Lesson Four Hod
Hod is the eighth sphere on the Tree of Life, and many would consider it, above all others, to embody the spirit of the magician, for it is the sphere associated with the intellect, with language and thought processes, and these are all the tools of the ceremonial magician. The realm of Hod is aligned with what occultists would call the mental plane, for it is said that here, all things are made from language. The translation of Hod is usually “glory” or “splendor,” and refers to the glory or splendor of the mind, and the mind’s ability to create and communicate. The mind is a glorious part of ourselves and of the universe. Though in science many think of the mind as a byproduct of the brain and nervous system, we still don’t understand from a scientific perspective what the mind is or how it interfaces with the brain, let alone how to work with it fully. It is a splendid mystery that can never be fully understood.
The occultist would say that the mind is not just in the brain, but permeates the entire body, surrounding it. The entire body listens to our thoughts, and responds to them. That is why a magician is so careful in thought and word, as those are the keys to change health, well-being, and all of reality, for our mind touches and is a part of the cosmic mind. It’s no wonder that, in the Hermetic view, the Creator is seen as the Divine Mind, and what we have in common with the Creator is our mind, our ability to think and thereby bring something into existence, if we so choose.
The symbol of the magician, as the trickster, is slyly the symbol of Hod as well. In the diagram of the Tree of Life, Hod is depicted as a circle with the number eight in it. If you turn the number eight on its side, you have the infinity loop or Mobius strip associated with the magician. If you look at the traditional images of the Magician card in the tarot, an infinity loop is over the Magician’s head. Part of the glory of the mental plane is its infinite power and possibilities. Anything you can put a thought to, put into an idea or words, that can be conveyed to the universe or to another, is possible. The power of the mental plane is limitless in terms of magick.
Hod
Meanings: Glory, Splendor
Level of Reality: Mental Realm
Parts of the Self: Ruach, Mind, Reason, Intellect, Right Hip
Experience: Vision of Splendor
Obligation: Learning
Illusion: Order
Virtue: Truthfulness
Vices: Dishonesty, Falsehood
Name of God: Elohim Tzabaoth (God of Hosts)
King Scale Color: Violet Purple
Queen Scale Color: Orange
Prince Scale Color: Reddish Russet
Princess Scale Color: Yellowish Brown flecked with White
Element: Air
Planet: Mercury
Image: Hermaphrodite
Archetypes: Magician, Messenger, Trickster
Greek/Roman Deities: Hermes, Mercury
Egyptian Deities: Thoth, Anubis
Middle Eastern Deity: Nabu
Celtic Deities: Gywdion, Lugh, Math, Merlin
Norse Deities: Odin, Loki, Heimdel, Hermod
Hindu Deity: Hanuman
Archangel: Raphael (Archangel of Healing/East/Air)
Angelic Order: Beni Elohim (Sons of Gods)
Choir: Archangels
Grade of Initiation: 3 = 8 Practitioner
Animals: Jackal, Two-Headed Snake
Planetary Vowel Sound: E (eh)
Resonant Letter: R
Musical Mode: Locrian
Musical Note: D
Tools: Words and Names of Power, Apron
Incense: Storax
Tarot: Eight of Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles
Judgment/Aeon—to Malkuth
Sun—to Yesod
Tower—to Netzach
Devil—to Tiphereth
Hanged Man—to Geburah
Metal: Quicksilver
Stones: Opal, Agate, Hematite, Sapphire
Plant: Orchid
For the following month, decorate your altar with Hod correspondences. Use an orange altar cloth, with eight candles and other orange items. Quicksilver is the metal for this sphere, but due to its toxic nature, few magicians have access to it, so aluminum is a proper substitution. Storax is the traditional incense, but substitutions of lavender, sandalwood, or peppermint can be used as incense or in oil form to evoke the power of Hod. Arrange the major arcana tarot cards on the altar in a semicircle arc to represent the paths from the sphere of Hod, starting with Judgment at the bottom to Malkuth, then the Sun to Yesod, the Tower across horizontally to Netzach, the Devil to Tiphereth, and the Hanged Man up to Geburah.
