cated in n e plac e may have pwers that can be wrke with These may b e natural r a rtifacts 2 Permane nt r enuring smaller stn es (mvea ble) with psit ive/ utgi ng/giv ing curative r the r pwers 3. Permanent smaller stnes with negative/in-drawing/taking r cleansing pwers 4. Tempra ry use f small er stnes in a variety f ways , psi tive/ negative r giving/taking This last grup is the largest and mst widespr ead use f stnes in Faery Healin g Nn e f thisve,shrt i s intened way scfund ientic r eniti anescriptin mer ely i ndicates smtebefintheany basics in traiti on, thug h cntempra ry us e, and persnal e perie nce I feel very strngly that we must n t tu the arts f spiritual dynamics , such as Faery He alin g, int s me kind f false s cien ce This was t he majr mistake f 9th Century ccultism, while the majr errr f 20th Centu ry ccul ism an New Age spiritu alis m has been t a false psychl gy t the f als e scie nce WORKIG WITH I ES A CO-WAKE RS
Thi s is a majr branch f the Faery and Une Worl trait in, an f all primal an flkl ri c spi ritual an magic al arts I have used th e wrs Allis an Co- Walks as these appear in Scttish Faery traitin at least as early as the 7th Century and so are nt from me cncepts r bks n ne-shamanism Anther ld term used in Britain an Eurpe is Cousins and we will use all three terms equal ly, as they have simi lar meaning A mre precis e eni tin f each wor can be made, but is nt necessary f r ur general di scus si n f Faery Heal ing and related ar ts Our wrk with Cu sins an C- Walker s permeates al l aspects f the Faey t raditin, s muc h s that there is n traditin withut it
T S A F H 49 This may see m lie a n obvious sta tement , bu t the cor e de nition o f Faery Heal ing is tha t the healing taes place du e to assoc iation and consc ious intentional wo r with Faery bein gs his is what maes it distinct from other types of sp irital healing Our rst lev el of den itio n and des cription f or each ofthe Sev en Aptitudes is the simplest: oking ith Cousins o Allies eans that they take an active coopeative pat in the healing pocess
his cooperatio n may manifest in many di erent forms, and may be understood or explained by the healer in a wide variety of ways At this basic level of descri ption we w il l examine t he relatio nship between human and Faery, and will discuss the more complex techniques later We should remember that we are primarily exploring Aptitudes, so this section will not go further into the relati onship hu man Faer y beiCou ngs sins, this wil l be the f you havebetween an A ptitude forand heain g with way your healing wor expresse s itse lf to you most cle arly n some instances, the healer has a clear sense of reation ship and identity of the Cou sin s, whil e i n others he or she is only vaguely aware of their presence and coopera tion h e basic ru le of this wa y of woring i s that the Faery Co-Walers usually wor though a medium of manifestatio n hi s medi um can be water, stone, pl ants, and so forth, butDo is prnot, imarily physica l bo dy of the healer this idea ith undetheany cicustances, confuse spiitualist edius hip o Ne Age channeling. Let you ok eain stictly ithin the aey and UndeWold tadition thee ae siila ideas in all spiitual taditions, ancient o oden, genuine, o fake. f we focu s on the practic al aspect s of the wor,
and attune strongly to the Faery tradition, all discussion and comparison be comes irrelevant Remember that it i s the attu ning to the Fae ry leve l o f consc iousn ess and energ y, and t he use o f tradition as a foundation, that enable s Faery Hea lin g he healer and the Allies wor closel y together: there are things that they ca n do that we cannot, l iew ise there are thing s hat we can do that they cao t eamwor is the e sse nce of thi s aspect o f Faery ea ling he healer s bod y is present in th e ouer w orld, the surface world of nature the Faery al ly has a bo dy in the ier world
50
T W OF L
or deeper subte ream of nature. Pacing these bodies in cose reation ship triggers a power echange of forces . n other branc hes of the tradition this echange is used to trigger a range of transformation s and eperie nces by humans and event ual y leads towards the Teef old A liance of human Faery and creature which beco mes a compl ete and ful y function ing p anetary be ing . n Faery Healing the echange of energies is used to bring benet rebaan ce an d whoe ness to the subject his subject ma be a human anima plant or a seem ing ly i nanimate entity such as a stone an artif act or loc ation. n the Faer y traditio n a l thi ngs are alive and conscious and there is no inert matter. adtonal Ways of Wokng th Cousns
The traditi ona methods ma y be briey desc ribed as fo lows (though this is not an ehaustive list or a guideline it is merely a set of typca eam pe s) . The Co usi n works throug h and with the healer to empower water in varous ways . 2. The Cous in works tough and with the heae to empower stones n var ways . 3. The Cousin works directly heaer his o r her physic a body as a with medand um through or outetthe source to using aect a cure or change in a sub ject A wide range of techniq ues and vehic les or forms is found here voice touch (usualy as in Aptitude 6) visio n and use of the e es distance heaing through cont act an d know ledg e vested i n the hea er ceremony and so f orth. 4 The Cousin works through and with the heaer to select empower and prepae p ants or herbs f or heal ing work . 5 The Cousin works with the heaer with an through his or her relationsh ip to other iv ing creatu res (a thr eefol d a li ance to bring heaing). 6 The Cous in works with the heaer spec ically tough the hands. 7 Th e Cou si n reveas the inherent p ower of Si gnatures or pat tes to the heal er and hels to mediate this power thr ough the heaer to the subj ect.
T S A F H 5 1 WORKNG PLANS
This Aptit ude includes a ll pl ants rees, owers, h erbs, mosses, and so foth Before we eplore this Aptiude, we should be clear on hat it is not. n traditional Faery Healing, from folloric magic handed down through the generations, the Aptitude for Faery Healing with plant s i s not herb al healing lore This is very import ant to grasp from the outset a person may be a good gardener many have owledge of heal ing herbs, may even be an herbal healer or naturopathic doctor Th is do es not in evitably mean that he or she has an Aptitude f or Faery Healing with plants Suc h an Aptitude may b e present, or it may not be present the answ er is di scovere d though Faery attunement and practice, by using the methods of di scover y (such as those n thistra boo) that, yrour eveal your Apmay titudes As with man y aspects o fi Faery dit ion Aptitudes tae you by surprise ! The o ld herbal and pl ant healers were usual ly not Faery healers they wored with the curaive substances of the plants, according to an ancient healing tr adition The same a ppli es toda y herbal healing i s not necessar ily Faery Heal ing f you are well versed in herbal healing, you still have to nd your Aptitude for Faery Healing may or mayss,not beener one for with ants in the Faery moThi de, cs onsci ousne and gy Cworing ontempor aryplpeopl e nd this idea especially hard to grasp, but it comes clear in practice, muc h mor e so than t hrough r eading any eplanation or tet. n herbal medicine , the gross substan ce of the pl ant is used t i s prepared and ingested o r applie d topicall y i n various ways. n Faery Heali ng the healer wors with t he s piritual forces of the pl ant, and with certain Allies, Cousins, and Coalers who are associated with speci c p lants or trees, or with th e greater group entity of the entire species of a plant n Faery Healing the plants are not cut, prepar ed, or ingested i n any way. It is the subtle foces of the plant allies that ae used not the subs tance
A good e ample of this i s found in ower essence practices there is nothing o f the or igi nal plant substance in the esse nce , for it is a resonance i mparted to t he most s ensit ive m edium of our world , the
52 T W
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Element of Water The more it is dilted the tronger it becomes. Fl ower ess ences are a modern deelo pment of the lon g establ ished and well described traditions in Faery Healing sch as those of sing the dew or condensed moistre from the srfaces of plants owers and le aes for magical or heaing prpos es . The pl ant was neer ct f or thi s wol d be to bring dea th Heal ing can and does come thr og h death of cor se. Bt the F aery traditi on ses forces and directions of consc ios ness tha t are di fferent from or hman awaren ess hence the seemi ngly m iraclo s ntr e of many cres reported in tradition. We mi ght say tha t the Aptitde for woring with pl ants i s real ly an aptitde for woring with plant consc io sne s and ene rgy. As in homoeopathy where the potentized sbstance oen wors in a di fferentmatch way to s bstance wor antsd-idoe not always pthe withgros t hesstanda rd herbal eing ectswith se pl d me cinsally. Indeed the Faery hel er who hs a powerfl p lnt ally can se thi s con nect ion for any heal ing prpo se and it is no t li mited in the way the gros s sbstance w ol d be l imi ted. T hs a healer might h ae a strong al liance with the Oa T ree and this is an actal and powerfl Mystery eplored l ater in this boo . The Oa Tree al li ance wold be powerfl for many forms o f heal ing nd trans formatio n most of which be notfond be obiniosly connect to the healing gr oss orisallopat healingmay qalities the tree. Whatedcases the hic coo peration between th e he aler and th e pl ant ll y not any herbal ite or ch emi cal ly traceab le co nstitent in the plant itself . Of corse in practi ce there are many connection s both ob io s and sbtle between the natre of a plant and its se in Faery Heal ing espe cial ly i n essenc es and waters. B t this caot be forced into a rl e-of-thmb checl ist . One he aler wil l hae an anity with the oa t ree or anot her tree or plant. Her abil itie s to wor with thi s tree or plant are not necessarily connected to the standard denition th at yo wold nd in a poplar owe r essence boo in an herbal tet or in allopathic medical preparation and se. Another healer woring with th e marig old o wer mi ght obtain th e same heal ing e ffects a the rst heal er si ng the oa force s thogh his p lant ally is ery di erent.
T S A F H
53
This may see m, at rst, con fusing to the student, but i t is reso lved rapidly i n practi ce If you have an anity f or woring with plants, build on it in medita tion, vision, and practice The plan t allie s wil l reveal t hemselves to yo u as and when they are needed Usually y ou wil l have a small number of all ies that are establ ished longterm , and others will come to you in visi on for paicu lar tass oring with plants wil l be strongly identied nowadays, by many readers, with the idea of ower essences, and this important assoc iaio n extends through the Aptitudes f or working with wat er and wih stones, to oter essences and healing arts Always remember that we are woring with aey ealng and that it is the subt le forces and the co mmunio n with the Faery a llies that mae it s o An o uter form, such as an es sen ce, many or may not have a Faeryhis Healing resonance and your contact it It wi is up to you stones to fo conect ion through spiwithin ritual wor th plants, , water, and essence s You cannot ust buy a Faery Heal ing e ssenc e On ce you have som e practice in the subtle f orces o f Faery Healin g, you wil l ow, by touc h, i f an essence (i n a stor e, on the s helf, from some one els e) has Faery Heali ng power in it, or not Y our en anced sense of touch, which arises from any and all of your Aptitu des, wil l al so be useful in many othe r ways loe Eence and aey adton
Thi s teaching c oul d equ ally be place d in the Aptitude of ater, in the Aptitude of Touch, or in the Aptitude of Al li es It is pl aced here, in the Aptitude o f Pl ants, as we have already touched on the dierences between the gross substance, herbal healing, and woring wit h plants in a spiritual manner, through the Faery Healing tradition Flower essences are directly derived from a frequently described aspect of the Faery traditi on : the fol lor ic practi ce of using te dew or condensed natural moisture f rom owers and plants The cl ass ic example from fol loric pactice in Br itain is the gathering of dew fom the gass and owes on May mo ing ( Belt ine or Be ltain) to
54 W L bath the face, or to loo nto , n a bas n, and see future lov es. Many varants of th s custom are found n European tr adt ional ore. Modern ower essence practce orgnates wth the Brtsh homeopath, Dr. B ach, who f ound th at he co u d sense the potentals of certan plants and owers, by pox Ths s sg nic ant for us, for the h ghly trained, sens tve homeopath was do ng what Faery healers have done for centuries, attning to the sprtual forces of plans. By bein g clo se to, or wthn the energetc ed of, a tree or pant, we can discern the heang potentials that t hods and radiaes. This is, in our descrption of Faery Healng, using one aspect o f the Apttude for worng wh P lants At th s time, n the early 2 s cent ury, es sences o f all sorts abound, and not merey those of plants. They ar e noth ng, m ore or e ss, than modern commerca of the certan arts found wthin Faery traditon. Theyvariants relate to prncples behnd the follorc Seven Aptt udes descrbed el sewhere n ths b oo. Thus, an essence made from a stone or a zone (A asan ess ences are a mode eampl e) is a varant of the o-reported method, from ancestral tradton, of pourng water over a sacred stone , and u sng the run o for hea ling purpos es, or that of immersng a stone or a substance n a bowl of waer, and using the water, but not the gross substance itsef. Flower es sences , andpropert the ncreasng ly wde range other essence comb ne the s prtua ies o f water wth th eof spiritual proper s, tes of other orders of lfe plant, animal, mneral, atmospherc, soar, lunar , and so forth Such co mb naton s were wd ely found n the Faery He ali ng tradit on. A healer mght have an Attud e for p ants, or stones , or worin g with iv ing creat ures, c ombi ned wth the Apttude for worng wh water. Thus, healing waters were created. The obs ervant and thought ful reader wi ll have reali zed tha t there is one s gncant differenc e between tradit ion a method s and those ofthe modern e ssence manufacturer a di erence o f cons cousne ss. The Faer y healer has a conscous reatonship wth the lvn g be ng and/or subte energy that resonates into the water Dr Bach un doubtedly had he same, though epressed through t he world-vi ew of homoeopathy. But many modern essences seem o be
T S A F H 55 incr easingly f ormulaic do this, this, and this, and you hav e a worabe essenc e There i s no impi ed critici sm or vaue judgmen t here, merely a statement of fact The Faery healers had a conscious relationship with spiritual beings, a relation ship that was embodied ( according to their aptitudes) in a healing water or essence Some ower essence prac titioners unuestionably have a si mil ar sen sitivity to subtle forces, but it seems unliely that it could be widespread in comercial use , as this precludes such coections, e speci ally when esse nce s are made in bul and sold in stor es The dierence is in consciousness an d elationshi p The Faery healer wors with inner contacts, allies, and a living relationship with spiritual forces that comes out thro ugh his or her Aptitudes en esse nces or watersSuch are prepaed this maer, focused and powerful essences in could not easlythey be ar e high y di stribute d and so ld co mmercially, a s the healer ha s no connection to the user However, healers may use pre-prepared essences, attune to the s piritual entit ies that r eso nate with such es sence s, and combine and administer them consciously as needed to people, creatures, p laces , and s o forth One very important aspect of using owers is that they must be alive The ower the seual organ andtoa mae majorescommunicating organ of the p lantishen owers are cut sences, or the petals pulled , the essenc e is der ved from a dying organ, not f rom the vitality and consciou sness o fthe l ivi ng plant In Chapter 5 on Oeings, we will discuss in detail that cut owers are f orbidde n in the Faer y tradition to cut or pull owers or to brea branches as o ering s i s offens ive It is also aggressiv e hen you cut a ower , y ou i ll it; wh en you br ea a b ranch, you il l it ould you cu t up the genitals of a beautif ul lovi ng man or woma n because yo u wanted them to dec orate yo ur altar, and then watch them shrivel and dy up? Eactly ! Flowers and plants as of ferings shoul d be l ivin g plants to support and grace the altar they are not consum ed by anyone or anyt hing Thus you c ould ch oose plants in eepi ng with a theme or concept, and aer they have been present for some time, t hey sho uld be planted
56 T W L in the ground, if possible. From there, they will continue to wor with the oiginal itention and inner contact that you made when you placed them upon or aound the altar. Stictly speaing, this use of owers and plants is not an "offering, bu more of a cooperation and attunement. The plants enhance the magic, but are not cosumed WRKG G CRA RS
Somethin that might, at rst glance, seem to be similar to this Aptitude has become widely popularized, ad confused, through modern notions o f neo- shamani sm. Many peo ple thin, oen at a very supercial theywritt now animal a typica l statement,level, oenthat heard, en about and publi shed,allies: is thatand animal alies must some how embody qualit ies that the human would l ie to have. Typic al eample s o f this attitude would be the strength o f the lion, the swine ss and cuning of the fo, the ight of the eagle , and so forth. This psycho log ical approach describe s neither shamanic tradition, nor Faery traditi on. It is , if we loo beneath its poten tial ly atractive surface presentation, nothing more than materialism masquerading spirituality, with supercial huma centric f ocus ofas"whats in it for me an . I nutterly both Faery tr adition, and in ethnic shamanism, the livig creature chooses you, whether you lie it or not, whether you want it or not. So, when you wor with the living creatures, the rst step is to do away with any human-centric p reconception s. Furthermore, when people who have practiced various modern neo-shamanic arts come to the Crossroads to nd Companion Creatures, they are oen surprised by what comes. Many people seem to use all ies as props ad comf orts, and this attitude is subtly ecoura ged in many popular boos and class es, though not of course, in true tra diti onal ethnic shamanis m. If you have an Aptitude f or woring with the living ceatures, those that come to you at the Crossroads may not be those that you epect, or those that you have wore d with i other contets.
T S A F R H 57 adtonal Aspects o Wokng ith Ceatues
In fol lori c Faery practice s, we n d that livin g creatures pl ay a direct and simple role Faery dogs, for eample, eat unhealthy matter or subtle forces ust, in nature, as dogs are scavengers) In myth and legend associated with Faery tradition, dogs are harbingers and carriers associated with death Hounds will carry the sou l to the otherworld , and Faery dog s warn of death, or as sis t with death Some spirit creatures eh bit surisi ng powers, very dierent from our modernist idea that animals, birds, shes, and insects are somehow lower orders of life, less than humanity Some spirit creatures act as powerful go-betweens that merge with, and med iate, the forces of insects othe r healing and atransf entit ies and energies For eample, oen have hive orming or colective consci ousness tha t mediates heali ng forces ; the be e is th e best known eample of this in both follore and traditional medicine, but in Faery Heal ing it can be a ny insect col lective As with plant allies, one or two powerful creature allies may enab le a range of interact ion s through the human p artner, and they are not always speci c or li mited to the traditional themes desc ribe d above WRKNG T
Thi s i s, perhaps, t he most superc ial fami li ar area for the modern student We all now, in some form or other, of healing that is ransmitted by touch, or radiated hrough he hand The mo popular contemporary form at present is ek though there are many others Healing with and through the hands has been with humanity for countless generations, and it may be that Faery Healing is one of the oldest forms It is certainly enshrined in tradition, and well report ed in h istorica eamples Ou r rst ta s, as mod e ind ividuals, is to dise ngage from wh at we already now (or thin we now) about hands-on or energetic
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healing Any previous knowledge or practice, or comparison in practice, wil interfere with the subtle forces of Faery Healing If you are wor king with your hands, do n ot try to force this ski ll into the mold of something else, but let it be uniquely itsef Thi is essential, as the Faery energies and consciousness work on their own frequency, and if we try to move into something e ls e, we los e the contact There are many spiritual an d energetic forces that can and do ow through the body and are outlet through the hands , but mos of them are not of the F aery realm Always go by the feel in g by what the Threefold Al li ance or the Faery contact feels like Certain spiritual healing forces will build up in your hands and arms, oen giving a burning or electrical sensation Learn t o recogn ize this power, and do not cross-ref er it toThe somet any thing, el se. with ha nds i s to commune with simhing, ple sttomethod of working the Faer y a ll ie s, or with an y o f the other A ptitudes and assoc iated inner contacts, and fee their power merge through you This merging triggers a specic energy, which ows out through your ands towards whatever subjects you may be working with Sometimes this subject is a person, an animal, a tree, even a locato n hen you work in this manner the a lies that work with you wil sl oen beild on, be your righ t and and slifade ghtly behind you Theis energie wil l bu transmitt ed, le, and then when th eir work done Sometimes they wil buid and persist for a long period of ti me , so you have to earn how to st ay wit h this In the deeper levels, a more comple teamwork pattern is buit, which i s described in te inner communica tion or received teaching on the Double Rose (Chapter 7) This involves your Threefold Al i ance wor king tough yo u and beyond and behind th e Al li ance are the deeper powers of the Faery GoBetweens and the larger spiritua bein gs that emer ge from the e l of Li ght Th ey work, at a deeper leve, through your aies And the combined forces of all work through your Aptitude or aptitudes, oen to outlet through the hands As a rue in Faery Healing, the hands are used to radiate or transm it, but some variants of the Aptitude imp ly hat th e hands are
T S A F H 59 used to draw out and remove unealthy forces In this mode, the all ie s tae the unheal thy forces, and remove them This process wil l vary according to th e ind of ally y ou wor with: some wil l eat unealthy matter, others w il l e cis e it, and some wi ll carry it aw ay in water or earth, and so foth. WORKNG GNARS
In s ome wa ys , this is the most ob scure Aptitude, and it i s perha ps the least commonly found At the deepest levels of Faey magic, woring with the composite of the hte Rose, this Aptitude rel ates to the Mystery of the Se venth C ompanion who guards the Sl eeping in the something Forest Althofough i s the in pac we have alMaiden l eperienced thisitApt itudrae rest in o ur l ves,tice for, t involve s intense me mory A Sgnature is a moment of powe in which many as pects of the natural and supeatural world merge together A typical eample would b e a moment when you stand up on the cli ff, the su n sets over the ocean, and a ight of geese ies ovehead, heading south, call ing out of the sy The totali ty of this mo ment, in a c oncentra ted form,memory is the S They ignature S ignatures ar e hel d asand eycannot moment our can Thus only come spontaneously, be s in assembled or written up Signatures always come outdoors, and usuall y tae us by surprise The healer draws upon the totality of the Signature, which generates its special powers of ime, place, and purpose These comple forces ow though the healer: the Signature s a total enegy oc Th m m in ra ctce that we can only hold a limited number of Signatures in our consciousness, possibly due to the typcal memory phenomenon of conscious/ unconscous, remembered/forgotten, but more liely to be due to the sheer intensity of any S ignature More s imply, we can ony store so many bef ore we are overl oad ed In practice, two or three powerful Signatures can last you a long time some S ignatures even end ure bet ween liv es, and are
60 W L recapitulated in meditation and at the Crossroads. hus, we may nd memories of Signatures that do not correlate to current life eperienc es, yet we remember th em neverthele ss. However, the main body of Signatures comes from this li fe, and not from the past. his is imp ortant to grasp as much of the S ignature energy ows through the body, so the presence of the body at the time of the srcinal Signature is of great signicance to the memory and recapturing and mediation o f the Signature energie s. If you thik about the nat ure of a S ignatur e su ch as the cl assi c eampl e descr ibed above there ar e many force s and entiti es present. You can soon assemble a simple list: yourself, the geese, the sun, the sky, the l and and sea, and the in nite other l ife forms all around you. hen add t he spiritual presenc es such as your own alli es , and the many other invisible beings of place, power, time. A Signature is like a symphony, butthat concentrated into and one short intense moment. Sgnatues and Sentent
here is an understandable tendency for mode students to be sentiment al about S ignatures "S urely that intense moment wi th my friend orand l over, we another's sat on theeyes edgemust of the of co and poppies lookwhen into one be aeld Signature? Well , much as we woul d l ike it t o be , t is n ot. Huma n sentiment or emotio n, shared between hum ans, i s not S ignau re energy . It has to be between a human or humans, spiritual entties, and the forces and forms o f the pl anet, o f naure. If we have a personal investment in the memo ry of the S ignature, we lose the power. S ignatures are impersonal or, perhaps more to the point, they are transpersonal. hey are mome nts when we are upled from human con ce s and human personal feeings, into a moment of communion with the li vng world an d worlds all about us. If you have an Aptitude for workng with Signaures, you will probably want to spend time walking outdoors, preferably in remote places. All of the other Aptitudes can be found indoors through inner contact such as meeting at th e C rossroads, tho ugh it
T S A F H 6 1 must be said tht Faery magic is much preferable outdoors But Signatures are f ound in the l ivin g world of nature, not in a loun ge Some Signatures may spe a of the sub tle forces of the ci ty, but they are usu ally of primal and undi sturbed natura l forces The reasons for this shoud be obvi ous to us all N NG R ES, US NG E E RE SN N E CD
Now we have epl ored each o f he Seven Apti tudes brie y, and found some simple and direct forms and visions for opening out your Aptitudes A this stage you will nd further material, espebcia lly Wor with empowered onhave th e CD that accompanie this oo with the CDcontacts, aer you under taen the basic s forms descr ibed above Your Aptitudes wi ll open out cons iderably if you wor in the order li sted above, and hen move on as fol lows 1 The Crossroads Form (from the CD) 2 Finding Y our Aptitudes (f rom the C D) m
Here is t he tet f or the empo wered vi sion or o ndng You Apttudes
on the CD
There ar e Se ven Aptitudes in F aery Heal ing : everyone ha s at least one o r more inheren t within t hem Somei mes your A ptitudes wil l surface spontaneously, but they are best wored with consciously, intentionally This form, F indi ng Your Aptitudes, wi ll help to open out th ose i n herent within you The S even Aptitudes ar e: Woring w ith St one s Woring with Water
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Working with Plants Worki ng with Li vin g Creatures Workin g with Faery All ie s Working with ouch Working with S ignature
The os t powerful and rare is the Seventh Aptitude workin g with Signatures with inc lud es subtly al the others . The Mystery of the Seve nth Aptitude is ink ed to that of the S eventh Co panio n. So let us pr oceed to the Cro ssroads to d iscover our Aptitudes f or Faery Healing. Find yourself at the Crossroads where the Four Hidden Ways coe togethe r. Bethe aware Foure oDif the rectGrassy ion s ofPEast W est. In Eastof bethe awar lai nsSouth in theNorth Southand be aw are of the White H ill in the Nort h be aware of the S acred Mountain and dark fore sts and in the Wes t be aware of the i ghty O cean. A strea ows o ut o f the oce an of the West fro the ocean t o the land passin g long the hid den wa y to the centr e o f the C ross roads. Fro the centre it ows out to the East to water the grassy plains. In the he windofrithe seseast andthat youcoe breathe in deeply. Be awareinof those iEast ghtyt beings weaving the whirlwind their ngers : they r aw close and their vigor ll s your lungs. In the South t he White Hi ll utters i ght and tal bei ngs of opal es cent ae descen the hill and dr aw close thei r radiance ll s your blood. In the North the i ghty one s of the ount ains eten d their pres ence and draw clos e their str ength l ls your bone s. In the West the vast powers of ocea n etend their prese nce along the hidden strea their potency ows through t he wate r in every cell of your body. For a clear intention in your i nd that you will seek out your aptitudes here and now and in future drea vi sion a nd ed itation. (Music then si lence)
S A F H 63 Be aware that you have passed own the Four Hidden Ways and di scovered your Aptitudes . Be aware of the mighty Be ings of East, South, North, and W est whose power ow s through your breat, your blood, your bones , and your esh. Come bac to the Crossr oads , and mee again with you r Allie s, Cousi ns, an d Co-W alers. (Wild music here) Here at te Cr ossroads form your i ntentio n to return to the uman world, to redeem the surface world and bring it closer to the true and primal worl d. Open to the S y Abov e, the Land Be low, and the Four Directions of the land. Now Ho stsurface at the Crossroads fades . You now c ome more ful ly into thethe human world. Hold to your memory of what happened, and now your Aptitudes f or Faer y He alin g. Wth us s the Gace of the Shnng Ones n the Mystey of Eath Lght Peace to all Sgns and Shados Radant Lght to all Ways of Dakness and the Lvng One of Lght Secet Unknon Foeve
n our net Chapter, we will go deeper into the Aptitudes using tose of Stones and Water as models. Many of the methods, concepts, and inner te achings wi ll apply t o all of the Aptit udes, so this chapter rounds out the summary of Aptitudes, and inclu des further practical wor for your development in the art of Faery Healing.
