Lesson 13
Initiation
The only task left to complete is initiation. Such a task is no small feat. Initiation is the culmination of your work and should never be entered into lightly. Before you do enter into it, understand what initiation means.
The word initiation has many meanings, depending on the context. Usually it is an induction into a special group or society. The induction process consists of some form of ceremony or ritual. The ritual may contain a task presented as a challenge to each potential member. Such tests must be passed. They can be as simple as giving the appropriate word, handshake, or symbol, as learned in preparation for the ritual, or a test of courage, wits, intelligence, or foolhardiness. Though they may seem to have nothing mysterious in origin, the infamous hazing initiation rituals of college fraternities serve the same purpose as occult initiations. Each member, through the history of the group, comes from a similar background and goes through an ordeal, facing the same rituals and consequences. Success from passing the trials creates a common bond, regardless of whether you joined last year or twenty years ago. The events themselves may change, but the general feeling is conveyed, a sense of camaraderie. This is why such relationships last well past college and members of a fraternity in the business world will help their younger “brothers.” For those of us who don’t belong to a restricted group such as a fraternity or sorority, the rites of passage in life, recognized in both civil society and mainstream religious groups, are initiations. Marriage, childbirth, retirement, divorce, puberty, menstruation, coming out, and religious rites of baptism, communion, and confession are initiations.
The rituals and sacraments of all religions are initiations, leading you into a new peer group comprised of those who have also experienced the same event. Marriage can bring you into a new group of peers. Having a child can do the same thing, giving you a new world to explore. Ultimately, initiations bring you into a new world, be it social, political, religious, or mystical.
For the spiritually inclined, the new world may simply be a new worldview. The ritual, trials, and tests might not come from a humanmade agency, but from life itself, from nature or the people we attract into our world. Sacred stories are filled with initiations, particularly the wild woman/man who goes crazy, running off into the forest. In reality, the wild one is opening to magickal ability, speaking with spirits. Living in the wilderness, so close to nature, is an initiation. This future shaman must get these abilities under control, learn from the spirits, and come back having mastered his or her magickal abilities. Magickal traditions from all over the world are marked by a cloistering of the initiate in isolation, and often include fasting to induce a spiritual awakening. Some go to monasteries. Others travel to the top of a mountain, go deep in the jungle, or take a pilgrimage into the desert. Initiations force one to look at the world through a different lens, seeing a magickal world beyond the mundane. Initiations are shifts in consciousness, bringing a new worldview.
Testing experiences need not be so prolonged or dramatic. Anything that confronts you with an unclaimed part of yourself is considered an initiation of sorts. St. John of the Cross used the words “dark night of the soul” to explain the feelings of darkness, depression, and loneliness that mystics feel prior to great spiritual revelation. From this we garnered the saying “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” One does not have to be considered a mystic to have had this experience. We have all had an experience of darkness. We all feel alone at times. We all question our self, our friends, family, and view on divinity. That is part of the human condition because it leads us to greater glimpses of awareness. The initiation process may be jumpstarted by illness, tragedy, betrayal, or the sudden realization that you are different. The way one handles the experience is the true test, and the true initiation. By understanding and experiencing this isolation, you can then feel the connection between all things. Suddenly things before you seem clear because you worked through your darkness. A new path is illuminated and things fall into place more easily than before, if you act on it. By using this as a growth experience, and making the changes necessary to transform your life, you have passed the initiation and joined the group of people who have seen beyond the dark night. In your own way, you have had your personal, spiritual epiphany. To take a lesson from the philosopher Nietzsche, “If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger.” As the birthing process can sometimes be difficult, but ultimately brings the greatest gift of new life to the world, initiations are spiritual rebirths, granting you a new life. To initiate means to begin. With every culmination and ending, there is a new beginning. With every death there is a rebirth.
The initiations of witchcraft encompass these concepts and more. They are inductions into a special group and a new worldview. Your new fellowship is the ranks of the dedicated witches of the world. Known by many names and traditions, you are joining their ancient lineage. It does not matter if you are in a formal coven or are an eclectic solitary; in your spirit, you are joining all those before you in the craft of the witch, and honoring all those who come after you. You are passing the threshold, like Alice through the looking glass, and entering a new life filled with hidden knowledge and personal revelation. The word initiate can refer to one who holds secret knowledge, whether through personal experience or formal training. Until rather recently, the witchcraft “society” was secretive and closed off from the world.
