Lesson Five Netzach
The seventh sphere on the Tree of Life is Netzach. Paired with Hod, it is the opposite of Hod in terms of temperament and process. Netzach is the realm of feeling, emotion, and sensuality. It is primal, bypassing language and words and getting right into feelings. Netzach is what occultists would call the emotional plane, but it also has a very strong physical component. Netzach is not nature manifest, but the drive of nature to survive, to procreate, to flourish and diversify. It is the green sap of the world flowing, but also the blood and passion within us. Some relate it to the green world of faeries, of nature spirits and primal beings, viewing it like a paradisiacal Arcadia. It is the realm of nature magick, and what would be called folk witchcraft, when compared to the scholarly temple traditions on the side of Hod.
In Theosophical material, Netzach would align with the force known as the green ray, an energy inherent in witchcraft and nature, but also the arts, including visual arts, music, and dance. It is the sensuality of creation and the enjoyment of such creations. A gregarious nature, along with the primal power of emotion, are found in Netzach. This realm is all about feelings and instinct, but its highest expression, what some would say is our highest natural instinct, is love. The name Netzach translates to “victory,” and it is the victory of emotion over thought. It is really the victory or triumph of the beautiful primal emotions that many of us are out of touch with in our effort to be civilized. This victory is embodied by the experience of this plane, the Vision of Beauty Triumphant. When used appropriately, Netzach is the powerful balance to Hod. Both thought and feeling are needed in a truly realized individual.
Netzach
Meaning: Victory
Level of Reality: Emotional Realm
Parts of the Self: Desire, Left Hip
Experience: Vision of Beauty Triumphant
Obligation: Responsibility
Illusion: Projection
Virtue: Unselfishness
Vices: Selfishness, Impurity, Unchastity
Name of God: YHVH Tzabaoth (Lord of Hosts)
King Scale Color: Amber
Queen Scale Color: Emerald Green
Prince Scale Color: Bright Yellowish Green
Princess Scale Color: Olive flecked with Gold
Element: Fire
Planet: Venus
Image: Beautiful Naked Young Woman
Archetype: Love and Fertility Goddesses
Greek/Roman Deities: Aphrodite, Venus
Egyptian Deity: Hathor
Middle Eastern Deities: Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte
Celtic Deities: Branwen, Aine, Gwynhwyfar
Norse Deity: Freya
Hindu Deities: Lalita, Lakshmi
Archangel: Haniel (Archangel of Venus)
Angelic Order: Elohim (Creative Gods and Goddesses)
Choir: Principalities
Grade of Initiation: 4 = 7 Philosopher
Animal: Lynx
Planetary Vowel Sound: A (ay)
Resonant Letter: w
Musical Mode: Phyrgian
Musical Note: E
Tools: Lamp, Girdle, Rose
Incense: Rose, Red Sandalwood
Tarot: Seven of Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles
Moon—to Malkuth
Star—to Yesod
Tower—to Hod
Death—to Tiphereth
Fortune—to Chesed
Metal: Copper
Stones: Emerald, Rose Quartz, Tourmaline
Plant: Rose
The correspondences of Netzach are all Venusian and usually very appropriate for those on the witch’s path. The altar should be decorated in groups of seven. The color scheme is green and sometimes pink. Green and pink stones, particularly emerald, green tourmaline, peridot, and rose quartz, resonate strongly with Netzach. Copper is its metal. The incense to be burned during these workings is rose or red sandalwood. Either can be worn in an oil or potion to align with the sphere. All the sevens of the four tarot suits resonate with this sphere. The paths leading to and from Netzach are associated with the Moon, the Star, the Tower, Death, and Fortune in the tarot. These cards can be arranged appropriately on the altar’s edges to mimic the sphere’s alignment on the Tree.
Entities of Netzach
The spirits of Netzach are intimately linked to the green world. The archetypal image of the spirit of Netzach is a beautiful naked young woman, the epitome of the love and fertility goddess. The planet associated with Netzach is Venus, and all the goddesses of love, pleasure, sensuality, sexuality, and fertility can be found in the domain of Venus. There is an error in thinking that Venus is simply “just” a love goddess, when the archetypal energy of Venus contains so much more. To the practitioners of the ancient world, love, fertility, and the land are intimately tied together. The fertility of humans, and their ability to attract one another to propagate the species, is directly linked to the fertility of the land and its ability to bring abundance. When Aphrodite rose from the foam of the ocean and stepped onto land, flowers grew in her wake as she brought fertility and beauty wherever she stepped. Aphrodite is also the patron of the arts, which fall in the realm of all things luxurious, sensual, and creative. There are images and tales of dark Aphrodite, and it must be remembered that the event of her birth, the spilling of Uranus’s blood and genitals, also led to the creation of the Furies. There is a similar root to the words Venus (the Roman name for Aphrodite and the planet’s name), venereal, and venom, all of which have links to the term venifica, a Roman term for witch.
The images of the Middle Eastern Venusian goddess have a broader range than what most pagans think of as Venus. Starting with Inanna, the Sumerian Queen of Heaven and Earth, we have a tale of a goddess linked with the great mysteries themselves, of descent to the Underworld, death, and rebirth. Similarly, the figures of Astarte and Ishtar teach the mysteries. The temple “prostitutes” of these Middle Eastern goddesses were purveyors not simply of sex but also of the mysteries of union, of Goddess and God.
In the northern European myths, we have the cultures of the Norse and the Celts with strong earth fertility goddesses. Freya, the Norse goddess associated with love, from whom we get our planetary name of Venus’s day, Friday, for “Freya’s day,” is a goddess who encompasses far more than just romantic love. Speak to a Norse practitioner and equate Venus with Freya, and you will get a wonderful lesson. Freya is a goddess of magick, of seership and visions, of love, yes, but also of sexual power and, as a member of the race of gods known as the Vanir, of the land. She is master of the elements and keeper of powerful magick that even Odin has envied.
In the Celtic myths, the goddess we would associate with Venus is even harder to find, as almost all Celtic goddesses have a link to the land, and the fertility of the land, along with all their other associations. One could look to the goddess Aine. Others see the figure quite strongly in Branwen, divine sister to Bran the Blessed. Some modern pagans would see the story image of the goddess of love and fertility as Queen Gwynhwyfar from the Arthurian myth cycle. The Celtic Faery Queen also might appear in this realm. Some see the passionate side of the fey embodied in this realm.
In Egyptian magick, Isis has absorbed almost every goddess form, and many see her as the beautiful queen of heaven, associated with love, as she strives so hard, for love’s sake, to help her husband in his trials against their brother Set. Hathor, as the nourishing cow mother, also can be associated with Netzach and Venusian principles.