4 Deeper i nto the A pt i tudes
In this chapter we go eeper into the Aptitues an use woring with Stones an Water as our rst eaples or oels. Much of thi s chapt er wil l apply to al l o the Aptiues so whate ver are your Aptiues or interests in Faery Heal ing the in foration f oun here wil l be helpful. There is a long an cople raition of healing with stones in folloric an Faery agic an it eonstrates any of the concepts an ethos that run through the entire Faery traition an any o f the ways in w hich a ll Seven Apti ues wor for us within us an for others. Before we procee o practical wor in this healing art of Faery agic we shoul briey eplore the historical contet ormation lite value.ancestral In Faerycontet. Healing Without he traition is theinfcontet analone the has in ivi ual etho s a ebes o f the Mystery are th e co nten. T A S B C X A C
In a broaer sense, the relationship betwee n the spiritua wor o f he Faery allies an copanion creatures an us as huans an ancestors, is the overal contet. This contet is focuse into spec ic tra iio nal arts, oen by et hnic or geograp hic a areas, with overall continuity an connecion across all the various areas or traitional as. The content is in the ost ieiate sense our
D A 65 woring team (a s far as we are concee d) and there aer it is found within the expanding networ of hol isms of the h reefol d All iance that contai n the team, until the epansio n o f conte nt includes the entire planet At that point, where t would seem that content and context ecome one, we all emerge into the greater context of the Solar World he srcinal content and context of the Earth and Lunar world are merged as one, within the consciousness and energy (context) of the Solar World his in tu ecomes united, solar context and content, within the universa l contet of the Stel lar World But, for practica l purpose s we focus o n the world in whch we l ive , the world of planet Earth, within the sphere of inuence of the Moon, or as it i s cal led i n the Faery t radition, under the Moonl ight ONS N OLKLOR ALN
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n a very simp le sense there a re two categories o f healin g with stones : large stones and small stones he large stone worings are oen associated with sacred sites, such as stone circles, dolmens, or standing stones, a nd in some example s, stoneso fpower t hat have been placed nature rather than the ancestors Smallnotstone worings areyoften associated with y a hereditary (though necessarily fami lial) tra dition of healing, whereby a healing stone or stones may e handed down tho ugh the generation s A third group con sists o f stones that have come om, or been energeti cal ly charged y, stones f rom ancestral si tes or o m natural power places hese tend to e smaller stones, though sometimes larger pieces are f ound in a bu ildin g or i n a hidden loc ation n large stone wor ngs th e two sub-ca tegores are 1 Ston es placed by ances tors 2 Stones pl aced by nature he rst group is associated with ancestra worshop sites or with stones that have come srcinally from ancestral sites ypica traditions incl ude th ose of passing someone s entire ody though
66 T W L hoe -stones or domen arches touching or embracin g a heaing stone or yi ng upon it or in its shadow . Somet imes the sub ject is asked to se ep on or beside a sacre d stone. In some fok oric heai ng traditi ons water is poured over a ar ge stone and subsequenty used for eaing. This combines the Aptitudes of workng with Stones and Water and is of course eminenty p ortabe and pra ctica We come across this c ombin ation of Aptitudes oen in Faery Hea ing as the Aptitudes are not rigid denitions o f unchan ging ab ities but a ei be cyce or inter active range of psyc ho- spirit ua potentias Sma stone s were traditio na y kept w rapped in c oth When we say "sma we mean easi y portabe ranging in sie from a peb be to a good- sied rock th at can be car ried without di cuty anything bi than thaton woud be too heavy move eas Anyone iy. Remember tha t thegger Faery traditi is "stu free andtomin ima u gging bags of stones or arge heavy rocks has compe tey mis sed the poi nt and is out of tune wi th the traditi on. Li ght port abe i nvi sib e: these are the key words Sometimes the wrappingcoth itsef was used in the heaing proce ss by vi rue o f hav ing wrap ped and touched the stone . The coth is aid upon the subject for heaing imparts its virtue and is returned to the stoneods. in genera the stones arge or sma ) tend In fo kori c meth to work in one of two moes: anaboic buiding) and cataboic ceansing) Thus the coth or water methods described may energie the subject or may remove unheathy forces from the subject. Traditiona heaers tended to work on the remova of in uenc es and di sease as their primar y task Very oen tha t was the soe intention and the subjects vita forces do the rest in the natura proce ss of recove ry. Some more soph st cated heaers woud practice a twofod method of both removin g i and gi vng forh benet Thi s requ ires d ierent Aptitues to work togethe r or d ifferent modai tie s cataboi c then anaboi c) of one main Ap titude n m ost cas es it was and i s a matter of tradition and i nnate taent. To give a ca ssic eamp e some traditio na heaers w oud o ny hea
D A 67 bleedi ng wounds to ugh the use of a charged cl oth The clo th might be charged upon a stone, by the use of wel l water, or tou gh la yin g on o f hands wit a prayer or char m muttering Suc ealers staye witin their lim its and could do nothin g el se This i s simply because they reli ed on i nnate Aptitudes and a rece ived tra diti ona l method ters , t o continue wit t raitional eample s, would on ly reuce fevers tough water from standing st ones This second eampl e also epands into a broader tradtion, whereby people in general used water from sacred stones to cure ills, but were not, of themse lves , Faery healers LA ONSH B N S AN LNS
n a traditional metaphysical sense, the stone is the element of Earth Li ewise c loth or f abri c, though derived from a pl ant, is a lso the Element of Earth Water, however, is not Aptitudes have a tendency towards certain Elements (such as stones being of the element of Earth) but c os s the El emental di stinctio ns Thus some one with an Aptitude for woring with Stones could wor with Stones and Water, Stones and Fire, Stones and Airbreath, Stones and Earth or clay Thus each Aptitude may have a tendency towards an Element, but can be empowe red by, an wor w ith all four Elements acting in relationship to the core Conte t o f the Aptitude The Aptitude i s the contet; the Elements employed are the content o foces of the heali ng act Net , we have a f urther contet of all four E lements within which the healing taes place This geneates one of the typical theef ol d Faery tr aditio n glyphs , of tee conc entric cir cle s or spheres (gur e 1 ). WORK NG H ONS OAY
n most cases today, we wor with smaller stones Those who are able to wor with s acred stones at an cient site s or pow er stones i n
68 T W OF L the ladsca pe i f yo live clos e by) shold be etremely catios ad respectf l i their choice of stoes. At the ed of this chapter we will o ffer some g ide li es for choos ig ad bi ldi g a relatio ship with larger stoes, both at sacre sites ad i atral power places. Yo shold follow these gidelies very careflly if yo ited to work with large stoes. Why so? Easy to aswer we o loge r liv e withi the traditi oal cotet of or acestr al cl tres, which formed log-term relatioships with sacred stoes over li fetimes, geer atios, a d mi lle ims. If yo ca ot form a l og term day by day relatiosh ip with sacred stoes or ace stral power places, yo shold be very catios abot begiig the log proce ss of workig wit h them. Reasos f or this wi ll become clear as we progr ess throgh this sect io o He ali g with Stoe s. N NG ONES
I the ol d days, healig stoes we re hade d dow, either t hrogh a family or, as seems to have bee more ofte the case, from oe healer to a chose heir. I may eam pl es the healig stoes we re assoc iated with a locatio , sch as a spri g or well , or eve a hose , a weredot to be takeplface rom be carrie freel y from to them pl ace. .O ther stoes , however, co ld For the most part, this traditio has bee broke. If yo d someoe c laim ig to be part of sch a tr aditio, they are sally fatasizi g. The test for membership of the o ld heali g traditios is that the healer has o cosc ios descriptio o f th e traditio ad makes o claims. Ideed, i the Faery traditio, the old fashioed healers wold ever talk abot what they did or how they did it. Makig claims to beig "i a family traditio is a moder trait, ad if it is geie, refers to a mode lie of teachig or set of practic es . We co l accept , of cors e, that someoe leared certai thigs from a family member of the o lder geeratio , e spec iall y as we are ow ito the third geeratio of the occlt spirital ad magical revival tha t bega i the late 9th Cet ry ad gaied hge impe ts i the late 20th Cetry.
D A 69 Older ancestr al fol loric tradition taugh t that healing stones coul d be found or, more accurately, that the stones nd you This last incl ude s, of course , the hereditary traditi on, for the stones i ndi cate to the healer where they wish to go, or whom they wish to wor with after the healer s death. So the idea o f us nding stones, or sones nding us, is em inently wor abl e for the mode prac itione r of Faery magic, and is one of the greatest assets and easiest practice s for us all . Furhermore this quality of they nd you applies t o all of the Aptitudes and Allies, so the general patterns described nex will wor with minima l changes f or plants, li ving creatures, Faer y al lies, and Signatures. They all nd us we do not create the m, sumon them, or choose them. N NG OR ON
First no te the heading: Finding You Stone singula r. While y ou may eventually wor with more th at one stone , to be gin with you ne ed only one. f you cannot wor with o ne stone , a set o f stones wil l no t improve your abilitie s. f you can wor with one stone, y ou may not need more. above, the stone nds you, no matter how much As any mentioned we thin w e are ndin g the stone . Here are some typical methods that assist the Stone that is looing for you, always assuming that you have rst established that Woring with Stones is indeed your Aptitude. For having discovered the A ptitude, a s described earlier, you r shi o fconscious ness and your presence at the Crossroads al ers certain Al lies and certai n Stones . n a pseudotech ical sense, your change o f energy/ con sci ousne ss resonat es with that of the Al li es and the Stones . n a metaphysica l sense, you and th ey al l co me together into a mut ual world of cons ensual bei ng. Prior t o your di scovery an d opening out of your Aptitude, you were not in tune with one another and the connection was dormant. Aer going to the Crossroads, you becoming increasingly in tune with the Allies, Co-Worers, and
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Eleents of your Aptitude, and the connection is active. This appli es to al l of the Aptitudes, of course, n ot so le ly t o woring with Stones. Da Lan ng
On going to slee p each night, go t o the Cros sroads . D ecl are your intention to wor in yo ur slee p with your Aptitude ( in thi s case for healin g with stone s), and in vite your al li es to wo r with you. Thi s usually results in active an d highly empowered dreams, though not always . I n dramatic eampl es peopl e dream where they wil l nd a healing stone. In most cases though the dream wor helps to create the conditions whereby the stone nds you, oen through one o f the other eth ods described herei n. Walkng lanng
Here we mae a dierentiation between ordinary waling and Waling. The second type is alkng hl thn th hfold Allanc Fro th is point on we wil l cal l this W alin g or Waling While Within. Here is how i t is done 1 Be stil l and become aw are of your aery ally on on e s ide and a siritual creature on the other, to your right and left. (For this to wor well , you should have alread y done the Crossroads eerci ses describ ed in this boo. ) 2 Gradually you merge with the Al li es , so tha t they are somew hat within you to the right and le si de, and you ar e som ewhat within them Thi s merge d conscio usness is the most sipl e and direct f or of the Threefol d Al li ance . There are other d eepe r forms , but they tend to preclude physical movement. n this practice, we want to Wal. 3 Begin Waling. You can do this discovery process anywhere, with the obvious proviso that it has to be somewhere where you might discover a stone that you can carry. Ideal locations are the beach, the mountains or the w oods, but you can do this in the h eart
D A 7 1 of the c ity with equal eect 4 As you Wal, things will l oo, feel , and even smell d ierent, due to your being within the heefold Alliance Be sure to focus on your intention, which is to meet with a healing stone Intense conc entratio n is counterp roductive, b ut a simple and cl ear int ent is hepfu here are m any novel a nd curio us experienc es that come from Waing Whil e Within, so we need to be cl ear on our aim, a nd not be distrac ted by other things 5 A stone wil l mae itself own to you raditional y, this is ca led "twinling It is as if the stone, maybe lying with thousands of others on th e beach, suddenly ashes a bolt of light at you Ano ther interesting and rather dramatic way of comi ng to the stone is that you are impe lled to wa very fast or run a sho rt way, and s udden ly stop you heare stone wil l beatata your feet, o r cose by Yet, another way i s that waling steady pace, and you suddeny stop, owing t hat the stone is nea r In many exam pes, you wil l sim ply see the stone as you wal, and now that t his is the one here ae some simple rule s to this art of being found by a heal ing stone 1 It i s alwa ys the rst stone t hat comma nds at tention It may not be pretortyspend or distinct thoughsones they o en areyou Doare notno change mind, hoursive, selecting because sure,your want a better col or, prefer a certain shape , and so forth his is n ot shopping for a stone, but being found by a healing stone It is alays the rst s tone 2 Beg in to relate to the stone immed iately Wor wit h it as soo n as you pi c it u p Do not meel y put it i n a bag and tae home f or late r Commune with it through touch That night, sleep with it under your pi ll ow, though t here w ill be n ights whe n you do not need or wish to do this 3. As soon as possible go to the Crossroads, holding the stone Oer it up at the Crossr oads, whl e in yo ur Theefold Al liance Oher beings will come to wor with you, which are not part of your hreefol d Al liance These are th e speci c healin g Al li es tha wor with the stone and/or with your Aptitude for woring wi th Stone s.
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At a later stag e they ay att une to your Al lian ce, or ec ome part of it for the heali ng purpose s, ut not peranently 4 As a matter of common sense, reemer to come out of the Threefold Alliance when you wish to return to the outer human awareness This is done y simply indicating your intention, and focusing on the sy aove, the land elow, and your surrounding huan en vironent The Threefold All ance will fade, though of ten resonances f rom it wi ll continue for soe time aerw ards THE O AGES OF E
1 Find your Aptitude Find your Al(yours lie s (in that ude) ude, with th e All ies) 32. Wor within elf inAptit the Aptit 4 Wor without (outside yourself, ut in the Aptitude, with the Allies) So in our eampl e, you have found yo ur Aptitude f or woring with Stones Net, yo u nd your Al li es rst y lett ing th e stone nd you, then y lie going Crossroads with stone further Allies Al s, intothistheden iton, are thethe stone, andto thnde emers of your Threefol d Al li ance (though this may change in healing agic) such as Faery ein gs or spi ritual companion creatures th at coe to you at the Cro ssroads to suppor t you Aptitude Notice that two of the Aptitudes (woring with the Living Creatures, woring with Faer y Cou sn s) are inherent in all the others Aptitud es are interactive, not sta ti c WOKNG WH N HE ONE
The th ird phas e is Woring Wthin T hi s involves attuning, vis ion, and practice w ith the Ap titude There are a nume r of hel pful stone meditation s, and you wil l nd others as you go deeper into the a rt
D A 73 Basic tn ditatin
old your stone, re stng t gently n you r cupped hands, rela xed. Feel it though your sn. Just feel t, do not stran or try to have vs on s or mae contact menta lly, just fee the stone. 2 magn e the org n of the stone . Was t once p art of a mountan? Dd t come down w th glacal ce? Wa s t rounded on the bed o f an ancent ocean, rolled n a mghty river, craced from froen ce strata, thrown up n a volcanc erupton or earthquae? Just smply magn e the m any o rgns of the stone, feel ng ts surface. Eventually the stone w ll reply. 3 When the sto ne reples, t may come to ugh n some unusu a manner, not necessarly with a story of ts orgns. The Origin ma ginat onred s somet hng for humans to attune throug 4. Be prepa for varous nds o f Faery or sprt bein h.gs to come though the stone when t responds . Some of these may be large, others smaller. They wll oe n com e in a rush, so yo u have to be calm . Form a cle ar inten to n n your mnd th at you are conceed wth eal ng. Ot her oers may come f rom the Stone Al l es, but at ths tme you are concerned wi th Heali ng. 5 . Gradually you wll feel the se nsation of the stone cha nge. As you begn to move nto communon t, th (early) sense of the Aldee lie s per fades . Sometimes thewth stone will e dram grow atc noticea bly hot, sometmes cold. t may also resonate or vbrate a hgh fre quency of movemen t that yo u ca n just feel, l e a tnglng se nsaton. When any o f these c hanges occ ur, th e stone s ready for wor. 6 For n tal sprtua l wor, you ma y use th e stone upon the ones of your own body, as shown n Fgure 2 The man ones are the Feet, L oins , eart, and ead. Sense and feel how the stone wor s wth these one s n your own body. 7 Once you h ave your sense of (5 ) and (6) you can begn to cal l upon the Al le s to wor more pow erfull y through the stone. Do n ot do ths be fore pr actcng stages ( 5) and (6) , or y ou run the rs of ether overloa dng yoursel f or, more usually, causng the A le s to bac o because they sense that you have not practced the a sucently.