Entities of Hod
Hod is the realm of magicians, from the courtly magician in our Merlin fantasies to the tricksters and messengers between the worlds. Thoth-Hermes is a great primal image of Hod, the two gods of the ancient world identified so strongly with each other, as each contains a face of the Hod magick. Thoth, also known as Tehuti from the Egyptian pantheon, is the powerful scribe god who brought mathematics and the magickal arts to humanity. Though depicted as wiser and more powerful than the other gods, and in some cases credited with creation of the universe, Thoth usually takes a back seat in the stories, preferring to guide, aid, and advise the gods of Egypt. Thoth is associated with Hermes, who also is credited with giving certain arts to humanity. In the Roman traditions, Hermes is linked to Mercury, and both are seen as fleet-footed messenger gods who travel to all the realms yet are not anchored in any one realm. Mercury is both messenger and psychopomp, a guide to souls between worlds. He is a patron of magicians, but also of businesspeople, gamblers, and thieves. Like the quicksilver metal that is his namesake, Mercury is hard to pin down to any one shape or form and easily flows into another. He is a patron of the arts, medicine, and philosophy, yet is an irreverent trickster. There is not just one side to him.
In other mythologies, the image of the Mercurial trickster is conveyed, and Thoth-Hermes finds his cognates among the magicians of the world. In Norse mythology we have two sides of the same trickster force in the blood brothers of Odin (or Wotan) and Loki. Odin is harsh and stern at times, but inspires both poetry and berserker madness. He is the all-father and wandering guide to the Norse gods. Loki, on the other hand, is credited with the destruction of the gods, and as his myth develops, he becomes a darker and more difficult figure to understand. In Sumer, the figure of Nabu, the scribe god, has more in common with the scholarly pursuits of Thoth. In Celtic myth, many of the figures are magicians or wizards as well as warriors. The Welsh Gwydion has similarities with the Merlin archetype, schooling his nephew Lleu in the arts and crafts to claim his name and power. His aid to Lleu is not always easy or clear. Gwydion uses deception to further his aims, yet does so for noble reasons. Native traditions have trickster spirits such as Coyote and Raven filling similar roles as teachers with a twist.
Hod is embodied by the image of the hermaphrodite. In myth, Hermaphrodite was the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, having both sets of sexual organs and a mix of male and female traits. The image has been used in magick and alchemy to show the perfected blending of male and female energies in harmony. In Hod, it also shows that the mind is androgynous, and the power of our thoughts and words are neither male nor female. Still, in the lore, the realm of the magician takes a slightly more masculine image, as some see the devotion to the intellectual mysteries over the primal mysteries as the way of the male magician over the primal witch. But, in essence, each contains the other. One must balance both genders to be a true adept on the path.
Hod, like Mercury, is fluid and reflects many concepts. It absorbs knowledge, which makes it difficult to assign specific correspondences to this realm. Though by all accounts Hod’s lessons are of the intellect, classical Qabalists assign to this sphere the element of water, not air, for Hod is on the water pillar headed by Binah. Quicksilver is a liquid metal and does contain some water qualities, but language definitely correspondends with air. Because of this, the correspondences between Hod and Yesod can be unclear. Likewise, the elements of fire and air are interchanged, with the tools of wands and swords. Great debate among magicians still exists as to the proper correspondences, and that has grown to include the archangelic correspondences of Hod and then Tiphereth.
I personally align the archangel of air, Raphael, the healer, with the sphere of Hod, and keep Michael, the archangel of fire, yet a solar fire, with Tiphereth. Other traditions insist that Michael is the archangel of Hod, while Raphael is of Tiphereth. Some systems have compromised and stated that one archangel rules the sphere while the other assists, and the reverse is true for the second sephira. As a witch, corresponding Raphael and air with Hod makes the most sense to me, and works most effectively for me in meditation and ritual, so that is the correspondence I choose to use. Raphael means “God heals” or “healed by God.” Healing is really the art and science of getting the various parts of the body and consciousness to speak to each other in a harmonious fashion. Raphael is depicted carrying the caduceus associated with modern medicine and Hermes, or a blade or scalpel-like tool that modern healers say he uses for psychic surgery. In myth, his knowledge was not limited to healing, but encompassed all of magick. Raphael gave Noah a book of medicine after the flood and reportedly gave King Solomon his magick ring to command the spirits to build his temple. Raphael is an archangel of magickal knowledge.