The whole gamut of emotions, drives, and desires that go in to the need for fertility, be it land, human, or personal fertility, is the domain of the Venusian sphere. Looking at the deities associated with the morning and evening star, it is clear that they embody far more than simple romantic and sentimental love. Creativity and imagination are as much a part of this sphere as sex and relationships, for these qualities fall into the personal fertility of the artist and magician. The passions of artistic people are ruled by this sphere, as well as the desire of the mystic to evolve. The love one must have for the divine is almost like sexual love. Many traditions sublimate sexual passion in celibate orders, to direct the energy toward divinity. The nun is said to be a “bride of Christ,” and priests are considered “married” to the Church. In their quest for divine union, most witches and magicians use sexual energy directly rather than sublimating it. All emotions lead higher up the Tree, and specifically higher up the Pillar of Mercy, to a higher octave of unconditional love. That is really where our drive and passion eventually lead us.
Venus and Netzach also have an association with Athena. Venus rules both Taurus and Libra, and with Libra, the sign of the scales, Athena is given a nod, being associated with wisdom, law, and the scales of justice. In magickal numerology, the number seven is associated with virginity, and thereby the virgin goddess Athena. Since no number below seven can enter into it without creating a decimal, it is considered a “virgin” number. Also, seven does not reproduce any of the numbers between one and ten through multiplication, so, having no children of the primary ten digits, it still is considered a virgin. In Greek gematria, the name of Athena adds to 77. Her other name, Pallas, adds to 343, or 7 x 7 x 7, also indicating volume. Her title Parthenos adds to 515, and 51.4 is very close to the angle of a regular heptagon, the seven-sided shape of Netzach. In fact, when you connect the lines of a seven-pointed star, you are said to be creating Athena’s Web (Figure 43).
The archangel of Netzach is a confusing correspondence. The name of the archangel changes with different sources and teachers, making its identity hard to know for certain. In an effort to make the four archangels of the quarters match the lower spheres (Gabriel—Yesod, Raphael—Hod, and Michael—Tiphereth), many assign Uriel, the archangel of the north and elemental earth, to Netzach. Netzach’s nature and green associations make this connection plausible. Uriel’s name is sometimes spelled Auriel, adding to the confusion, as certain practitioners see Uriel and Auriel as two separate beings and not simply two different spellings. Uriel is more appropriately assigned to the sphere of Da’ath and the planet Uranus. More often, the archangel attributed to Netzach is Haniel, the archangel of Venus. Haniel means “grace of God,” and classically this angel is associated with fertility, love, herbalism, and the secrets of beauty and makeup.
The angelic order of Netzach in Hebrew magick is the Elohim. The Elohim is a term used to refer to God, yet controversially many of a pagan persuasion refer to a translation meaning “gods,” both male and female. Those who follow this interpretation believe that the story of Genesis doesn’t say that God created the world, but that the gods created the world. Putting the Elohim as a class of angels in the seventh sphere provides some interesting food for thought for Qabalistic magicians and witches alike. Those with a monotheistic view would put the various gods of the pagan pantheons in the sphere of Netzach, as the gods of nature. The divine name of Netzach, YHVH Tzabaoth, or “Lord of Hosts,” refers to the divine in groupings, and Netzach is said to take the divine brilliant light of Tiphereth and refract it into the rainbow of nature, revealing many faces of divinity. The separation that occurs through the prism of Netzach is all of nature—not just the invisible spirits and gods but also their immanent manifested forms in nature. This sphere separates divine energy into everything—spirits, gods, people, rocks, trees, plants, animals, planets, stars, atoms, and molecules. Some translate the divine name as “Out of the One, Many,” yet magicians still ascribe individual gods to the upper spheres. Both Netzach and Hod have associations with “hosts,” with the divine expressed as a multitude of beings, or a pantheon.
To the witch and pagan magician, the Elohim are the “little gods,” what might be referred to by some as the devas, the bright and shining spirits that guide nature on the terrestrial level but are not necessarily the prime moving celestial forces. In Netzach, the Elohim manifest so that each being guides an aspect of divine manifestation. They guide the drives and passions of creation, be it the Elohim that helps inspire the artist or musician, or the one that inspires attraction and lust, or the one that drives a nature spirit to bloom a flower in its domain.
In a version of Christian angelic magick, the choir ruling this realm is known as the Principalities. They are the angels of large collective groups, particularly nations. The Principalities are less personal than the archangels and angels, but are still involved in the affairs of humans and the guiding of civilization.
The Vision of Netzach
The experience of Netzach is a tough one, for it is called the Vision of Beauty Triumphant. When a student first hears the name, it conjures up images of war, of battle, which are not what most of us think of when envisioning Venusian spirituality. The triumph isn’t achieved through violence, but is a triumph that occurs within the soul. The initiate sees the beauty of nature, of the arts, of relationship, and in that inherent beauty, the divinity pervading all things shines through. Divine beauty becomes the dominant motivating force, rather than the difficulties and woes of life. They are still there. Netzach doesn’t make problems magickally disappear. But the beauty, and the optimism that beauty brings, shine through the drabness and darkness, until the beauty of everything, even things aesthetically considered ugly, shines through. Those who endure harsh conditions of isolation or imprisonment need to experience this vision, and if they do, they can survive, because despite their conditions, they can find the beauty, and thereby the divinity, of the situation, regardless of the personal hardship. While Netzach’s purpose upon descent is to divide the one light into many, to manifest nature, its vision granted to us as we ascend is to see that all things visible and invisible are connected, are one. Love and beauty are the redeeming factors of this sephira, because it is either through pure love or through seeing the beautiful patterns of connection that we find this union. The mystic with a profound sense of universal love can move through this sphere, but so can the quantum scientist, seeing the beautiful symmetry and patterns of connection in all things. One of the reasons so many religions encourage the initiate to be in nature, to study and observe nature, is to find this beauty, love, connection, and ultimately the sense of union that helps us gain greater mastery of this sphere and its creative impulses.
The obligation of Netzach is responsibility. The energy of this sphere is powerful, capable of doing as much harm as good. This is why passion, drive, and sexuality have been so demonized. They open us quickly to the other worlds and divinity, but they also are fraught with dangers. It’s easy to use this power to manipulate others, to seduce without caring or get what you want for your own pleasure, or to create so obsessively that other aspects of life and relationships break down. The energy, though wild and filled with abandon, must be used measuredly and with discipline by the initiate. There is a time to be filled with passion and creativity, and there is a time to pay the bills. Knowing what time you are in is a mark of the initiate.
The illusion of Netzach is projection, which is found in every culture and community. It is where we see our own ideas, traits, feelings, or attitudes in other people. This occurs particularly when we externalize either “good” qualities in ourselves that we refuse to see in ourselves, or more commonly when we project blame, guilt, and responsibility onto others in an effort to ease our own feelings and defend ourselves against anxiety. When we don’t want to take responsibility for these powerful drives, we project them onto another. Suddenly we are not the one to blame, so we then can direct all our powerful feelings onto another person. Those who have found the responsibility of Netzach tend not to be blame-oriented or project their own emotions onto others. When they do, they quickly realize it and take responsibility for their feelings and the situations they have created with their projection.