74 T L o Alles Wok hough Apttudes
hen the Allies wor more power fully though a stone, they follow the basic principle s tht app ly to a ll Aptit udes 1 oring thro ugh t he cho sen medi um (Stone , ater, Pl ant, Creature, Touc, Faery All ies , and Si gnatures ) 2 oring f rom behind you , throug y our body , or thr ough your hands as they touch he stone 3 Enter ing int o All iance o n one or bot h sides of you Sometimes they wil l j oin to your ei sting All ies , ri ght and lef t, etending the Al li ance n the deeper and more pr acticed stages of the wor, they may temporarily replace one or more of your basic Allies that comprise y our us ual Thr eefol d Alliance 4. More rely,s they will wor direcghtlytheupon sub( in j ect, and your ra Allie ar e woring throu Aptitthe ude thi while s cas e,you the healing sto ne) WOKNG W HO
The simples method is o place the stone upon the subject. You do not nee to place it upon a ny source of way pai n or dis com though thisdmight seem the most eecive ndeed, youfort, willeve n oen be directed by the Allies to place it on some other zone altogether, to as the subject to hold it, or place it touching or under the sub j ect (remember t hat much of your healing wil l not be don e with human subjects !) Ipotan t note if you are wor ing o n a huma n, incl uding yo ur self, do not com bin e or confuse this method with some other tech niqu e o r informatio n shown on a chart of the sub tle forces of the body, such as reeo logy, chara maps, acupunct ure points, and so forth f you do thi s, you wil l fail Faery Healing taes no notice of human charts and theories , and i f you try to cross-r eference it to one of the many systems popular t oday, you are compl etely mi ssi ng the point, the pur pos e, and the power of Faery Heal ing The body zones o f Feet , Lo ins, Heart, and Head include a ll the
D A 75 various theoretical and practical me ridi ans and energy centers, but Faery energies do not always follow these traditional healing or energetic patt erns. emember th at the Cro ssroads i s made f rom the Four Hi dden Ways . The hdden way s of Faery Heali ng ob viate time, space , and energy, as we understand them . HE ENES
With practice you will nd that the Allies suggest a variety of methods to y ou. A heaing stone might be put somewhe re i n the room, but not on th e body of the subj ect. t mi ght be buried i n the garden, or under the threshold (i.e. somewhere where the subject wals while going day bysome day).one They may alsoas a sugge stover thatitthe stone i s heltodand for afro, whil e by e lse, such family member, o ver, or clos e frien d. The stone may be immersed i n water, and the wa ter used to bath e the head, feet, or hands of the subj ect. n these examples , we are fol lowing a huma n-c entric model , but you ma y equ ally have to do this for an animal, sh, or bird. Of corse for a sh, y ou would immerse the stone in th e water that shwswims within, water from stonethe to the ater that hol dsor theadd s h.some Thischarged is not l imited, by thethe wa y, to a domestic sh ta, but can be done in rivers or seas where there are imbalances. Faery magic wors extensively with water, and has a reso nant homeop athic effect wi thin a ll bodies of water. WH EN HE WO K DONE
There are two main stages ceansing and ch argin g. Th e stone shoud be c leansed wh en the wor i s don e. Do thi s rega rdless of any deep cleansing or withdra wing wor done on the sub j ect. The Al lies may draw unhealthy forces away, but there is oen a residue upon the stone. This wi ll some times appear as a gray ashi e substance o r, as many nd, the stone fee ls sticy . The cl eansi ng depend s, again,
6 W L upon your Aptitudes Some healers will clean it with earth, and scatter the earth Others will clean it with water, and scatter the water More rarely you many clean it with salt, if it is truly grimy. Aerwards, c lean it with fresh sprin g water to wash away salt tra ces Net the ston e is laid to res t oveight: do not tr y to re-a ttune or charge it imme diately There are subtl e processe s that must wor k before we continue, and there is, poetically and magically, a time for the stone to "rest and for you to rest, a ls o. To charge the stone after cleansing and rest, simply go to the Cros sroads and of fer i t up to the Al li es This is the si mpl est way to recharge it Once a stone starts to build power, this is more of a formality or conrmation, but in the early stages it is part of the proces s of deve lopi ng the innate power of the stone, and bring ig it to maimum poten tial . EAL NG AN W O KNG H WA E
Water is the most prominen t element reported from traditio n in Faery Heal in g. Hea ling with water is al so, of course , known world wide in every f ol kloric and magical traditi on. In many w ays, yo ur entire Faery li ng worksinvo lve s water; as our bodi es are the mainl y water, and theHea subt le force of Faery He aling work through body But for that water, be it ithin or Without, nothing w oul d work As a helpful meditation , co nside r how water is present in al l Seve Aptitudes, and how it relates to each Aptitude. ou wil be surprise d at the wealth of connec tions an d i nsig hts that arise s when you do t his ! olkloc Wate ealng
The most common technique s invo lve us ing a bowl of water, oen with assoc iated pra yers, or muttered or whispered charms Water i s also used in assoc iation wi th stones, ble ssed ob jects, and wa shing rituals In work with plant allies (the Aptitude of working with Plants) water is potentized by contact wit the plant or ower This is
D A 77 what is widely nown today as essence therapy, a healing at that srcinated with the Faery tradition. Flower essences did not, as is popul arly assumed an d comonly reported, src inate with Dr B ach in Bri tain, thou gh he fomulted the method according to homeo pathic princi ples and his own insi ghts Indeed, potentized essences have een used in the Faery tradition for many centuries; and traditional a s suc h washng ston es, drining or bathng in mong dew, or taing drops of rain from owers, are widely reported by commentators, follorists, antiquarians, and so forth TH E LEM EN O F W AER
Faery He aling is not based on antheElemental system (as we might ts; supercia lly suppose) but upon inter action of thee componen Elements, Entities, an d the Aptitudes. T o give a signi cant example, heal ing wit h waer i s not i n any wa y dependant on woring with Water Elementas, or those Faery beings that live in the streams rivers, laes, and sea s I ndeed many of the healing all ies are those more typica l e ry i n nature , or eahy, but they wor with us thoug h water, provi ding we have an Aptitude for it The other Element o f Water per meates all exiand stence in o ur world, many worlds It is this permeation omnipresence thatand i n enables the healing wor for water is a sensitive medium through which energi es or reso nance s can be transfered. The trans ference through w ater is astound ing, for it can reach f or many mi le s almo st instantaneous ly Thi s i s one of the "secrets o f the Faery Heal ing arts, and is cl ose ly related o the resonance pr inci ple de scribed in homeopathy. The mai n dierence being that the Faery tradi tion wors consciously with spiri tual All ie s. COI NG AK E To WAER
en we wor with stones, the specic and indivi dual healin g stones nd us Thi s is not so with water, for we are already wi thin the vast
78 W L ocean o flivi ng Water both n our bodi es and in th e land and ai r and sea wt in which we est without w hich we woul d cease to be . On ce you have gon e to the Crossroads and discovered th at yo u have an Aptitude for worki ng with Water y ou have t o co me awae to Water Only aer this has happened can yo u practice the heal ing arts and ohe r asp ect s of Faery tra ditio n that go wi th Water n some circu mstances rare today ou ay form an inner co nnect ion with a spec ic body of water such as a wel l spri ng river or lake Usua lly such co nnections require l ving in one place and may ultima tely prove unsuitable for the mode human As we are in a tie of majo r transiti on t i s di cult to judge this a nd you must make our decisi ons and l ive accor dingly One method of coming ito a more conscous relationship with and Beath Waterforms is Wate is a sacro-magical art found in many throughout humanhis culture n a cosmic sense our breath upon water mirrors the process of creation. There are three levels to th is action o f breathing upon water:
1 he universal in which th e Breathe of Li fe utte rs itself out of the Voi d and the creaton of the co smos be gins 2 The panetary in which the great oceans of our world receive subtle forces fromwe thebrea oon andwastars; 3. he human in which thesun upon ter When e do so, ou alles n aey Healng beathe th s and oen beathe though us
Usuall y the water is a smal body i n a vess e but in som e c ircum sances it can be a riv er or the oce an its elf de all y al l three of the above shoul d o w through you when you breathe b ut i f you ca n esta bl ish the communion of stage (3), that will be sucient in the early stages of your work Why is this so s ple ? Be cause moon sun and star s already brea the through u s (see he Macle ee and we are already within the universal Breath o f Li fe
5 Offeg
Oeri ngs pl ay an imp ortant rol e in folloric mag ic , and are part of the prac tical tra dition of the re lationship between hum an and Faery races f you are to build an ongoin g relationship with Al li es in your practice Faery Healing, or of Faery magic inoerings gener al, you pay closeofattention to the practice of maing t is should an intensely eective magical form, but is oen misrepresented and misunderstood This chapter aims to clari the idea of offerings and to esta bl ish some guid eline s for good pra ctice n the modern revival of paganism and witchcraft, the practice of oerings has been subst antiall y rein stated i n ceremonie s, homes, and at ritual sites, including those ancient sites associated with ancestors, deities, and Faery behind tradition explorelettheus philosophy and metaphysics theBefore idea ofwe oerings, consider some ground rules Even in these ground rules, we will nd, inevi tably, some of the spiritual principles t i s cl ear from witnessi ng oerings in both Europe and the United States, and f rom vis itin g both ancient sacred si tes and mode ritual sites or shrines, that many mode peopl e, no matter how dedicated or well intentioned, do not seem to now or even care abo ut some of the basic rule s and p ractice s conce ing o ering s Many pri vate shrines or temples are, urprisingly, polluted by rotting oerngs Many sacred sites in Britain and elan ae lthy with otten decayi ng oerin gs, trash, candle wax, d iscarded c lothing and othe items le, pre sumably and sometim es certa inly (as witnessed), by
80 T W L selfstyled pagans who do not clean up aer theselves This is sacrile ge an offense against the dei tie s, the ancestors, and t he Faery contacts Sad ly, it is yet anoth er anifestati on of the huan indierence to the sacred living land and sea, and truly one of the worst anif estations , right at t he heart of the practice s that sho uld be ded icated to transforing and redee ing huan in dierence and selshness How can we epect to heal, to transfor either the li ving world or our selv es when we o not li ve according to soe of the b asic ule s o f spirit ual l fe? T BAS LES
The basic rules of offerings are siple and well established in tait ional practice Here is a contepora ry checkl ist, broadly based on recorded ev e nce o f traditi on and ritual go ing back to t he an cient world and of folklo ric practices worldwide The spiritual laws of oerin gs are no only ensined in hi story and ancestral pra cti ce, but are t he l aws of court esy, co on se nse, and basic hygiene 1 . Oeings ust be ade in a lean, espeul anne A sall offering w ith pure i ntent i s o e power ful than a pi le of offeri ngs idly cast wth, for a wish Offerings should cleanssly stones o rdown surfaces eapl e, and not throwbenplaced aroundoncarele They are gifts for the deities, the ancestors, or the Faeries Would yu want your gi fts o f food a nd drink to be thrown in a heap i n a dirty spot and then left o rot? The odern pagan should copare revival western pagan practice s with those of , say, the Hin du teple s of India, where al oerings are clean, harmoniously placed and aranged, and never l e to decay o n the al tar or in the tepl e This coparison is hel pful because of the unbroken tra dition of oerings in Hndu culture tat goes back thousands of years And, it need hardly be said, H induis is a pagan reli gio n! 2 Oerings of food, drink, or anyhing that decays should only be left overnight The net day they sould be cleaned up and buried Te Faery tradition, following on the practices of the ancient world, asserts tha he essene of the oering is absorbed
O 81 by the Faery allies, but not the gross substance This is a very sig ni cant and valua bl e teaching f ound in tradit ional practice s and described as ear ly as 1 692 by the Rev Robe rt Kir, in The Secet Coonealth of Elves auns and aiies
hat remains af ter 24 hours mus t be bur ed to co ntinue to dec ay naturall y it cannot be consume d, for it ha s no esse nce t is woth considering that, in the ancien t world, anyone taing oerings for themse lves was accursed; and the es oteric i mpl ication is that they con sumed the dead substance o f the o fferin g, the reby cursing themseles This tradition ecludes, of course, those offerings that w ere shared in a c ommunal meal , as in many rituals But what we eat at that meal i s c lean, fresh, and ital e d o not leave it to rot on our shared table or alta r Nor shou ld an oeri ng merely be le i n a locati on away from the ori ginal altar or offering site, there to decay For once it has crosse d the t eshold betw een l ife and deat h, i t i s no lo nger a n active gi or oering, and now belo ngs to tho se forces of breadow n and decay that wor to regenerate the eath Sometimes we hear or read that the biological decay of offerings at a sacred site is part of the offering proc es s There is nothing i n traditi on or in the tenets o f the ancient world as handed down to us in l iterature that impli es thi s but there isoerings, eerything sanctied, and energized andabout how aproperly sacred place is eptpuried, strictly clean and harmoniously attuned As s your altar, so is your heat and soul And because t he sine, the crc le, the altar, is a meetin g place for many hum ans, Faer y bein gs, spirits, al lie s, gods and godd esse s, your he at and soul is on ful l d isplay according to how you eep that sacre d plac e and what you o ffer there Ecepti ons to t hi s rule might be if the i ntentio n is to intentional ly invoe forces of decay and disease, but this should not be undetaen l ightly, and certainly it sho uld neve r be under taen i n a pl ace ded icated to f orces of creation and balance A heali ng sine should not be lle d with stale gre ase, decaying under wear, ranci d perfumed o il , fod wrappers, prayer note s under lu mps o f rotten cheese, melted chocolate, and y coered stining fruit (as I saw recently in the ancest ral sine o f a sacred goddess wel l in Cowall)
82 T W
O
L
. Bio- degrada ble oering s, of any sort, must not be le to rot on your outdoor a tar, n a sacred pace, or anywhere el se Woul d you ie this to happen in your house? o? Then do not epect the deities, ancestors, or Fae ry ai es to l e it. Whie have seen many rotten oerings outdoors, even in peopes garden shrines, have never seen any on atars in houses (Though, we have a seen cuttered, untidy, confused, and even dusty atars, have we not?) Yet, no one who eaves o fferi ngs ou tsid e to dec ay, but cl eans them o their i ndoor at ar, see ms to sense the parado in this . Bi o-egraabi ity ha t hreho and a it proper pa ce within the earth or within he c ompost heap, not upon the atar or around the ancestral sacred site. This is a deepy spritual law, which is eactly wh y i t etends to the realm of hygien e i n daily li fe. Each order of ife, from proper function andthe placwhale e. to the anaerobic bacterium, has its 4 Some oerings, such as drin poured upon the ground or into owing water, are mmediately absorbed. When you mae these, ensure th at they are not substances tha t wil l cau se imb aance , such as heavily sugared drins or perf umes . Heavy sugars or salts can do a surprisi ng amo unt of damage, even in smal quantities. Do you want you r oering to po is on and i ll ? Co nsi der how the myriad l ife forms,oering, of the animal, and microsco pic world s, wito ll react your and howinsect, it should benet the according your to good will, love, and comp assion. 5 Other offerings, of more solid items, such as metals, stones, artifacts, should be su n deep in wate r or buried . They sh oul d not le to lie around to be misuse d or to clutter up a sacred site. Why do you thin archaeologists and treasure hunters spend so much time dig gin g? Not merely because people buried treasure to hide it, but because our ancestors offerings were inentionally buried to enter t he nderW orld, or were cast reverent ly into deep po ol s and sacred spring s passing beyond the reach of humans. 6 Alays clean up thoroughly aer oerngs and rtualsf you arrive i n a place an d nd tha t others have poll uted it, be ready an d wiling to clean up before you mae oerings. Many sites have multi ple layers of offerin gs, prayer letters, toen s, and candle wa
RNG
83
pi led upon one another and l e stining an d fou l Do mode-da y pagans, wiccans, and Faery practitioners really thin that this is accep table, either to one another or to the sacred powers and diine one s that they see to c ontact? 7 Be thoughtful with your offerings In some ways, they truly represent hat you a e to the spiritual worlds So, consider well what you oe r, ho w you oer it, and what yo u do with the o eri ngs aer they hae been accep ted USE OF C LOERS AN B
RANH ES
It has become customar y, possi bly from Chris tian Church tradition s, to use cut o bunches o f owers, or cut owering branis not ches as oerings hiswers, is highly oensie and insulting the ower only the sexual organ of the plant, but is also its hig her organ of spiritu al communica tion So, along come some humans who cut a bunch of owers and oer them on an altar or, worse still, at an ancient sacred site he dying organs of the plant that has been attaced and mutilated are th en l e to rot Een i f the owers are in water, they ar e stil l dying, and are sti ll the result o f mutilation of the liing plantwith a fraction of spiritual sensitiity will realie how Anyone absurd, though tle ss, and utterly human-centric this practice is It is such an accepted f acet of dail y li fe, in a non-magical context, that no one een thins abo u it If you want a goo d li ing rel ation ship with the spiritua l forces, especial ly with the Faer y alli es, creatures, and pl ants, n ow i s i ndeed the tim e to thi n and change if you hae been usi ng cut owers As a side note on cut o wers, I remember a spirituali st med ium fed o the enegy sayng, years ago, that her "spirit guides rele ased by cut owers, and that this was why owers wer e always welcome i n a sance or on an al tar in a spiritualis chur ch I later di scoered that this is widely taug h and be li eed in spiritual ist or channelin g ci rcl es, and i s regarded as normal p ractice by man y This statement about spiritual entities feeding on the enegies of dying
84 T L os raises many questions, but in the Faery contet it is
clearly inappropriae Traditionally, Faeries are said to draw vital sustenance from the l ivin g joyous p lants and ower s, bu not from the mutilat ed and dyig ! In he ballad of Tam Lin, Janet pulls roses to force Tam Lin o appear, and he epressly forbids her to "pull hose owers or to "brea hose wands . Later in the same sory , she thr eatens to pul l anoer plan or "e scaing ree (o scahe means to wound), which would abor her chi ld . ut we disc over hat her motives are not truly coerciv e bu born of desperaio n. There is an impl icaio n that this is the onl y way to bring her lover o th e thresho ld of the human world . hen we eplr e the y stery of he Do ubl e Ro se, (Chapter 7) we will discover how his motif relates to seuality, feril and the red emption riu al by Tamcoercive Lin is drawn to theity, human world. This eample of which potentially magicbac from a determined lover reveals the taboos or restrictions of the traditio n i n a number of ways . Let us move on now o some of the magical and spi riual princip les in the idea of oerings.
HE HEORY, PRNC
LES, AND PRAC TCES OF FFER NGS
The basic heory behind offerings is simple we give a gif o someone else. That someone can be a friend, a superior, a god or goddess, h e spirit of a place, a Faery al y, or a spiriual companion creature. It can be a stone or a mount ain, a ower or a ree, a wel l or a po ol , or a river or an ocean. It can be anyt hing, in other w ords, that is not obvio usly ourselves. Oerings are given to the Oth be it a o ver, a dei ty, or the dancing st ars in the night sy. From that simple denition, many patterns, pracices, and disputes ave arisen. To the ortodo religions, oerings within folloric tradition are, at best, superstition or evil ritual practic es, at worst To te anthopo logist, psy chol ogi s, o r academic researche r, oering s are the pracic es of the ignorant, of hose who have not been enli ghtened by mat erial ist sc ience and the onrush of
EINGS
85
modeism In some cases, such as revival paga ns and wicca ns, they are utterly mode peopl e who hav e, for various reason s, c hosen to indulge in ritualistic superstitious or atavistic practices, or so a psycho lo gi st might presume But the concept of oerin gs, of gifts to the Othe is deeply rooted in the human conscio usness, and it can be carried out w ith gra ce, lov e, and unconditional c ommunion , if we so choose For man y of those wh o gi ve oerings, t he idea is o ne of a trade I will give X in retu for my wish of Y In some primal traditions, worl d-wi de o erings are co erc ed and are mad e out o f fear Nor are the C hrist ian churches e empt from a lo ng hi story of coerci on for prot, so we need not thin t hat coerc ive oerin gs are ec lus ivel y "primitive or "ignora nt There are inds ofbymagic coerciveand and umans cantwo be coerced their beliefs byco-operative one another, and they can also engage in co ercive magi c to gain te mporary benet In our contet of the Faer y tradition, we use c oopera tive magi c Ou r not-sodi stant ancest ors also us ed cooperat ive magic , and it is this stream o f coopera tive magic tha t we shoul d tap into Le t it be nown that I am not saying that ancesto rs neve r used coerciv e magic to thin so wou ld be na ve and ro manti c But i f we are to hav e a creative ongoing of magical thatshould builds efor future and see s revival to heal the woundedpaganism, world , we plthe ore the co operative magic of our revered f orebears, drawin g o n the best, and then seeing to mae it better and bett er suited to our times Le t us eplore this i de a further, b y con sidering the meta physica l principl es beh ind oe rings THE PINIES OF FFEING
1 . Oerings are a w ay of sharing and of maing relationshps en humans oered sweet baed caes and honey wine to the Faery beings on the land, they were not trying to bribe them Consider this what is a cae? Is it just some highly sugar ed, b rightly c olored, semi-p oiso nous, nutrition-f ree item that you buy in a store? It might
86 W L b suc today, but not so long ago it was mad at om And still sould b , if yo u ar srious about t spiritual princi pls of your offrin gs And wat is wi n? Ano tr stor-bou gt itm, lacd wit cmicals, coloring, sults, and trac s of psticid? Our caks an d wins for orings sou ld b t fruits of at las som of our la bor, mad wit our ands, and intndd for t ritual spirit allis, gods and goddsss, will sns tis and rsp ond to your lov and your labor. Caks ar t manifst rsults of t labor undrtakn and t grains tat grw troug t yar s ar transformd into somting uniqu to umans by t uniquly uman baking proc ss win is frmntd by uman ski ll s and com s from t fruits , t rbs , or t ony of t b s. us w ar giv ing back tansfoed thogh han inteaction t gis aofsar land oring of tis out of rspct for tos spirit bings ta and l pd u s grow t plants tat mad t foundati onal matrial s for t caks an d win Wn w mak su c o ffri ngs, w ar als o say ing tat w a r in a community wi t tos bin gs of t spiritual w orld and a r will ing to sar wit t m y tak, accordin g to tra diti on, t pit and ssnc of t orings, and lav t gross substanc, wic
bcoms inrt modrn trms, w migt sayumbl tat ty tak t vital nrgy butInno t outr sll most ommad oring as mor po wr in i t tan a gaudy i tm from a stor . 2 . Oring s, tr for, contain somting uniquly uman, w ic is givn as a gi. y ar not bribs, but wa ys of intracting and sarin g raditi onal ly, it is said tat wn offri ngs ar mainaind ovr a priod of tim, a good rlationsip builds up btwn t umans and t spirits. So offrings ar also about ong-trm patts, and no mrly about dspra tio n or propitiation in tim of nd 3 So m oring s, owv r, ar mad appropriatly w il asking for lp. is is nsrind in tradition, and is summd up in t prs tat is quot d i n svr a p acs in tis book : hee ae things that hey can do that We cannot, and thee ae things that We can do that hey cannot
O 87 Offrings asking for p, protctio n, bss ing , ar not mad out offar y ar pat oft co -oprativ magic o uti nd abov, and ida y, sou d b pa t of a cyc o f offrings as dscribd in ( 1 ) grttaby umans on ony rsot to offrings wn ty want somting, or to avrt an impnding dis astr just i k praying i n otodox rig ion If you mak orings, k p tm go ing frqunt y, in a cy c of at last a yar in t sam pac, and discovr and obsrv t rspons s You may b surprisd ! 4 Orings ar aso givn as gis of tans and out of rspct s aspct i s important, for su c orings ar not givn wit tougt of rturn, but ar givn unconditionaly as acknowdgmnt of t xistnc of t Fary bings, t iving craturs, and t mystrious powrs giv frinds ons gis, bc ausspiritual w apprci atW tm andour want t mand to bovd appy Wat cou d b bttr ta n tat? An Encou nte th An ts
o co s tis strn captr o n O ring s, I woud ik to tll a sort, amusing ta as an oring to t radr; somting wondr from my own xprinc work in pra ctic It i nvov s o ffrings an d o w ty somti ms A fw yars ag o, I rad a wondr fu book by Davi d Abrams, call d he Spell the Sensuous In on part, t auto r dscr ibs ow saw oring s o f ric b ing mad i n t Far East, and ow t ants carrid tm off daiy, but did not com into t opn sidd dw ings of t popl H c oncludd t at a go od rationsip a d bn buit btwn t umans and t ants tat bntd bot racs by tis simp practic of offrings ants ad f ood daiy, and t umans coud prpar tir own food in ouss wit no walls, witout bing anoyd by i ndustrious ants coming in t o forag and carry o watvr ty could from t food ara is arrangmnt was wat a bus ins s prson woud call a winwin s ituation, and a du to t anci nt wisdom of making o rings and couning wit otr ord rs of lif story dmonstra td vry w l, not only t
