Pagan Values Month 2013: Embodiment

"By the Earth that is Her body,

And by the Air that is Her breath. 

By the Fire of Her bright spirit, 

And by the living waters of Her womb.."

- A Feri Tradition circle casting 

My theology and values are grounded in embodiment, which is the recognition that we are holy spirits clothed in an equally sacred temple of living flesh that feels and breathes and sweats and shits and tastes and hurts and orgasms. This body is no less important than our minds or souls, for indeed there is only unity where we falsely perceive separation. It is through the awesome ability of our bodies to interact with the environment that we have any perception or experience of external "reality". 

Ok...so our minds are obviously important. (Although, the concept of "Mind" is far beyond the scope of this blogpost!) They allow us to make rational decisions, to communicate on an abstract level, and plan for the future. Nevertheless, our primary functions as human beings are physical. We NEED to breath and we NEED to consume water. Without these, we would die. 

We like to think that our Talker (the part of our soul that deals with mental processes) is the one running the show. To add insult to injury, our Talker allows us to make decisions that our just not good for our body. A core practice in Feri is to bring all of our parts into sacred alignment so that we have access to all of our faculties, which includes our capacity as physical human beings. If our Talker, Fetch and Godsoul are all on the same page, we have greater access to our true physical wants and needs. 

Part of my current practice is changing my diet to bring myself into greater physical health. I am currently on a diet of meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and nuts, which attempts to mimic the diets of our distant ancestors. I also cycle to work while doing resistance training several times a week. This is my route to physical health. It is up to the individual (neatly tying in my value from last year - personal sovereignty!) to ascertain what they can do to bring themselves into their own optimum health. 

Physical health then, is also a core Pagan value, and this includes the physical health of the community and the Earth, as well as our own bodies. (Ecology as a Pagan value has been discussed elsewhere I am sure!). It goes without saying that my health is not the same as your health, for we are all autonomous creatures with vastly different life experiences. That said, I believe that we can all do a little bit more to improve our physical health, as an act of devotion if nothing else. 

The opening invocation above (which is used in many Feri circles) allows me to recognise that God Her/Self is a sum of four physical elements and that She is embodied, just like I am.  Not for us a God removed from the Universe. The Goddess actually IS the Universe, and we are all in physical process with Her. 

What all this means for the individual Pagan is bound to be different from my views, but I think most Pagans would have no problem sitting atop a hill, feeling the wind in their hair, the sun gently warming their face, intoning:

"By the Earth that is Her body..."

Spell Checking for April Fool's

Today is April 1st. In the UK, this is known as April Fool's Day. I love the idea of the Fool in the tarot representing the Witch. We stand on a cliff, about to cast our spell, trusting that the outcome will be positive. I am a firm believer in planning and being a bit more scientific when it comes to magical practice. To that end, before doing any spellwork, careful planning with divination is necessary. 

Here is a process I have devised using a combination of tools to give an overview of a spell working. 

You will need:

-      Set of obi or dice (basically, any yes/no type oracle)

-      Deck of playing cards

-      Deck of Tarot cards or set of runes

-      Deck of Lenormand cards

1.     Using the obi or dice, find out if your spell working is justified. If you get a positive outcome, proceed to the next step.  If you don’t, rephrase the desire, or change the intention of the spell until you get a positive outcome.

2.     Lay out the tarot cards or runes (the large ones) in the numbered order shown in the picture. The spread shows the following:

1.     Your current situation

2.     Your underlying motivation for change

3.     What you are working towards

4.     What can be ‘cut’ or cleared from your life

5.     What can be changed or attracted into your life

3.     For the parts that show what can be cut and attracted into your life, (4 and 5), these can refer to mundane or magical actions – use your judgment to ascertain what and how. Add extra tarot cards to clarify these.