As a walker between the worlds, you are firmly planting one foot in each world, the physical and the immaterial. The initiation breaks down a self-perceived barrier to allow free passage across to the mystical realms. Grant Morrison, a Chaos magician and author of the avant-garde comic The Invisibles, a story and spell about magick, revolution, and the coming age, states in that work, “All times are the same time. The initiation of a sorcerer reveals this. That is why they say a true initiation never ends.”7 Magick and initiation take place outside of time, and the initiation itself lets us perceive the world beyond time and space, where all things are one.
Ultimately, you are on the path of priesthood or priestesshood. Each witch, after a period of training, is considered his or her own intermediary to the Goddess and God; in effect, a priest or priestess. Those claiming the roles of High Priestess or High Priest and Crone or Elder are respected members of the community, but each initiate has full authority and encouragement to perform all the rituals and rites whenever she or he desires.
The witch hunters of old spread perverse information about the practices of witches and their initiations. Contracts in blood, kissing the Devil, and performing the Catholic mass backward are only some of the more mentionable rumors. These have absolutely nothing to do with a modern witch’s initiation, if they ever had anything to do with initiations in the first place. No one is asked to renounce Christianity or any faith. No one in Wicca recognizes a devil or Satan, let alone pays homage to him, and no person or animal is harmed. Although modern rituals can be intense and dramatic, they are not the stuff of Hollywood movies.
The induction into witchcraft can contain two aspects. Some experience one and not the other, depending on the background, but I like to focus on both. The first is the objective initiation. This is the standard function of the ritual. When you train with a formal tradition for a length of time and service, completing tasks and learning, you are granted an initiation ceremony. Here, the teacher or group declares you a witch, or at least a witch of that particular tradition. Everyone present agrees on what physically happens and bears witness to the proclamation. Even if you are alone, there is a set of events performed that could be documented. In the objective experience, you are letting the authority of another, or the authority you see in the ritual itself, define you as a witch.
The subjective experience is the second part of the initiation, an intensely personal, life-altering experience. For many, that occurs in the ritual itself, through thoughts, emotions, visions, and voices. Some of the rituals will stimulate such a subjective experience, though none can force it if the applicant is not ready. Some report difficulties with psychic work prior to the initiation ritual, and then a blossoming of abilities and a cleansing of the chakras after the event. Dreams often bring such transformative experiences and are taken as initiations. The personal subjective initiation could happen at any point during the training, or during life.
My own mind and narrow expectations of abilities were blown away after doing my first healing. The information I received staggered the skeptic in me, and since it was a personal experience, I could not doubt it as being fabricated. My whole world changed dramatically as I walked out of that class believing that I could do absolutely anything, as long as it harms none. I still carry that belief with me to this day. In effect, I was changed forever. I was truly initiated at that moment. Not everyone in the class had the same subjective experience, though our objective experience was very similar. That awakening was simply what I needed to change my life for the better.
All the exercises and rituals of this book are initiations of sorts. Certain ones will have meaning for you. The recognition of energy, psychic ability, astral travel, healing, spirit contact, and past-life regressions are all forms of initiation, breaking you away from the old life and thrusting you into the new.
Some long-standing witches may never have the subjective initiation. For those witches who do have a subjective initiation, the process is driven by their own inner divinity and guidance. The initiation comes with a feeling of belonging or “coming home.” You feel a divine presence or blessing urging you on the path. Sometimes the subjective experience is not granted though ritual or training, but through spontaneous visions and experiences, akin to the previously mentioned wild man shamanic initiation. In fact, the subjective initiation is very shamanic in nature, since it occurs internally, allowing one to interface with the spiritual realm and higher powers.
What Makes a Witch?
Two schools of thought exist for proclaiming yourself a witch. For the solitary or eclectic, your own personal desire, self-initiation ritual, and subjective experiences make you a witch. In more formal traditions, formal initiation makes you a witch. Some take that to mean that it “takes a witch to make a witch.” Both views believe that the divine powers, the Goddess and God, are guiding the potential student to the path and ultimately to be an initiate, but the first school believes in self-determination and proclamation, while the second believes in formal requirements by a practicing group and ceremony to facilitate the process. Both are absolutely correct and yet completely wrong. In the end, only the Goddess and God can truly initiate. Rituals, journeys, and the like are only vehicles for the wishes of the Goddess and God.