8 8 W L common sns appl ication of orings ovr a lon g priod of tim to stabl is pattr ns of mutual t olranc and l if togtr, but al so ad many spiritual and magical i mplications. morning aftr rading tis inspiring ancdot, as if by magical coinci dnc, I found man y ants on t countr-to p i n my itc n. y wr t tin y ants tat sm to gt into anyting and vryting, and a stady parad was coming in toug a minut ol ovr t si nk. I knw, from xprinc, tat blocki ng t ol would mak no diffrnc, as ty would just rappar troug anotr undisc ovrd accss poin t. I ad no intntion of laying down poison, so I ad to tink of anotr way, as I did not wan t to av o b claning and killing ac day until t parad stoppd. So, tinking of wat David Abrams ad wit nss d, I s t out to nd t ants nst.from racking back to t gardn, found and tattat tytr wrwas com ing a sub stantia l ntranc in tI art, obviously a larg nst down tr. So, I dcidd to mak tm an oring rigt tr wr ty could nd it ac day, and to ask tm to stay out of t kitc n. o ffring was mad by pouring som o ny just outsid t ntranc to t nst wit a frindly rqust tat ty tak tis ony and stay out of my ous; witin a fw minuts, many ants wr carryi it away into ndrW d. Good, I tougt, andwll w can do tisngvryday! I ltsnsing tatorlmy good will ad bn rcivd. nxt morning, I aros arly, and found my countrtop compl tly fr of ants . ot on was to b sn . It ad w orkd ! A s t sun ros igr, I rmmbrd tat it was tim to mak t offring, and opnd t cupboard to tak out t ony jar, go outsid, and pour. o my astonismnt I found tat t jar was covrd in many layrs of busy ants, l ik a black bal l, all tryi ng to gt insid ! I was dismayd, and tn I laug d. y ad com rigt to t sourc, to t pl ac wr t oring was kpt, unrringl y. Ar all , I a d offrd tm o ny, and from tat momnt of offring, it was t ir ony and was no longr min. For a brif instant I vn wondr d if ty wr trying to sav m t troub l of going outsid , b ut tat would b a uman ratio nal ization, an d I
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dism issd t tougt So I took t ntir jar, ants and a, outsid nar to t nst, sook t ants o , and opn d it, avi ng i t opn for tm Ovr a sort priod of tm ty mptid a t ony and ty did not com i nto t kitcn agan is dligtl and ap py squnc o f vnts rmindd m of many fol k tals aout umans and an ts From t tim of our com muni on and tir ac cptanc of my offring (all of it) , I could a v cal ld upon p from tos ants Praps I av ts:
1 S, for xampl , t famous o ard of offri ngs found at Ll yn Crrig Bac Lak on Anglsy , wic arcaolo gists t i wr Dru id orng s, sun dp in t wat r
6. he Frm ad V f Faery Heal g
In ti s captr , tr is a sri s of forms and mpo wrd vis ions to assist you in your skills, to opn out Innr Contact, to strngtn your rfol d Allianc , and to bring yo u dpr into t ystry of t Doubl os Som of ts forms ar found on t CD of visionary workings tat coms wit t book, wil otrs ar rfrrd to in various captrs according to tir contt and practic in Fary Hal ing and E art Hali ng W b gin wr vr yting b gin s and nds i n Fary magic, and in all magic at t C rossroads iE COSSOS OM
Not : ti s form op ns t C D, and is s sntial f or your ongoin g practic o f Fary Haling an d Fary magic Work wit it on , until y ou can do it from mmory witout t rcor dig or t txt is is t basic pattrn for t Crossroads form In practic it will on cang accordig to your location Crossroads can b on t pl ain s, in t moun tains , by t saso r, in t dsrt, or in t middl of t big city ; anywr t Sv Di rction s and t Four H iddn Ways c om togtr
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Cmin g nt the Directins
Bgin by bing still, stiling your sns of tim and spac, and casi ng al l movmnt but f or brat, in and out B awar, rst and last, o f t Sky Abov and t Land Blo w; and of t Dirctions of t Land, wi c ar Ea st, Sout, Nort , and Wst So you av a Dirction bind you, and a Dirction bfor you, a nd to your rig t and to your ft Dircti on bi nd you ows troug you, and movs you forward Dirction bfor you o ws to you an d crats according to you r movmnt os on y our rigt a nd strn gtn and up o d you Now you av a sns of pac, of t cntr, of your tru om wic is nitr r nor tr, but at t art of t F our Dirctions The Crssrads
Fi nd yourslf at t Crossroads, wr t Fou r Hiddn Ways com togtr Four Hiddn Ways of t World, tat mak long journys sort, and sort ways avy wit unimagind tim Hiddn Ways tat pass troug all placs, all tims, al vnts, scrt concad, s anda nd arts to f yt opn and vi si b to all wo av ys t o Crossroads is an opn plac, wit four plain simpl track ways mting i n t cntr y com, a four, to t cntra ston , wic is a sall up rigt ston ca rvd wit spiral pa ttrns Hi ddn W ay of t Ea st lads to t ndl ss gras sy pa ins rippling in t wind Hiddn Way of t Sout ads to t Wit Hil crownd wit radiant trs in t plac of Ligt Hiddn Way of t Nort ads to t dark ancint forsts and t Sacrd ountain Hiddn Way of t Wst ads to t murmur ng ralm of t oca n Stand at t cntr o f t Four Hiddn W ays, wr a D irctions co togtr as On, at t sacrd m arkr ston Sns , s, and f, t Hiddn Ways of East, Sout, Nort, and Wst Lt your mind pass aong tm in all dirctions, to t vry nds of t
92 E W
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uman world, and t bgi nni ngs of t ral wo rld tat li s by ond. Hr is wr all journys bgin, all journys nd. Hr, at t Crossroads. Know tis t Crossroads is also a mting plac, wr many bi ngs from di rnt ordrs o f lif com togtr in q ual ity and grac It is our intntion to mt wit tos Allis, Cousins, Co-Walkrs nd Spirtual Craturs, t at r apt and wil ling to work wit us in t task of rdming t Surfac World , to bring it c losr and in armony wit t Primal Worl d. B awar tat ty draw clos, coming from t East, Sout, ort and Wst. Som also ris up from t living land Bnat, at t cntr of t Crossroads. y draw clos, to mt us wr t Four Hiddn Ways com togtr, at t cntr of all Dirctions. (usic) B awar tat you ar at t Crossroads, in t prsnc of your Alls, Cousns, Co-Walkrs and Companion Spiritual Craturs. You may r turn r always, in your drams, vi sio ns, mditations, and w aking consciousn ss. y dr aw clos to you, mbrac you, and commu n wit you. Join wt tm now in silnc. (S ilnt communi on) B awar tat, out of t Host tat as gatrd, cri bings com to you, apt and tting to work w t you. You do not coos tm, ty com to you. Ss, s, ad fl ts b igs, ad form clarly i your mid tat your it nton is to work wit tm in t art ad discipl in of Fary Hali ng. Lt all y our to ugts rst upon tis o task, and vow to udrtak i t to t utmost of your a bility. ow t Host bgins to dpa r, ad ol y your Clo s Companion s rmain Dc lar to ac of tm tat you wit rmmbr, raliz, and rtu rn y wi ll ac afrm tir bond wit yo u in tir own mar
F V F H 93 ow opn your ys, so ta t you ar at t Cr ossroads, bu t also awar of t outr world, wrvr you may b st upon t awarnss tat t Crossroads and your plac in t outr world ar on and t sam, intrtwind and ins parabl o w b awar again of t Sky Abov, t Land B low, and t Four D irctions of t o utr world B awar of wa is in tos Di rction s, b i t city, ocan s, opn l and; wat vr is tr , form it in your mind, s it, s ns it, a nd fl it all abou t you As y ou rtu o t o utr worl d, or your ta nks and rspcts to tos C los Companio s tat av formd rlationsi ps wit you Ackowldg tm to ac o f t Four D irctions, a nd to t Land Blow Gradually ir prsnc fads, ad your prsnc in t uman world i ncrass ow tatyou youwill may com andHiddn go frly, by way of t Cross roads, wn Four W ays ar opn to you , and t ystris of t Dirctions wi ll b rvald to yo u as you t ravl t H iddn W ays Bu for now, rtu to your uan o utr li f You av a Dirc tion b ind you, a nd Di rction bf or you, and Dirctions to your rigt and l And so you know your plac, your way, and your potntial Wth us s the Gace of the Shnng Ones n the Mystey of Eath Lght Peace to all Sgns and Shados Radant Lght to all Ways of Dakness, and the Lvng One of Lght Secet Unknon, Foeve
THE WELL F OSES
Our nt form, a lso o n t CD, is he Well of Roses Wll of oss i s found in t initi atory ball ad of a Ln (Appndi 1 ) and is di scussd in many pl acs in tis book, spca lly in Capt r 7, he Mystey ofthe Double Rose In ti s form or mpow rd visi on, w wor k wit t Wl l, t oss , and t r Hads moti f of t r Hads is found i n bot Fary tradition an d in t Grail traditions In al l ampls, t Ha ds mbod y an d mdia t spiritual
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forcs of consciousnss and transformation from t Fary ram and ndrWord mtod is, as aways, to us t motifs from traditiona sourcs, and dscovr tir innr powr In tis mannr, ty b com bo t sourc s of tacin g and dirct practca ways o f xprincing t nrgis tat y mbod y troug imag, asso ciation, and ancstra wisdom As wit ac of t mpow rd vis ions on t C D, work wit tis unt it is car in your mmory, and you can do it anywr, anytim, wt or witout t CD he ell f ses
B awar o f t Sky Abov t Land B ow, an d t Four Di rc tions t Land , b ra dy tat wak s about t W or d: it B of awar now ofBtstiGrat Forst is a about you, b for you, b in d you, to your rigt, to your f t Grat Fors t tat covrd t Land b for umans cam ; and tat wi covr t Land aga wn umans ar gon Wrvr tr is on sp intr of wood, t Gra t Forst is wt you vn aid t concrt, st , and p astic o f t city F t Grat Forst surround you, and acknowdg ts prsnc Bu i d strongy b for you t pr sc of t W of Ros s: s it, f t, ss it It s ow w of drya d stons, surround by wid rd and wit bri ar ros bus s w s found n a natura opn spac t a rt of t Grat Forst Our acs tors a d ac ston of t w ad ong ago, surround ing a pur sprng tat rss from t ra di ant ndrW or d, t ram Bow rst s ds of t rd and w it wi d br ar ros s wr brougt r by t Fary as to mark t compact and aianc btwn uma a nd Fary r acs, to mark t rdmn g powrs of ov and compan It i s sa id t at if you av don on good d d n y our f, vn i f you may not rmmbr it, tn t tor y bu ss w i part for you and you may appro ac t sacrd w
F V F H 95 Draw nar o wll oy buss par bfor you, and you com o ancin sons Hr you giv a gif Wavr you n d i n your an ds now , valua bl or valulss , maningf ul or maninglss, you g iv is uncondiionally, placing i upon sons of wl l wi no oug of bn or ru Ou of wll ris r radian ads: on of Coppr, on of Silvr, on o f Gol d Commun wi m, sns an d fl ir powr and ir prsnc (S ilnc, n music) B awar a you ar a sacrd Wll of oss, in ar of Gra Fors a walks abou World You ar in prsnc ofinyou r Hads:vi Coppr, Silvr, and Gold You may rurn r r drams, sio ns, and mdiaions Form clarly in you mind now a your innion is o dvlop your ski ll and api uds in Fary Halin g Approac ac o f r in u wi is innion Firs, Coppr Had (musical soun d) Scond, S ilvr H ad (musical soun d) i rd, Gold Had (musical sound) (Silnc) Now powr of r adian Hads ows r oug you L i ll your body and o w ino your and s and f Sns Four Hidd n Ways wiin sadows and l ig o f Fors, and mrg m wi Four Di rctions of surfac world Bco m awar of Eas, Sou, Ws, and Nor, Sky Abov, Land Blow B in wo plac s a onc : sacrd pl ac of Wl l of os s, and plac in our world wr you bgan your vision rg wo pl acs as on wiin you Now r Had s fad, a nd yo u sp bac k oug ros ic k fors fads , and you sns, s, and fl ou world u o your our awarns s: op n your y s, bra dpl y, and rmmbr al l a occurrd a Wl l of os s
96 W L With us is the Gace of the Shining Ones in the Mystey of Eath Light Peace to all Signs and Shados Radiant Light to all Ways of Dakness, and the Lving One of Light, Secet Unknon oeve
T E A ON OA
he Hathon Road also o t CD) s a act tm ad
arratv, abt modrzd ts prstato. I Appdx 2, you wll d a t atory sog about t Hawto r Road, from my rcordg Moe Magical Songs Wt ts mpowrd vso, w com to t ystry of t Go-Btws, tos tasuma bg wo g l vad t Fary ralm FarysHal Eart Hal g ad w ork wt us our tasks of The awthrn ad
S , s s, a d fl bfor you, t Hawtor Road: two l s of dark trs, form g a ul , la g ovr to o aotr, t toy bracs tan gl g, smal l lavs ad w t owrs. Formto tsa vmst s onad strogly oryou, you,stadg t ll all toutr u ma world fads tr sbfoly t mst, at t trac to t Hawor Road s s t Way. Now you pa ss ud r t sado w of t awto trs , ad l av t world of tm bd. tral s roug ad stoy, ad stp. B d yo u s a gray mst, bfor you s t tu l of trs, ad at t far d, a arc of blu sky. Clmbg up t Hawtor Road, you mrg o t sd of a gr l l ar s cla , wt cloud s passg across t s ky, ad sowrs of ra lgt of t su s clar, ad you ca s far across t lad to a g mm r of oc a t d stac r ar ty gr l ds surroudd by sto w alls, arrow tracks, ad o roads, o wrs, o mac s s s Dvo, t wst of Eglad, t 1 8t ctury. arrow pat lads upwards to a cottag Dug nto t sd of
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t ill , it as a ur f roof and a s ingl cimnys tack At t door an old woman stands t o mt you. S as on bl ind y and on sing y, and stu dis you cl osly wit r bli nd y i s is t GoBtwn w o will tac you t arts of Fary Halin g Form a cl ar intntion in your mind t at suc is your wis, your ddi cation B still Commu n wit r (S il nc, t n music) Witin t cott ag tr is but a singl roo m: a larg r plac, a avy woodn tabl , and many bags anging from t oof bams wo uprigt p osts support t roo f, ma d from t trunks of trs rougly sapd On on a dar k bl ack kif i s tid tigtly wi t many loops cordand Again troom otr Lt lansit allwo stafor. you S, of sns, flsttis yourbrown mmory, may rtu r i n your dra ms, visi ons, and mdita tion s On t tabl is a larg ston bowl of watr, a pil of roundd pb bl s, so m buncs o f drid and f rs r bs , tr small stick s, and an agd black and rd lngt of cord ark t s wl l: touc tm on by o n, fl tm and know tm . As you touc t ob jcts on t ta bl , t old woman lans across and p lacs ands upon : youtotouc ogt r Form clarly yourrintntion and yours ddication bringt tmtwo worlds togtr, t rst and primal worl d and t scond and surfac world, to ct aling and rgnra tion (usic, tn silnc) B awar tat you ar in t cottag on t il l wi t wis woman, t GoBtwn of our tradiion You may rturn r in your drams, visions, and mditat ions But now it i s tim f or t ou tr world and t old woman lads you out of t cottag an d poi nts down t il l il l i s surr oundd by a tick w it mist, and it oats l ik a grn is land in t s a dark tun l o f awto trs lads down into t mist, and you tak tat pat. ow you pass undr t sadow of t awtorn trs, and
98 W L dsc nd down into mist You mrg into a sadow plac , wit sadow popl And you rmmb r tat you ar on of tos popl, and so com back to yo ur plac in t outr wo rld Haw torn oad vaniss bind you, and you nd yourslf back wr you bgan your vis ionary journy Hold to t mmory of wat appnd, and rturn fuly to your outr awarnss Know tat you can travl t Hawtorn oad aga You av a Dirction bind you , an d a Di rction b for you, and Dircti ons to your rigt and to your l ft S ky Abo v, t L and Bl ow And so you v a sns of plac, of potntial Wth us s the Grce of the Shnng Ones n the Mystery of Erth Lght Pece to ll Sgns nd Shdos Rdnt Lght to ll Wys of Drkness nd he Lvng One of Lght Secret Unknon reborn oreve
AK VV
The Mystery of the Scred Kngs nd Prestess ueens
Wit tis form w go d pr into t i da of, and comm union wi t, tos transuman sp iritual Go-Btwns tt f orm a maj or part of all spi ritual traditi ons Wrs The thor n Rod is dsignd o put us into dp contact wit on Go-Btw, The Ok Mystery introdu cs us to a v ast and nduring t raditio n n Appndix 2 , you wil nd The Ok Song an i nii atory son g from my rcording More Mgcl Songs h a k ystr y (or King in t r)
Co unng th the Pr est Kngs nd Prestess ueens
B still, stilling tim, spac, nd movmn B awar of t Sky Abo v, and t li vin g Land Bl ow B wa r of East, Sout, ort, and Wst, t Di rct ions b fr you, bind you, to your rigt and
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to our l B awar o f t F lam o f B ing witin ta t is a t t Hart o f All . B sti ll, at t cnt r of t S vn Dircti ons Now buil d strongl in our inr visi on, an d wit all our snss, t prs nc of t ancint f orst, t oak forst tat was i n t la nd bfor umans cam, and wi ll b in t la nd wn um ans ar gon oak forst tat walks around world b uttring sds, wic fall and grow i nto migt trs tat uttr futr sd s; tus dos t forst walk abou t t world Kow tis : wrvr t r is on spli ntr o f woo d, t rat For st is wit ou , vn in t co ncrt a t of t ci t Sns, s, and fl t vast forst all about ou Fl t prsnc of t migt oak trs, and o f t man livi ng craturs tat dwl l witin t f or st Pass witin, b nat t canop of t trs, and racs, trad ligtl andcraturs, rspctf ull r,ancstors fo r tis isLong t om t Far t living and t ago of t m igt forst protctd and no risd umanit, and t sacrd oak tr as an spcial car for umans, vn now ar t dcimation and ru in Know tat t trs av not go n, bt can and wi ll rturn w n t ting works o f man ar cangd, dcad, and forgottn ow tat t oak forst is vr prsn t in t i nnr spir it world , and tat ou ma btwn bring it out into t wastlands t lrat Haling, umans a ndoutr t forst, and allis tat isdwl tri n Pass dpr witin, and sns t rds of dr, t ocks of birds, and t invisibl Far guardians of t trs, tall nobl warriors and wild savag maidns Lt tm b our frinds and alli s if t will . B awar tat ac ordr of li f as a king and qun r I n t animal ralm , t king is t stag and t qun t do Sn s, s , and fl t igt Stag: lads ou dpr into t forst, toward t str at t Cntr, towards t oldst tr and its indwllr and gua rdians Now t t rs ar wid and tall, ac occuping a grat spa c, until ou com to a na tural c lar opn ci rcl. In t c ntr oftis is t old st tr, a wi d and vnra bl oak; so ol d, so mi gt, at its roots av raisd a il l, and out o f t il l a c lar stra m of watr
1 00 W L ows. sprading canopy of tis oak strtcs out to al Four Dirctions, and its crown racs to t sky. You sns many otr bings r, visi bl or invi sibl; all ar drawn to t tr and prsnc in t r Draw as clos as you may. As you approac t tr, nin Pristss Qus appar bfor you, in a circ l around t vast tr trunk. y ar t Guard ians of t O ak y stry, and you may pass no furtr witout ti r prmon. B sti ll, a nd rac i nto your tru s lf. On or mor of t Quns approacs you now, a nd ss d p, knowin g a l tat you ar and noting may b iddn from tm. On racs out and maks a mark upon your brow. ow you may pass troug t c ircl of t Guardian s, t Pristss Quns, and app roac t tr. You and c limbyou tar il , t ovrrunning t raisd mo of undt of car roots and rocks and a, watr spring. Draw clos to t tr, and rac out to touc and mbrac it. Fl its powr owing troug your body, rising up troug your ft to your ad. B sti l and mrg wit it. ow you sns ta t r is somon in t r , and l ook ing up to wr t ug brancs opn out, you s im. ac up, as ig as you may, strcing out your arm. H racs down and grasps your and, andar aus youprsnc up into t trKing in t r B awar tat you in t of t S, sns, and f im, touc im, and toucs you. ings ar vry d iffrnt r, wr t Svn Di rctions com togt r, in tis plac tat is abov t Stars Blow and blow t Stars Abov, nitr on land nor sa, but paaking of all. Hr tim ows i n and out of bing, and t dirctions of East, Sout, o, and Wst, convrg as on. Commun now wit t Sacrd King, and arm tat you av com in lov and compassion to bring t primal land and t outr uman lands clos togtr in aling, rdmption , and armony. B stil l, and commun a wil in silnc. (S ilt communion r )
F V F H
101
Kow tat you ar in t ystry o f t O ak r, in t prsnc of t Prist King and Pristss Quns. You may rtu r in you r drams, i sion s, and mdita tions, a nd tis yst ry i s alwa ys opn to you Kin g l ooks upwards, and you fol low i s gaz oak tr grows up to t oon, Sun and Plants, and Stars; and you ris up its towring brancs, owing up into t liing cosmos B still and b a t on. From out byond t S un, at t tsold of t Stars, yo u sns again t world of your uman birt, t plant Eart Wit tis sns you ar drawn down, down toug Sun and oon, to t ocans and grn lands of Eart. For a momnt you f l and s i t in its tru tal fo, radiant wit Eart Ligt, lld wit Grac. owyoyou rtutotott pl ac fromagain, wnc your visday ion , and u com outr w orld tyou worbg ld ofanumans by-d ay, bo und again by tim. But you rt urn wit t knowldg tat you may loos ts bonds, and commun again wit t Sacrd Ki ng and t nin Pri stss Quns B awar of t S ky Abo , t Land B low, and t D irctio ns bfor you, bind you, to your rigt and to your lft B still, kowing t b ing witin . Hol d to your mmor y o f wat appning in t osakalltr, t mi gty forst, in t primal world tat als and cang Wth us s the Gace of the Shnng Ones n the Mystey of Eath Lght. Peace to all Sgns and Shados Radant Lght to all Ways of Dakness and the Lvng One of Lght Secet Unknon ebon oeve
T AR ON A N
is is a longr form, and is in t stags. You sould work, at rst, wt ac stag indiidually and in ordr Wn you a workd t oug all tr, you can bg in to co mbin tm togt r. As always, I would ncourag you to rad troug t ntir isi onary squnc bf or you try workin g dpl y wit it. is tpl
1 02 W L for will dpn your communion wit t iving Craturs, t Ancsto rs, and t S inin g Ons Th a cr d u ntain
( ) he Hall of the Lvng Ceatues B stil l, and nd yourslf at t Cros sroads t wi t yo ur Al li s, Cousi ns, and Co -Walkrs, and mrg i n t r fol d Al li anc o f Human, Fary, and i ving Cratur o o bcom amig Ho s, a communion of pow and prsnc tat may travl w r it wil ls Look to t ort, along t Hiddn Way of t ort r you willtruncatd, s a migty witt its Straming towring crown for tsnow is a cappd dormantmountain, volcano For Host, to tink is to mov You y to t Sacrd ountain of t ort, and nd y ours lf standing bfor t ntranc to a cavrn Know tis : tr ar r Hal ls i n t ountain , rst is t Hall oft iving Craturs, nxt t Hall oft Ancstors, ad dp in t mount ain roots, t Hal l o f t Si ning Ons Form a c lar int ntion i n your mind tat you wil l v isi t ac of t Hal ls i ntroug turn Btgin wtalon t Hall o f t ivi Cra Pass cav g a winding waygand co turs m i nto a vast cavrn l it by sub tl l ig tat riss from t art and rock, b nat and all around Hr ar many lus trs and owring plants, coiling strams, and warm springs, wd dp laks, watrfalls, and rocky il s witi n t moun tain is is t Hall of t L iving Craurs A ll craturs tat av bn i n t world, ar in t world, and will b t world yt to com, av tir spritual prsnc r Walk dpr in, and fl, sns, ad s t many l ivin g bi ngs tat dwll in tis timlss Hall of t Living Craturs Birds, anial s, ss, inscts, tr s an d plants: all ar r Form a clar intntion in your mind tat you av com r to mt on o f t ntors, on o f t L iving Craturs tat works to bring umanty and t otr ordrs of lif clos togtr As you
FORMS AND VISIONS
OF FARY HEALING
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form tis intnton, many craturs draw clos all about you, toucing you, rsting on you. B stl l and acn owldg t ir sacr d prsnc. o you now com s of t ntors f rom t L ivi ng Craturs , and all otrs fall b ac bfor it. Commun wit ti s bing in si lnc . B awar tat you ar in t H al l of t Li ving Craturs, in t id dn cavrn of t Sacrd ou ntain. Know tat you may rt u r in your dr ams visi ons and mditations Not : ar t communi on you may rturn out of t cav, bac to t Crossroads, and so to t outr world. If you do tis, you rtu again v ia t Crossro ads and t Straming Host, and pass troug t Ha ll of t Cratur s toward s t Ha ll of t Ancstors . is i s dscri bd xt. If you do not rturn, you procd on to t scond all to mt t Ancstors: he all othe Ancestos Your ntor Cratur lads you by winding patways, dp into t timlss ralm of t Living Craturs. You com at last to a low tunl in t roc, and tis you must t r. As you do so, form a clar intntio n in your mind tat you ar going towards t Hall of t Ancstors. You climb down tis sloping narrow way on ands and ns, and mrg i nto a sado wy cav wit a wid dar riv r running troug it . B y t bans of t rivr t r is small campr burning in a ring of stons, wit t F irst Acstors sitting around it. y ar no mor in numbr tan grandparnts, parnts, and cildr. cil drn s and sns you, a nd l ad you to t r. o t m you ar spirits from t nd of tim; to you ty ar t First Ancstors at t daw n of tim. Sit awil and commun wit tm in silnc. B awar tat you ar in t Hall of t Ancstors, dp in t cntr of t S acrd ountain. Know tat you may rrn r in your dr ams, v is ons, and m dita tions
1 04 W L ot: at ts point you may rturn toug t narrow way, troug t Ha of t Cratur s to t Cro ssroa ds and so back to t out world. Wn you rturn, you rrac your stps and procd as f o ows : (3) he all fthe Shnng One
ancstra cidrn bid you go to t dark rir, and you s a faint pat aong its sor, worn into t rock of t cavrn. You fol low ti s down a lon g ig tunn , and t dark rivr grows wid and strong. In t d stanc you ar a roaring sound : know tat tis is on of t two rivrs of t ndrWord, and tat it fas in a migty watrfa nto art of t Eart . ow you mrg o n t vry dg of tat watrfa, wr it ow s out o f t fac of t prcip ic , and down into t Eart L igt. ligt radiats upwards, al about you. Looking down you s t Si ning Ons in t art of t Ear t y appar as a attic of sifting pattrn and coors, waving many complx saps of lig. You sns tat tr ar Svn Grat Ons, and many ssr ons tat partak of tm B stil, stil li ng tim, spac, and movmnt, and com into communi on wit t Sining Ons, wo wav t dram of t world in t Eart Li gt (Paus r f or s nt com munion ) B awar a you ar in t Ha l of t Si ning Ons, dp in t Eart Ligt at t roots of t Sacrd ountain. Know tat you may rturn r in yor dra ms, visi ons, and mditations Wth u the Gace of the Shnng One n the Mytey of Eath ght Peace to all Sgn and Shado, Radant ght to all Way of Dakne, and the vng One of ght, Secet Unknon, ebon oeve
F V F H 1 05 BR G E AKNG
Go o Cr ossroads, and com ino your rfol d Al li anc S , sn s, an d fl Wl l of Lig opn ou a cnr, wr Four Hi ddn Ways com ogr A GoBwn mrgs from Wll of Lig and bids you dscnd ino ndrWorld You pass far down ino living body of l and, and p owr of your rf ol d All ianc maks a j ourny l ig, to all r You s, sn s, an d fl Go-B wn, lading way Watvr you prc iv on you r journy, know ta you c om a las o a plac wr tr i s a wid ri ft, wr dp b ody of land or ocan oor as n torn apart is is a ri of lif forcs of awil Ear, wi and not a ri rock Form a clar Commun and mrly to ug of Go -Bwn innio n a you av com r t o build a bridg acros s ri, and s a y ow o f Ear pow r in ci rcul ation r As you form s innio n, you s ns, s, and fl many bi ngs arriv o b wi you In is world intn tion i s all and y av snsd your intnion, and so ty rspond y gar around you i n a swirlin g parn, rady to wo rk wi you dpsbut of you t sns ravin,itsaprsnc arg sprIt b in g ris sis You notOut sofit clarly, srtcs bodymay acros s gap, and many or craurs str am into i and mrg wi it. You must giv somting o f you rs lf o tis bridg, for ac ordr o f li f mus b pr sn for i to old. Giv uncondiionally of yourslf to mak t bridg, and b s il Commun awil i n sinc Sn w at ows a cro t ridg B awar at you ar dp in t ndrWorld, in act of Bridg aking orm a clar innion a you will b rady o contri butd to f urr Br idg ak ing , as par of you r work in Ear Haling o w you rurn o sur fac world, ris ing u p wiin your r fold All ianc For a momn you s, sns, and fl nw bridg low you, tn is closd o you You rtu to t Crossroads and, from r, ack to our world .