4.     To clarify timing, number of candles etc, use the playing cards over positions 4 and 5. Questions regarding number of ingredients can be used just using the number of the playing card. In terms of timing (how often the spell/bath should be repeated etc) use the following:

§       The number of the card shows how many days the spell should be cast

§       The suits show when the spell should be cast:

·      Spades – Between midnight and sunrise

·      Clubs – Between sunrise and noon

·      Hearts – Between noon and sunset

·      Diamonds – between sunset midnight

5.     Lay out the five Lenormand cards in the order given. This gives a clue as to the outcome of the spell over the five elemental parts of your life (mental, energetic, emotional, physical, spiritual). It can also be used to tell a narrative of the outcome of your spell. 

6.     Once you have gained all the information, ask if there is any more information using the obi or dice. If there isn’t any more information, close the reading. If there is other information, draw another card and question the obi again. Repeat until the obi indicates there is no more information given. 

Happy divining and spell casting!

Watering the Flower(s)

"Who is this flower above me? And what is the work of this God? I would know myself in all my parts. " - Feri Tradition prayer, from Victor Anderson.

Some days, my daily practice seems like a huge task. In order to get to work on time, I leave the house just after 7 - if I factor in my daily practice I have to wake up at 5.30. This is sometimes difficult, especially in the cold and wintery weather we've been having recently, and my Vivi just wants to stay comforted under the duvet for another half an hour.

If I miss a day's practice, I've missed an opportunity for growth, alignment, and wholeness. The odd missed day is okay, but I liken it to missing gym workouts. If I miss one out of four, it doesn't impact too much, but if I only manage one workout a week, not much progress is made.

Sometimes I catch glimpses of my soul as an unfolding flower. This flower will never be fully bloomed; it is in a continuous flux of blooming and closing, with my daily practice being the careful watering and tending of the unique flower that is my Self. One day missed will not kill the flower, but too little care and practice can lead to ill-health and a stunted bloom.

Courting Presence

To be truly present in each moment is the work of a lifetime. To be fully aware of all our parts, graced by the kiss of our divinity (what Feri Tradition calls being "self-possessed) is our only true spiritual goal. Of course, there are many smaller goals that contribute to this over-arching aim. (Hmm...somehow calling it a spiritual aim doesn't do it justice. This implies a linear direction, almost like the aim of an arrow. In my almost 5 years of Feri study, I can more accurately describe it as a flowering.)

Although we may at first catch only glimpses of intentional presence, a tingling at our sex and crown with our heart beating and the air in our lungs, if we court our divinity like a lover, it will eventually be a constant companion.

I am currently reading T. Thorn Coyle's latest book, Make Magic of Your Life, which is centred on finding one's desire and living it, seen through the lens of the Witch's Pyramid (to Know, Dare, Will, and Keep Silence). Part of finding one's desire, I believe, is to stay in the present as much as possible, not reliving the past unnecessarily, nor imagining some potential future which is unlikely to occur.

This is difficult work! Indeed, scores of books, websites, and spiritual traditions are centred on the cultivation of presence or mindfulness.

I was reminded today of Thorn's definition of magic, "the marriage of breath, Will and desire", when I went to my spinning class after work. Now, for those who have never been to a spinning class, it is a hardcore cardio class of roughly 45 minutes on a stationary bike. It is a killer class, and not an easy thing to do after a hard day's work.

During the class, about ten minutes in, I was aware of how many people were glancing at the clock on the wall. They most likely did not want to be there, probably there out of some sense of "should". Mentally, they had already showered and gone home for dinner!

I attempted to be more present than this. I focused on my breathing, the burning of my muscles, the swear pouring down my forehead, the coarseness of the towel, the sweetness of the water. I spoke to my Vivi, soothing her, telling her that this was ok, and that this was good for us. I did feel some resistance (and I might have checked the clock myself a couple of times...) but the important thing was that I tried an act of magic: "The marriage of breath, Will, and desire."

Firstly, by breathing and focusing on oxygen going into my body, I was courting presence as well as focusing on the interconnection of God Herself. By Will, I mean I have cultivated this by simply showing up to the class. It would be easier for me to go home, have a cup of tea and watch television. And you know what? The first few classes were tough. But, merely beginning and showing up once made it easier to repeat the process.