Just as you may have more than one “dark night of the soul” experience in your life, you may have more than one initiation into the craft. Witches actually encourage this, because each initiation marks the end of a time of training, study, and expansion of your abilities. To finalize this training, one claims the personal power and subsequent new “vision of the world” through an initiation ritual.
Degrees of Witchcraft
In the more classic traditions of Wicca, such as Gardnerian, the levels of initiation are divided into three (Figure 32). One starts as an initiate, with no formal rank or title. A basic understanding of the history, ethics, mythology, theology, and holidays is required. Some teachers demand that prospective students take a survey of world religions before any further training, to make an educated decision that witchcraft is the path they truly feel called to walk. Once initiates are accepted, training begins for the first degree. Each degree of training usually lasts a minimum of a year and a day, if not longer.
The talents of a first-degree witch include basic meditation, psychic and energy-work skills, starting a magickal journal, participating in ritual, training in a healing art, building a home altar, and learning to cleanse, bless, and protect the home. Most importantly is striving to live the Wiccan Rede as a day-to-day reality.
The first-degree initiation ritual has somewhat of a hazing feel to it. At various points, the initiate is blindfolded, spun around, startled by a bell, and bound loosely with three cords, of blue, red, and white, at the wrists, neck, knees, and ankles, which later may serve as a belt for ritual robes while at the first-degree level. In strict Gardnerian traditions, the initiator keeps the cords.
Challenge is an aspect of these rituals. The initiate asks for admittance into the circle, and promises at sword or knifepoint to only enter the circle in perfect love and perfect trust, and never with ill will. Love and trust are the passwords to enter the circle. Once spoken, the initiate jumps over a broom and/or blade, to cross the threshold, the doorway, and enter sacred space.
Coven members will then introduce themselves and give spiritual blessings as gifts. The initiate asks the Goddess and God to be a witch. Then, in response to the question “What are you?” the initiate declares in a mirror held by the High Priest or Priestess, “I am a witch!” Usually a male applicant is initiated by a High Priestess and a female by a High Priest. All three initiation rituals are often done skyclad, meaning naked, wearing only the sky. In family traditions, it is common for mother to initiate daughter and father to initiate son. The new witch is presented to the four quarters before the ritual is ended and the circle released. In the most traditional covens, scourging (light ritual whipping) and a vow to keep the traditions of the craft secret are used. This initiation is said to be “of the personality,” for one is transformed afterward.
The second-degree witch is considered a priest or priestess, with the ability to lead rituals, cast a magick circle, and do spells.
The last degree of traditional witchcraft is the third, marking a High Priestess or Priest.
Other systems of magickal initiation use different symbols for initiation. Various ceremonial magick groups use ten initiations, based on the ten spheres of the Hebrew Tree of Life. Alex Sanders, a ritual magician as well as a witch, reportedly believed that the first three initiations of witchcraft were the same as the first three initiations of ritual magick. Some traditions base their degrees on the seven chakras or the seven magickal planets, using the qualities of each to determine the course of study. Others use the twelve astrological signs. Many modern Wiccan traditions use an elemental system.
As a teacher, I use a structure based on the five elements—fire, earth, water, air, and spirit—and, as I see it, the five branches of witchcraft and magick (figure 33). The initial chapters of this book include a basic understanding of witchcraft, similar to the unnumbered initiate level of the traditional three-tier system. The lesson work is the first degree, based on the element of fire, of energy, will, guidance, protection, illumination, wisdom, and personal power. I feel that an aspiring witch must claim personal power and experience a profound connection to all things as a foundation for deeper magickal work. True, anyone can do a spell if they follow a recipe book, but I emphasize an understanding of how and why witchcraft works. The lessons of this book are based on my level-one classes. This is the first spark of magick.
Level two relates to the element of earth, creating sacred space and manifesting your desires onto the physical plane through spell work. Students of the second level are claiming the title of priestess or priest. Water and shamanic witchcraft is the focus of level three, with introspection and shadow work as the guiding force. At the fourth level we study aspects of ceremonial magick, deepen our relationship with the elements, breath work, and magickal symbols, and create individual “reality maps” to connect to the higher self, based on our own experiences and ideas. Air is the element of the fourth degree. The fifth degree and element, spirit, is the realm of the High Priestess and High Priest, learning to use all these skills to live a magickal life. The chakras and zodiac signs are studied in-depth as temples of initiation and areas of life to master as a servant of the universe.