1 06 W L Wth us s the Gace of the Shnng Ones n the Mystey of Eath Lght Peace to all Sgns and Shados Radant Lght to all Ways of Dakness, and the Lvng One of Lght Secet Unknon, ebon oeve
A WO
7. e Mytey
f te ble Re
ros is t major owr in Fary tradition, found in Britis and Europan sourcs ranging from umbl folktals, to t imagry and pagan f oundatio ns of t or igi nal os icruci an tract s of t 16t Cntury (wic sould not b confusd wit t latr fratal and no -aso nic osicruci an groups , or t prsnt day AOC, foundd n t 20t Cntury) ros is also cntral to traditions of t jnn and t otrworld tat com from Prsia or t iddl East, from wnc its mystical and magical connctions racd to India wit t ogul mpir In our prsnt contxt w ar mainly concrnd wit t ros in t nortrn and wstrn Fary traditions, tos of Europ, Britain, and Irland, and t important connctions to tos traditions witin Amrican f olkl or Su c coctions srcinal ly aros and rmaind du to t inunc of t Scottis Iris migrants and slavs, wo brougt t Fary tradtion, folk tals, narrativ ballads, and folkloric magical and aling practics wit tm from tir om countris. Altoug contmporary popl rcrat Fary and pagan magic, t living folkloric traditions sould,td.andSuc must, b t foundation for of t vryt ing tat is rcra traditio ns ar t wisdom ancstors, and compris an normous rsourc for us, provdng w kow ow to work wit tm.
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I l LJSON O F MBOLISM
Bfor w work wt t Mystry of t Doubl Ros, w ust clar our nds of so assuptions tat prat odrn tinkn g. spi rtual and pysi cal ros s not rly a sybol or allg ory, vn toug w ay so t s nd lv ls of bot wn w plor wat s taugt about t ros. ros n ary tradtio n, as n Su or R oscruc an ystci s, s an nt ty a sprtual bn g, and a sp rtual powr . nd d, any aspcts of t org inal Rosc rucian agry of t 1 6t Cntu ry sprng f ro ranic fol klo r and cl ass cal ytology rgardin g t goddss V nus and t os; wl Su poty and ystcal tacngs nvolvng ross a oftn basd upo n t ancnt tr adti on o f spritual lov and o f lovngs not lationsp tddn ary bing s, but ttnnbodi . In all cas ros a sybo wt l or a ssag, nts,ofta dvn powr, a powr tat ows t roug bot t owr ts lf and troug t rfold Allianc of uanty, t ay racs, and t liv ng cra turs In t Golden Ass by Roan autor Apulus, an ntiato y tt on dscrbd as t rst agcal novl, t ro ay b curd of s transforaton nto an ass only by atng ross not b y ntrprting t sybol s o f t ros, but by atng pys calAnrosonl s.n ros of s anhe ntt y, a bn wt intns sp critual powr. dton Golden Assg basd on a class 1 6t Cntury translaton, ay b found at Modrn magc as lost uc of t dacy and pyscaliy of tradtonal agc. s s du to t inunc of bot popular psycology and fantasy ntrtainnt, wrby powrful nttis av bc o tougt of as "sybo ls or "arctyps , or ar "a ll n t nd. s concpt of t ros as a powr sourc and ntty s bst undrstoo d today wtin t id a of owr s snc s, a trapy t at co s d rctly fro ary tradt on, n wc ss ncs of dw fro plants av bn usd for cnturs s t sction on loe Essncs and ay adton in Captr 3). lvng plant mbods and dats copl subtl forcs, and ts av a
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transformativ ct upon us y cang us bcaus w av sothing ithin us tat rsonats in tun wit tos forcs mbodid and mdiatd in t plant world by t ros y do not cang us troug att mpts to intrprt symbo li sm or a psyc o logical assssmn t of romantic impulss o discovr wat tat sothing ithin may b, w can xplor t clus, tacings, and dscriptions andd down to us from t Fary and ndrWorld traditions Bfor doing so, w must rst dn and assss t maning of tradition, for tis world as gradually ad its mani ng cangd in gnral usag, and t cangs ar not to our bn t
TH TRH O TR ONS
Plas rmmbr tat w n w r fr to traditions in t is c ontxt, w man a ncstral t raditions , and not mod tacings as soc iatd wit rvival pagani sm or witccra It is widsprad nowadays f or mod pagans or witcs to say in our tradition, wn ty rally man in our spci c lin of practics and ta cings s ins can, and on do, driv from anc stral t raditio ns somtims svral onc), onsbut ar mod xtnsions and ar not t ancstr at al traditi i nty tmslv s So bfor goin g furtr into vi dnc and its spi ritual and magical impli cations for t Doubl os and f or Fary aling, w sould stabl is a basic dnition of tradition and its sourcs is is vitall y imp ortant for us, if w ar to und rstand wat is at t foundatio n of Fary tr aditio n, and of Fary al ing tra diti ons tat w r st upon, and vn tually bui ld upon, ar tos dscrib d in various ways in ancint sourc txts from cla ssic al, Europan, and crtain broadly Cltic srcins matrial found scattrd troug suc sourc txts is tn compard wit folklo ric practic s, Fary tal s, and folk ballads an d songs ta t spak of t Fary tm s suc mat rial was ori ginal ly writ tn dow n or co llc td from oral f olklo ric tradito n A folklor ic traditio n i s always unconscio us, and i s nvr pa rt of a pagan rvival Indd , anyon w o dcl ars somting l ik w at I
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pracic is part of a ancit ubrok tradition is ir dudd or yig. But somo wo says, my i of pracics and acig s rat s strogy to acsra r adi ion s as ingriy ad probab y spaks tru t Anyo witi n a ru foko ric magica radiio wi say oig abou i at a, for suc tradiios ar unconscous ad ar igrad dpy into daiy if i suc a way
a oy a ous idr migt rcogiz m as magic a arts. fokoric sourcs ar t traditions ta providd bo t co ad impus for t currt rviva of paga spi ritua ity i is may varians y ar foudation . W w d co rt co cions btw od sourc xs a d fok oric matria, ad wr w d rad cocps dscr ibd i bo ad mpoyd by ordinar y pop no paga rvivai sts) i fo ko ric magi c, ts co cio s ad cps ar icators durig ary drWord radicoos r s aid wat ofof suc v id c. Wanard fortunat indd to av txs from t mdiva priod owards, and fokoric cocions acit ad modr, wic prsrv maria o radiions rom tis point, t modrn rviva ca, and dos, tak ovr Iday, modrn magc, witccraft, and paganism i its may varians soud rst upo a w-sudd foudation o f acstra t raditio and not ry mr y upo t spciayad writt studis, books witi custom practic s of paprs, ay oand group, tmgrad p , c ov, or ntt work. is connction o acstra traditio is importa, ot mry from t prspc v of accuracy, i story, ad know dg , but for anotr raso . If w atun o cons cious s s of t ancst ors, tir wisdom and pow r ows o us. Ifw atu to tir t radit ioa arts of magic, w rconnct wit os traditions ad sar tir kowdg is task invovs, at t bginig, carfu and accurat study. It is our acquird accurat kowdg of t traditio s ta bu id s t framwork wi i wit our magica work is supportd and dvop d, and w i c i s gradu ay mpowrd by vig cosci ousnss of t nne tadton. If tat knowdg is inacc urat or wims ica, t framwork wi b wak, ad t inr tradii on wi no b support d by i. I otr words, w ar o sing o d radiio s day by day, ad any rvivas mus b accurat and
T 113 fatful to wat w now Otrws w ar ust playng gams, natng gos, cratng fals sprtualty So lt us mov on to a sort s uary of t roots of t oub l os n Fary and UndrW orld tradto n TE DOE OSE
In t Scotts Fary ballad of Ta Lin t ros appars n conuncton w t som v ry spc c Fary lmnts: t sacr d l l, t wood, t wll , a nd t lov rs Young Jant pull s a doubl ros to suon am n o m t spirt world, n ordr tat mig t ma lov to r As always, w sou ld con sdr ts bal lad no as mr but as avngofa nrgy dp practc al manng and mtods forsymbo magicallsm, transformaton and conscousnss s s ow t o ld Fary tradton was tau gt an d xp rncd: oug tals and songs wc, f ndvdual undrstood t sotrc contnt, could b actvatd nto dynamic procsss of cang, nto rtual, and nto commun on wit t Fary racs an d t lvn g sprtual craturs Wl to t romantc pot, t ros vntually cam to sym bolz r urmnant lov in aof styl convnspirtual ton, ti spowr da ofnrnt stoc symbolsm is a wak tsorgnal n t ros (CS ws ponts out som of t traps and fallacis of attacng psycologcal or otr mod idas of symbol sm to oldr txts and concpts n s boo The Allegoy of Love (Oxford Univr si Prss; prin t dition, ov mbr 1 98 5) Wil wis am s t o study t dvlopm nt of romantc potry, and would torougly d sapprov of ts prsnt txt on Fary Halng, is lad and prcptiv commnts o n ts rtro trap ar nvaluabl to t mod magican By tnng of anyting as a symbo l w d stanc our sl vs om it, ma t nto a p roduct obsrvd by t ra tonal mnd tat loo s for a catgory of manng, ratr tan lv wtn t dpr imagination and spritual awarnss tat loos for prsnc and powr
1 1 4 W Yt, w may xplo r t traditions associatd wit t ros troug t associ ation, in tra ditional bal lads, wit lov and da t. is is commonly a ssumd to b formulaic romantici sm, but it is not. In a numbr o fol klor ic b alla ds and tals, t tm of ru Lo vrs i s ound is is, of cours, also t tm of a Ln on of t grat ini tiatory mystri s of t Fary t raditi on. Otr all ads focu s mor in t lov and dat motifs, witout t Fary contn In ts , t basic pl ot app ars to b s impl : tr ar two lov rs , and for various rasons dpnd ing on t ball ad, rst on d is , tn t otr. oug ty ar sparatd by t vagaris of lif and lov, ty ar unitd in dat. y ar urid n r to on anot r, and from t grav o f on a rd ro s grows , and from t otr, a wit ros. s ar, tr aditiona lly, wil d briar ross, wic av a trailin g growt, ratr tanros tplculti s bus of t modrn gardn. rd and wit antsvtd intrrotwin in a tru l ovrs knot, and t lovrs ar unitd byond t grav. Indd, ty ar mbodid witin and bcom t r d and wit r os buss. raditionally t wit ros is of t mal, ad t r d o f t fmal . is migt sm to b noting mor tan romantic styl, and indd it can b takn at tat v of undrstanding, wic was suprc ially sati sfying to t li stnr. But if w pursu t ida of a t ros tRhye roug tw mor spci c initiato ry bal lads of is Lndoubl and hoas nd a dpr m ystry rvald. mystry is rlvant to t ntir tradition, but aso, in or prsnt contxt, to t xprinc , powr, and practi c o f Fary Hal ing .
OSES, ES, A N DAGONS
At a dpr lvl t rd and wit ros rlat to tos two rivrs in t ndrWorld, dscribd in t ballad of hoas Rhye as a rivr of blood and a rivr of tars. s strams appar also in folkloric songs tat rlat to t Grail tradition, suc as Don n Yon oest(i n wic strams o f watr and bl oo d ow from t si d ofa woundd sl ping knigt), and ty av an i mplid prsnc, occasionally statd in t Grail txts tmslvs In t arly
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Cr ist ian sourc s, ty ar toug of in t contxt of t wounds of Crist, rvaling t pagan srcins of t Cistian mystry But t concpt of t strams of blood and watr is ancint, and ulti matl y is found in ndrW orld traditions he ve ofblood sustans the hte ose hle the ve ofteas sustans the ed ose. y canot xist witout on anotr
In trms of umanity, t wit ro s rfr s t po lari ty of subtl forcs wit in t mal body, and t rd to t subtl forcs o f t fmal body s po lariti s driv, at a vry dp l vl , om t rd and wit dragons, wic ar so vivid ly dscri bd in t 1 2t Cntury Popheces of Meln as caslssly intracting in t ndrWorld rd and wit dragons, t primal powrs intracting, tn
t rivrs blood tars, arwic tos sam powrs cir cul ationof , and t and rd and wwic it ross ar assoc iatdinwit uman lov and sx, ar all manifsting and mobil aspcts of pl antary forcs, blo w and witin art and s a, wic in tu, rct cosmic forcs In t ultimat sns, ts ar t forcs of cratio n and dstru ctio n, or of Svrity and rcy, t P owrs of iv ing and of aking us, t unquitd lovrs of smingly romantic ballads and tal mbo dy, atAstdodp cossmic forcs w allst lv l, working o ut o pl antary and ystry of t Doubl os is a polarity mystry W may bgi n wit t traditional clus , imags, and practical tacings of t Fary and ndr Worl d traditi ons, as dscr ib d abov W may progrs s towards a grat r con cpt and ra lity, tat of cosmi c orcs of cratio n and dstruction But in pra ctic w sou ld b concd wit t cts, rsults, and pot ntial s o f is traditiona l wi sdom tacing Wn you ar workin g in t F ary tradition, nvr forgt tat it is not a pilosopy or a rligion; it is a practical tradition about rlationsips btwn umanity, otr ordrs of lif, and t pl ant grttably, on of t arly acadmic sourc txts of t 20t Cntury, t rst boo k by Arican scolar W Y EvansWntz, was titld he ay ath n Celtc Countes. titl of tis
1 1 6 W OF L otrwis admirabl and lpfu tsis as ld to t common assrtion today ta t tr i s a Fai ry Fait, or was suc a f ait in t past as i ft Far y tradition was a rlig ion r i s, owvr, no fait and no worsip in Fary tradition r is rlationsip, intraction, and crtain wl -dnd customs an d practics r is no b li' in Faris , as tir prs nc is known a nd provn by xprinc; and tr nvr wr, nor ar tr today, prists or pristsss of any Fary or fairy fait, otr tan contmporary claimants wo rval tir ignoranc o f t tradition by mak ing suc cl aims Anyon can b a p rist or prist ss , accord ing to t bst of tir abil ity, but not of a nonxi stnt Fry ri gio n Fary radi ion , wic is rally an amalgam of svra strands of ancint magica traditions, as as its practitionrs, srs and srss s, and arspartici as is pants spcia r li sts, aon wit storyl sin grs, and ovrall is nogi rarcy, no rs autanord ity, and no dic s, tmpl s, rulbo oks, o r liturgi s Wat a rli f! he Mystey of the Double Roseis about polarity Bfor going dpr i nto t mystr y, w must b c ar tat w ar not da ling wit strotyps of mal and fmal (as in romanticism), but working di rctly wit f orcs tat occur witin ac and vry on of us, rgardl ss of pysical gnd r or sxual orinta tion r wil l bros a tnd for t ma t powrs o f t wi , andncy for t fmal tobody xprtossxprss t po wrs of t rd, but ac as bot witin us, t si mp po ariti s of t Far y tals and balads ar not to b undrstood as ruls or dogma, but as ndcatos ofho thngs ok Onc w av activatd t sotr ic contnt and mt ods , ts polarit is can (and do) cang W may work wit t in dic ators found wit in anc stral tradit ion on svral lv ls In t li st and xploration t at fol lows, rmmb r tat t ross ar bot polaritis and ntitis, and nrgis mbodi d b y p ants owrs ar bot t sxual organs of t plants, and t organs of spiritual communication: tis doubl function soud pro vid muc insigt in mdita tion lvl s o f cons ciou snss and nrgy ar broadly as fol lows, baing in m ind tat t r ar no ard boundaris btw n tm, and tat ty intrlac wit on anotr in many ways:
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. W may wor wit t rd and wit ros powr s witi n ourslvs (rd and w it ross, b lo od , and wa tr/smn). Su c wor would b wit t body, wit alt and wl l bi ng, wit pysi cal sil ls , and w it innr mditat ion s on our subtl f orcs . 2 In rla tio nsi p to ot r u mans, as in ( 1 ) Hr w opn out to conta ct wit ot rs; tis wil l incl ud crativ, communica tiv, and sxual unions and rlationsips. At t dpst lvls, tis will includ magical and spiritual polarity rlationsips wit otr uma ns. 3 In rlationsip to ot r bings, as in t rfol d Al li anc (t subtl n rgis o f t ros s and t u ids) Hr w opn out to, commun wit , and ma rl ations ips wit t otr ord rs o fl if. rfold Alianc involvs a rlationsip btwn umans (wicallis ma y, inclu d liv spi ing ritual an as d gntic ancstors), Fary and t crancstors aturs suc bi rds, animal s, sts, and i nscts) . In many cas s, t Fary and c ratur compan ion s ar spirit bin gs, mta pysi cal nt iti s. B ut somtims t alli anc wil l bridg ovr into a spcial rlationsip wit crtain craturs and plants tat ar found in t manifst world of natur, as ts ar t outr form s for t i nnr c ontacts . 4. A dp rlationsip wit, and ongoing wor witin, t subtl dat of t land oris, sa (t Rivrs Bloo dlif an dand ar s) forcs is rla tionsip at rst, initiat ofory. It brings transformation. It is typid in t initiatory ballad of hoas Rhy in wic t Fary Qun sows t pot t Rivrs, during a journy to t ndrWorld. Ar is journy and svn yars in srvic to t Qun, t pot bcom s a prop t. is fourt lvl gradually bcoms a rsourc for spcic tass o f Eart Hal ing, wrby t f orc s of t mi gty rivrs ar availabl to us, usually woring wit allis, to strngtn and mpowr actions suc as bridg maing, dat transitions, and proptic vision. 5 Wit t d p plan tary forcs (t Rd and Wit Drago ns) At tis lvl t uman consciousnss no longr functions in trms of daytoday prsonality. Instad, w com into t
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rytms of long-trm cycls of nrgy and long pass of plantary lf At ts dpt w work wit wordlss undr standn g of t movmnt of t world , of watr, of commun on wt t stars 6 Wt t cos mc focs mbod d n t plantary forcs s lv s usually d scd at rst as a vson or sns of stars wtn t ndrWorld In myt, som of ts forcs ar found n t tans not t surf acn g n rgs of t tans tat caus mov mnt suc as tdal wavs, volcanos, and artquaks (wc ar manly at t 5t lv ds crbd abov) , but t dp r sourcs of t r powr I mytc story, tans w r or gna lly pa rd dt s, mal/fmal, mdatng cosmc forcs troug t plants of t sola systm At a crtain pas n t solar lf, ty passd out of t plants n ntottstory ndrWorld of Eart ratonalzd and prsrvd of t tans bng s castsout by t Olympians, wo bcom t plan tary dt s s story r mnds us, wt mor dtal, of t lgnds o f Lucfr n Crstan tr adton, or of Ibl s in t I slamc tr adtion 7 Communon wt t sour c of Eart L igt at On At ts dpst stag, t svnt lv , w l os t po larity of t d an d Wt Hr w commun wt t sourc of t Eart Lgt, tat stll ar con sc ousns s tat s dp wti n t plant WA EANG?
r ar many ways to undrstand, and undrtak, alg I ts book, w ar primaly concrnd wt spiritual forcs and Fary Halng, an art in wc umans and mtapysical bings work togtr But to truly com into tis art, to form a postv working rlationsip wit our alli s, w must g v som tou gt to wat aling s s captr xplors a dntion of aling from spritual prspctv, on in contrast to a matralistc prspctv As uma ns, w xp rnc bot O ur mpasis r is t post v cts of Fary H alin g, b y wic w man not mrly nd rsults , but t ffcts of con sco usns s
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So wat is alin g? most obvio us, d irct, and y t most subtl answr is tat healng s a pocess h eeby balances ae estoed to balance
Howvr, if w tak a uman-cntric viw, and tn an go cntri c vi w, our ida of balanc immdiatl y b coms xclusiv . Bal anc bcoms my balanc, and is rlat d to individual bnt . is lads invitably to t modrnist situation wrby t sort-trm bnt, t quick x, is all, vn at t xpns of t surrounding nvironmnt. As long as w fl good, noting ls mattrs. o go furtr into tis situation, w migt considr a practical xampl. If an ara of land is ovr populatd, ovr farmd, ovr xpl oitd, it will boo m for som yars. Evryon as noug to at and fls good. vntually, t land dpltd, imbalancd, andBut cass to produc. isbcoms imbalanc a cts v ry living cratur in t land, not mrly t umans, and crats a fdback pattrn wrby t dstructiv spiral acclrats uman population suffrs from malnourismnt, disas, and vntually b gi ns to dc lin . y may vn di out altog tr. Yt, it was t uman prsnc and prac tic s tat crat d t i mbalanc so t dclin of t u man population is t rba lancing, t dat s tmodl al ing. isam applis to t indi vidual, to m an d to you : dat is t procss tat als t lon gtrm imba ancs and toxin s of t lif. So wn w tink of aling as a procss of coming into balanc and com ing out of imbala nc, w av to con sid r wr w st t trsolds. In our tortica xampl abov, on man wit a supply of stord food, drugs, supplmnts, and anti biotics could liv out t famin and disas. But, would b balancd? in dividu al li f story mi rrors t gratr li f story o f a plac , a coll ctiv , or a plant. Wat lvl , wat comunity of bal ancs and imbalancs, do w addrss in t procss of aling? And, as individuals, ow muc sould w accpt or rjct of t comm unitis or ntwo rks of imba lanc tat su rround u s?
