Appendix I: Examples of Reality Maps
When you are preparing to make your own reality map, it is useful to see other models and paradigms to give you a greater understanding of what a reality map is and how it functions. Some examples are very specific to an individual’s worldview, while others are specific to a tradition. The most useful to learn are those that apply universal shapes and symbols.
To assist you in the lessons in this book, I have prepared this appendix outlining several reality maps. Obviously, none are as detailed as the Tree of Life. Few have such a history and level of detail, and if they did, it obviously would be too much to cover in this text. If you are intrigued by a reality map that is drawn from other texts, I suggest you seek out the source information and study it firsthand. I also suggest meditating on the symbol and working directly with it on the inner planes.
Some students who have taken the classes on which this book is based have complained that knowing too many reality maps confused them, giving them too many choices. They felt that everything already had been created, so how could they develop a unique map? They didn’t want to be too influenced by any of the models they had learned. Unfortunately, that is the risk you run. Like a self-taught musician who “discovers” a chord progression because the notes sound pleasing together, only to later study music formally and discover that the particular chord progression first was used centuries before, we experience the same joy of exploration and then a letdown to learn our map wasn’t completely original. The same could be said about the scientist who is not educated in the body of knowledge that comes before him or her. The scientist might come to the same conclusion by a unique path, but it is the same conclusion. By actively learning what generations before us have developed, we can build new trails and paths in the development of our art. Without education, we spend most of our time “rediscovering” what the ancestors already have given us. Think of these models as gifts from those who have walked the path before us.
Here are some other reality maps you already have been exposed to in the Temple of Witchcraft training.
World Tree
First outlined in chapter 12 of The Inner Temple of Witchcraft and then in greater detail in The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, the shaman’s view of reality comprises three basic worlds. The Upper World of higher spirits and deities, the Middle World of humanity and nature, and the Lower World of chthonic deities, ancestors, and power allies all exist in a balance. The spirit wheel (TOSW, Figure 4) gives us a graphic representation of the worlds and our potential allies. Various world mythologies further subdivide these three planes, as the Norse have nine worlds (TOSW, Figure 13) and some Celtic traditions have twelve, as described in Fionn’s window (TOSW, Figures 10 and 11).
Planes of Reality
Detailed in chapter 12 of The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, the seven planes of reality—physical, etheric, astral, emotional, mental, psychic, and divine—neatly divide the spectrum of reality into various levels of consciousness. An enterprising student easily could find correspondences among the seven planes and many other magickal systems, from the chakras to the seven planets, seven metals, and seven days of the week.
Chakras and the Subtle Bodies
Though the information on energy anatomy presented in Lesson 11 in The Inner Temple of Witchcraft was intended to be viewed in light of a human’s spiritual bodies, the divine often is personified, and if we truly believe “as above, so below,” then the divine hold the same pattern as we do. The Divine Creator’s body manifests in seven subtle layers, corresponding to the seven chakras. The chakra lore gives us many correspondences to colors, planets, and gemstones. This concept of the divine body relates quite well to our reality map of the planes of reality.
Witch’s Circle
When drawn, the witch’s circle, and even the altar itself, is a reality map. Called into the circle are all the primal creative forces of the universe. That is why circle magick is so powerful. On the altar are items consecrated to act as conduits for these forces, from the four elements to the Goddess and God and the central flame of the Great Spirit. Various reality-map mandalas can be made, such as one with the elements aligned with the seasons and times of day (OTOW, Figure 15) and the elements aligned with the alchemical qualities (OTOW, Figure 16).
Wheel of the Year
Another powerful reality map is the witch’s Wheel of the Year, the eight-spoked wheel, particularly the version in The Outer Temple of Witchcraft (Figure 48) with the astrological signs and phases of the Moon also corresponding to the holidays. It shows the cycle of change as we move through various levels of consciousness.
Celtic Circles of Creation
In some versions of Celtic myth and theology, creation is divided into three concentric rings, each with a different character and quality. The concept is much like the shaman’s World Tree, but with a horizontal ring structure rather than a vertical axis. It wasn’t until I saw a diagram of this image (Figure 77), with the zodiac signs placed within it, that it made sense to me, and I could see it being used as a reality map with both spirit-world and zodiac correspondences. I found this helpful diagram in The Handbook of Celtic Astrology by Helena Paterson.