The virtue of Netzach is unselfishness. The initiate of Netzach and the Vision of Beauty Triumphant knows that this power is not ours to own, but is of nature. We are stewards, wards, and mediators of it, as humans and even more deeply as priestesses and priests of the nature religions. We do not own the gods, nor do they really own us, but we are in cooperation and partnership. In a strong and divine partnership, each side gives to the other unselfishly. In certain sexual tantra teachings, each partner is encouraged not to focus on his or her own pleasure but to unselfishly serve the partner. If both do this, their lovemaking will be exquisitely divine. The lover, priestess, and artist know the most powerful and creative moments flow through us. We become a channel for the energy, be it sexual power, magickal power, or even true creative power. The moment we try to control, hoard, or own the energy, the flow diminishes and we lose our inspiration.
The vice of Netzach is selfishness, the opposite of its virtue. Also described as impurity or unchastity, it conjures up an image of a moral code condemning sexual behavior, which isn’t the case at all. Any specific behavior is permitted if it’s guided by responsibility and unselfishness, even if it’s not embraced by traditional society. Cora Anderson, co-founder of the Feri Tradition, speaking specifically on the Feri Tradition but with a sentiment that I think should apply to all witchcraft and magick traditions, says in Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition, “The Craft as we know it has a code of honor and sexual morality which is as tough and demanding as the Bushido of Japan and of Shinto…” When we act upon lust and desire without a sense of honor, a sense of integrity and most importantly divinity, then we enter the vice of Netzach. It also can be described as a lust for power rather than the lust for the divine, for spirit. Lusting after power simply for power’s sake stops the flow of this energy, or corrupts and poisons it within us. Many magickal, sexual, and romantic relationships become toxic when one seeks to control this powerful flow to take charge and command of others. Many who enter the realm of the vice then use projection to justify their actions. This vice is not a prohibition on how you should relate to others sexually, romantically, artistically, or magickally, but a call to maintain our integrity in all these things. With integrity, we can do anything our will and desires call us to do. Without it, we sow the seeds of our own fiery destruction.
Netzach Magick
The ways of magick for the realm of Netzach are considered more primal and natural than those of the realm on the opposite side of the Tree. The key word of this sphere’s message is beauty, on all levels, and we go to the realm of nature, of blooming and natural beauty, to find our tools and allies.
Netzach encompasses folk magick and fertility magick and charms. Much of the magick from The Outer Temple of Witchcraft would fall in the sphere of Netzach, the sphere of nature and fertility mysteries. But Qabalistic witches then take this magick to the next level, and traditionally it is developed through the teachings of the alchemist.
As Netzach is a sephira of fire, the lamp is one of its magickal tools. It’s the lamp of awareness, for this terrestrial fire then leads to the fire of spirit, to the next sphere of Tiphereth. It’s the fire of passion and burning for the divine at its highest level. On a more mundane level, it’s the fire of illumination and magick, like a candle. In days past, lamp magick was cheaper and more common than candle magick. Oils can be infused with herbs, sprinkled with powders, or imparted with color to enhance the magick. Lamp and candle magick are similar in nature.
Along with the lamp, the girdle is another tool of Venus. Matching the apron of the worker of the temple, found in Hod and in Masonic tradition, the girdle is the working tool of the beauty goddess. Legends tell of Aphrodite lending her girdle to Hera to again attract Zeus. In the story of Inanna, it is her breastplate that she gives up at the fourth gate to the Underworld. The girdle is both protective of the chest/torso area and enhancing, embracing the feminine beauty. Like many tools of the priestess, the girdle has fallen out of fashion in many magickal circles in actual practice, but for our purposes here, the idea of the girdle of the goddess is what’s important.
Lynx is the totem of Netzach. One might guess it’s for its exotic look and luxurious coat. But the lynx is also traditionally known as a guardian of the mysteries, a guardian of the veil, and those who carry Lynx medicine are said to be keepers of the mysteries, just as temple priestesses were keepers of the mysteries.
Seven is the number of Netzach, and the geometries of Netzach are powerful. In modern Qabalistic magick, the seven-pointed star, or septagram, is associated with the Venusian goddesses, particularly Inanna, Ishtar, and Astarte (Figure 43). Modern magicians have assigned one of the seven magickal planets to each point, though there are some disputes as to which point goes with which planet. Generally, the pattern of the star follows the pattern of the planetary days of the week. The symbol is used in rituals much like the pentagram and hexagram rituals of more traditional Qabalah. The seven ancient planets, and their corresponding Qabalistic spheres, are referred to as the Seven Heavens, for they are seven realms beyond and around the material world of Malkuth.
The septagram also is known to some as the Faery Star or Elven Star, aligning the user with the realm of the fey, of nature. It acts as a gateway between our world and the faery realm. I really like what author Francesca De Grandis says, in her book Goddess Initiation, about the Faery Star: “It symbolizes the secrets unique to you, the star you follow, a special star that is yours alone. The faery star reflects the secret mysteries that only you know. They can be found only in your own heart and deep within the cells of your body.” Strangely enough, as often as patterns of seven repeat in our myths, the septagon and septagram are notoriously difficult to draw perfectly, as the angles are not exact degrees (the center angle is 51.428571, as opposed to a pentagon’s 72), making the seven-sided figures as elusive as the faeries.
The symbol of Venus, popularly known as the feminine symbol, is the only planetary glyph on which we can encode the entire Qabalah (Figure 44). The symbol divides the cross of the material world with the circle of the heavens, and shows how Tiphereth, the Sun, is the linking point between the cross and the circle. Venus and the Sun have always shared some golden associations and attributes, and this diagram helps illustrate the special solar-Venusian relationship. Love is the foundation of the Tree of Life. Venus is the planet that most reflects the light of the Sun, and is described as a light bearer as well as a beautiful goddess.
The rose is one of the most perfect symbols of Netzach, as it is a symbol of beauty, love, and the mysteries on a variety of levels. Even those with no magickal background know there is something powerful about the rose. No wonder it has held sway in Western culture for so long as a symbol of romance, love, and spirit. As the lotus is the flower of the East and is visualized in the body’s chakras, the image of the rose often is used by the Western magician for each of the power centers. Its complex but beautiful symmetry really demonstrates the powers of Netzach. Though the core of the rose is seen as a five-petaled flower, it still resonates with Netzach and Venus.