1 20 W hee Ae hee Knds of ealng Matealstc edcne is dd icatd to t al ing o f t in divi dual
uman oting ls mattrs, and all is considrd fair in t war against disas, pain, illnss, and dat is vry focusd approac, dvlopd ovr t last two undrd y ars o f scintic rsarc, as producd rmarkabl tcniqus, spcially in t ld of surgry. is is combativ aling a nd rq uirs a spcic matriali stic prspc tiv and ddication. Its srci n i s, of cours, i n compassion for t individual, no mattr ow w migt qustion t commrcial izd intrsts tat control mdic in in so ci ty. On of t ky co ncpts in ti s typ of al ing is s pd : it as to b don as quickly as pos sib l to obtain immdiat o r rapid bnc ial sults tat can be sn, f lt,is dnd, olstc dcne als o ddiand catdapprci to t atd. al ing of t ind ivi dual uman. In ol ist ic approacs to ali ng, of wic tr ar many, t ida of combat is rduc d, and t tndncy is to work towards balancing t ntir individual, ratr tan gting ovrt and manifst symptoms At its dpr lvls, olistic mdicin works wit complx and subtl rlationsip btwn t individual and is/r nvi ronmnt, somti ng tat is usual ly ig ord as irrlv ant in matapproac riali sticismdical practics In tis typx oisf aling, a losongr trm on found, and t quick not sougt muc as t d p x , vn i f it taks longr to aciv . Sptual healng watvr t traditi on, bgi ns out of tim . i s is t most important concpt, watvr tradition of spiritual alig w may coos to work wit. Fary tradition is o dirnt in tis rspct: t alig obviats t usual cycls of tim . Our imm diat sns o f tis is troug t drama tic instan t alings rportd from tradition, wrby wounds clos up, or intrusions ar rmovd from t body. im is irrlvant in suc alings But tis is only a mr fractio of t potntial, for spiritual aling works wt a muc largr prspctiv of tim, nrgy, and i ntraction. In Fary Hali ng w work wit t rf ol d A li anc o f uman, Fary, and l iving cratur is in its lf is dply aling , for it brings
YSTERY
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all thee ordrs of lif into armony wit on anotr Wit ti s on
root concpt and intr action, w suddnly nd an ntir world of insigts into aling opning out for us It is no longr about t uman individual fling bttr, but about communion and consci ousnss , about be ing in the old in an ent iely deent ay is ida of a healing change of context appl is to all tr ordrs of li f in t rf old Al li anc, not j ust to t uman s mutual xcang, mutua l bn t. RO M TRAI ION O AR EA ING
Bfor w can xplor tis tm in dpt, and discovr its practical cations, bot in t of Fary i n our own l ivs,i mpli w must rst xplor waratttraditi onHa and ling, Ear tand Haling man, r Bot ar prass usd vry widly, somtims indi scri minatly , in t curr nt rvival o f intrst i n spi rituality and magic And, as w now only too wll, words li tradition and alin g ar on rut l ss ly abusd in manipu lativ adv rtising and pol itical and rligi ous propag anda WA IS TRAIION?
Our dnitions ar going to b strict and consrvativ, at last in trms of t actual words tadition and Eath ealing Surpris ingly, or not, a simpl consrv ativ d nit ion i s oftn a surp ris to many popl , as ty accpt t l oos an d ambi guous dnitions tat ar widly usd in mdia, popular boos, and gnral con vrsation about suc subjcts W l iv in an ag wn many n dnitions and potnt concpts troug words av bn ijacd and vn twistd t o man t ir opposi ts Just li stn to any pol itica l spc, or viw commrcial advrtising in t mdia But, tis runs muc dp r tan t li s of pol iti cians or t banal drivl of advrtising Wn most popl liv in world of sound bits and pop dni-
1 22 W L tons, ty los vocablary. Wn w los vocablary, w los t v cl for togt. Wn w los t vc l for tog t, w los t mans for prssng orslvs. Wn w cannot prss orslvs b ngo ! W ar actl y wr w can do l ast arm to vstd ntrsts, tos sam vstd ntrsts tat cratd t artc al world n t rs t plac. It s not a consprac y so mc as a no-organc ntwork of obfscaton posng as a corncopa of modrnst bnts. "B t prson yo rally ar. "Eprss yorsl f trog yor f rntr. " odrn l v ng for t w ay yo ar t oday. " trad ton of . . . Sc vag psd o-man ngfl prass ar t c ldrn of otr wor as, som o wc as gratly transformd t way modrn popl tnk word "arctyp, vryon knows, rfrs to crtan, an ky t psyc tfort. Fat Bt, r, tts Godds s, t Strong t mags Flowr nadn, and : so manng s vry contmporary and was cond by c Jng, wo took a Gr k word an gav t a man ng of s own. An arctyp , p ntl lss tan 1 00 yars ago, mant a cosmc mat r, mold, or sapng forc, ot of wc rnt patt s of craton wr sapd, tat ld to grops o f manfstaton tat ad many rlato ns ps, d to tr arc typal or gns n t sprtal or cos mc ralm. a p owrfl for concptal asman bn mpsyc nmzd n ss n tra py to rftool r sol ly t o aspctszng o f t . Jngan and pos t-Jngan arctyp s somtng vry d rnt from t tr manng of t word. word as bn jackd, ts manng cang d n a mann r tat dns s ts or gnal manng. I av spnt som spac on t s ampl, bcas t sam tng as occrrd wt t word "tradton, albt n a vry drnt way and for qt ffrnt rasons. But t sng grond of manng, wc ss aw ay from dpt towards t sal lows , s st ll prsnt. A tadton s somtng tat as bn gong on for a long tm , andd do wn from t ancstral past . It s not a cstom o r a pattrn tat as bn cra td b y any on prson or grop wtn on l ftm ky dnt on o f trat on s tat t has no autho o ognato ts s wa maks t tradtonal . Lg slaton s fond
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upon, and rcognizs, t signicanc of tis dnition in copy rgt, for f tr i s an autor tr i s a copyri gt But if a sourc is traditio nal , tr is no copyri gt It as no own r, no src inator is ida of tradtion as somt ing anonym ous and col lctiv i s vitally important for tos of us wo work wit t spiritual imptus of ancstra l wi sdo m In rvi val paganism and witccra, many groups an d individua ls us t pas n our traditi on, wn in fact ty ar rfrring to t clusiv custo and pactce of tir group or n twork, wi c i s on dened by texts by specc authos Anyon rf rring to a traditi on in tis manr of conscio us slfidnti cation i s not i n a tradition, for tradition do s not id nti itslf as suc it mrly is or ca n w criticiz suc as srions bl indly, for ty ar mad out of innocn c, t roug i gnoranc of t tradition as bntru i j natur ackd inoft last 50or yarssimply, or s o, t andtrm is o ntradition its way t owards lo sing its dp r ad muc mor vauabl maning majority of rvival spiritu ali ty and mag ic i s, strict ly spaking, custo andpactce dened by texts by specc authos Suc tts can b privat ma nuscripts or ritual books, or can b publi sd itms tat ar widly rad Wn I rfr to t Fary tradition, I am rfrring to a collctiv of ancstral traditions and folkloric practics, mainly from Europ,worldwi B ritain, d andI Irland, t wit to matny parall l s and intrconnctions am not bu rfrring R Stwart Far radition r is no suc ting, no mattr ow muc srcinal tt I publis as an autor, and no mattr ow many rituals or visualizations I crat to lp us all com into a dpr rlationsip wit t Fary t radit ion odrn spcic magical or spiritual group idntitis oftn associat tmslvs wit ancstral traditions Roman, Grk, Strga, ors, C ltic an d so fort us t F ary tradit ion ta t w ar daling wit in tis boo is, broad ly spaking, C lti c But tr ar many conct ion s to Itali an, ors- Grmani c, Gr, Prs ian, and many otr tr aditio ns, as Fary magi c is at t foundatio n of all magic Howvr, t gratr ancstral traditons ar cultual and hstocal covring vr y wid trrit ors id d, a nd ty can ot
1 24 W L b truy s pc d w tn a raton s p to odrn p agan custo and pracc y can, and os crany do, p to dn a c tan broad cu tura an y wn a odrn pa gan or ag ca group, but cannot b clad as tradtons n tsvs, spcay not as radons o wic a group or ndv dua bl ongs ancst ra trad ons ar cutur a and sorcal co llc vs , rpotd a ny in ltraur and arcaology, wc brac any vard sub radons of f, ag c , folk or, and nc pr accs . Sos ntlignt rports, wic for bass for our od i das about ancs tra rad ons , ar antopo log ca or fro folkor studs, and so crtainy contan contnt fro t rnan s of vng ag cal fokl oric tra ditio ns. W i gt ink of classc xaps suc as co llction o f Galic prayrs, Cana Gaedelca or Llands Aada rportng t praccs of Italan
fok o ag . n t ar ot , o od, ap s tat ar uc ss ctan of or gn and awa ys otly dbatd In s w av carisatc ndvduas wo intntionay cra odrn rvvas of pagans, sos basd on rsarc no ancnt practc s and, wa cos nx s os potant n our d scu ss on, ty also cla o hae ece ed soe ateal d ect o lng folkloc tadtonal soces ost faou s xapl s probabl y Grald Gardnr,ofoug any or can b . W Gardnr as an xap t on wo sands forctd any n can tsus procss, wtout an y d srspct tr to or to t any Gardnr studd any aspcts of agc foklor and antro pology, and cratd a nw st of cstos and pactces drvng fro cltal and hstocal vdnc n i tratu and inc udd, as assrts, ata rnants of a lvng anonyous radon of fok agc n Engand us producd a st of rtuals, wc today av any ratvs and varants , and w a v bco wdsprad cso and pactc e dened by tex t by a spe c c atho ts atral as bn a a jor nunc on t rvva o f wtccra, pagans , and ag c. It s alos t always rf rrd to as t Gardn ran tradto n, wic s a sl f-cancl ng dn to n, as an autor cannot b t sour of a tradton, ony t ancstral coctv can b suc a sourc nc agan, ts analyss is not
T M D R 25 di srspct ful to Gardnr : on of my rst introduct ion s to somo n mdiating t Goddss was in ritual wit Patricia Crowtr, a prist ss of grat powr, wo was traind an d initiatd by Gra ld Gardnr At ti s stag i n t xpl oration of traditi on, I must stat rmly tat I do not di scuss any of t abov co mmnts on co ntmporary cla ims about i n our tradition out of cyni ci sm Indd , I av no doubt tat many aspcts of t pagan and magical rvival driv from and, mor mportantly, tap into t spirit of t ancstral consciousnss Witout pivotal gurs lik Gardnr and many otrs, t rvival wou ld not av gaind suc imptus and nr gy ut, i f w ar to go forward and dn an ongo ing and d pni ng futur potntial for our spirituality, w must stop tinking and saying tat spcic pactics and txts ar tradition s y doing so, dpriv a sourc spiritual powr, wisdom, andw insigt Wourslvs los our of sns of tofancstral consciousnss mbodid in t tru and anon ymous co llctiv traditions of ac land W dpriv ourslvs by assuming tat a tradition is only a dnd st of mtods wit a labl And, no mattr ow n and powrful suc a st may b, it i s at bst, a subst of modrn custos and pactics cratd out of a cultural and istorical ambinc drawing upons odnd Finni s, and fort) sourcs (Nors, Cltic, Grk, Italian, is raiss t ntir qustion of ducation witin pagan and wiccan or magical g roups, many of wic ar lgal ly rcog nizd rli gio us organiza tio ns For t ongoing an d growing trnd t owards slf-rfrnc as an autority (In Ou r raditi on) lads us away from t mi gty oc an of ancstra l wi sdom toward s smal l is lands o f an incrasingly polit icizd, l imitd, and xclusiv custom and practic In otr words, a pagan group, curc, tmpl, or organization bgi ns to incrasing ly r smbl t os vry s lf-rfrring structur s tat ty sougt t o rplac tos po li ticizd rli gio ns tat rfr only to t mslvs as so l sourcs of autority In a broadr sns, of cour s, ti s is fat of any ig ly o rgaizd uman group, b it a corporation, a political pa, or a curc or tmpl But w ar talki ng about sptual taditions r, not sc al
1 26 W OF L practics or (orro r of orors !) dogma Having plord som dn itions of aling and o f tradition, lt us mov o n to t dr concpt of Eart Hal ing
WA I S A EALIN?
In svral catrs of tis book, w plor t rlationsip btwn traditi ons and pra ctic s of Fary Hal ig , and alin g in gnral. In tis sctio, w will go dpr into tis rlationsip, spcially by ploring and dning, as muc as possibl, t concpt o f Eat H ali ng. In our currnt tim of nvironmntal crisis or ratr criss (pl ural), itEart as bco m fasi onabl ta lk gran aling. Haling is just tattoaling o dly t about plant.plant It is ary t dpst lvl of aling tat tr may b, and w would b posu rs if w cl aim d to b ab l to aciv it alon . Nw Ag movmnt i s full of grandios claims of ali ng and ascnsion wic sm to in at t go, ratr tan com c lo s to a tru tical and spiritual transformation. Anyo sriously working on plantary aling must rst admit, to imslf or rslf, tat is a long-trm task wi twno com immdtoiat l bnt Wn tisprsona invitabl conc lusi on, w ar not alon . Our ancstors, wo built t ston circl s and alignmnts, d id not build tm or tmslvs. Considr tat ts sacrd sits on took cnturis, gnrations, to build. ancstors built tm not for tms lv s, but for us, t gnratio ns o f t utur. So wn w work on spi ritual tasks w ar working f or futur gnratio ns, just as our ancs tors did . i s concpt, tis mtod, ti s trut puts us into a d stram o f spiritual awarnss tat tra nscd s tim and opns us to t wisdom rsourcs of t ancstors. or simply w mi gt say tis t sot -trm , t sot- trm aim for gain , prot, and s lf, as fail d, so lt s focus on di scovring and tn imp lmn ting t lo g-trm tru t. Wr do w bgin ? Prob ably wit t admis sio n tat w do not know w at tis long-trm trut of plantary al ig may bcom , tn wit t commi tmnt
T M D R 1 27 tat w ar willing to work towards it, unconditionally. Eart Haling is not mrly about claning up pollution, r plnising t ozon layr, planting mor trs, or allowing craturs to l iv natura lly onc mor Al l of ts ai ms ar ssntial , wortwil, and good, but ty dal wit symptoms ratr tan causs Until w av a cang of awarnss o n a vry larg scal , w ar mrly claning up a mss, a task tat sms vr gratr and mor daunting to t workrs So Eart Haling, wil cl aning u p t m ss, must also b about a cang o f awarns s W tik o f su c cang s, appropriatly, as nc ssary for uman awarnss, bot individual and collctiv Suc a rvolution of umanity tow ards an tical s lfprsrvatio n sms to b ssn tial now for our survival as a spc i s Onc upon a tim i t migt av bn a mat it or di tr of igr t ic s, but now it i s urgnt and upon us do In t Fary tradition, tr is a long stablisd pattrn of co-opration btwn umans, Fary bings, and living craturs conscious co operation If w ar to s rious ly mbark upon our sar of Eart Haling, t dpst lvl of Fary Haling, it must b a co-oprativ vntur o ntr into tis co opration, w must sta bli s rlations ip s wit t largr organs of t plorantary g s ar dnd in ancstral n as Giants itans B inrst dnition is orsu tonictra ; tditio scond is Grk and vn prGrk in srcin Bot dscrib vast and powrful bings tat ar at t foundations of t cratio n of t plant, and ar associat wit plantary forcs suc as massiv storms, artuaks, volcanos, polar ic, and so fort Similar concpts and bings ar found in all t f olklor ic traditions worl d wid, and pla y a signi cant rol in ancstr al and sotric mystical and rligious lor, mt ods, and initi ations Of cours, t matriali st or mod ra tional is t assums al l of t abov to b simpl istic imagry to account f or natur al pnomnon, to wic suprsttion or fars av bn attacd, accumulating troug t gnrations Yt, ancstral tradition dos not mrly us myts of ts vast bings to xplain wy an artuak occurs, toug tat ida i s indd prsn t at a sup rcial lvl I n
28 W L t accounts of bot Gi ants an itans, tr is a cl ar conn cti on btw n t p antary forc s and t c osm ic forcs of cration and dstructi on. So ratr tan bing a simpl istic rational izatio n of fars, t dscription s of Giants and it ans provid dp mytic ins igts into vls of plantary intraction witin itsf, and ow suc intractions rsonat wit t gratr ntitis of t co smos . It as bn a common assumption for t last 200 yars (by t scincs of "Wstrn cultur) tat myts ar t product o ignoranc A si mil ar assumption was mad b y t foundrs o f t psycological movmnt in t lat 9t Cntury, wo assumd at myts and Fary tals wr traditiona mbodimnts of t col lctiv and indi vidual psyc or tat , at bst (as assumd by ung), tat ty wr a kind of proto-psycology tat cou ld b subsumd undr t nw ins igtsaand mtods. yts Faryt raputic ta l s, and lgnds ll mbod y a way of dscr ibin g t rlationsip btwn umans, t plant and otr ordrs of lif uc of tis wisdom is also found, albit in diffring prstations, in prni al s otric tra diti ons o f t world, toug tis i s on ignord or rpudiatd by sci ntists and s co lars alik . Bot t Grk pi los oprs and t mdiva Qaba lists aduat y dscribd t intractions of tim, spac, and nrgy cnturis bfor Pys s; Plato a dtail d s t aoftousad orbital proportions of t w plants of icour solar gav systm mor tan yars bfor t invntion of t tlscop. Similar idas an cosmic pattrns ar found i n myt and lg nd worldwid , b ut ar too on trivializd by t arrogat assumptions of modrnist analysts or rsarcrs. An intrsting ampl is t rmarkab book Hamlet Mill by DSantillana and H. VonDcnd, wrin t scolars amply dmonstrat tat myt is a way of dscribing t cosmos and t solar systm, a way tat was igly dvlopd in non litra culturs. But trougout t book, t autors sm to b wofully ignorant of t prnnial sotric traditions of tir own Europan) cultur, and so spn muc of tir tim and txt r- invnting wl s, wn ig y ctiv v icl s surround tm.
T D R 1 29 TH E AERY R IION AN COSMI WISOM
L t us tin of t mytic aspcts o f t Fary and Un drWorl d traditions as ou r inrita nc o f cosm ic wisdom , ratr tan as crud attmpts to xpl ain pnomna to g norant and farful mi nds Wit t lp o f tis rsourc o f ancstral wsdom , w wi ll com i nto a aling rlationsip btwn umanity, t plant, and t otr ordrs of lif W do ti s by truly u ndrstandin g tat w ar a part of t Eart, t So lar Sy stm, and t Cos mos Unti l umans rmmb r tat t Eart i s a vast li ving bin g, and tat w ar a part of tat Entity, n o amount of intl lctual stratgi s for al ing t nviront wil l b truly ctiv Fary and UndrWorld traditions, and tir quivalnts worldwid, mak it clar and unambigu ous t at atumanit y isdpr not alon ity lvls s not , supr ior Far y tradition, on o f its ini tiator tac s tat a um an i s inc omplt , and t at a complt bi ng i s a armonious fusion of uman, Fary, and living cratur: t fold Al li anc It is umanity articially contrivd sns of isolation and antagonsm, t lonl y c ild lasing out at t world aroun d it, wic as cau sd our il ls Envi ronmntal l ls ar r ctd into uman il ls , until wpltruly and t antundrstand t at w ar on wit t land, t oca ns, Onc w truly now tat w ar not u niqu, but ar part of t living world, w can b gin t tru p rocss o f a alng TH E T HREEFOL LLIA N
o ld tra diti on tac s ta t a uma n bing a lon is ncomplt Far from bi ng su prio r, dominant ntiti s cratd t o triump ovr and ultimatly, it would sm, dstroy t Eart, umans a v lo st t knowldg of tir tru natur is loss is wat lads to t sns o flon li nss and inco mpltnss tat vry u man fl s and its ngativ aspcts lad to t ostility towards all otr iving craturs, to t vry lands and ocans tat giv umans tir
1 30 W L sustanc , and to t plant wrof ty av ti r li f. Huans sk to assuag t ir lon linss wit sual passio, drugs, trivial acin-c ntr d nt tainnts t at spiral into dgrading fantasy and vio lnc . L ik angry ci ldr, ty las out in rag and rjction fro so smingly ptty urt, but av no ral sns of wy ty str ik, vn at tos wo lov t, i n tis cas, unsn. ir pai n is fro tir l os s. In t Fary tr aditio w say t at ty av lo st t ptals o f t ros. d os of Fi v Ptals is t rsult o f Co pltio n o f t rf ol d Al lianc of Huan, Fary, and Liv ing Cratur. Ar Coplt ion wit t Fivfold d os, cos ransforation wit t Fiv fol d Wit os , an d tn t Tnfold os brings rgnc. Copltion, ransforation of tat wic was cop ltd , and mrgnc into a nw d World. o cowr i nto rHiddn fol d Al lianc, y outogtr; ust go t to t Cro ss roads tt Four Ways co Four Hi ddn Ways of t Worl d tat ak l ong trav ls sot and sot on s avy wit uniagi nd ti. At t Crossroads, at t plac wr all ordrs of lif t togt r, sk o ut your Fa ry al li s an d cop ani on craturs . You cannot copl t or invok t, any mor tan you can compl or invok uan copanio ns in t outr and surfacing worl d. If you bl isd idaof tat you go tintok t youCrossroads nd, you wit wil l an fail.sta Tos tat com andtgoallaris tos tat com and go . y ar tos tat ar ndf ul, armono us, and appropriat. At rst, a ost of may w il l com . B u out of tat troopi ng o st, so tw os or trs w ill draw cl os , all togt . Ad from t will co on spc ial ly strog for ac of t two ordrs of li f, Fary and cr atur. o on si d cos t Fary ally, itr o your rigt or l. o t otr sid cos t living cratur, b it of land, sa , or air. Sns, s, and f l t to your rigt and to your lft. B still and cal in tir compan y all tr of you strngtn and support on anotr at t Crossroads. Ar counio n wit t, yo u ay rt urn to you r outr world, stpping back f rom t Cr ossroads i pac. Do ti s ov r and ovr , until you ar at as wit it.
