Elements of Practice - A Revision

Back in June I wrote a post entitled "Elements of Practice" in which I mapped out how I structure my daily practice according to the five elements. A lot of people said they enjoyed this post and gained something from it.

In the past few months of working with this model, I kept coming up with resistance regarding Water and Earth. Years of ritual have ingrained in my brain that we work from East to North via South and West, yet it felt more natural to me to do divination (which I placed in Water) after sitting practice, which I consider an Earth activity. 

This slight annoyance was only small, yet it affected the flow of my practice to such an extent that I wasn't gaining as much satisfaction and joy out of my daily devotions as I used to. 

So I decided to re-map. I actually think this is healthy - restructuring how we do things can keep us from falling into a dogma (even if I am dogmatic about moving from East clockwise!!). In my latest structure, the basic format is the same, but I have focused on three aspects of Spirit: above, below, and centre. I have also moved Kala and Ha prayer from the South into the West, where I believe drinking a cup of water sits more naturally. 

Anyway, below you will find a re-structured elemental practice. Please feel free to comment/critique as you are moved to do so! 

Blessings!

Centre - Connection to God HerSelf. This is the start of practice, where we actually are. I ground, centre, and circumference myself, pray to my Gods, and place on my initiation cord. I also make my daily offerings of flame, water, and incense here. 

Air - Prayerful intention. This is prayer that sets up what my practice is about. My daily prayer usually goes something like this: "Holy Mother, I sit before your shrine at the dawn of my day. May the work done here flow forth through my day and throughout my life. May I be a strong vessel for this current and may I be the best Witch and Feri priest possible. May I see You in all beings."

Fire - Pentacle work. Here I work with the fiery Iron Pentacle and watery Pearl. Sometimes I work with the Elemental Pentacle here too, as well as my Golden Pentacle, but not always. 

Water - Kala and Alignment. This was a bit of a "duh" moment for me. Of course Kala rests in water - we drink water as part of the rite! Also, the mana we use for soul alignment has a watery feel to it. 

North - Sitting Practice. This has remained the same. Sitting practice for me brings all the previous work together and holds it within and around the body as we sit with all of our parts. Although the Godsoul unites our parts in this practice, all of our selves are present here. 

Above - Divination. This is where I place my daily card pulling. I usually use the Rider Waite deck, but sometimes I mix it up with a rune or a card from Brian Froud's Faery oracle. 

Below - Desire and Drive. This is where I connect with my inner cauldron, which is the tool of Below in my line. I hold my cauldron against my belly and pray to know and follow my Desire. I wish to know what motivates me, and what I am heading towards. 

Centre - Connection to God HerSelf. Here I return to centre, which is God HerSelf. She is also circumference, if that speaks to you. I offer thanks for Her manifold blessings and ask my Gods and spirits to walk with me on my path. 

The Divine Twins in the Tarot - The Fool

The Fool is essentially a paradox: it is the first card, yet it is unnumbered. This Zero is the ground of being, the womb of God Herself. Indeed, Lon Milo DuQuette has stated that the Fool is the only real card; all other cards exist within the Fool. The Divine Twins are as yet undifferentiated and unborn. They are still in utero, being perfected into God with Their birth. The Twins are on the cusp of being born and manifest in the world. 

Again, paradoxically, the Fool is both part of the world but not of it. He stands upon the edge of a cliff about to begin his journey, neither on the ground nor in the air. The Divine Twins are often seen as the writhing serpent (Earth) and the bright bird (Heavens) who come together to form the radiant Peacock Lord, Melek Ta'us. The Fool is a symbol of this alchemical union, and indeed his clothing calls to mind both wings and a feathered crown. 

The Fool here is also the human being beginning the spiritual journey. The Great Work, the Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel, is the ultimate spiritual goal of each practitioner. In my line, the Godsoul is a fractal of the Divine Twins - we are each a reflection of Their birth, division, courtship, and union. The Godsoul rests above the Crown and is allied with the Sun, which can be seen in this card slightly above the Fool's crown. 

The Divine Twins ask, "What is your potential?"

The Divine Twins in the Tarot - A Series Introduction

The manifest reality of the Divine Twins, those two great forces whose erotic friction enlivens and ensouls the Universe, is paramount in Feri. The Goddess is said to have taken two bright spirits and perfected Them into God with Her birth; They are both Her lover and other half. The Twins can be any gender or none (although my inclination is to see Them as male...) and Their multiplicity of relationships is a source of great mystery.

We find the Divine Twins in several mythologies but personally the spirits I am most attracted to (apart from Melek Ta'us!) are the Marassa Jumeaux from Haitain Vodou, above, and the Ibeji of Lucumi, right. Both of these Traditions have influenced the Feri Tradition and I find it interesting that the Twins in both Vodou and Lucumi are called very early on in ceremonies. Victor said that in Vodou, the Twins were "the first issue of the outer dark", which is a gorgeous poetic description of the Twins.