Circle of Abred: Earthly Ring—Mortal Realm and Underworld Annwn
Circle of Gwynvyd: Solar Ring—Realm of Enlightenment or Summerlands
Circle of Ceugant: Galactic Ring—Realm of Pure Divinity, Galactic Core
Celtic Tree Ladder
The innovative diagram in Figure 78 is based on material from the book Practical Celtic Magic by Murry Hope. The image depicts the ladder of the cosmos, and each point upon the ladder is associated with a number, an ogham, a planet, and an archetypal image, fusing traditional Western occultism and astrology with Celtic imagery.
|
Number |
Ogham/Tree |
Planet |
Function/Archetype |
|
1 |
Beth/Birch |
Sun |
Absolute Deity |
|
2 |
Duir/Oak |
Jupiter |
Dual King |
|
3 |
Ruis/Elder |
Saturn |
Triune Queen |
|
4 |
Ngetal/Reed |
Pluto |
Double Sun |
|
5 |
Tinne/Holly |
Mars |
Humanity |
|
6 |
Luis/Rowan |
Venus |
Sacred Fire |
|
7 |
Nion/Ash |
Neptune |
Sea |
|
8 |
Coll/Hazel |
Mercury |
Mind |
|
9 |
Saille/Willow |
Moon |
Moon |
|
10 |
Muin/Vine |
Earth |
Earth |
|
11 |
Gort/Ivy |
Transpluto or Venus |
Spirit |
|
12 |
Fearn/Alder |
Mercury |
Vulcan or Divine Will |
|
13 |
Uath/ Hawthorn |
Uranus |
Chaos |
Theosophical Rays
In the traditions of Theosophy, based on the work of H. P. Blavatsky and then the channelings of Alice Bailey (though Bailey broke away from the Theosophical organization), is the concept of “rays” of light, the divine power reflected through a spectrum. These rays are akin to the Qabalist’s sephiroth, as each is an emanation of the divine.
The rays emanate to our solar system through our Solar Logos, the divine being of our solar system, and manifest through a trinity of forces, embodied by the image of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost from Christian mythology (Figure 79). The rays then first extend from the trinity as the three primary colors of red, blue, and yellow. From the third ray of yellow, the remaining rays emanate—green, orange, indigo, and violet. Each ray has a primary purpose in the development of the universe.
Red: Will, Action, Evolution, Leadership
Blue: Divine Love, Wisdom, Compassion
Yellow: Active Intelligence
Green: Harmony Through Conflict, Art, Nature, Creativity, Faery
Orange: Concrete Science, Technology
Indigo: Devotion, Religion
Violet: Ceremonial Magick
The rays then are directed toward the Planetary Logos, the guiding intelligence of our planet, and divided into a planetary hierarchy of various spiritual beings who direct these energies, including a ruling triad beneath the Logos known as the Manu, Christ, and Mahachohan, and then beneath them, seven chohans, or masters, who guide the development of each ray with humanity. These ascended master chohans have other ascended masters working for them in a specific ray “department,” and also have incarnated humans who consciously or subconsciously work with them.
The Theosophical rays provide both a diagram of universal powers and a system for understanding how those powers are working in your own consciousness. They are derived primarily from the writings of Alice Bailey, in particular her book The Rays and the Initiations. My own book Ascension Magick also looks at the rays as a model of reality in modern language for the aspiring witch or magician.
Ladder of Consciousness
The ladder of consciousness is one of the first reality maps I created (Figure 80). It is very similar to the World Tree, but instead of using the tree image, it uses the diamond, or two opposing triangles, becoming more and more narrow as the spiritual beings in each stratum become less and less individualized. The strata below, like Underworld beings, are more feminine and intuitive, while the strata above are more logical and masculine. All are surrounded and interpenetrated by the creative spirit. Instead of using worlds, the ladder of consciousness uses rungs on the ladder to describe beings of various states of consciousness. Though it is not a map for magickal correspondences such as herbs or stones, it helped me when I was working mostly through vision and meditation and trying to understand all the beings I was encountering. I made this reality map while researching the material that eventually became my book Spirit Allies.
Web Mandala
The web mandala is another reality map I constructed (Figure 81). At the time, I was trying to reconcile and integrate many different forms of magick, including my traditional witchcraft, feng shui, astrology, and the runes. I chose the image of a web with the spider in the center, as I often see the Goddess as the Weaver in the center of the cosmos. The web mandala becomes more and more intricate, and in each web “box” I place another corresponding image. By looking at the connections near one another, I would meditate on the links among the elements, the seasons, astrology, and the runes. My original version was done in color, with each box a different shade to denote the color associations I used in magick for each one, but this version has been rendered in black and white for ease of reproduction.
