Yet Another Daily Practice Revision

For those of you who have followed my previous blog, you will know that I value deeply the importance of a strong, daily personal practice. It is not enough to simply do ritual or core practices when 'intuition' tells you to. If you want to become a master of the guitar, you play the guitar every day (whether you want to or not) so that eventually when you really want to play well, you can. Simple.

I am a big fan of constantly examining, refining and altering one's personal practice. It should never descend into habit or obligation. 

A couple of weeks ago I decided to experiment with using the Pentacles as portals to each of the core Feri practices. I still love this idea. However, stopping after each practice to do another Pentacle felt stilted and restricted a flow of energy. So, yet again, here is my daily practice:

1.  Star Goddess Prayer and Statement of Practice
2.  Prayer to the Twins
3.  Prayer to the Ancestors
4.  Prayer to the Guardians
5.  Prayer to the Lemniscate Gods
6.  Running of all Four Pentacles
7.  Kala
8.  Ha Prayer
9.  Sitting Practice
10.  Three Souls Affirmation
11.  Dedication of Merit
12.  Self-Love Rite
13.  Gratitude to the Allies

Once again, we'll see how this goes.

Prayer to the Divine Twins

"As two lips come together to form a kiss, and two hands together send a prayer, I call to the Divine Twins, the blue bird and the winding snake, who together form the radiant Peacock, Melek Ta'us. Brothers, lovers, each reflected in another’s eyes, listen to my prayer. Teach me to know both the earthly and celestial realms. As two candle flames can burn as one, help me to recognise and hold within myself both polarity and resonance. Divine Twins, the Marassa, the Ibeyi, by all your names, help me to know myself in all my parts. Thank you and blessed be."

Voices of the Past, Voices of the Future

Prayer to the Ancestors Before Divination

"The power of the Ancestors, the blood of the Ancestors and the Protection of the Ancestors are with me this day. All those who have gone before me, the Beloved and Mighty dead, hear my prayer. Guide my hand and guide my voice as I pierce the veil of the unknown. Bring to me that which I seek, oh Ancestors, and reveal to me that which I need to know. Blessed be the Ancestors, blessed be the Ancestors, blessed be the Ancestors."

Prayer to the Descendants*

"Descendants, hear me. I call to you through the mists of time, all those that are yet unborn, hear my voice as it pierces the veil. I call to the Descendants of a thousand generations, may the work done here be in your honour. May the work done here serve your lives. May the work done here bring joy to the earth and all peoples. Descendants, as we do our Work this day, bring us your blessings, teach us what you need. Fill us with your presence and give us the capacity to bless you for a thousand generations and beyond. Give us cause for you to honour us in the future. Blessed be the Descendants, blessed be the Descendants, blessed be the Descendants." 

Short Invocation to the Ancestors and the Descendents 

 

"Voices of the Past, Voices of the Future, whisper to us who live in the Present. Let our voices rise up in your honour. May the blood that flows through our veins connect us all throughout time. Let us be connected this day, and always. Blessed be, blessed be, blessed be."

*Praying to the Descendants was first introduced to me during this year's WitchCamp at Avalon Spring. Deborah Oak called upon the Ancestors and then proceeded to invoke the Descendants. This, to me, was one of the most powerful things I had heard in a ritual. It made so much sense...how much better we are if we take into consideration the lives of those who come after us.

A Prayer for All of My Parts

The following prayer is a prayer for each of my three souls to fulfill their respective functions in my daily life. Each of the three souls has a further division of three, which correspond to the 9 chakras (seven traditional plus Earth chakra and Transpersonal). 

By the Vivi of my Vivi, may I be connected to the Earth.
By the Emi of my Vivi, may I be grounded in all I do.
By the Ori of my Vivi, may I be a fully sexual holy being.
By the Vivi of my Emi, may I manifest my will. 
By the Emi of my Emi, may I give and receive love freely.
By the Ori of my Emi, may I communicate and respond effectively.
By the Vivi of my Ori, may I feel the patterns of the Universe.
By the Emi of my Ori, may I have a pure connection to my Godsoul.
By the Ori of my Ori, may I receive the blessings of the Star Goddess.