In Hebrew angelic magick, the order associated with this realm is the Beni Elohim, the “Sons of Gods,” or perhaps more appropriately, the “Sons of Gods and Goddesses.” The term is somewhat confusing and carries some mixed meanings. Sons of God is a term used for angels in general, though when it is linked to the somewhat controversial Elohim, as a plural form, some believe it refers to the children of the ancient gods. Mythically, this is seen as an order of beings not entirely angelic or human, but a mating of the two. Sometimes they are linked to or equated with a race of beings known as the Nephilim, the giants of the Old Testament. Generally, they are said to hold the qualities of Hod, of mind and memory and the powers of magick. This ancient race of giants was said to be the teachers of the arts and sciences who jump-started civilization. In that sense, they sound much like the godforms of Hod, and their reputation is mixed. Some sources see them as heroes, while most orthodox sources see them as demons. Such angels were sometimes known as the Watchers, and certain traditions of witchcraft and magick believe they are the forces that are called upon when we invoke the “watchtowers” of the four elements.
In a Christian version of angelic magick, the choir associated with Hod is simply referred to as the archangels. In this system, the archangels are the order of angels assigned to Hod, rather than being the princes of the sephiroth, each ruling over one sephira, as they are in most Qabalistic magick.
The divine name of Hod, Elohim Tzabaoth, means “God(s) of Hosts” or “God(s) of Armies, ” though the name might resonate more with Michael’s martial attributes when thought of solely in military terms. Hod is the bottom sphere on the Pillar of Severity and does has some severe qualities to it, as the mind is cold in its logic. But a magician sees that the hosts or armies refer to more than just military might. A host or army is a large and diverse group that finds structure, purpose, and unity together. Logic is the process of searching through diversity of form and shape to see the patterns that bring things together or separate them.
The Vision of Hod
The Vision of Splendor is the experience of Hod. Quite literally, it is a direct experience of Hod, of the mental reality, and understanding the beauty and complexity of the mind. As the divine name Elohim Tzabaoth conveys, the vision of Hod is an experience of unity through diversity, and awakens the initiate to the infinite diversity of the universe and of the mind, both the personal mind and the Divine Mind—to know that, quite literally, anything is possible. Each of us comes to that awareness in a different way, and the vision might not be a “vision” at all, but a deep understanding that cannot really be put into words, for the expression of language in Malkuth is but a pale reflection of the true language in Hod.
To reach this level of awareness, the obligation is learning. One must seek to study, to understand, all aspects of creation. This is not just the study of magick, but the study of the world, the study of the self—including art, psychology, chemistry, astronomy, and, yes, magick. The ancient philosophers were not specialists focusing only on ritual. They knew the worlds around them, for all things are connected. The study of one topic, no matter how seemingly mundane, can bring great awareness of another realm of life, including spiritual development. In Theosophical terms, Hod is the orange ray, associated with science and technology, as many Theosophists believe that both modern and ancient technologies can usher in spiritual evolution.
The illusion paired with this obligation is order. For in study, we realize that there is pattern, there is unity, but there is no absolute order, at least not that we can perceive. As soon as we think we have things figured out, a new piece of information comes along to show us how wrong we are and that the universe doesn’t always behave in the manner we think it will. When you study, you realize that no matter how much you know, there is always more to learn. That is part of the splendor, the infinity symbolized by the magician’s loop, that is embodied by this sphere.