One of the best known, but often the least practiced or understood, rituals of modern ceremonial magick is the Ritual of the Rosy Cross. The rosy cross is a symbol with great meaning (Figure 45). It is the sign of the Philosopher’s Stone, the product of the alchemical marriage of our two natures. In a similar vein, it is the union of the female, the rose, with the phallic male, the cross. Some see the union of the two more in alignment with the image of the ankh than with that of the traditional cross. The rosy cross is the symbol of the Great Work. The image is found in the traditions of the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, Golden Dawn, Thelema, and O.T.O. The lamen of the Golden Dawn is the Rose Cross, and according to Israel Regardie, it combines all the attributes and correspondences used in the Golden Dawn.
Some see the Ritual of the Rosy Cross as gently evoking the blessings of the love of Netzach or, even more popularly, of Tiphereth, yet unlike the pentagram and hexagram rituals, it does not “light up” the astral realm as it creates sacred space. It is a quiet and meditative ritual. It is protective, but in a gentle way, as opposed to the more forceful banishing rituals of the pentagram and hexagram. Since it’s done on the cross quarters, between the traditional quarters, it’s not as “loud” astrally. Also, like the shaman’s World Tree, it acknowledges the directions above and below, with the magician in the center. The Ritual of the Rosy Cross can be used for general protection (following the LBRP), for invisibility, to prepare for meditation, for general healing and blessing, and to seal your aura from outside influences.
When we look at the way the “rose” is drawn, as a crossed circle, we can see the glyph of Venus taken apart and the circle and cross placed one over the other. The connection to the Venus symbol, as well as the “disconnection” where the sphere of Tiphereth would be, show the unusual and powerful relationship between Netzach and Tiphereth, between Venus and the Sun. No wonder many magicians can’t decide what this ritual really conjures, because in many ways it conjures the highest aspects of both sephiroth.
Rather than using a wand, blade, or even your finger as a tool in this ritual, a stick of incense traditionally is used. Any scent will do, though obviously rose or any Netzach or Tiphereth scent would work well.
Ritual of the Rosy Cross
1. Perform the LBRP (Exercise 5).
2. Light your incense stick.
3. Go to the southeast of the space and draw the circled cross with your incense stick, drawing the vertical line first and then the horizontal line, and finishing with a clockwise circle with the ends of the cross sticking out, similar to a Celtic cross rather than the planetary glyph for Earth (Figure 45). Vibrate the divine name Yeh-hah-shu-ah. Finish drawing the circle on the syllable “shu” and then “stab” the center of the cross on the “ah” sound, filling the symbol with energy. As you do, you might feel an expansion of your aura or heart chakra, for this name has to do with the Pentagrammaton, a symbol of divine love and the saving principle embodied by the sacrificed gods (see chapter 5).
4. From the center of the cross, keep the incense stick level and trace one-quarter of a circle, moving clockwise to the southwest.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 three times more, drawing the rose cross in the southwest, northwest, and northeast, finally tracing a circle completed in the southeast. Do not repeat the circled cross in the southeast.
6. Turn and face inward, toward the northwest. Raise your incense stick high and make a diagonal line from the southeast to the northwest. Stop in the center of the space and make the rose cross above you, vibrating the divine name (Yeh-hah-shu-ah).
7. From the center of this cross, continue onward to the northwest corner. Connect this line of smoke to the center of the rose cross in the northwest corner, without redrawing the rose cross. It is already present.
8. Turn and face inward, toward the southwest. Keep the incense stick at arm level, but pointed down. Move toward the southeast. Stop in the center of the space and make the rose cross below you, vibrating the divine name.
9. From the center of this cross, continue onward to the southeast corner, incense stick still pointed down. Connect this line of smoke to the center of the rose cross in the southeast corner. Vibrate the divine name here, but do not redraw the rose cross.
10. Keeping the incense stick level, retrace the one-quarter of the circle, moving clockwise to the southwest corner. When the incense stick is in the center of the previously drawn rose cross, vibrate the divine name. Do not redraw the rose cross.
11. Mirroring steps 6–10, turn and face inward, toward the northeast. Raise your incense stick high and make a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast. Stop in the center of the space, at the previously drawn rose cross above you, and again vibrate the name. Continue onward to the northeast corner, connecting to the center of the rose cross in the northeast, without redrawing or vibrating the name. Turn inward again, facing the southwest, holding the incense level but pointing down. Move toward the southwest, stopping in the center to connect to the center of the rose cross below you, and vibrate the divine name. Complete the circuit to the southwest.
12. Keeping the incense level with the center of the rose crosses, move clockwise from southwest to northwest, northeast, and southeast, and return to the southwest.
13. Draw a large rose cross over the original smaller rose cross in the southwest, as big as you can make it. As you draw the bottom half of the circle, vibrate Yeh-hah-shu-ah. When you draw the top half, vibrate Yeh-hoh-vah-shah.
14. Go to the center of the space, facing east, and imagine the six rose crosses in golden light and the six rose circles in red, in the four cross quarters of SE, SW, NW, and NE, and above and below you. The lines connecting them are bright white, creating a sphere around you.
In the next chapter, as part of the hexagram rituals, you will learn the Analysis of the Key Word, which traditionally concludes the Ritual of the Rosy Cross, though the version of the ritual in Exercise 17 is still very effective on its own. Though the Rose Cross can seem very complicated at first read, try doing a read through and walk through the steps, and you will see the pattern forming before you. With a little practice, it will become one of the easiest ceremonial rituals to perform. Unlike the LBRP, Middle Pillar, and Circulation of the Body of Light, the Rose Cross does not need to be done regularly. Use it when you feel called to do so.
Fluid Condensers
Though many think the art of herbal magick is reserved for folk witches and medicine people, the plants of the green world, as well as the metals and minerals of other natural magick, play a strong role in the traditions of Western ceremonial magick. In fact, much of the lore that is passed on as witchcraft today was preserved through the writings of ceremonial magicians throughout history. Understanding the divine through nature is a key component of Western magick that many people overlook.
One particular form of natural magick prevalent in ceremonial magick and later absorbed into some of the more formal and ceremonial traditions of the Craft is the use of fluid condensers. The teachings have been used and adapted by many witches, particularly those associated with Alex Sanders and Sybil Leek. The teachings go back to the writings of P. B. Randolph and his work on sexual magick, and the writings of Franz Bardon.
Condensers are substances used to store etheric energy. They are used in magick to release energy with a particular kind of vibration. They usually are used to store the power of elemental energies, but also can be used for the planetary powers. Theoretically, Qabalistically inspired condensers, based on the sephiroth, could be formulated as well. They are made out of infusions of herbs and metals, preserved with alcohol. Though fluid condensers are usually liquid, some formulas call for solid or even gaseous substances.
