In this chapter we will tie some things together from other chapters, and we will look deeper into the idea of the old Ancestral gods. These old stories are important for two reasons. The first reason is that they preserve a mindset if not an actual history. Mindsets are important because they connect firmly with the currents or streams upon which they firmly draw. The greater importance is not whether we are looking at memory or perception; the importance is what rises in our spirit because of these tales.
The second important reason is that what we stay connected with is what draws that person, place, or thing deeper into our lives and inner spirits. Through mind, body, and soul we build and maintain bridges of thought, emotion, and longing. There is a metaphysical principle that states “like attracts like.” This means that we attract to ourselves the things that resonate with our personal energy vibration. That is both good news and bad news. The conditions of our lives are reflections of this active principle, and it reveals our heart (in light or darkness). Does your heart include or exclude?
By studying the stellar-based lore of our origins we draw closer to the principles and energies they hold for us. We can follow the energy trail across time and become bearers of it ourselves. Within us we carry the flame passed to us from our creators. It forges the mind, body, and spirit. It is, in essence, a circulating flame that lights the way from origin, to life, to death, and to rebirth. Its flickering light is a promise of return to the stars. We need only let it burn within and shine without.
Throughout this book we have looked at the model of the Three Selves. We have seen the Elemental Body, which is produced through the actions of the Four Elements. The earliest mention of them in Western literature depicts them as existing in space, what we can now call the place of the stars. The soul has been presented as originating amidst the stars. We explored the concept of Human Consciousness and noted that it resides and operates within a body made from star dust. Now we must integrate this knowledge and change it into realization. We must work with it to achieve that goal. The chapter on connection through ritual will help you map this out.
To further review, in the book we noted an Ancestral myth in which the “old gods” or “first gods” came from the stars. They passed a “spirit of consciousness” to our Ancestors who, in turn, have passed it to descendants across the ages. One image for this transmission is the serpent. We explored it from the idea of ancient Ancestral veneration, to the double helix snake-like formation of our DNA, to the depiction of the Spirit-Rider. This last is sent in serpent form by the Ancestral Spirit and attaches itself to a descendant. Are you willing to invite this into your life? Would you share the Ancestral Eye?
The symbol of the serpent is powerful and extremely ancient. Its first appearance is in the old tales of the Cosmic Serpent. This conceptual being, or one related to it, appears to be a universal one well-rooted in Ancient cultures across the earth. It entered into their myths and legends, and left its mark in the stars (through constellations). Ancient Egyptian culture is rich in the serpent concept, and the Universe is often depicted as a serpent devouring the sun. This is not unlike the imagery of the Ouroboros in which a serpent swallows its own tail. This represents the perpetual, cyclic renewal of repeating cycles.
The Ouroboros also represents the eternal return, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, leading to immortality. In an earlier chapter we noted the Garden of the Hesperides in which grew a tree that produced fruit granting immortality. It was guarded by a serpent, and in one myth this serpent was cast into the night sky and became the constellation of Dracos. There it guards the greater fruit of immortality found in the Grove of Stars. Are you willing to reach upward towards the stars?
Serpent imagery is attached to the ancient concept of the axis mundi when the latter is seen as a tree. The axis mundi is the center where the heavens meet the earth. In tree form its branches touch the sky, its trunk meets the earth, and its roots reach down into the Underworld. Of side interest is the fact that in old Polynesian cultures we find the belief that Ancestral spirits reside in a banyan tree. One variety of the banyan is the bodhi tree (beneath which Buddha became enlightened). In these old views we can see the importance of the Tree of the Ancestors: the Tree of Voices, the Tree of Souls. Do you know where your axis mundi exists? Will you sit there receptively for as long as it takes to hear the voices of those who came before you?