The virtue exemplified by one who has attained this level of consciousness is truthfulness. A Hod initiate understands the power of the word and will not use words falsely. One on this level will not betray the power of words or the power of the truth. On a practical level, the magician knows that as we gain power, each of our words gains power, and if we say something we don’t intend, our magickal power can make those words a reality even when such changes were not our intention. One of the reasons witches learn the technique of neutralization (ITOW, Chapter 8) is to prevent this from happening as the power within them grows. One who is patently dishonest doesn’t hold the power of Hod, and this is obvious in word and action. An interesting thing to note is that the tricksters in the sphere of Hod almost never lie. They are true to the letter of the word, yet often trick us out of seeing and hearing things the way we want to see and hear them or force us to step out of our assumptions.
Hod Magick
Like Yesod, Hod is inherently magickal, as so many of us link language to our magickal intentions. Hod helps teach us that all our thoughts and words are potential acts of magick, and we must master them in order to rise on the Tree. Its totems and images stimulate the mind and are linked to knowledge and the magician tricksters. The jackal has associations with Anubis, the Egyptian god who shares some psychopomp characteristics with other figures, as he is a guide to the dead and holds the knowledge of the afterworld. The two-headed snake is reminiscent of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Though portrayed as the villain of the story, like Eve, some traditions see the snake as the hero, the one who presents us with knowledge. Hod magick is magick of knowledge, esoteric and arcane knowledge, as well as mundane common sense and good judgment. Magick that uses symbol, words, writing, and alphabets is completely in alignment with Hod.
Some witches write out their petition spells (OTOW, Chapter 12) in magickal scripts, translating basic English into an arcane-looking spell. Not only does this practice have power psychologically, but the alphabets themselves are said to be divinely received, and carry their own power inherent in their shape. To use them is to align yourself with magick.
A popular script among witches is known as the Witch’s Alphabet, but is more appropriately called Theban script (Figure 39). Attributed to Honorius the Theban, it has been used by witches as a code in spells and Books of Shadow, both as a magickal tool to confer power and to prevent uninitiated eyes from reading the rituals. In the 1980s and 1990s it fell out of popularity among modern witches in favor of the runes and ogham, but still is used quite frequently by those following older traditions. Each symbol has been equated with a Latin letter, making translation quite easy once you memorize the code. In his book The Sacred Magic of the Angels, ritual magician David Goddard states that Theban is a lunar-based angelic language, so it’s no wonder that witches traditionally resonate with it.
As the eighth sphere, Hod is linked to the witch’s image of the eightfold Wheel of the Year, the symbol of continual change. What is magick, if not change? Yet it is an understanding of the eternal and infinite, beneath the changes of life and the world’s cycles, that is embodied by the infinity loop of the magician. The geometry of eight, the octagon and octagram, also are part of the yearly eightfold cycle of death, regeneration, and rebirth (Figure 40).
In ceremonial magick, there is a ritual, akin to the Native tradition, in which one honors the four directions at four different times of day with Egyptian symbolism. It attunes the magician to the four elements, their elemental gateways, and the cycles of life in a daily flow. Traditionally, the ritual is done at sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight, though modern magicians will use waking, midday, sunset, and bedtime as the four personal boundaries of the day. These are liminal times, between day and night, light and dark, which in all traditions are considered times of power and alignment.
The traditional ceremonial magick version of this ritual is known as the Four Adorations and can be found in Aleister Crowley’s Liber Resh vel Helios. It is based strongly on Egyptian symbolism and the traditions of Thelema. I first learned it as a part of Donald Michael Kraig’s Modern Magick course and since then have adapted it to suit my own cosmology (see Appendix IV). I encourage my students to do the same.
Four Adorations
1. At sunrise, face east.—AIR
Stand with your arms upright, as if you were supporting a heavy pole above your head.
Make the Sign of the Practicus Grade—Air—Hod (traditionally, the Theoricus Grade). Say:
Hail to Thee who art Ra in Thy rising, even unto Thee who art Ra in Thy strength. Who travelest over the heavens in Thy bark at the uprising of the Sun. Tahuti standeth in His splendor at the prow and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm. Hail unto Thee from the abodes of the night.
Make the Sign of Silence.