The purpose of this series is to explore the expression of the Divine Twins through the Major Arcana of the Tarot. The Majors are twenty two cards (a very Twin-like number) representing the totality of archetypal human experience, with the Minors being the individual specifics. Because the Twins are so huge, yet ultimately intimate and dwelling within each of us, I have chosen to explore Their narrative through the Majors. The Tarot is a huge source of wisdom and the full scope of meanings, symbolism, and lore is beyond the scope of this series.

The narrative of the Divine Twins is not linear or sequential; rather, I have focused on the particular energetic flavour of each card as it relates to the Twins and expresses a unique relationship. I am tempted to say that almost all of these relationships have an element of the erotic about them, but that is perhaps a different treatise. Please let me know if this is helpful for you, or indeed (even better!) if you disagree with me. Who knows...our disagreement might provide the erotic friction of the Twins toward greater understanding. So cut your majors in two and shuffle them together in an imitation of the erotic play of the Twins...

"Kala"

Here is a painting called "Kala". The rite of Kala is one of the most vital of the practices we do in Feri and I was inspired to paint this recently, finally completing it tonight. 

An Honourable Spiritual Practice

I am currently re-reading the outstanding book After the Ecstasy, The Laundry by Jack Kornfield. This book examines what a spiritual life is like once you have glimpsed ultimate reality or reached enlightenment. What, for example, happens when the enlightened Buddhist needs to buy food from the supermarket? What about the Witch who, ecstatic from celebrating Beltane, needs to change his daughter's diaper? Sometimes after a blissful spiritual experience, we are brought back down again. How do we deal with that?

Part of my Feri practice is the cultivation and courting of the ecstatic. That gorgeous, sublime union with the sacred, when I feel the Goddess' breath flow through mine, and the very air on the breeze caresses my skin as if to entice me into an erotic encounter. I'm sure we have all had experiences of this kind. Yet they are fleeting and impossible to sustain indefinitely. As joyful and important as they are, they are merely the inspiration and impetus that keep us at our practice. 

I don't believe these ecstatic states are the "end goal", if indeed there is such thing. I liken the ecstatic to having sex within a loving relationship: sex affirms a bond between people and makes a relationship more secure, but sex is not the relationship. A relationship founded on sex alone is doomed to fail. There has to be a greater desire to be with that person through the arguments and fights, as well as the sex and moments of connection. Sex is part of the fuel that keeps the relationship vital. Just so with ecstasy.

So...what does this have to do with an "honourable practice"? To practice with honour is to practice when it doesn't feel good. To practice when you actively don't want to sit at the altar. To recognise that there is a larger arc of your life, fed by the daily grind of meditation, prayer, and energy work. To practice with honour is to commit to a spiritual path knowing that sometimes you are going to feel like shit because you bump up against a part of yourself you thought died when you were thirteen. Walking a spiritual path is not supposed to be easy, although Goddess knows sometimes I wish it were. Instead, a spiritual path allows you the opportunity to walk with integrity, awareness, and yes, sometimes feeling amazing. 

And to practice with honour is to recognise how challenged you may feel, and you still CARRY ON ANYWAY. 

Preliminary drawing of "Kala"

Here's a preliminary drawing of a painting I'm working on called "Kala". This will form a series of paintings detailing key aspects of the Feri Tradition. 

A Seven-Fold Feri Praxis

Sometimes I feel like I am not "spiritual" enough, or committed enough, or courting enough depth of personal practice. Sure, my daily practice is (mainly!) secure, and I often participate in seasonal rites of the moon and sun. Yet, the rest of what it means to be a Witch is kind of ad hoc. My spell work is not regular, nor my divination practice. I don't engage in trance any where near enough, nor do I perform elaborate devotions to my allies. 

In an effort to map the various aspects of my Feri praxis (which is not to be confused with daily practice) so that I might have a better understanding of areas I am neglecting, I was inspired by the seven directional Guardians, each of whom governs a particular path: 

1. Eastern Path - Magical Vision. This includes using magic to create change in the world, "low magic", folk magic, the practical side of Witchcraft. 
   
2. 
   
3. Southern Path - Energy Work. This is the running of Pentacles, invocations and evocations, possession and aspecting work.
   
4. 
   
5. Western Path - Trance. Pretty self explanatory, this is trance and astral projection. I also include dream work in this path. 
   
6. 
   
7. Northern Path - Devotional Arts. This is any rite or action that serves as devotion to our many allies, whatever form it takes.
8.  
   
9. Path of Above - Gnosis. Divination and self-knowledge, enlightenment and the seeking of higher/deeper purpose. 
   
10. 
    
11. Path of Below - Dark Arts. Anything to do with birth, sex and death!!
    
12. 
    
13. Path of Centre - Core Practices. Ha prayer, kala, sitting practice, our daily spiritual practice. 

This Seven-Fold Feri Praxis is a guide, an inspiration. It's shouldn't engender feelings of not being good enough. It is a tool to help us understand what parts of our practice we are really hot on and which parts perhaps need more attention. 

Which paths do you feel you could work on?