In ancient Mayan religion we find a mysterious figure known as the Vision Serpent. It sits atop the World Tree. The Mayans called on it in bloodletting rituals to bring the Ancestors up from the Underworld and back down from the heavens. Priests would then commune with them for various needs and purposes. Here we see this serpent as a direct link between the realms of spiritkind and humankind. The Vision Serpent was evoked by dripping blood from a pierced tongue or genitals onto bark paper. The paper was then burned, and the Vision Serpent emerged from the rising smoke. What would you offer or withhold from a Vision Serpent?
In imagery the Vision Serpent is depicted with an Ancestor or a god emerging from its open mouth. This is strongly reminiscent of the Spirit-Rider carrying the Ancestral Eye in its mouth. The Vision Serpent establishes communication between the material and non-material planes. Here the serpent serves as a type of doorway through which we can access the Ancestral Spirit experience and integrate it into our material lives. It is a joining of body and mind.
Serpent symbolism also shows up in the concept of the Kundalini, which is attached to mystical systems in India. The word comes from the Sanskrit meaning “coiled one” and is therefore most often depicted in art as a serpent. Kundalini is thought of as a vital energy residing at the base of the human spine. It has the power to bestow enlightenment when raised upward into the conscious mind. The seat of the Kundalini is in the “tailbone” of the human body, which in anatomy is called the sacrum. This name is derived from the Latin sacer, which means “sacred.”
The sacrum is a triangular bone made up of five fused vertebrae. In this we see the mystical number three again (three tips of the triangle) and the five elements of Greek philosophy: air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. The theme of the sacrum ties in nicely with the Kahuna concept of an etheric tail extending from the Elemental Body (noted in an earlier chapter).
In the Kundalini practice the goal is to raise the serpent energy (known also as the serpent fire) up and into the pineal gland, which is located in the area of the forehead. In mystical systems this is known as the Third Eye or Psychic Eye. Once this area is empowered, it is believed to bestow expanded awareness and “Otherworld” vision. It is interesting to note that the ancient headdress of an Egyptian pharaoh sported a serpent's head facing out from the forehead area.
A pharaoh was both a ruler and religious figure in ancient Egypt. He bore the titles Lord of the Two Lands and High Priest of All Temples. The former title referred to his rulership over upper and lower Egypt. In this we can see a connection to Human Consciousness over the Elemental Body. In the pharaoh's title of High Priest of All Temples we can see a connection to the indwelling soul in the human body.
In mystical thought, two currents of energy flow from the sacrum to the pineal gland. The common names for these currents are the Ida and the Pingala. They form an elongated vertical “figure-eight” with the lines intersecting at the solar plexus and meeting again at the brow area (although in some systems they are envisioned as meeting at the nostrils). From a metaphysical perspective the currents are electrical and magnetic energies. In appearance they resemble the entwined serpents on a caduceus, which is a staff carried by the god Hermes (who we encountered in an earlier chapter addressing his nature as an escort of the Dead). We also noted that among the earliest depictions in art, Hermes wears a black cloth covered with stars. Would you work to evoke the inner flame and awaken in the starry heavens?
In imagery the Ida current is assigned to the left side of the body, and the Pingala to the right side. The Ida is considered feminine and given the color white in its symbolism. The Pingala is considered masculine and assigned the color red. They climb the spine like the serpents on the caduceus, and in this light we can view the spine as a type of inner World Tree, our internal axis mundi.
In mystical cosmology a series of seven chakra centers are assigned to the spine. They represent the upper and lower worlds, and the spine is the axis of being. Each chakra is a portal into these worlds (or regions of consciousness). Flowing in and out of them, the Pingala brings to consciousness critical and analytical reasoning; it bears the title of the Sun Force. Ida brings to consciousness that which is conceptual and creative in nature; it bears the title Moon Force. Moving through them (under certain circumstances) is the serpent fire, the Kundalini force.
When activated the Kundalini ascends upward through the channel provided by the Ida and Pingala. The serpent fire then coils in the brow center where it affects an altered state of consciousness. Afterwards it descends back to its den into the sacrum, where it awaits the return of the environment that will summon it once again.