The term fluid condenser refers not to the physical state of matter but to the idea that etheric energy is a subtle fluid flowing between the planes. The substance that contains, or condenses, this vital energy becomes the fluid condenser storing the energy. Technically, a wand, mirror, box, or other tool can be considered a fluid condenser, though now the term usually refers to herbal, metal, or mineral mixtures. They act as a battery, storing energy for later direction. The original teaching on this material is based on the concept that this flowing etheric fluid is associated with the two poles, described as electric and magnetic, but esoterically is identified with yang and yin or god and goddess. The fluid condenser is used in magick to anoint tools, paint charms, consecrate gems, make and paint statues, make magick mirrors, anoint the body, asperge the temple, cast spells, make poppets, and create magickal constructs. You also can add small amounts of a fluid condenser to incense or to food and drink, but use only the nontoxic ones and the ones to which you have no medical contraindications.
To a witch, a fluid condenser sounds like a potion, yet potions usually are made with a specific purpose, if not a specific goal, in mind. You create a love potion that can be used many times, yet do not tie it specifically to a particular kind of lover. A fluid condenser is associated with an elemental or planetary power, giving it a much wider range of use than most potions. Fluid condensers also are made a bit differently than most potions. They are said to be one of the most effective methods of storing, concentrating, and using magickal energy, so much so that many witches who are trained in the art use them only sparingly. Others use them for almost all magickal operations once they have been created. They can retain their power for many years, as long as the bottles storing them are corked tightly, kept out of the light, and shaken before every use. Though condensers work through the resonance and virtues of the herb used, the subtle forces are said to accumulate in the process of making them in a manner that is somewhat unlike that of traditional potions and herbal remedies.
A traditional ingredient in most fluid condensers is gold tincture. Franz Bardon was a great proponent of the belief that even tiny traces of gold can add great power to a fluid condenser. Gold is the perfect metal for the alchemist, as it’s a symbol of the Sun, creative energy, and enlightenment. Using gold tincture is a way to add power to any condenser. The most traditional method of making gold tincture is to dissolve a gram of soluble gold chloride in twenty grams of distilled water. Store in a glass bottle.
An alternative method is take a piece of gold—nine carat or better, such as a gold ring or medal that has been properly cleansed physically and esoterically—and heat it in a flame, holding it safely with tongs. Drop the ring in a nonmetal bowl of water. Ideally, use filtered rainwater collected in a nonmetal container during a thunderstorm. Distilled or spring water also can be used. Protect yourself from any sputtering or scalding. Retrieve the gold with a nonmetal utensil, such as a heatproof glass ladle or cup. Repeat this process six times to saturate the water with gold atoms.
Scott Cunningham, in Magical Herbalism, suggests simply adding a small piece of gold to the mixture and then straining it out before use. I like to use a gold vibratory essence, made like a flower essence or gem elixir in sunlight, as described in chapter 13 of The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft. Colloidal gold, though not as common as colloidal silver, is available as a health supplement. Many modern witches, feeling gold has solely a masculine energy, also use similar methods to make or obtain a silver tincture, and use silver tincture instead of, or in addition to, the traditional gold tincture.
There are two basic types of liquid fluid condensers and two methods of creating them. The formulas for fluid condensers can be simple or complex. Simple formulas contain one herbal ingredient, while complex ones have a mixture, ideally an odd number of herbs, though some would choose a number of herbs based on the corresponding sephira, if applicable. A Jupiter condenser could be made using four Jupiter herbs, for the fourth sphere of Chesed, rather than an odd number of herbs.
Fluid condensers can be created through an infusion or tincture process. Both are valuable, but the infusion process is quicker and has more steps. Both generally are begun when the Moon is waxing. For the tincture method, the New Moon is preferred, but if you are making planetary condensers, keep in mind planetary days and hours over Moon phase and sign. Some believe condensers should be made at dawn, while others prefer sunset or midnight. All of these are times of power. Choose the one that works best for you and the condenser’s nature.
Infusion Process
Put one to two handfuls of the herb or herb mixture, usually dried, into a nonmetal pot. Pour cold water over the herbs to cover them completely. Let the mixture boil for about twenty minutes, with the lid on the pot. Cool it, again with the lid on, for at least thirteen minutes. Strain out the herbs. Place the pot back on the stove and heat it with the lid on, letting the mixture evaporate until it is at about half of where it was when you started. Let the mixture cool, and when ready, add to it an equal amount of clear alcohol, such as vodka or gin.
Tincture Process
Put one to two handfuls of the herb or herb mixture, usually dried, into a glass jar. Cover the herbs with alcohol, such as vodka, gin, or unadulterated grape brandy. Let the mixture steep for at least twenty-eight days in a warm, dark location without opening the jar. Then strain out the dry herbs.
Straining should be done through linen, not metal sieves, though I must admit I’ve used plastic strainers on occasion. At the end of either process, add 7 to 20 drops of your gold tincture. I usually use around 10. If you are using the fluid condenser for your own and only your own purposes, you can further increase its potency by adding a few drops of your blood, menstrual blood, and/or sperm/vaginal secretions. Shake vigorously, strain again, and then store in a dark glass bottle, away from direct light. Make sure you label and date it.
Though few works talk about “charging” the substance, basing its power on its natural vital electromagnetic correspondences, I think it’s appropriate to call upon the spirit of the herb to aid you and be in alignment with your condenser. I also recommend thinking about the element, planet, or general spirit of the condenser when holding it and shaking it. Traditionally, chamomile is the first fluid condenser a magician makes, resonating with both fire and air, as well as the Sun and Mercury.
Elemental fluid condensers are great substances to aid you in working with a specific element. By now, you should be familiar with the purpose and energy of each element. Any spellcraft or visionary working involving a specific element can be enhanced by using the appropriate elemental condenser. Some formulas are based not on the traditional herbal usage but on other substances, such as juices or oils, as found in the Strega traditions taught by author Raven Grimassi. You can make your elemental condensers from these substances or from simple or complex herbal formulas, using the herbs listed for each element in the first four sephiroth lessons of this book.
Fire
Fire fluid condensers work best through combustion and are said to drive your will into reality. One method of using a fire condenser is to moisten paper or linen with your condenser as you focus on your intention. Fill the paper with your intention and then burn it, releasing the energy of your intention mingled with the condenser. A “hot” liquid such as a chili sauce or juice can be used as a fluid condenser. You can pass the fluid condenser through a candle or lamp flame a few times to truly align it with the element of fire as you concentrate on the element. Ideally, a fire fluid condenser should be made on a Tuesday or when the Moon is in a fire sign.
Air
Air fluid condensers work best through evaporation and are best for matters of communication, learning, and mental health. They also are used to aid respiratory health. A tried and true method of using an air condenser is to add a few drops of the condenser to water. Either heat the water on the stove, letting it evaporate into steam, or simply let the water in the bowl evaporate over time, particularly if working on a long-term intention. When adding the condenser, focus on your intention, infusing the charged water with your will. As the water evaporates, it releases your energy into the world to make your work a reality. When making an air fluid condenser, you can hang the bottle out on a tree for a short time or simply breathe life into it before you bottle it. A peppermint infusion is the most traditional base for an air condenser. Ideally, an air fluid condenser should be made on a Wednesday or when the Moon is in an air sign.