I'm thinking this is a work in progress. Any advice would be great.

 

My Spiritual Practice

I try to change my spiritual practice every couple of months so that it doesn't become stale or merely force of habit. By changing my practice, I can focus on why I am doing each rite and its significance to my journey within Feri.

Having had conversations recently regarding the Pentacles, and how they can be a portal, I have decided to experiment by using the Pentacles as gateways before each associated rite. For me, the Four Pentacles correspond to the Four Parts of us. Our parts have associated core practices, as you will see below. So, here is my newly improved daily practice:

1. Star Goddess Prayer
2. Prayer of Practice
3. Elemental Pentacle
4. Prayer to the Ancestors
5. Prayer to the Guardians
6. Iron Pentacle
7. Prayer to Nimue and Dian y Glas
8. Ha Prayer and Flower Prayer
9. Pearl Pentacle
10. Prayer to Mari and Krom
11. Kala
12. Personal Pentacle
13. Prayer to Ana and Arddhu
14. Sitting Practice
15. Self Love Rite
16. Dedicating the Merit
17. Prayer of Thanks

Did I miss anything?

The Coffee Prayer

For the past couple of weeks I have been developing a practice of sorts. I call it the Coffee Prayer. Now, this practice has grown organically and was inspired by an essay I read a while back about a lady who dedicates her morning coffee to Anubis.


My practice is similar. Each time I have a cup of coffee, I hold the cup in both hands and try to imagine how this coffee is connected to the All. The beans that were grown by the care farmers using their knowledge of the weather and the Sun, the packets that were shipped by drivers across who knows what countries, the money that I pay for the coffee, which helps fund the economy, the water that has been used which belongs to the cycle of rain and ocean, the milk that was taken from a Real Live Cow. 


I hold this cup and realise how it is a microcosm of connection, of the Star Goddess. Then I drink it in, realising that I too am part of the Star Goddess. 


I am hoping that after a while this Coffee Prayer will evolve into the Everything I Eat Prayer, and then twist and turn into the Everything I Do Prayer. We'll see how it goes.

The Necessity Of Practice

I sat down at my altar this morning and I felt a sense of belonging, of 'naturalness', come over me. I felt like I was supposed to be there. Does that make sense? One of the great struggles of walking a consciously spiritual path is the element of daily practice. Why should we engage in daily practice? What even is daily practice?

For me, daily practice is engaging in the core rites of Feri - Kala, Soul Alignment, Flower Prayer, Sitting Practice - as well as devotions and prayers to my various allies, such as the ancestors, Gods etc. This aspect of doing things daily means that I get better at them - practice makes perfect and all that. If I practice the Ha prayer, then my capacity for holding mana increases.

But why do daily practice? What purpose does it serve?

Firstly, daily practice provides me with a foundation, a context, through which I can live out my day. It is a reminder that there is a deeper purpose to my life, that my life as a Feri Witch underpins everything else. There is no part of my day that does not fall under the umbrella of my Feri. If I have made kala in the morning, I am able to live out my day with less stress or with fewer complexes hindering communication. If I have aligned my souls, then my appreciation of the earthly and celestial realms (and the interaction/merging between them) is augmented.

Secondly, I believe there is a cumulative affect to one's daily practice. I believe that the core 'purpose' of Feri is to encourage a state of Alignment. This means that all of your parts are working in harmony with all other parts of God Herself. This can be construed as Enlightenment or a feeling of Oneness. This can of course happen randomly (such as a sudden epiphany), but if you consciously prepare all of your parts on a daily basis, it is much more likely that you will achieve such as state.

What do you think? Why do/don't you engage in daily practice?

Farewell, dear Friend

Deep Peace to You
Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.

- Adapted from Ancient Gaelic Runes

A good friend of mine from University died yesterday, after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 23 years old. Although we lost touch for a year or so, we had sporadically been in contact since he first received the diagnosis for his illness. He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Blessed be, dear one. Find the light to guide you back to the Mother. May you be refreshed and may you be at peace. Blessed be. 

The Move to London

Well, I've finally arrived in London. The journey (as ever) took longer than expected so me and my friend didn't manage to explore the city or go for a reward meal as planned. Sigh.