Witches and magicians are not the only ones to use initiation systems. Initiations can be found in Eastern religions, including Buddhism and Johre. Martial artists pass tests in skill and knowledge to move to the next degree. In the practice of reiki, a healing system brought to the world from Japan, initiations, called attunements, are given for each level of training. The reiki master, or teacher, must be initiated to that level to be able to hold and pass the energy, like the old “It takes a witch to make a witch” belief. The Freemasons have long used initiation systems, having thirty-three degrees. Their rituals probably influenced Gerald Gardner in his development of initiations.
Look for the initiations in your life. Remember how each affected you and how the change manifested in your outlook and daily life. Reflect on all the tests and trials that have made your stronger and more aware. Now you will see unusual or difficult situations in your life as opportunities for spiritual advancement rather than hardship.
Magickal Names
If initiation is a symbolic rebirth, it can be marked with a new name, symbolic of this new life. This is considered your craft name, what some feel is your true name. You might take a new name once, and use it only privately, either telling no one at all, or only other members of the craft. You can also take a new craft name at every initiation, adding to or discarding old identities.
Many practitioners have public craft names and private, personal craft names used only in intimate settings. Secret names were used not only for initiatory purposes, but for practical reasons. Originally, in magick, knowing the true name of someone supposedly gave you power and control over that person. By using magickal names, no one would know your “true” name, depending on what you considered your true name. Later, during the persecutions, witches who did confess may have given out craft names, but not legal names, so hoping to spare their sisters and brothers of the faith from a similar fate. Even now, witch names can be used to protect the privacy of others when speaking without the luxury of an intimate setting, though usually it is polite to ask someone what they would like to be called. Witches may use their craft names all the time, and some even legally change their birth name to their craft name. When in doubt, asking is better than assuming, as long as you ask with respect.
The act of taking a new name is magickal in itself. At times, it is a returning to a core identity, shedding the skin placed over the individual’s true self by society. More often, it is a claiming of new attributes, skills, and lessons one seeks to learn at this level of training.
Witch names can come from the mythic world, taking identities in honor of different deities, heroes, and creatures. Some are based in the plant and animal kingdoms. Foreign languages play a part, making the name seem more mystical by association. Latin was widely used in the prime days of the Golden Dawn ritual magicians. Random syllables that sound pleasing to the ear are just as suitable. Many names are a combination of several sources.
When researching a name, particularly one from a deity or hero in established mythology, take into consideration all the meanings and stories related to the name. All mythologies have been rewritten, and all have lighter and darker aspects, but be aware of what archetype you are invoking.
How do you get a witch name? There are several ways. You can simply decide on one, think about it, and once your decision is final, proclaim yourself with this name. Usually names feel right immediately or not at all. The proclamation can be a part of your self-initiation, or done at another time. Many choose a craft name before ever coming close to an initiation experience, and that’s fine. Choosing the name was in a sense the first initiation.
A teacher, peer, or friend could suggest a name to you. Sometimes we are too close to see what really suits us and it takes someone else to point it out. Their choice can be based on intuition, or through systems such as numerology.
The last method, and my personal favorite, is through meditative experience, asking the Goddess and God to give you the name correct for you. Prior to your initiation, some teachers suggest an all-night vigil spent fasting, meditating, and contemplating your new name. If you would like to do a vigil, by all means, go ahead. You could wait for the shamanic experience I will detail in the self-initiation ritual. Quite a few of my own students have gotten their names during the journey prior to the ritual.
Though traditions vary, I feel that you do not have to take a witch name at the first initiation, or ever! Though I have a personal, private name that I do not share with anyone, for the longest time I was simply content with Christopher, and felt that was my true identity. Though my witch name adds to it, I did not shed my past name. Do what is right for you and your own eclectic tradition. I recommend The Complete Book of Magickal Names by Phoenix McFarland for more ideas.
Year-and-a-Day Preparation
If you have followed the course outlined in this book, you have done much of your training to prepare you for your first initiation. You have the talents and experiences of a first-degree witch. Look back into your magickal journal, to your first entry describing exercise 1, your intention ritual. Read and review it. Have you accomplished what you set out to do? Have your goals broadened?