2. At noon, face south.—FIRE
Make the Sign of the Philosophus Grade—Fire—Netzach or the Triangle of Manifestation above your head. Say:
Hail unto Thee who art Hathoor in Thy triumphing, even to Thee who art Hathoor in Thy beauty, who travelest over the heavens in Thy bark at the midcourse of the Sun. Tahuti standeth in His splendor at the prow and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm. Hail unto Thee from the abodes of the morning.
Make the Sign of Silence.
3. At sunset, face west.—WATER
Make the Sign of the Theoricus Grade—Water—Yesod (traditionally, the Practicus Grade), with the triangle over your belly, point down. Say:
Hail to Thee who are Tum in Thy setting, even unto Thee who art Tum in Thy Joy. Who travelest over the heavens in Thy bark at the downgoing of the Sun. Tahuti standeth in His splendor at the prow and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm. Hail unto Thee from the abodes of the day.
Make the Sign of Silence.
4. At midnight, face north.—EARTH
Step forward with left foot. Make the Sign of the Zelator Grade—Earth —Malkuth. Say:
Hail unto Thee who are Khephera in Thy hiding, even unto Three who art Khephera in Thy silence. Who travelest over the heavens in Thy bark at the hour of the Sun. Tahuti standeth in His splendor at the prow and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm. Hail unto Thee from the abodes of the evening.
Make the Sign of Silence.
Hod Pathworkings
Two paths already have led you to Hod: the intellectual judgment, and often the breakdown of the rational, that leads directly from Malkuth to Hod via the path of the Judgment/Aeon card; and the more gentle path of the Sun card from Yesod to Hod. The magician’s lightning flash up and down the Tree doesn’t always offer the easiest path, but some would argue that it’s more holistic and therefore somewhat easier to process because no sephira is skipped, so no critical point of consciousness is missed when rising on the planes. Yet all paths need to be integrated to fully ascend in consciousness and embrace the godhead of Kether.
With those two paths embraced, there are three remaining paths that lead out of Hod and into the higher spheres on the Tree of Life. Hod and Netzach are balanced through the martial Tower card. The Tower is the destruction of what the mind and ego have created, to get back to the fundamental foundation that can be found in the primal Netzach. The path of the Devil connects Hod to Tiphereth. The misunderstood Devil is the gatekeeper, requiring us to renounce our self-made shackles and chains, created by our mind, to reach the higher self of Tiphereth. Hod also touches Geburah, its higher octave on the Pillar of Severity, through the path of the Hanged Man. You will have access to the power of Mars only through surrender to the higher will. Only through sacrificing the mental ego, redeeming it through the higher powers, will you have the full might of Geburah.
Hod Pathworking
1. Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (Exercise 5) to clear your energy field and the space where you are doing this working. You also can do the Middle Pillar and the Circulation of the Body of Light (Exercise 10), if you so choose, to open the middle path within you and energize you for the work.
2. While in this space, call upon the divine forces of Hod. Burn your eight orange candles and Mercury incense. Try knocking on your altar eight times. Vibrate the divine name of Hod, Elohim Tzabaoth, eight times. Call upon any of the Mercurial deities of the sphere, or Archangel Raphael.
3. To count down into a meditative state, do exercise 1 through step 7 (page 76).
4. Let the familiar world around you fall away, as if the material reality you know is only a façade and beneath it lies the beautiful garden of the Goddess, a veritable paradise surrounding you. The land around you becomes a vast primordial garden, the garden of Malkuth, the familiar garden of the four paths.
5. Go to the heart of Malkuth, to the Temple of Malkuth. Decide which path you wish to take to Hod. Will you travel via Yesod? If so, follow the path back to Yesod, as you did in exercise 12, and journey to the Temple of Yesod. Look for the gateway of the Sun to lead you to Hod. Will you travel directly to Hod, through the Judgment/Aeon card? If so, look in the Temple of Malkuth for the gateway of Judgment/Aeon, and enter it.