Water
Water fluid condensers are best for spiritual and emotional healing, as well as love, union, and psychic development. Mix a few drops of the condenser with water, preferably spring water or rainwater, not distilled water. Fill the water with your intention and then add it to a body of water, preferably running water, such as a river or stream, to manifest. Water condensers manifest through the mixing of waters. When making one, you can place the bottle in a natural body of water and later retrieve it. A great base for a water condenser is the juice of a water fruit or vegetable, such as a melon. Ideally, a water condenser should be made on a Monday or when the Moon is in a water sign.
Earth
Earth fluid condensers are best for manifestation and are said to influence, command, or compel others to do as you wish. They work through absorption in the ground and decomposition back to the basic elements of the earth. Take a small amount of condenser, either alone or mixed in rainwater. Load the fluid with your intention and pour it onto the ground where people will not be walking on it. If you are in an urban environment, you can pour it into a flower pot or into a hole cut into a large apple or potato that is then left out somewhere to rot or buried someplace. Along with the traditional earth herbs, mineral oil can be used for an earth fluid condenser. In either case, try to place the earth condenser in the ground after making it, to collect the earth energies, and then retrieve it later. The best time to make an earth fluid condenser is on a Saturday or when the Moon is in an earth sign.
Planetary fluid condensers embody the energies of one of the seven traditional planets. They are said to have a very strong and spiritual influence on the witch and can be used in both planetary and appropriately matching sephiric operations. Though any herb ruled by the planet can be used, alone or in combination, there are several herbs that traditionally are considered important to the planet, much as certain specific scents are ascribed to the sephiroth.
Planetary condensers should be made on the day and hour of the planet when possible (OTOW, Chapter 12). Magickal timing helps align the substances to the corresponding force, particularly for herbs that are ruled by two or more planets. Magickal timing stimulates the proper force to condense in the substance, for the time when something is “born” continues to influence its growth.
|
Planet |
Time Period |
Herbs |
|
Sun |
365 days |
Rosemary, St. John’s Wort, Eyebright, Cinnamon |
|
Moon |
28 days |
Cucumber Skin, Willow Leaves or Bark, Mugwort |
|
Mercury |
10–11 months |
Hazel, Valerian, Acacia, Mint |
|
Venus |
11 months |
Vervain, Yarrow, Rose |
|
Mars |
22–24 months |
Stinging Nettle, Untreated Tobacco, Pepper |
|
Jupiter |
12 years |
Sage, Lemon Balm, Oak |
|
Saturn |
29.5 years |
Horsetail, Poplar, Comfrey |
For planetary condensers made through the tincture method, you might wait for a symbolic amount of time based on the planetary return. Using the length of some planetary returns, such as Saturn’s twenty-nine years, usually proves to be impractical, so the number can correspond to days or months, depending on your patience, and still have a numerological resonance with the planet. I might do twenty-nine months for a powerful Saturn fluid condenser to keep for many years, or make a twenty-nine day condenser if I need it quickly. Those astrologically inclined might plan the exact moment of the planetary return, using an ephemeris or astrological software.
Universal fluid condensers, super powerful and all-purpose, can be made in several ways. An elemental universal fluid condenser contains equal amounts of each elemental condenser, with a few more drops of gold tincture, if applicable. A planetary universal condenser is made the same way, but with equal amounts of all seven planetary condensers. Here are the ingredients for a traditional universal condenser that can be used for any purpose, including elemental and planetary workings:
Angelica root
Sage leaf
Cucumber skin
Chamomile flowers
Violet leaves or flowers
Melon seeds
Tobacco leaves
Oak leaves or bark
Peppermint leaves
Solid fluid condensers can be made out of the herbs remaining from liquid fluid condensers. The herbal material is scattered on a paper towel to dry and then ground to a powder, traditionally by hand in a mortar and pestle, though modern mages might use an electric grinder. These powders can be added to potions and incense, scattered to the winds, dissolved in liquids, buried, or burned. They also can be added to paints, lacquers, or clay or used to fill hollow spaces in ritual tools, such as filling a hole drilled into a wand.
Netzach Pathworkings
Netzach pathworkings can be particularly intense. The pathway of the Moon card, which leads directly to Netzach from Malkuth, in its most basic form represents emotional magick, intuition, and separating illusions from truth. On its deeper initiatory level, the path of the Moon is the emotional trauma, in life or in vision, that awakens one to the higher reality. It can be quite difficult to describe this process in words. In a Netzach pathworking, we can revisit profound emotional memories that we carry with us. The emotional nature of personal traumas can prevent us from putting a certain amount of intellectual detachment and distance between us and the experience. With this pathworking, we can process the emotions and learn valuable lessons from the experience that will aid our overall spiritual evolution.
Many people enter magickal traditions believing that magick is only a form of psychology and auto-suggestion, and even when they have real experiences, the reality of magickal energy beyond the realm of the mind can be difficult to truly accept. Since Netzach really circumvents the realm of the mind, its experiences can be very intense. That’s not to say that these experiences are detrimental or even unenjoyable. They most often are positive, and sometimes the emotion experienced is intense pleasure, love, or bliss. But they are intense emotional experiences for many explorers. One of my students, an experienced healer and shamanic practitioner who is well versed in all the teachings that precede level four, was almost overwhelmed by Netzach, experiencing a huge cathartic emotional release that led her to a greater understanding of the next step in her spiritual development. The pure emotions overwhelmed her because in this realm, she no longer had the ability to intellectualize and label specific emotions. She couldn’t rest and reflect upon them, but simply had to experience them. The emotions had to “flow” or “burn” through her like a natural phenomenon, until they had run their course and the experience ended. Reflection took place after the ritual and pathworking.
The remaining paths out of Netzach can aid in our education of the sphere, giving us further context for the primal emotional sephira. We climb the Tree to Tiphereth through the thirteenth trump of the tarot, Death. The old personal self must die and be reborn to ascend to the heavens of Tiphereth. Ruled by the zodiac sign Scorpio, Death shows us that through intense emotional transformation we can rise, moving from the lower totem of Scorpio, the scorpion or snake, to the higher totem, the phoenix.
We climb from Netzach to Chesed, its higher octave, through the much gentler Wheel of Fortune card. While at first glance this card indicates a change in luck for the better, the true secret of the Wheel is to master at least two selves—the self that is personal, and on the wheel of life, experiencing ups and downs, and the self that is in the center, eternal, timeless, and bornless. By holding both images, you have both the personal energy of Netzach, below the veil, and the higher perspective of Chesed, above it.