And what is my desire? To honour my body by taking care of it and getting it strong. This, to use Thorn's definition, is both a want and a need. By taking care of my body and making it strong, all other parts are easier brought into the fold - my mind is sharper, my emotions more stable, and my spirit more joyous. This feeds into my greater desire, which is ultimate connection with the flow of God Herself.

Let the Sun Shine!

Today is the first day that I have felt spring coming. The sun is gently warming, the trees and plants are stirring, and my heart is unfolding with possibility.

Spring is my favourite season. It is hopeful, light, joyous, and expectant. We can imagine the delights to come, enjoying the warm weather in anticipation of the heat of summer. The smell of freshly cut grass, the chirping of birds, the kiss of a lover in the sun, are all part of the fabric of God Herself.

In a couple of weeks, I will be celebrating the Spring Equinox with my circle. We will invoke the Gods of springtime, the youth and the maiden, the Twins in Their guise as Dian y Glas and Nimue. We will dance with them and sing with them, casting our spells of hope and joy like the insemination of an egg.

New life. Hope. Expectation. Love.

These are the things I wish to conjure this spring.

The Evolution of the Gods, or Invoking Oshun in a Gay Bar

Several of the bloggers that I read (Rune Soup and A Mage's Blog) have recently been discussing the evolutionary nature of the Gods, in that They change and grow depending on location and time (what Rune Soup adroitly called "terroir") and They are not stuck in their Ancient Greek togas, bound by the constraints of the "original" culture that first acknowledged Them. The Gods are in process, just like the Universe and (hopefully) us.

I have been working with Oshun for the past couple of weeks and at first I visualised Her as She might have appeared to the Yoruba people - a tall, black woman wearing jewels and something yellow while in a river. And you know, this kind of works for me.

But last night, I went to my local gay bar and Oshun's energy was physically palpable. I could practically taste the honey in the air and at one point I became aware of a golden ribbon travelling through the heart of each person there, binding all of us together in the fabric of love. When I mentally called out to Oshun, She still appeared to me as a voluptuous black woman but there was no sense of Her looking "ancient". If anything, in Her tight golden dress, dancing and grinding next to the gay boys, She reminded me of Beyoncé...

So, this is what it is like to be a shamanistic Witch in the modern world. Praying to an Orisha and having a divine experience of unity with the fabric of love, while my friend buys me a beer and I'm dancing along to Destiny's Child.

My Oshun Shrine

For months I have felt the call of Oshun...She is the Orisha of the rivers and the sweet waters, and She rules over love, beauty, prosperity, and the things that make life worth living. I have been enchanted by Her dance, heard Her song call to me, and sought Her in visions.

The main reason I did not actively work with Her was a fear of cultural appropriation. Who am I to work with an Orisha who is outside of my "culture" or tradition? Well, if I was putting myself forward as a practitioner of Lucumi/Santeria and as some kind of authority figure, THAT would be appropriation. I am doing neither of those.

I do not intend to work with Oshun in the same way a follower of Lucumi would, because I simply do not share that religion and I am not part of that particular culture. I am a Feri Witch, and this is the paradigm I work in.

Victor Anderson said that all Gods are Feri Gods, and I take this to mean that we can respectfully approach any God we wish to form relationship with. Working with Oshun is not different than working with Ganesha, or Hecate, or Brigid. Most Neo-Pagans would happily work with any of these Gods but not claim to be Hindu or a Greek/Celtic reconstructionist.

Yesterday, I couldn't resist Her call any longer, and I built Her a shrine. I don't know where my work with Oshun will take me, but for now it seems my soul needs something that only She can provide. I hope I am up to the challenge.

(Here is my shrine to Oshun...I have used a veve to Erzulie on a drum to Her. I know, I am mixing Haitian Vodou into the mix here too, but I got a "hit" and ran with it.)