6. While on your path, reflect on the symbolism of the path. Let the images of the associated tarot card and path come to you. Let your thoughts and feelings be guided by the power of the path. Learn what you can of the path, and of your process, to expand your consciousness to Hod.
7. Feel the call of the orange sphere from your path. The orange light, glistening with quicksilver, calls to you. You are bidden to enter the gates of Hod. To enter, you might have to give a symbol of Hod, such as the divine name (Elohim Tzabaoth), the glyph of Mercury, or the name of a Mercurial god. Enter the orange light and feel your mind immediately sharpen and quicken. Your thoughts become like quicksilver, racing back and forth, yet your mind feels clear. You wander the world of the orange light and explore the realm of language and magick. Everything seems quick, full of energy and information. You may encounter some of the beings of Hod, such as the totems of the jackal or two-headed serpent or the figures of the four eights in the tarot.
8. Make your way to the Temple of Hod. You enter an eight-sided chamber that looks like a vast library or college, a place of learning. It appears to be made of language, and you perceive this information right in its very structure. You begin to realize that everything you perceive is just that—a perception, made of thought and language. You see gateways for all the paths in and out of Hod.
9. The figures of Hod are there waiting for you—perhaps the great Hermaphrodite, both male and female in his/her splendor. The Mercurial gods—Thoth, Hermes, Mercury, Odin, Loki, Nabu—could be there as well, together or separately. Archangel Raphael oversees the proceeding and may be available to converse with you. Ask to learn the mysteries of Hod in a manner that is correct and for your highest good at this time. They will teach you of the sphere’s virtue, vice, and obligation, and perhaps give you a glimpse of the vision, the Vision of Splendor.
10. When done, thank all the beings who have communicated with you. They might offer you a gift, a token of their goodwill. If you accept, it is polite to reach within your being and offer them a gift of your goodwill in return. Be sure that what you give reflects the energy and intention you plan to put into the sphere’s lessons.
11. Once you have said your farewells, leave the shrine and follow the path back. Return the way you came unless you feel guided to return via a different pathway and know the pathway back well. Now is not the time for further exploring, but is the time to go back and integrate these experiences. Return to the garden of Malkuth. Focus on the waking world you know, and feel it return around the garden.
12. To return to normal waking consciousness and end your journey, perform steps 15–17 from exercise 1 (page 78). You can close the temple by repeating the LBRP.
Initiation of Hod
In our system of witchcraft and Qabalah, Hod is assigned to the air grade. In ceremonial traditions, it is given the rank of 3 = 8 , the Practicus or Practitioner level, and the student is assigned to complete all of her or her intellectual studies, including a basic working knowledge of the Qabalah. An understanding of the theories and ideas of magick is required at this stage of initiation, but more importantly, an understanding of the truth is required.
Air
Spiritual Lesson: Truth
Spiritual Tools: Sword of Truth, Excalibur, Sword in the Stone, Fragarach
Fears and Challenges: Fear of Being Wrong, Insanity, Lying
Virtue: Honor
Psychological Function: Thinking
Stage of Learning: Knowledge
State of Matter: Vapor
Environmental Sphere: Atmosphere
Scientific Force: Electromagnetism
Periodic Element: Oxygen
Humor: Blood—Sanguine
Body System: Respiratory
Sacred River: Milk
Sacred Geometry: Octahedron
Celtic City: Finias
Qabalistic World: Yetzirah
Classical Age: Silver
Caste: Military/Ruler
Sufi Breath: In Mouth/Out Mouth
Mudra: Thumb and Pinky Finger
Planets: Venus, Mercury, Uranus
Fixed Sign and Animal: Aquarius—Human
Egyptian Animal: Hawk
Metal: Quicksilver
Chakras: Heart, Throat
Time of Day: Dawn
Season: Spring
Vowel Sound: E
Egyptian Syllable: As
Hindi Syllable: Pam
Tibetan Syllable: Ha
Modern Syllable: Leem
Obstruent Sounds: d, dh, t, th
Time Signature: 3/4
Hebrew God Name: Elohim Tzabaoth or YHVH
Archangel: Raphael
Angel: Chassan
Ruler: Ariel
Elemental King and Queen: King Paralda and Queen Eostar
Goetic Ruler: Amaymon
Enochian King: OROIBAHAOZPI
Stones: Agate, Calcite, Carnelian, Turquoise
Herbs: Hazel, Lavender, Peppermint, Sage, Skullcap
In mysticism, truth means many things. It is both absolute and subjective, which seems contradictory to the uninitiated. Living with paradox is the role of the initiate, and we have to reconcile many seemingly contradictory truths within us. There is an absolute divinity. That is the truth. Yet we learn that truth is not an absolute when it’s personal. We can each have our own truth, or own view of the absolute divinity, creating the variety of spiritual traditions, religions, and philosophies. We know what resonates with us as truth, but it is not always what resonates with our friends, family, or community. The quest for truth is the quest for spirituality.