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THE WNG E CRON
r ar ma ny ways to c om dp r into t All ianc, and to nd t l ost pt als o f t d os Hr is on long taug t in t old tradition: Go to t Crossroads, and com i nto you r rfol d All ianc B stil l, brating stadi ly, and wait un til ty dra w clos to yo ur rigt and l Plac t bal ls of your t umbs ovr your ys, into t y sock ts so tat all i s dark dgs of your and s wil l touc along t midlin o f your no s and brow t your ngr fall and wrap at on your brow , tumbs t o your tmpl, and ngrtips t o your air li n o on sid , o pn t way for you r Fary ally, wo wil l mrg wit you socrmwat onittat sid opn w aywit for a siritual atur, b of sid land, On sa,t or otr ai r, wic wil l t mrg you so mwat on t at sid ow xtnd you ngrs and tum b straigt up and out , strt cing tm to mak a crown ngrs will radiat upwards and t tumbs out to t sid s is is t W ing d Crown ow you wil l fl yo ur companions co m cl osr in to mrg wit you, troug yo ur tumbs Your rigt sid is of t natur of on, your l isliofaway t natur of t Slowly on and, andotr opn tat y You wil l s as your compani on of tat sid ss Now sl owly li awa y t otr and, and opn tat y to s as companio n of tat sid s s us, on y ss wit t Fary sigt, and t otr ss wit t cratur sigt is ma y caus som sakin g or v tigo , at rst Ar som mo mnts, rtu t ands on by on to t W ingd Crown n rax Wingd Cro wn wit ngrs wra ppd on t skul l agan ow you tak down on and to s again wit your um an y, tn t otr and to s aga in wit your um an y Wn you ar practicd in tis art, do it wit ys opn wil walking about You will discovr tat t world is vry dirnt from t wa y you tou gt it was from t wa y you av bn falsly taugt
32 T W L WOR NG W NN ER CON AS N AERY EA N G
In ti s chapte r we wi l de scrib e the ste p y step bas ic stages of how we work with Faery Healing These apply no matter what may e your Aptitudes (ndg Apti tudes i s descried in Chapter 3). Th e ed se iv e P etas 1 . Go to the Crossroads, and open out your Threefold Alliance
(The Th reefold Al li ance i s descri bed in this chapter) Do this ef ore doing anythig els e t is the rst st ep in all Faery magic , and also the ast and most advanced, no matter how many other methods you learn 2 . oallto ies the, Crossroads wile at t heofCrossroads) , and tathat tune those Cousi ns, and(orCoWalkers the Faery realm wiltol work with you in te tasks of ealing 3 Attune to the healing forces shared and exchanged etween yourself and your allies Let these forces/energies/contacts ow through you, triggering your Aptitude 4 Work with your all e s and your Aptitude(s) in the healin g task 5. Cose y going to te Crossroads again ie thanks and ac nowledgement to those spiritual eings that have worked with you This vefol d pattern is the as c one for all F aery e ali ng, regard less o f the task or te Aptitu des There wi ll e times and tasks when you want to open out t other leve s These are descr ed next, and you will nd support material for them in various chapters in this ook, and also in Earth Lght and Power Wthn the Land the earlier comp aion volumes in tis series In the Myste ry o f the Dou le Ro se, each of these stage s relat es to one of the ve petals o the ed os e, whih wo rks through bl ood The spiri tual and tr ansformative f orces ca n, an d do, ow i nto the human ody, accordin g to ce rtan Aptitudes The Aptitudes are "in the lood, as are some of the all ies whic h are, in tra dition, said to e prese nt with certan loo dlines or famili es Th is type of healing is the one referred to in the tra ditins of the Sevent Chi ld or , i n fol k
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tale s, the se enth son of a seenth son ( ut it refers eual ly to mal e or female) . The Re d Rose healin g must ow thou gh the huma n ody efore it wor s throu gh other ehicl es . It ows in com ination f rom Faery all ie s, liing creatures , and A ncestors, into and though the human healer. Remem er that the Red Rose is nour ish ed y the Rier of Tears, shed y the Red Dragon. Liewise the White Rose, to which we wi ll proceed next, is nourished y the Rier of Bloo d which is shed y the Whit e Dragon . The White se ive etas
The ef relates to the Rose In thisl the , weDowor withnext forces thatold dopatte not ow through theWhite human ody. unti ule Rose is created. These are s ome of the deepe r forces of the Faery Realm and UnderW orl . 1 . Go to the Cross roads and op en the Wel l of Light (Chpt er 1)
2 Open th e way for one or more Go -B etweens (Chapte r 2 3 The Go-Betweens mediate the presence of a Mentor, or Great One ris es oforces ut of the o f Li ght. 4. A from unionthe is Faery createdt radition whereywho spiritual owWel a l from the Shining Ones deep in the Well of Light; to and though the Mentor; c to and through t he G o-B etween s; d) to and t ough the allies and cowalers; and then e) outward though the humans. These stages re late to the petals of the White Rose . 5. The connection is then returned, in reerse order, with thans and acnowledgements, worin g stage y stage ac to the Crossroads as f ol lows : humans, Thr eefol d A li ance, Go B etween s, Mentor, and Well of Light. We then close our awaeness o the Crossroads and the Four idden Wa ys . The White Rose ealing does not o w direct ly thr ough the hum an ody, ut t hough he Red Rose eal ing . The deeper f orce s hae to e me diated and tr ansformed efore they ow out into the ouer or
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surfac worl d Thr is a lso a spcic a of diating Whit Ros haling throug innr vision, whrby thr is no touch or othr Aptitud at work physca lly Mthods of this so, unfounatly, ar widly trivial izd in Nw Ag hali ng, so w ust b vry cl ar indd that w do not con fus or co mpar th Whit Ros mtho ds and forc s with thos of populari zd di stanc hal ing H E YSTERY OF T -E O JL E O SE
eaching from Inner Contacts
Froor tim It oav timfound in myitbooks, li shd ov r th last 8that yars and hlpfulpub to includ som matrial coms dirctly from t innr contacts. I must say, imdiatly that th innr contacts do not uot or dictat txt, and thr is no vrbatim transcription Most of th tim, I sns nput from y innr conacts and I translat this out in worabl txt for th contmporary radr Thy do not offr it as txt, but in a comp lt ly di ffrnt way that I wil l ds crib shortly So whn yo ar ra di Inghav a taching communication from innr c ontacts, as tos uotdorovr t yars in various books you arsuch gtting a vrsion t hat is mor dirc t, l ss dit d, and has a di stinct voic tat is not m y own How does i t work?
sual ly, I attun to th sub jct att r and rciv i nnr intimations abou t it. To do t hi s I hav to b stil l and cal m, and " fl my way nto th subjct. So mtims, ths inti mation s com vr strongl of thir o wn vol ition , as was t cas wit h th Mystry of th Do ubl Ros Th comun ication cos without words but in srams of conc pts that ar at th vry dg of vrbal dnition sually th r ar no imags, but a f ormlss di rct transissi on This wi ll co out, hrough th human ind, as vry concntratd multi-lvl
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phras es and senten ce s he ton e i s oen arch aic, but no t i n alse ancient English It i s archaic because al l inner cont acts draw some of the communicative power from the collective of ancestral consc iousness hi s pool is used as a reserv oi r of energy for the streams of communication So when specic material is put into words, the language is o ften multi -lev el in meaning, and see ms to be of an old er strat um than, say, mode rn day street Eng li sh or that of a tele vis ion pr esenter But there ar e no mysterio us words or f ake antiuarianis ms, as this is liv ing l anguage , not a romantic mood or reproduction Oen, a set of related concepts will come all at once, like a compl ex interwoven kno t of several di stinct stra nds It is my tas k to ope n thi s out so tha t the reader can read w hat is woven there More dicult to describe is something else that happens I sense and feel the actual energies and processes that are being described Not, undoubtedly, in full, but as a touch or preview mode of consciousne ss receive resonances or access poi nts that lead int o the deeper consci ousn ess and the spiri tual forces f go ack over the material, can recover those sutle feelings to access the experiences themselves his is the same method that we use in teaching workshops: students remember by the eeling the subtle tone touchitellectual of the i ner conthis act or energy, andby not merely byely a set oand detailed notes recapiulation eeling, clos akin to our sense of touch, i s what the early poets cal led reverie, a mode of cons ciou sness in which the imagination is enthused wit h a shared awarene ss o much that is osi de the indi vid al psyche o other mode s of bei ng, and of other bein gs ere, therefore, is some direc t teaching concernin g the Myster y of the Do uble Rose er e we will share with you the Myste ry o the Do ubl e Rose, the Red an d White, the w o Ri vers, th e wo Dragon s his is a mutable Myste ry, not rgid, not syst ematc t i s ui d and c hangea l e, ut always w ith in the two-f ol d patte rn o f the Dou ble Ro se, e ach rose having ve petal s When the rose s are separate, they embo dy the human world and the Faery or spir it world in separation When they are united, bringing the two
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worlds together in peace and harmony, they may unite in two dierent ways . wo Unons of the ouble Rose
The rst unon i s to intertw ine in a helix. This mi ngling o f the rose trees i nvol ves many ower s, i ntertwined as red and wh ite alterna tiv ely o r in pat erns when they blo om. Thi s is the form of interaction tough t he generat ions, in time, in nature. W e woud say tha t the Rose s twine together accor ding to the M oon, and Under the Sun, for they reach from Earth upwards owards Moon, to Sun, in their twining . The second union is the merging of Red and White as one ower,one creating a Rentity ose ofTen Petals This Tenfo Rosey grows within l iv ing , unbound by .time in the dstarr world . We would say tha this rose grows neither by the igh of the Sun nor ofthe Moon, but by Earth Light and Star Light only The Tenfold Rose is created by the fusion of the Threefold A i ance in he Red Rose and the Shining On es, Mentor s, and GoBetweens in the Wh ite Rose . In each case, Thr ee becom es Five in the pe tas, an d the two Fives become Ten in the Doube Rose, then becomes The which Five Petals of the RedOne. Rose, in and about the human, are thus 1 the Indiv idual Human (yoursel
2. the Fem inine (of yourself and ancestors ) 3 the Mascui ne (of yoursef and ancestors) 4. the Faery ai es, cousins an d co-waer s 5 the comp anion ivng crea tures Most humans have scattered their Rose petals, and are not connected to more than the rst peta, sometimes also to the second by gender, more rarey to the rst, second, and third, regardes s of gender. The F irst Ta s of the My stery i s to gather the petals that are scattered and discover how they may be unied into a w ho e Red Rose . The Fve Petals o f the White
T M D R
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Ros, in and about th UndrWorld, ar as follows th Go-Btwn(s) (transhuman in th UndrWorld)
2 th Mntor(s) or Grat Ons 3 th Shi ning Ons in th W l l of Li ght that wa upward s S hining i n Li thght, Wlthl ofOn Light that th wa 54. th So urc ofOns Earth Within Ea dow rth nward Th Whit Rir nourishs th Rd Ros, and riss from th UndrWorld to th Ovrworld, thn dscnds again carrying with it th sorrows of th surfac world; hnc it is calld th Rvr of Tars . Th Rd Rir nourishs th Whit Ros, and dscnds from th Orworld to th UndrWorld, passing through th blood of l liingthcra turs, r-ascnding a gain of to th Hnc it isalcald Rir of Blood. Th Mystry th Stars. Rir of Blood is discovrd through your ability to ha its Ascnsi on ow i ntntionally upward through your own blo od (whras it naturally ows downward thrin during t s dscnt) . You may nabl this Ascnsion through th Mystry of th Doub l Ros , for in th Whit Ros communion , th Rivr of Blood, th Rd Rir, will ascnd through th Whit Ros ptals andfrom bloodth. Whi Dragon, whil th Th and Riv int r ofo your Bloodbody ows Rir of Tars ows from th Rd Dragon. Th Whit Dragon is in th Stars, whras th Rd Dragon is in th Earth. Th twining of th two dragons in th hart of th world occurs whr th Whit D ragon ariss from th stars o r star drams withi n th world , and thn commu ns and tw ins with th Rd Dragon. his concluds our sction on th Myst ry of th Doubl Ros. Wth us s the Grace of the Shnng Ones in the Mystery of Earth Lght. Peace to a Sgns and Shadows, Radant Lght to a Ways of Darkness, and the Lvng One o Lght, Secet Unknown, Foreve
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7
Recmmee Wk P gam f Self a g
Be fore you rea d this recomended program , p lease do not think of "se lf-trainin g as so me kin d of strenuous, lonel y eort You wil l e working h Faery contacts, cou a nd iends wi ll e to work ing with wit spi ritua c ompanion creatsins, ures You wil l You e attuning the many peop le that hae done, and daily work wit h, Faery ea ing in our classes, workshops, and retreats. You will e attuning to the ast an d mighti ly supportie cons ciou snes s of the Ancesto rs And you will e attuning to those Go-Betweens and entors of our traditi on who i nspired me to write this oo k in the rst place . This program is only a recommendation you do not hae to fol lo w You can in f ollo your in you spirations i ntuitio ns to work with theit.material this woo k. If do thaand t rst, you might l ater enet y coming ack the recommended work program. Some people prefer, and enet from, a step-y-step method, and then y ing with their in spiratio ns othes pref er the insp iration then th e ackup leaing . E ither way wil l work and y ou wil l, with time and practice, of course , hae ee n do ing oth An impo rtant note rememer to r es t. Days off are good . agic al pract ices enet from d ays o ff. 1 Read How to Ue Th Book,wich is found ae the ntroduc
ton and fol low the asic guide li nes the rein
2. Li sten to the CD a ll the w ay toug.
46 W
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3 Read te ook all te way troug, l ike a nove . 4 Be gin te folow ing stud y and experiential progra m. Te program as nin e di stinct pases an d, i n te folowing exampe , tey are alanced ov er a nin e mont perio d, fo lowin g lunar monts rater tan caendar. It is a period of as gestation, development, nourisment, and assimiation, as we one of learning and experience. Te nine units could e undertaken in nine weeks, if you prefer, provi ding you keep to te nine -fold rytm. ou mi gt prefer to start wit nine weeks, and ten go deeper wit te nine mont cy cle as a ater pase o f your tr aining wit Faery Healing . rlmnar ranng Read Capter , Essntal ntons and
work wit te exerc ises terein as tey com e up, se ction y sect ion . Tey are a t te of eac essay tey , so try tem, a ndusually learn tem, i nend te order in wic apptem, ear. work Even wit i f you ave done Faey and UnderWord work efore, I would strongly encourage you to do tes e simp le workin gs in order , as tey set te scen e or every ting e se tat w i fol low. Aer tis ini tia stage, you will go i nto a montly cy cle o f work. D o not rus tere is p enty of time to do tis work. If you co ose to f oll ow tis program , you wi ll ave competed te entire tra ining cy cle in l es s tat one year. Month 1 Workin g wit te CD , go to te Cros sroads . Do tis form
or empowered vi sion every day at t e same tim e for at least t e rst week of te rst mont. Ide ally, it so ud e done for te full mont, troug t e pases of te moon, from fu l to ful l. If you cannot do it every day (aer te rst week of essential daily practice), do it every tree days, but do not neglect it. Everyting comes from, egins wit, and ends wit te Crossro ads. Tis is te main focus of you rst mont. ou may add oter forms to yo ur own wo rk cycl e aer one week of d oing te Cros s roads form, an d you may want to add i n tose simp le forms ta t you tried during your study of Capter . Re member to r est.
Month 2 Read Capters 2 and 3, h Fary Racs and h Svn Apttuds Work wit te forms and training exercises in eac
capter and, usin g te CD, go de epy into te form for ndin g your
ECOMMENDED WOK PROGAM OR E NNG
47
Aptitudes. Stay in this cyce for your second month. Be sure to do some of the work outdoor s once you are more f ami lia r with t. Do not take a Wakman or simi ar item to use the CD outdoors ! Do as much as possibe from memory, as this wi greaty enance the resu ts, the sub te forces , and the communion with Faery contacts. Do not forget to rest. Month 3 Read Chapter 4, eeper into he Aptiudes Do the exercises and forms theren. Remember to go to the Crossroads oen. Use this month to repeat, conrm, and soidi everything that you have done so far. Do not go into the ater pats of the book at this stage, for it is about conso idation . Remember to rest. Monh 4 Read Chapt ers 5 and 6, Oerinsand orms and Vsions
Wianother) e yo aredo reading thesework chapter s (whi very d ierent one no inner at a, takecha are compete brea. from Chapter 5 wi give yo food for thought, and Chapter 6 is fu of detai ed workin gs, forms, and visi ons. Just absorb a nd receive . Month 4 (continu ed) Chapter 6, worki ng with th e CD, and the text of The Well of Roses spend the rest of the month on this ini tator y
vision and inner commnion. To suppement this, yo can work with a recording of Tam Lin from my CD Ballad Maic and you wi nd a text for Tam Lin in App endix One . Meditat e upon the connections between the We l of Roses, the Thr ee eads tha t ris e out of the W e , and the ba ed of Tam Lin Month 5 Chapter 6, working with the CD, and the tet of The ahorn Road spend the mont h o n communion with the 0Between. You c an supp ement this wi th materia from The Livin World of aery that inc ue s 8th Century escript ions of the wise
woman that is in our empo wered vi sion . In Appendix 2 you wi n d a magica song aout the aw tho Roa, and th is s recorded on More Maical Sons
During your work with the awthorn Road, incude some workings at the Crossroads, and with your Aptitudes. They wi egin t o change and deepen at th is stage. Remem er to rest Watch ess or no teevision.
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Month 6: In tis pi votal s it mont, we come into te deeper and
transcendent Mysteries assoc iated wi Eart Heal ing . D evote t e main work o f mont 6 to he Oak Mster from Capter 6 and try to work wit ti s once pe r day. Keep a dream journal in addi tio n to any meditational notes, but do not get bogged down in noe taking. If notetaking st arts to dominate, ritually bu all you r notes (pysically) wile at te Crossroads (magically): you will be surpris ed at o w empowering t i s simple ritual wil l be ! In ad dition, stay wit te Crossroads and te Aptitudes . Tey wil l cang e again, espec ial ly te Aptitudes, ae you ave entere d te Oak My stery. onth 7 apter 6 he Sacre ountain is a form tat i nteg rates
te uman, aery , and li vin g creature cons ciousne ss at a very deep level. Work wit tis steadily troug te mont, stage by stage, until yo u can enter into all tree stag es from memory . During ti s mont, focus only on te Sacred Mountain. Take several days off any time you wis , but be sure to do tis f or at least seve n times duing te mont. Month 8 Capter 6 Bridge Building is a form tat is best don e by
a group of peo ple , but you c an work wit it alo ng wit your Al li es , Co mpanion s, and Co -Walkers . By n ow, you are wel l on te way to aving contacts. tis Bridg e an Buiestablised ldi ng formWoking cautious Team ly, andof doinner not overdo it Use tree tim es in te mont wil l be enoug. During t i s pase, go ba ck over t e initial tra ining eercse s from C apter , Eential enitions Month 9 Capter 7, he Myter of the ouble Roe. Read and
study te capter, and practice te inner forms. Tis is te most powerful pase of te training course All you earlier work leads up to tis , and prepares you for i t.
Cy g a a g e Nce Please Read Careful
Due o auses of copyrig aer e pulicaion of soe of y earlier oos, I mus ae e legal siuaion clear o all readers and anyone wo wises o wor wi i s oo and CD i le I a uncofoal e a aing o l ay ou e rules i n is anner, I do so ecause of e di sones and unscrupulou s acions of a ery small nuer o f peo ple , wo a e al l een sopped y leg al acio n. enera Use
You ay use is aerial freely for priae and personal use only, or wiin olunary group eeings of friends gaering o wor is oney, aerialoYou no use i, or o anyepa of i,oro cargewi o raise eacay classes, o clai a ealer pracice ealing, nor ay you include any of i in any courses or puli caions, in any edi a nown now or in e fuure Anyone doing so will e suj ec o lega l acion. Teacin g
Tere ae a small num of c ined me o eac aerial wi perissio n f ae no rained you, yo u canno use is aerial for eacing purposes You canno e rained y anyon e else o eac is ma eria l, nor can you r ecei e peris sion o anyone els e, as I a e so le copyr ig older Tere ar e no excepions o is, and aendance a a worsop aug y me, or
50 T W L by one of my approved teachers, doe s not qua ify anyone to teach this mat eria . eain g
It is ab soute y forbi dde n to use materia f rom ths boo k and CD to cla im advertise, or pactic e hea ing for payment, even if you are a qua ie d heaer or therapist wi th a icense d practice . Faery ealin g is no t a way of earning a i ving it i s a Way o f Li fe. Be warned ! Q g a s g e
A the materia n this book and on the accompanyin g CD i s stricty copyright re g stered in t he US , and protected w orldwid e by inter natona copy rght aws. You may quote extracts as mp ied by fair in copyr ight brie aw ,fand a quote must beorackowedge d or theyusage are i eg a . Many quotes in onesprinted pub ised item are an infringeme nt of copyright, and wi resut n ega action . Other than acceptabe brief quotes, materia fom this book o CD may not be reproduced in any way in any medium exsting now or n the futue and per missi on is not given for i t to appear in any form on the Internet. equesin g Permissis
Permission must be sought in writing for any use, and copyright nfrngement is tak en serio us y and w i always be pursued b y ega action. Emai i s an acceptabe f orm for request ing permiss ion, bu t meey sending an ema equest (or a ette r) does not automaticay give permission. Ony a repy om me wi dene permission or refusa of permission. You can mai requests to PO Box 528, Laure, MD 20726, o you can contact me dect by emaiing with any requ ests to qu ote fom this boo k or review or education a purpos es, or with any other equests regardng the materia in the book or on the CD o onest and reasonabe request, within the rues o copyright aw, w i be turne d down R.J. Stewart 200
Aex Oe: e Iay Balla
There are two primary initiatory balads for the Scottish Faery tradition Tam Ln and Thomas Rhyme They conect in many ways to the European Faery tradition and to the UnderWorld tradition in general, forming a small part of a body of magical ballads that contain motifs and imagery from a pagan or pre Cistian era S uch magical b alads were own a ll over Britain in the l anguag e o r dial ect of the ordina ry peop e , and wer e carried to America by em igrants, b ondservan ts, and slaves A stong tradition of balad singing survived in the commuities of the southern Appalachian Mountains To the best of my owledge, neither of the two Faery initiatory ballads survived in Appalachian or American f ol k tradition, and a l versio ns foud in the Uni ted States today are recreations by enthusiasts, and do not come direct from American oral tra dition This is not sur prisin g, as they are hghly specialized ballads with local traditions attached There are, however, many other magical ballads that survived in Ameican tradition, some lon aer the had died out of use in Britain and Ireland Thomas Rhymer In Scotland, ballads as Tm many more) were sungsuch in a dialect th atLn is and sometimes called all (and ans or lowan d Scottish English, not i n Gaelic Scottish Engl ish app eared in the lowlands of Scotland at s ome ti me in the ear ly mi ddle age s, and was highly de veloped and use d by many super b medieval poets,
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suc as te master William Dunbar Yet te ballas are from ora folk traition, an are not te prouct of known writers; they are in a very simple irect vernacular poetry, suc as is foun in folk tration in te various languages of Europe Many of te vernacular magical baas kown in Englis are also foun in severa oter languages an countries, so it seems ikey tat tey were circu late by t rave ing s ingers an sto rytel lers at an early ate Traitional magica balla s conta in mytic temes invov ing eat, resurr ectio n, sape canging, an oen ave a mysterious f ema e gure tat acts as te utimate arbiter or power in te story. By working wit te iconograpic meto (popularize by Robert Graves), we can expore te images in eac verse an iscover ow tey reate to mytic temes, no matter ow te song itself rationalizes te action Te magical bal as of Scotlan , Irean, an ritain, of wic tere are many an in a ll i aec ts, o n ot preserve a Gaeli c traition Yet tey contain ancient mytic an magical temes, an very speci c i nit iatory magic al imagery At a eeper eve , tey contain te secrets o f ini tiation into te Faer y traiti on, or te mysteries of te Goess. Many ba llas ar e generay magica l, an o n ot cont ain eta il e Tamony in nee initiatory content. an Thoma are extreely etail e . You tese tw oRhyme ba as toowever, encompass te enire Faery an UnerW or traition if you know ow t o work wit te Tere is no oubt in my min tat tese two baas were use as teching an training evices for te Faery trait ion ; but ter e is no istorica proof of tis tory Eac ball a works in a i rent way, an a sort comparis on is en igten ing •
Tam in features te Fer y Queen as a rk an frgteni ng power,
we •
Thoma Rhyme feaures er as a i gt n bene cent power
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Tam in is about te utimate rump of umn love over te
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powers of te oter worl Thoma Rhyme is about te triump of unerstaning of te UnerWorl ysteries
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Tam in embodies sexua and bood mysteries of birth, trans
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formatio n, and reb irth Thomas Rhymer embodies the deeper myste ries beyond sexuaity and the cy ce of death and r eb irth
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Tamnatur, in describes human and featuringthethesensuous rose, thcommunion we, fertiitybetween magic, and the Cross roads in th surface word as a pace o f ritua Thomas Rhymer describes the spiritua communion between human and Faery featuring the Rivers of Bood and Tears, the Tree of Life, and the Cr ossroads i the nderW ord as a p ace of choic e, dedication, and se rvice
Together, these two baads offer a reativey compete initiation into the magic a consciou sness of the Faery rea m and nderW orld One opens us out to the sexua ad sensuous aspects of Faery magic re ating to f erti ity, death, an d rebi rth; whi e the other opens us out to the nderWord aspects of transpersona understa ndin g and proph ecy Wh ie Tam in tak s of human o ve, Thomas Rhymer taks o f service We need to experiece th e subtle forces of both, for they mutuay empower one another It woud be temptig to rationaize them, and say that Tam in is phase one and Thomas Rhymer phase two, but this is mere reductionism Each baad is, uti matey, about ransformaive poer no t about aicia y graded stages of soca ed progress My experience, workin g with these b a ads for most of my i fe, is that we need the spiritua forces raised by both, and that they are active invocaions of power more than they are sources of teaching th rough exposi io, drama, and imagery The teachig is there, of course, and have expored it in depth in books such The nder World Iniiaion and in many workshops and casses But the sp ritua l an d magica powe r ows when ever the ba ads are sung, e ven i fthe singer or the l isteners hav e no unders anding of the teachings You can hear a number of magica baads, incuding Tam in and Thomas Rhymer on my CD Ballad Magic These are sung as invocation s, without instruments, and ar e recorded ive with a gro up
4 T W L of listeers. Te psycic ad spiritual forces are very diere i suc a recordig to tose of a studo piece witout listeers were istrum ets are dued a d eve sig le otes redig itized ad edited. suc a cotext tere caot e magical iocatio. s ay "l isteers ut i te sari g of a liv e magical alad tey are really paricipats i a ritual ivocatio rater ta a passive audiece. Here are te texts of ot allads wit te dialect simplied somewa t for te moder reade r. Te se are te versio s tat si g Tere are may oters wit te same as ic pl ot ut varia tio s i te verses. Tere is o complete or autoritative text as te ballads were preserved i memory ad oral taditio. Tey were oly writt e do w y sco lars i re cet time s so te dea of a "complete or "full ut versio is ot oly i storical osese it tot as allysometimes misses teproposed sutle tr ut of magical allads i a diffuse protea oral traditio. Tey survived ecause tey were icomplete ad uoticed because tey lived i te magical awareess of ordiary people. We owe muc to tose acesto rs wo kept s uc sogs ad st ories aliv e.