Netzach 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. Performing the Ritual of the Rosy Cross is not required, but would be very appropriate to prepare yourself and the space for a Netzach pathworking.
2. While in this space, call upon the divine forces of Netzach. Burn your seven green candles and Venus incense. Try knocking on your altar seven times. Vibrate the divine name of Netzach, Yod Heh Vah Heh Tzabaoth, seven times. Call upon any of the Venusian deities of the sphere, or Archangel Haniel.
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 Netzach. 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 Star card to lead you to Netzach. Will you travel directly to Netzach, through the Moon card? If so, look in the Temple of Malkuth for the gateway of the Moon, 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 Netzach. Let go of your analytical mind, and feel the primal creative powers of Netzach rise within you.
7. Feel the call of the green sphere from your path. The green light magnetically draws you in. You are bidden to enter the gates of Netzach. To enter, you might have to give a symbol of Netzach, such as the divine name (YHVH Tzabaoth), the glyph of Venus, or the name of a Venusian god. Enter the green light and feel the primal powers. Feel your blood, your life force, quicken. Feel your drives and desires. Walk the emerald-green sphere of Netzach and explore the primal passion of magick. Everything seems beyond time, yet full of life. You might encounter the beautiful creatures of Netzach, teachers in the lessons of creative fertility.
8. Make your way to the Temple of Netzach. You enter a seven-sided temple, a temple of the old world, beautiful and ornate. You smell the incense, see the flickering lights, feel the temperature, and hear the music. Your senses come alive. You see and feel the gateways out of Netzach, to the other spheres.
9. The figures of Netzach are residing in the temple. The beautiful goddess of this sphere awaits you. She might manifest as Aphrodite, Venus, Inanna, Freya, or any of the other goddesses of this realm. Haniel and the lynx are available as guides for Netzach journeys. Commune with the beings of Netzach, but don’t be surprised if they are not big on words. Ask to learn the mysteries of Netzach, how to embody the virtue by working through the obligation and how to avoid the vices by not succumbing to the illusion. Ask for the Vision of Beauty Triumphant in a manner that is correct and for your highest good.
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.
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 Netzach
Out of all the elemental grades in Qabalistic magick, I find assigning an element to Netzach the most difficult to understand and integrate. Though fire fits Netzach, the Venusian sphere, as most witches learn it, encompasses much more complexity than what most think of as strictly fire energy. Fire is the hardest element to describe, and most use terms such as soul, spirit, will, drive, energy, and desire as key words. Though Venusian principles are described as very primal, the archetype of drive is usually mated with her twin, Mars, while Venus is described as seductive and magnetic in her passion. The planet Venus draws to it what it desires, rather than going out and getting it, as implied in the fire imagery. It literally traps whatever energy passes through its atmosphere, holding on to it. Its magickal-magnetic qualities have more in common with lunar goddesses and the water element than with fire. Alan Moore, in his magickal comic book series Promethea, describes Venus as an ocean of emotion. That imagery works well for me and suits many of my own pathworkings. In astrology, Venus rules two signs, Taurus and Libra, an earth sign and an air sign, respectively. With these attributes—fire, water, earth, and air, all in one sphere—it’s no wonder that Netzach has associations with the realm of nature, the fey, and the gods of the world. Aphrodite was born of blood and violence, yet came out of the foaming ocean. As she walked upon land, flowers bloomed. She then became the goddess of love and attraction, the force and desire of procreation.
The Philosopher grade 4 = 7 is the ranking of Netzach. The initiate undergoes moral training, to master the passions and drives, rather than be mastered by them. The devotion of the initiate to the magickal order also is tested. In this course, you might find that the testing of the fourth grade comes not as devotion to a specific order (though if you are a member of a coven, it might manifest on the physical plane as coven challenges), but as your devotion to the brotherhood and sisterhood of witchcraft. Whether we come from a broken or unbroken lineage is for scholars to debate, but spiritually, we are the inheritors of the ancient secret wisdom, the spiritual initiates of the mystery traditions, and when the time is right, we aspire to be members of that inner-plane order of teachers and healers, the Hidden Company or Withdrawn Order. Here, our passions, if not mastered, might derail us from the path of enlightenment. Here, our will must be mastered and applied to knowing our True Will.
Fire, like will, manifests on a variety of octaves and becomes our teacher in refining our will. There is common fire—the candle flame or blazing bonfire—but it is terrestrial in nature. Yet there is always something supernal about it, as the first understanding of fire comes from the flashes of heavenly lightning. The heavenly fire is akin to the celestial fire of the stars, the campfires of the gods and angels in old myths, and the hidden essence of our true natures. According to the Orphic mysteries, humanity’s origins lie in the starry heavens, a teaching that Aleister Crowley reiterated in his Thelemic tradition. Terrestrial fire releases the hidden fire within all matter, the trapped energy, the spark of spirit residing in all things, awaiting release. Lastly, there is the secret fire of the initiate, the personal life force or kundalini, that must be refined. As it is refined, it forms our True Will. It is the fire of Prometheus, the occult fire that burns within all priestesses and priests in our order. It is that internal fire that is the true refining fire of the alchemist, and the fire we truly connect to in the fire festivals and fertility celebrations. Fire is our key to refinement.
Fire
Spiritual Lesson: Victory
Spiritual Tool: Spear of Victory, Spear Luin, Spear of Destiny
Fear and Challenge: Self-Sabotage
Virtue: Courage
Psychological Function: Intuition
Stage of Learning: Wisdom
State of Matter: Plasma
Environmental Sphere: Mangasphere
Scientific Force: Strong Force
Periodic Element: Nitrogen
Humor: Yellow Bile—Choleric
Body System: Nervous
Sacred River: Honey
Sacred Geometry: Tetrahedron
Celtic City: Gorias
Qabalistic World: Atziluth
Classical Age: Gold
Caste: Priest/ess
Sufi Breath: In Mouth/Out Nose
Mudra: Thumb and Ring Finger
Planets: Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto
Fixed Sign and Animal: Leo—Lion
Egyptian Animal: Cat/Lion
Metal: Gold
Chakras: Solar Plexus, Crown
Time of Day: Noon
Season: Summer
Vowel Sound: I
Egyptian Syllable: Am
Hindi Syllable: Ram
Tibetan Syllable: Ra
Modern Syllable: Ra (Ka)
Obstruent Sounds: b, v, p, f
Time Signature: 9/8
Hebrew God Name: YHVH Tzabaoth or Adonai
Archangel: Michael
Angel: Aral
Ruler: Seraph
Elemental King and Queen: King Djinn and Queen Litha
Goetic Ruler: Göap
Enochian King: OIPTEAAPDOKE
Stones: Ruby, Citrine, Pyrite, Tiger’s-Eye
Herbs: Chili, Heliotrope, Nettles, St. John’s Wort, Sunflower
The fire tool of the True Will is traditionally the wand. Ceremonial magicians use several different types of wands to differentiate various energies being used, from a specific fire wand, to a lotus wand, to a rainbow zodiac wand. Witches have one all-purpose wand to serve all needs, though we might own several different physical wands, rods, and staves. Each one can be used for multiple reasons, from casting circles to charging objects.