If you have followed your own schedule, determine how many weeks you have left in your year and a day, as determined by your intention ritual. If you have passed the year mark for this work, you may want to use two years and two days to give yourself ample time to reflect, instead of rushing into anything immediately. You will know when the time is right for you.
Continue your studies, looking to other views on the craft. A true witch must be educated on the craft. If this is the first book you have read on the craft, peruse many others to get an overall view of this science, art, and spirituality. I recommend the following books because they each present a different view of the craft, but please go to the books that speak to you.
Power of the Witch by Laurie Cabot (Delta Press).
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham (Llewellyn
Publications).
The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess by Starhawk (Harper San Francisco).
Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age by Vivianne Crowley (Aquarian Press).
To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver RavenWolf (Llewellyn Publications).
There is a self-test in the appendix of this manual, for those who want to test their grasp of the material.
Self-Initiation
I definitely believe that only the Goddess and God can make one a witch, though many others may help along the way. Initiation is a process of self-discovery. Because of this belief, your self-initiation is divided into two parts. The first is the shamanic journey, a more subjective, internal initiation. The second is a ritual, an announcement of your intent and acceptance of this new role.
Even if you do not choose to call yourself a witch, or if you already consider yourself a witch, you can complete these studies with this journey and ritual, modified in whatever way will make you comfortable. Rituals are a part of closure, marking the end of a time of study and the start of a new phase of life, even if that phase takes you to a different path altogether. Each stone is a new part of your personal foundation.
On the last day of your year-and-a-day period, try to be as reflective and meditative as possible. If you can take the day off and spend some time in solitude, so much the better. You may prefer to do this initiation in the morning, at sunrise, or in the evening. I like my rituals in the evening, as close to midnight, the witching hour, as possible.
To prepare, you will need a few materials on hand. First, get out your intention slip from the first exercise. You will also need a flameproof container in which to burn it. I use a cauldron, and you can get them at New Age shops around the country, or you can use a metal bowl or a regular heat-resistant bowl with some sand in it to absorb the heat. Sturdy metal pots will also work. If you have to resort to an ashtray, use one that is bought specifically for this reason and no other. A candle is necessary to light the flame, and you can use the one on your meditation altar.
Obtain an oil for anointing yourself. You can mix together essential oils (I suggest ten drops of frankincense, ten drops of myrrh, and twenty drops of a base oil, such as apricot kernel or grape seed), buy a blessing or protection oil, or simply use kitchen olive oil. Also, get a small amount of sea salt.
Traditionally, witches do initiation rituals either skyclad or in black robes. Some witches buy robes, while others make them at home. They symbolize a separation from the mundane world and a journey into the magickal world, priming the consciousness to enter a meditative state simply by donning them. If you do choose to use a robe, you may want to keep with the older traditions and get three cords, of blue, red, and white, that are long enough to make into a belt or sash for your robe.
If you plan on wearing a pentacle, or do so already, have this piece of jewelry ready.
Most importantly, have your witch name prepared before this day, if you choose to take one. In fact, the evening before your last day can be used for an all-night vigil to claim a new name.
To start your self-initiation, light the candle on your altar. Protect the space and invite your divine protectors to be with you, as you usually do. Get all your materials out and onto your altar, including the items on this checklist:
Incense (optional)
Intention slip
Flameproof vessel
Anointing oil
Sea salt
Robes and cords (optional)
Pentacle jewelry (optional)
The Journey
Announce your desire of initiation into the realm of witchcraft with these or similar words:
“I ask the Goddess and God that I may enter your service and the sacred traditions of the craft, to become a witch in fact and name.”
You can play some music to accompany your journey, if you’d like, and then prepare for deep meditation and journeywork. The constant rhythm of the shamanic drumming as performed on Michael Harner’s Shamanic Journey Solo and Double Drumming (Foundations for Shamanic Studies) is ideal, or you can use more dreamlike, relaxing New Age music. Perform the relaxation and countdown of exercise 9 and lead yourself into a meditative state. You have learned about the World Tree, the cosmic axis connecting the upper worlds to the lower worlds, the places of initiation, healing, and knowledge. In this meditation, guide yourself to your inner temple, your sacred heart of the World Tree, and call on your guides. Call on the Goddess and God, and allow yourself to journey, led by your guides and deities.