M IN
he Kinforbad his maidens a that ore old in their hai tae come or o b Carterhah for the on am Lin is thee And those that o b Caterha h from them he tak a fee eithe the i ins o the i mantels o else thei maid enh ee So Jane t has kilted he ee n mante l jst a little above her knee and she has ane ae Catehah jst as fast as she dee
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And when she ome ae Carha ugh Tam Lin was a he well ha is his horse was here bu awa ' was himsel ' She ahadnae puhree 'ed a or double rose bu air rose when up and spoke he young Tam Lin ried Lady pu ' nae mair! How dare ye p ' hose o 'ors how dare ye break hose wands how dare ye am ae Carerhaugh wihouen my ommand? She says Carerhaugh i is my ain my daddy gave i 'me and will am and gae by here wihouen any lea ve ohee ! There were our and wen ladies gay all siing doon a hess and in an ' am he airy young Jane as green as any glass p an ' spake her aiher dear he spake up meek an ' mild Oh alas Jane he rie d ear you go wih hild And go wih hild indeed i is myse ae blame here s no a laird in a ' your hall! Sal give my hild his name ! A nd Jane has kiled her green manle us a lile abo ve her knee and sh e has gain ae Carerhaugh or ae pu ' he sahing ree.
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"How dare ye pu those o ors all amang the leaves sae green an ye wud ki ll that bon nie babe that we gat us be een She ah says Ye must tell me tae me am Lin ye "must tell tae were ye e er a ortal kn ight or m ortal hall di d see ? "I was onc a mortal knight I cam riding here one day and Iell am a my horse the Faery queen stole m e awa "omorrow night is Hallowe en and the Faery olk do ride those that wud their true love win at Miles Cross they must hide "First ye let pass the black horse then ye let pass the broun run ap tae the m ilk white steed and pu th e rider doon " I am a Lin on an milk white stee d i a gold star in my croon because I was a mortal knight they give me such renknown "First they ll change me in your airms intae some snake or adder hold me close and ar me not or I m yair child s adder "Next they ll change me in your airms intae a lion wild hold me cloe and fear me not just as yu ld hold your child
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Then they 'll change me in your airms into a b urning gleed throw me into we ll water and through me in with spee d Last 'll change meknight in your airms intothey a mothe rnaked wrap me up in your green mantel and hide me close om sight So wee I she did what he did say she did her tru ' love w in and wrapt him up in her manter as blithe any bird in Spring p and spake the Faery Queen om o t a b ush ' broom h alas my sisters a ' oung Tam Lin has escaped his doom p and spake the Faery Queen and angry cried she had known of this Tam Lin that some lady 'd borrowed thee had known of this Tam Lin that som e lady 'd borrowe d thee 'd plucked ou t thine eyes ofesh nd put in eyes of a tree had known of this Tam Lin before we cam ae home 'd plucked out thin heart ofash and put in a heart ofstone
I soe ersios, Ta i is descried as a otetial a sacri ce to te "o wers of el l As this sees to e ro agad a, I do ot s ig these er ses , ee tog I rese ct ad derstad that this ropaga di st eleet ha s he led the a llad to srie togh
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centur ies of Cristianit. M underst anding is tat te deeper more idden i mpl ication i s tat am Li n ad becom e t e lover of te Faer Qu een and was slowl lo sin g i s umanit . i s is a teacing tha t is found in man forms in Faer tradition about the carm and power of Faer lovers and losing one's umanit. In homas Rhymer owever the man attempts to worsip te Faer Queen as te ueen of Heaven and s e educates im wit te vi si on s of t e UnderW orld. I ad been singing tis ballad for man ears and ad alwas tougt of te ast few verses as retrospective dark curses from te Faer ueen angr wit am Lin being rescued from the Faer realm b a uman lover. But during an intense Faery work sop someo ne poi nted out t o me tat te curses mean so meting different. e impl tat l if e am Lin have ad be remained uman awareness gradual would a bl e tolosing see a sis a tree sees becoming abso rbed into t ree-consciousnes s losin g is uma n perception and not susceptible to te carms of uman glamour. ext e woud ave gone deep e and woud ave been able to f eel as a stone feel s o ver vast period s of ti me and panetar i fe and not be dominated b epemeral uman emotion. is is a very interesting wa of interpre ting the curses tat close te ba llad wic Idoes ti nit as a lot toteoffer in medi tatio andFaer innerueen contempl n. o r preclude maedictions of nte whoatio sas wat se would ave done ad she known TOA E
Wereas am L in i s a cara cter of folk ore and tra dit ion omas mer is an istorica person. is is in itsel f ig sig ni cant for om as was a Scottis poet i ving in t e Lo wands i n the 3t Centr. Yet is name and stor passed deep into Scottis tradition and f olkl ore so much s o tat e is found in Gaeic Faery ore and in traditional storie s and p ractice s centuries aer is death. So what is it about omas that caused is name to be so wide associated wit the Far tradition in Scotland? In short e is a
T I B 59 Go- Between : a transhuman liing in the Faery rea lm This is how the Scots hae understood him for centuries, though the mode terminol ogy is my own If a farmer had t rouble with a herd or pi ece of sour l and, he would seek a dream of Thomas ymer t o help mediat e with the Faeries of the land, drawing upon the tradition that the Faeries could heal and change i f the right person so lic ited them i n the right w ay If a poet sought insp iration, he woul d think of Thomas as his model , tapping into the enduring tradition of poetry and musi c shared etween huma ns and Faeries More s ign icantly for us today, i f a Faery seer, seeres s, or heal er sought to trael deeply into the Faery realm and Underorld, i was Thomas tha was oen sought as a guide for he is the class ic Go Between, Guide, rophet, and o et of the Faery tradition Thoma Rhymer must date from some Theaer erna of as time thecular 3thallad C entury, the stor y i s associ ated with Thom as Earlston wh o l ied in the E ild on di strict a t that time He was aut hor of seeral long poems that hae suried, and there is a literary ersion of same story told in the allad, ut as a long erse narratie Thom as may not e t he auth or of this ersion, u t it is oen associated with him as it tel ls h is story It i s more l ikely that a med iea Scottish poet took a powerful tale already in ci rculation
and made a l aiterary o f itprophecies some time associated aer Thomwith as death There is also set ofersion ernacular Thomas, and editions earing his name were printed as popular almanacs as late as the 9th Century The fol allad, howeer, was circulated and presered among he ordinary country people, and it is to this source that we should attriu te some o f the folklo ric b elie fs, in additio n to storie s and practices associated with Thomas as a Go-between, an intermediary f or hum ans in the Faery rea lm, an d a wil lin g spoke s man for any who se ek out Faery co ntact. hereas Tam in died out as a traditional ballad, at least until the popular folk reial of the 960s, aer which it had many resurr ectio ns (though not a s a true traditional song ), there is some eidence that country peopl e contiued to sing ersions o f Thoma Rhymer espe cia lly Scottish gypsie s As a road rule, it seems t hat
60 T W L gypsies in riain and reland preserved old traditions of music and song aer ey were all u exinct among te rest of te population. homas Rhymer is t e mos detailed initiat ory allad tat we ave ar none. t tel ls te story of a istorica l poet as soci ated wit te Faery tradition and of ow e wen pysica lly, into te ollo w il ls wit the Queen of Eland. Tere e was sown te visions and powers of e Unde rWorl d: te Rive rs of Tears and lood e Tre e of Life, and te Cros sroads eneat. Tese comp onents ome from a speci c Mystery , wic brings propecy, poetr y, and commun ion witin te Faery realm. ence te long folkloric association of Tomas and t e Faeries in Scottis tr adition. Thmas hymer
rue homas lay on grassy bank and he beheld a lady gay a lady that was brsk and bold to come rdng 0 er the ferny brae Her srt was of the grassgreen slk her mantle of the velvet ne and on every lock of her horse s mane hung sller bells and nne rue homas he took of hs hat and bowed hm low down to hs k nee "ll ha l tho u Vrgn Queen of Heaven for thy lk e on Earth I ne er dd see "h no, oh no, true hmas she red "that name does not b elong to me, for I am the queen of fare Eand that s come for tae vst here w th the e And homas ye mau n gae w me rue homas ye m aun gae me An you maun serve me s even long years
T NI A BAAS thro weal or woe as ma y chance to be . She s mo unted on the m ilk white steed and took true Thomas up ahind and aye whene er the b ride l rang the steed ew faster than the win For for days andfor nights they wad thro red blude to the knee and they saw ne ither su n nor m oon but heard the roaring of the sea. For for days andfor nights they wade thro red blude to the knee for al l the blood that s she d here above lights down thro the seams of that countrie. The saw neither sun nor mo on but heard the roaring of the sea for all the tears that s shed here above light down th the streams of that countrie. They rade on andfurther on til they came unto a tree: "Oh light ye doon ye lady faire and ll pull 0 that uit for thee . "Oh no, oh no, tru e Thomas she said "thatui t may n ot be pu d by thee for all the plagues of the world above light down on the uit ofthis countrie "But have bread here in my lap likewise a bottle of red wine and ere that we go further on ye sal r, ad al di. When h e d eate n and dranken his ll she said "lay your h ead doon on my knee, and ere we climb yon high high hill ll show ye wonde rs thr ee
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See ye not that narrow narrow way bes et w ith thorns and bria rs? That is the path o righteousness Tho aer it ew inquirs See that ye not thataboot broadthe boad winds lillyway lev n? That is the path o ank wickedness tho so me teach you it is the road tae he en And see ye not the bonny bonny way that winds aboot the erny brae ? Oh that is the path tae air Eand where ye and I maun gae True Thomas ye must hold your tongue whate er ye chance tae hear or see and ye will serv e me seven long yeer thro ' weel or woe as may chance tae be And he has gotten a coat o woven cloth likewis e the shoes o velvet green Until s ev en years were pas t an d gone True Thomas ne er on earth was seen.
Note: when I explored the inner meaning of this ballad in The Under World Initiation some years ago, I understood the Crossroads to be that of three choic es : righteous ness, wicked ness, and Faery. The fourth road, of course, is the one down which Thomas and the Qu een of El and hae tr aeled from the human realm aboe. That interpretation still holds good, but there are some further connections to the Threefold Alliance that may b e added hee. The narrow oad of righteousness, beset with thorns and briars, is the way of righteousness for humanity It is also the path of the iing Creatures, who (in medieal conception) are without Orig ial Sin The creat ures as in many f olk tales , can pass unsc athed
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though th rars, whl th humans m ay not unt l thy hav pas sd som tsts o f ntn ton (rght ousnss) . Th road of wcknss, wndng plasantly among th lls, s th road of snsuous d stracton wth an addd satr aganst Chstanty . Th s s th roa d of ancstral m staks, th lur of tmporal walth and powr , agan wth a typc al md val ton a llu dng to th walth of th Church. So ths s th human road n th ndrW orld, whr n th pow r may sought for th wrong rasons. An th Fary road wnds around th frny ra, or sl op , lad ng to th nn r palacs o f th Fary ra lm . So th th roads rlat t o I nnocncghtousnss Craturs, WckdnssIllusonHumanty, and Balancatur Fary. WORKI NG IH H E BALL AS
Thr s much mor to oth of ths allads, of cours, and thy wll gv a lftm of Fary nsghts f you choos to wor wth thm. mmr that t s th powr that s mporta nt, mor so than a txtual ntrprtaton. I would ncourag you to la on of th tradtonal ml od s, and s ng ths allads w hl communng n th Allanc. Th th powr con Thfold sdraly, and t d os notsngng hav oaloud annhancs art stc prf ormanc. As you sn g, ul d th mags of ach vrs st rongly n your nnr vson. You wll fl th powr com through, and you wll fl lvls that ar not accssl n words. If you fl unsur aout sng ng , work wth th rcordng s o f mpow rd s ngng that hav ad, or any othr rcordng tha t appa ls to yo u
Appedx Two: Iaory Sog
The songs tha t follo w are all o rig inal magic al songs, comin g from Inner Contact ver a number of ears I have recorded them on various album s, and some ar e connected to storie s in m an tholog Magical ales; hough in all such connectons, the songs came rst and the stories nf olded ot the songs Each of these songs ha s a vi si on and some ritual or ce remonial act connected to it, which is brie described The are intended for ou to sin g, rec ite , and share The can be foun d, alo ng with other magical songs, on More Magical Songs (Recordings and books can be fond a t cannot obta in the m from our localnote book Pl ease : ifstore) o u recor d these son gs or perf orm them, ou must foll ow the laws o f coprigh t in all cases Yo ma no t reco rd publish or distribute these songs without formal permission For pe iss ions , please contact me at and no reasonable reuest wil l be turned down
H E AK ONG
This song is associated with the Mster of the Priest Kng and Prieste sse s Quee ns, the ak T ree Mster
I S Chorus: And you knew the sa me as I You 'ld do as I have done And raise your le unto the s And root in the earth and stones When I was nothing, nothing was / All loked in the uit on the tree That raised me up to the summery s Then down on the ground to li e Through the years I rooted an d I grew A nd many men sought o ut my wa nder my branhes kings they slew In the moon and the su n marked days Ifall not neither do Ifail My seed is like the rain That satters far upon the ground And ourishes forth again
E A O RN OA
The awthorn Road is a very ne road From where ou stand to over the hill But the stones are hard and the way is long And you won t go far you just stand still, you won t go far you just stand still on the awthorn R oa The awthorn Road is dark and old It waits where the other roads ne ver r un There s no signposts or wayside inns A nd it s all starlit, witho ut Moon or Sun, all starlit withou t Moon or Sun on the awthorn Road
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66 T W OF IGT he Hathorn road ha n o miletone But each bea t ofyour heart a it pump your bloo Where I have been there you may go For the Hathorn Road urvive the ood the Hathorn Road urvi ve the ood on the Hawthorn Roa T E WE AERS ON G AN C EREMONY
The Weaver' s So ng is a Crossroads song to be sung, i deall, w hil e standing at the Cros sroads. It came to me srcinal as a vis ion of an ancestor dng at the center of the Di rections, in a stone ci rcle . i s death was a peaceful, beautif ul e vent. In the vis io n, I heard, but did not see, women siging a song that took the spirit out to the Crossroads, ad aso brought a spirit back into birth for the next turning o f the Whee Thei r song also held the secret of li beration from the tu rnig of the Wheel . It is all in this song an d, li ke some aspect s of the ballad o f am Lin ths is also a song about human love and love maki ng, so it works a t several l evels at onc e. After the song it self, ou wil l nd the ri tual that goes with the song . This is a Croitssroad ritual f or a group of peop do as a solo ceremon i f nece ssarle , though one person can als o The W eav er n g
No for you I eave ome eaving Liten to it ell No for you I it ome ining Liten to it pell: Once I a held in the eye of the night Once in the voice of the day Once in the arm of a child all alone And once in the mind of a tone In and in the ord are eaving hrough thee eye o blind
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hrough and through your own heart listening Be your soul e ntine Once I gained a se ed om the dawn Once the jewel om a nest, Once the light from a fair An d once a wordfrom the lady West mirro Now it is ending slow your breathing Now your joys are mine, hrough an d through you hold my weaving In your own design Gone are the places of whispering stones Open the gates of the star ways, Still are the voices that ech oed alone But Peace is a secret unk nown. The W ever Ce rem ny
This ceremony was rst pulished in the oo Paths to Peace a co ll ection of prayers, ceremon ies , and chants f rom many traditions (ed John Matthews, 992) Ithere hasfor een done many people over theider, years,London, and is offered your usey as a Crossroads ceremony f or Faey ea ling , Eath ealin g, and Pe ace This may e conducted y any numer of people, each eing all ocate d role s around the circle . People stand as f ol lows
East ouh West Noth The Opener of Gates Northeast and Center
Futher peo ple are alig ned according to each Direction i f necessary
68 W L he Dietions, the ile dane and the Z patten
A : crmony gins in sinc, ac of t Fou Dirc tio ns o ding a cand . A tu ti at tntion inw ads towads pac. 2 . Opnr P ac i s a scrt unnown. A Sti a t voics t at cod aon. Opn Opn t Gats of t Star-ways. (Li gts can d or am i cnt r) A Gon ar t pacs of wi spring st ons . 3. Opnr From on trad of i gt ar a word s and a words wovn and no sing part is s vd from t wo . Lt us summon t powr of (aks t Wavr among acco rdin g toand ttn pattrn of t mystry. tapr,r igts it fromus, cntra am passs it to East) 4. East (L igts Eastr n am wit tapr) I ca upon t powr of t East to awakn and att nd troug tis lssd Gat By t pow r of Air, By t t powr powr of of Li Dawn, By f. (Hands tapr to Sout, wo igts S outr n am) 5. Sout call upon t pow of t Sout to aris ad attnd troug tis ss d Gat: By t powr of Fir , By t pow of rigt ood ay, By t powr of Ligt. (Hands tapr to W st, w o igts W strn am) 6. Wst I ca upon t powr of t Wst to incras and attnd troug tis ss d Gat By t pow r of Wat, By t powr o Sunst,
I S 69 By the power of Lov (ands tapr to Nort, who lights Northe ame) 7. North : I cal l upon the power of the North to appea r and attend throug this l ess ed Gate: In te name of the pow er of Earth, By the power of the M irror o Stars, By te p ower of Law and L ie rty 8 . All : resona te M, AM or AMEN, accord ing to choice, a nd focu s attention upon the central light 9.
East: Now for you I weave some weavin g L isten to it well .
Now for you I twist some twini ng Listen to its s pel l : 1 0 Al l : Once I was held in th e eyes of the night, (Arms raised in the sign o Stars) Once i n the voic e o f the D ay, (Ars hel d out leve l in the s ign of the S un) Once(Arms i n thecros ar ms chi sig ld alon sedo ifna the n ofe,umanity ) And once in the mind of a stone. (Arms he ld downwards i n te s ign of the Eart h) . East: In and in the words are weaving Though these eyes so li nd Through and thr ough you h old my weaving In your own design (Pauses efore proce edi ng) 12 East: Once I gained a seed from the Dawn, So uth: Once te je wel from a nest, North: Once te l igt from a fair la dy' s mirror, West: Once a word from the West.
70 T W L . Wes: Now i is ening, S ow your brea ing, ow your oys are mine Troug and roug you o my weaving n your ow n design . 4. A : Gone are e paces of wispering so nes, Open e Gaes o f e Sar-ways, Si are e voices a ecoed aone, Peace i s a secre unknow n. 5 . Ope ner : Te Opener ca ns AMEN a can AM EN (or resonae HM Or AM). 6. Eas Begins: A circe dance begins, ed by Eas (if space permis). A excep e Opener move EasSou/Wesor, awakening o e energies of eac Quare r as ey pas s. 7. Opener: Te Opener aows e energies o buid as required, en srikes a gong or caps ise ands ree imes. Eas now canges e direci on o f e ance o pass Eas/Souor Wes ree ird Z movemen a reurn sunwise (cock wise) imes. o eirAer srcinal posiio ns. 8 A : A pause ere f or sien medi aion. 9. Opener: Te Open er ex inguise s e cen ra i g, using e Cross ing Fo rmua as f o ows : n e nam e o f e Sar F aer Te Earh Moer Te True aker Te Grea Giver One B eing of Li g. 20 . : A resonae M, AM or AMEN a nd depar in si ence.
I AOR OS
TH E ONE CHA N
Th s smp le chan anes s o Ance sral prese nce Oh he all sones sa nding here he green grass gros and he one plae of rossing here he aer os
(cho rs s l iled who words, afer each erse Raise up he spear and raise up he horn and blessed by he plae here our people ere born ll around he irle sound he v oies singing dane in he sun pah o se he irle ringing Oh he all sones sanding here he green grass gros nd hehe one plae of rossing here aer os
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