The quest for truth is double-edged, and appropriately the symbol of air, and of truth, is the sword. The desire to know the absolute and universal truth can lead to fanaticism. All our dogmatic, radical, and fanatical institutions usually are started with the best of intentions, yet when people cannot discern personal truth from universal truth, such groups attempt to force their own view of truth on others. No truth really can be forced on another. The flip side to the sword is falsehood—the fear of not finding the truth, the fear of being wrong, the fear of being insane, and the fear of speaking your truth and being judged by others. Fear, though seen as an emotion, has roots in the mind, in the realm of air. Fear is the paralyzing force that prevents us from finding and effectively speaking our truth.
The double-edged blade is found in many powerful legends, most often as Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur. The myths of the sacred sword often are tangled, as some see the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur as one and the same, while others see them as two separate swords. The Sword in the Stone was proof of Arthur’s lineage and right to be king, for only he could draw it out of the stone of the Earth. Excalibur was a gift from the Lady of the Lake. Though potentially two separate swords, each is carried by the king, the sovereign defender of truth, of what is right in the land. Each is associated with a feminine element and figure—the Goddess of the Land and the Lady of the Lake—showing that the sword bearer is an intermediary between the goddess of the mysteries and the people. One who wore the scabbard was said to never die from wounds inflicted, so the truth will always have a defender.
In Celtic myth, a similar sword, the Sword of Nuada, or Sword of Light, is one of the four sacred treasures of Ireland. Some relate it to the mythical sword Fragarach, meaning “the answerer,” giving it air associations, or “the retaliator.” The sword also was said to be wielded by Manannan mac Lir and Lugh. Lugh later gave it to the hero Cuchulain. The sword is said to cut enemies in half, and no armor can stop it. All these figures are heroes, yet Nuada was the ruler of the Irish gods, the Tuatha de Danann. He went through a wounding, in some ways similar to Arthur’s experience, and lost his hand in battle. He had to abdicate his throne, for the king must be perfect in body as well as spirit. Through magickal medicine, Nuada’s hand was replaced by a silver hand and then later flesh and blood, and he was restored to the throne.
We must find our own inner truths, our own “answerer” sword. I envision the inner tool of the air element as the Sword of Truth. Armed with our own personal truth, along with the three other weapons of the elements, we easily can discern truth from falsehood in our lives, especially when we seek to fool ourselves into falsehood. The sword is the tool that lets us dissect our ego, then keep the parts that serve us and transform those that do not. Seek out the Sword of Truth on the elemental plane of air. For now, your “sword” might manifest only as a short blade and will grow with time and further training in the ways of the High Priest/ess.
Elemental Air Journey Seeking the Sword of Truth
1. This exercise is an expansion of the experiences in Exercise 21: Journeying to the Realm of Air from The Outer Temple of Witchcraft. You can start by performing the LBRP before this journey to prepare yourself. Then perform Exercise 1, steps 1–11, to go to your inner temple.