In this meditation, you will receive your initiation and complete your own individual and unique training. The experience could quite literally be anything, and will often surprise you. This is the lesson that no one can teach you except for the Goddess and God.
When the experience is complete, use the World Tree and your inner temple to return to the middle, conscious world. Count yourself up. When you return from this journey, take a few moments to reflect on it. You may want to write it down now, or save this for later and proceed immediately to the ritual.
Return to the altar and candle flame. Thank the Goddess and God for your spiritual initiation. If you would like, light some incense to set the tone of the ceremony. You can have the following ritual written out and before you, with your personal touches and instructions. It need not be memorized.
If you choose to wear a ritual robe, and do not have it on yet, wear it now, without the corded belt, signifying that the spiritual initiation into the craft has started, but is not complete.
The Choice
This aspect of the ritual signifies that you truly choose, in full knowledge, to walk this path and accept all the responsibilities that it entails. From your training, you understand that the acts of witchcraft are real. You are awakening to the world that lies beyond what others call the “real” or physical world. You acknowledge that there are paths other than the ones traditionally shown in society. Say:
“I choose to walk my own path between the worlds, in the space beyond space, and the time beyond time. I choose my own path into the labyrinth of the mysteries. I choose to live a life of perfect love and perfect trust. I choose the life of a witch for this lifetime, here and now. So mote it be.”
Claiming Your Power
Read your intention slip aloud, and reflect on your original intent. Have you accomplished it? Has it changed? Restate your intent, with any modifications or an entirely new intention. Burn the paper and feel the power of your intention permeate the space.
Mix a pinch of the salt with your anointing oil, drawing a banishing pentagram over the mixture, and feel it fill with light. Anoint yourself while speaking these blessings:
Anoint the third eye. “I anoint my third eye, so I may see truly in this world and all others.”
Anoint the throat. “I anoint my throat, to speak truly and receive the truth.”
Anoint the hands. “I anoint my hands, to heal myself, my people, and the Earth, to be a guardian and caretaker.”
Don the cord belt around your robe. You can braid the three strands together at this point, or knot them in three places. With each knot, a blessing, intention, or vow can be made as a form of knot magick. Traditional covens would take your measurements, meaning height, width, and the circumference of the head, and then keep the cords to prevent betrayal. If the new witch did betray the coven, the cords were used as a link to the betrayer for curse of retribution.
Presentation to the Goddess and God
The presentation formalizes your relationship with the Goddess and God, and marks you as an initiate into the life of a witch.
“From this day forth, I shall be known to the Goddess and God as (witch name or birth name). I ask to walk hand in hand, in the love of the Goddess and God. I am a witch. I am a witch. I am a witch. So mote it be.”
If you plan on wearing a pentacle, take it out now. Anoint it with the oil. Raise it up to the Goddess and God. Feel it burn with powerful energy.
“I ask the Goddess and God to bless this pentacle with their love. It is a sign of protection, of balance, and of magick. I manifest all three in my life now. So mote it be.”
Thanks
Create a circle of thanks, thanking first and foremost the Goddess and God, and then all beings who have aided you on your journey, including spirit guides and people who have been supportive or helpful in any way. Giving thanks to the universe helps create more blessings in the future and energetically thanks those who have given their time and energy.
“I thank the Goddess and God for all gifts, and I thank all those who have helped me in my quest, including (name them). I send you all my gratitude, love, and light. Blessed be.”
The ritual of self-initiation is complete! Congratulations and welcome to a new phase of your life. I wish you many blessings.
This ritual can be adapted to those working with partners, in groups, or with mentors. Statements can be rewritten as questions, asking the initiate to answer affirmatively. The anointing and blessings can be done by another, as a conduit for the deities’ blessing. If you know how to cast a magick circle, the entire ritual can done within the circle, but such work is the training and initiation of the second level of witchcraft, that of the priestess or priest. Now that you have laid the foundation of your inner spiritual life, you are more able to bring the sacred out into the world, to build the Outer Temple of witchcraft, to do spell work, celebrate the rituals of the year, and claim your role as priestess or priest of the Goddess and God.
Blessed be!
7. Grant Morrison, The Invisibles: Apocalipstick (New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2001) 133.