In mythology, the staff or, even more commonly, the spear, is the symbol of this fire. In the Celtic myths, the fourth gift is the Spear of Lugh. Lugh is the Irish Celtic figure who led the Tuatha de Danann into battle. His tale begins with Lugh knocking on the door of Tara, the court of these gods. Through demonstrating his many skills, he quickly evolved from an outsider to a powerful divine figure. The festival of Lughnasadh was originally a celebration of the memory of his foster mother, Tailtiu. Lugh’s story is a great tale of following your drive, your will, to manifest your highest divinity. His journey was not an easy one, yet he found success through pursuing what he felt called to do, with honor and courage. The translation of his name often is disputed, but he has been connected to solar, light, and lightning imagery, as well as “flowing vigor,” which is perfect, as the fire element and his spear represent the power of drive. We need vigor to accomplish our True Will, and when we are connected to our True Will, we have access to an almost unlimited flow of energy.
The spear that aided Lugh in his victories was a very magickal tool indeed, needing not to be wielded by his own hand, or personal will. It acted like a living creature, struggling against its restraints until it was released, flashing fire, and tearing through the ranks of the enemy. The only way to quiet it was to steep its head in a potion of sedative poppy leaves. Other tales say the spear was so intensely hot, it had to be held down in the Cauldron of the Dagda, to prevent it from burning down everything around it. From the city of Finias, it was known as the Spear Luin, the flaming or flashing spear. It also is associated with the spear of Cuchulain, the Gae Bulg, or notched spear, made from the bone of a sea monster, as Cuchulain and Lugh were strongly associated with each other. Lugh had a second spear, known as the Spear of Assal, that would always hit its target and return to the thrower upon command.
In our modern mythologies identifying the four Celtic gifts with Christian mythos involving the grail, the spear was associated with the Spear of Longinus, the spear said to have pierced Christ’s side. It was worked into the grail quest as the Holy Lance or Bleeding Lance. It later was associated with Nazi occultism and World War II mythology. Known as the Spear of Destiny, this spear was said to render its user undefeatable in battle. Seeking to be victorious, Hitler sought out and, some say, found and lost this ancient artifact, explaining his defeat.
The concept of destiny, or victory, associated with the fire element and spear is powerful. Most witches do not believe in destiny, for destiny implies there is no work to be done, no choice. Things simply happen because they are meant to happen. This doesn’t fit our cosmology, or experience, for we know we must be active participants in the process. Destiny is really where opportunity and action meet, as a former business teacher of mine used to say. Destiny can pass us by if we are not vigilant.
When we find our True Will, and wield the stellar forces of light and power, anything in the purview of that True Will is possible. Anything. Though there will be struggles and work on the human level, an energy to accomplish a goal flows through the witch in a way that can’t be understood before an aspect of the True Will is found. When we are following our True Will, we are in our center, peaceful, yet also working, striving, and moving forward. The paradox is that though we are putting forth effort, our work feels effortless on some level.
I think of this force more as victory than destiny, for victory implies more conscious action. When we hold the Spear of Victory in our hand, like Lugh’s spear, it moves of its own volition, yet we must unleash and guide it, and take responsibility for it, or it will be power out of control. But when we hold the Spear of Victory appropriately in our hand, with our True Will in action, we can accomplish anything. For now, your “spear” might manifest as a smaller wand, scepter, or stick, and will grow into a spear or staff size with time and further training in the ways of the High Priest/ess.
Elemental Fire Journey Seeking the Spear of Victory
1. This exercise is an expansion of the experiences in Exercise 13: Journeying to the Realm of Fire 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 fire. Hold your intention to journey to the realm of fire and seek out the Spear of Victory. 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 fire, perhaps using the invoking pentagram of fire as a magickal “key” (OTOW, Chapter 6). Enter the path or tunnel that leads to the elemental plane of fire.
3. When you are fully in the realm of fire, 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 fire. 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 Spear of Victory. The keepers of the spear might ask you why you think you are worthy, and you might have to convince them you are ready to do so. You could be challenged to demonstrate your power to enact your will. Meet the challenges to the best of your ability. If you are ready to receive the spear, then the elemental teachers will give it to you, often embedding it in your heart, or in your dominant, or projective, hand. The spear might not even be a spear, but a wand, staff, or torch. Any of these tools will fulfill a similar function in this context. If you are not ready, they will instruct you in what you have to accomplish to be able to receive the spear in the future. They may offer to tutor you in the ways of the fire element, giving you an assignment to complete before you return.
5. Travel back from the realm of elemental fire, 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 fire 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.
This is the final journey that will help you gain greater mastery of the elements for deeper workings. If you receive the Spear of Victory, then you should reconsecrate your wand with this new energy. You can add something to it as well, such as a carving or mark. Some traditions will put on it the planetary glyphs for the first seven planets—Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. If your wand is wooden, you can oil the wand, both to preserve it and to add more power and increase its attunement to you, through the continual stroking of the tool with your body and energy field. Linseed oil is a particularly good choice, though use an appropriate oil that suits your own style of magick. Essential oils or, even better yet, fluid condensers, can be added to the oil. A small hole could be added to the wand and filled with a solid fluid condenser, then sealed with wax. Obviously, a fire fluid condenser would be best, though you also could use an all-purpose universal fluid condenser or one made from an herb that is one of your “power” herbs (TOSW, Chapter 13). If your wand is not wooden, you can still anoint it with fluid condensers, oils, or potions to increase its energy.
Homework
• Do Exercises 17–19 and record your experiences in your Book of Shadows.
• Learn and practice the Ritual of the Rosy Cross, the traditional version or your own personally reconstructed version.
• Continue to practice the LBRP, Middle Pillar, and Circulation of the Body of Light rituals, the traditional or personal versions. You can continue with the Four Adorations, but it’s not a requirement.
Tips
• Fill in the Netzach 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 Netzach and the element of fire, be aware of your passions, drives, and wants, and how they may serve or sabotage your life’s purpose. This is not denial of passion by any means, but the healthiest expression of your desires.
• Study the Ritual of the Rosy Cross and deconstruct and reconstruct it to fit your 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 Spear of Victory 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 fire, and integrate these lessons into your daily life.
• If you work with several different sets of tools, you might find your inner Spear of Victory extending out from your hands to empower a wand and then retracting back within you when the rite is concluded.