2. Orient yourself in the center of your inner temple. Look for the four doorways to the elemental planes. You might find that your guides bring you to the garden of Malkuth, with its four paths to the four elemental planes. In either case, orient yourself to the direction of elemental air. Hold your intention to journey to the realm of air and seek out the Sword of Truth. You know you might not receive it, but the journey will give you teachings to better master the element in your life so you can come back and claim it. Open the doorway of air, perhaps using the invoking pentagram of air as a magickal “key” (OTOW, Chapter 6). Enter the path or tunnel that leads to the elemental plane of air.
3. When you are fully in the realm of air, seek out the primal powers of the plane. Hold the intention to go to the heart of the realm, to seek out the elemental ruler, king, queen, archangel, or a deity of elemental air. Perhaps a guide will take you there directly, or you will have to search, and the searching will be part of your lesson.
4. When you reach the heart of the elemental plane, state your request to receive the Sword of Truth. The keepers of the sword might ask you why you think you are worthy, and you might have to convince them that you are ready to do so. You could be challenged to demonstrate that you speak your truth. Meet the challenges to the best of your ability. If you are ready to receive the sword, then the elemental teachers will give it to you, often embedding it in your heart, or in your dominant, or projective, hand. If not, they will instruct you in what you have to accomplish to be able to receive the sword in the future. They may offer to tutor you in the ways of the air element, giving you an assignment to complete before you return.
5. Travel back from the realm of elemental air, back the way you came unless guided by the teachers to take another route. Go back to the inner temple. Close the gateway of elemental air in a manner similar to the way you opened it. If you used an invoking pentagram, then use a banishing pentagram now.
6. To return to normal waking consciousness and end your journey, perform steps 15–17 from exercise 1 (page 78). Close with the LBRP if you opened with it.
The ritual tool of the athame anchors your Sword of Truth in the world. British Traditional Wiccans often paint or carve specific markings into their athame, such as those shown in Figure 41. Not being from a Gardnerian or Alexandrian line, I prefer the markings in Figure 42. If you choose, mark your blade when you reconsecrate it after receiving the Sword of Truth.
First Side
The Horned God; Life; the Kiss; the Scourge; the Moon Goddess; and Scorpio, the sign of life, death, and resurrection.
Second Side
The Goddess and God as a perfect couple; the sign for directing the power;
the eightfold path and the Wheel of the Year.
First Side
On the far left is Libra, the sign of justice, balance, and the double-edged blade; and on the far right is Scorpio, the sign of life, death, and resurrection. Your own name, witch name, or motto should go in a magickal script between the two. Note that my nontraditional markings are drawn vertically, from top to bottom, rather than horizontally.
Second Side
The Triangle of the Triune Powers—Goddess, God, and Great Spirit; the five
elements; the Moon Goddess; the sign for directing the power; and the Wheel of
the Year, the cycles of life.
Homework
• Do Exercises 14–16 and record your experiences in your Book of Shadows.
• Learn and practice the Four Adorations exercise, the traditional version or your own personally reconstructed version.
• Continue to practice the LBRP, Middle Pillar, and Circulation of the Body of Light rituals, traditional or personal versions.
Tips
• Fill in the Hod correspondences and colors on your own Tree of Life drawing. Contemplate them as you add them to the image. Start memorizing these correspondences.
• To gain greater mastery over the realm of Hod and the element of air, be keenly aware of your thoughts and words, and in particular your conversations with others, to perceive truth and falsehood in your own words and those of others.
• Study appendix IV to deconstruct and reconstruct the Four Adorations to your liking and worldview, if you so choose.
• Pick one other reality map from appendix I to contemplate. Understanding a variety of worldviews will help you when you construct your own reality map.
• Don’t feel as though you need to master your Sword of Truth before going on to the next lessons. These are tools you can be using throughout the entire year-and-a-day course and beyond. Keep visiting the realm of air, and integrate these lessons into your daily life.
• When you do feel that you have received the Sword of Truth from the inner-world teacher of the air element, make sure to reconsecrate the blade that you have on your altar. If you have not already made markings on the handle, you can use the traditional or my nontraditional markings. If you work with several different sets of tools, you might find your inner Sword of Truth extending out from your hands to empower a blade and then retracting back within you when the rite is concluded.