Tree Tattoo
Some students have observed that many of the reality maps are very masculine. The maps often are designed by men, and have a linear, logical feel, compartmentalizing things rather than flowing from a more organic and cohesive process. Not all reality maps are like that. Many are much more creative and organic, but unfortunately, these maps do not reproduce well in books. I’ve had many students, particularly female students, make maps that were three-dimensional models, dioramas, and sculptures, but they are hard to outline in a book.
One very creative reality map was transformed into a back tattoo design, showing the Goddess of Creation aligned with the student’s spine, entwined with the wheel of life/Wheel of the Year and surrounded by the four elements (Figure 82). It was designed by my friend and covenmate Ginella Cann. For her, the process of both designing and receiving the tattoo has been a magickal initiation.
Photograph of back tattoo of Ginella Cann by Joyce Cadena Hannon
The Risting: The Grand Circle
of Witchcraft
The Risting diagram, credited to S. Rune Emerson, depicts the nine worlds of the Yggdrasil, the World Tree of ancient Germanic myth (Figure 83). The six axes in the center represent the six Roads, the means to understanding Nature in all of her seasons:
Wind, the eastern road of Spring: the sweeping of chaos and the preparing of the way
Fire, the southern road of Summer: the quickening time of heat and wildness
Water, the western road of Autumn: the flowing tide of rest, sacrifice, and remembrance
Frost, the northern road of Winter: the time of stillness and solidity, of fortification and necessity
Earth, the lower road of the Wheel: the balance and cycle of all powers, the crossroads and the cauldron
Spirit, the higher road of the Compact: the true dreaming, the realm of desire and initiation
The Seventh World, in the center, represents the melding of powers to create the world of Wyrd, the place of entry, and the land of Dream. It is here that we live, and it is from this place, between the dark and light faces of the Tree, that we witches weave the spells of the Left and Right Hands, the magic of the Craft.
The Moon represents the realm of Sleep, the time of silence and magic. The Sun represents the land of Waking, the time of word and deed. The Runes, the sacred sap that flows through the Tree’s roots and branches, are the seeds of the Consort, who is at once the Light and Shadow. The Consort, ever at one with the sleeping Mother, is the life/death force that quickens her womb. The Tree is the egg in the Womb of Nothing, around which can be found the Mother, who is the dark sea of possibility and reality.
Witches of the Risting Tradition use this sigil as the key for all their work, and through study, unlock its many mysteries. For members of the Risting Tradition, this diagram is the great Grimoire, the record of all things and of none.
Starwell Map
In the Starwell map, Adam Sartwell creates a cosmology combining his favorite elements of the shaman’s three worlds with the traditional model of the Tree of Life (Figure 84). The upper triangle comprises the Upper World with its transpersonal forces, and its apex is spirit, the source. The lower triangle comprises the Lower World and its own transpersonal forces, with its apex in the void of creation. The center is the hexagram, the intersection of the two worlds, with the four elements arranged as they are in the traditional circle, as well as corresponding to those four points on the Tree of Life (Chesed, Geburah, Netzach, and Hod). The four points also have associations with the realms closest to the land of humanity, such as the ancestors and the fey. The four elemental realms are surrounded by a solar/above world and a lunar/below world, the Middle World’s closest links to the Upper and Lower Worlds. The Earth is in the center of this Middle World hexagram. Nine “rungs” are created by the four triangles, corresponding to the seven chakras as well as a higher heart point between the heart and throat and the energy center at the feet. Various “selves” of shamanic cosmology are outlined in several points, with the middle self called the Namer and the highest self called the Watcher.
Magickal House
Jean Pando, a student of mine and a recent graduate of Witchcraft IV, came up with a clever look at reality focused on her house (Figure 85). Each section of the house represents a different zone in her reality, but can be applied cosmically. The house is surrounded by the Wheel of the Year, because her home is her focus on the seasonal holidays. She says: “The living space is my Lower World, where my day-to-day activities take place. The resting space and study are my Middle World. The resting space is the place to deal with emotional issues, passions, etc., and the study is where I think, study, communicate, create ritual, etc. The loft and tower are my Upper World. To me they both relate to meditation, sleeping/dreamtime, and altered states. My home is what I love and what makes sense to me.”