In Kundalini yoga, the use of breath is extremely vital to the desired outcome. As noted in earlier chapters the connection between the breath and the Ancestors is vital to continuance and communication between the generations. The serpent fire is empowered by the flame passed to us by the Ancestral gods. It is ancient star fire given to us by the old gods who came from the stars.
Our distant Ancestors brought forth the testimonials of the old gods in a way we cannot do today, for they knew more about them than anyone who came afterwards. History became myth and myth became legend (to borrow a line from the Lord of the Rings movie). We stand now divided with an academic book in one hand and the Ancestral Eye in the other. How then do we shape our vision?
The ancient Greek writings offer us a valuable record of old beliefs because they are among the oldest writings we have in Western culture. Scholars such as Plato envision that the Universe came into being through the action of a Divine Source, a Divine Consciousness. One model depicts the creation of the World Soul as being the first to manifest. Ancient thought later divided it into three sections: the region of the fixed stars; Middle Space containing the planets, sun, and moon; and lastly the Region of Earth.
Divine Consciousness (Source of All Things) did not want to create earthly beings (mortals) itself because it did not want them to be equal to what created them. The idea here is that the essential spirit of the creator passes into his or her creation. So the Source created a race of sidereal beings, the so-called star gods. The bodies of these gods were, for the most part, composed of fire.
The Source entrusted the star gods with “the intelligent embryos of souls” and instructed them to add a corruptible nature to living beings. In this way humankind was fashioned from the substance of the World Soul, and the star gods became the caretakers and guardians of their creation—human beings. Into the creation of humankind, the star gods added the three intellectual capacities: opinion, knowledge, and contemplation. In a later time the Mystery Traditions were formed by a small segment of humans, and in these traditions an important phrase arose, which may well be a remnant memory of the first Ancestors: “Though I am born of the earth, my race is of the starry skies.”
It is the “corruptible nature” of humankind that leads us to work death into the theme of the star people. In old cultures (such as those of South, Central, and North America) that remained living closer to Nature than did European ones, we find a strong Afterlife connection to the stars of the Milky Way. Myths and old lore of these regions call the Milky Way by related names such as the Pathway of the Departed, the Ghost Road, and the Spirit Road. It is depicted as a path or road to the Otherworld, and is traveled by spirits and deities (as well as by shamans in a state of trance).
A common theme related to the path of the Milky Way is that of the Guardian at the Entrance. In some of the tales, souls are turned back and have to return to the earth. This is not, however, the same spirit we find in religions such as Christianity that see some souls as unworthy or tainted beyond redemption. The Guardians, in the old ways, turn back souls who are not prepared to enter. These souls are sent back to become prepared and not to be forever denied entry. It is an old story from a time before the solar god came to displace the star god.
We can continue our exploration of the star gods by turning to what we know of the old gods known as the Titans. They are said to descend from the primordial or primal gods that were born out of Chaos. For the purposes of this chapter we will focus on a god known as Astraios, whose name means “The Starry One.” He was the father of the Four Winds' minor gods called Boreas, Eurus, Notus, and Zephyrus. Astraios also had a son with the goddess Eos, who was named Hesperus. The son was associated with the evening star (the planet Venus) and he fathered the Hesperides (Guardians of the Apples of Immortality).
These deities appear to form an original cast directly connected to the origins and conditions of the first humans. In them we see the continuing themes of fire and breath, the latter represented by the Four Winds. The stars, thought of as flickering flames, remain constant in the tales of the star gods.
Our story continues with the coming of the Olympian gods who were born from the Titans. In time a challenge, a war, erupted between the Titans and the Olympians. The Titans were defeated, and with the establishment of the Olympians as the ruling gods, written history begins among the ancient Greeks. The Olympians create a realm on top of Mount Olympus, which can be seen to represent a significant establishment of the axis mundi within ancient Greek culture.
In the Greek (and Roman) myths that pertain to the theme in this chapter, we find the gods turn various people, animals, and creatures into stars. In most cases this is done to honor their memory or to remove them from the earth. In a few cases it is regarded as deifying, setting one among the stars. However, there is another way to look at this theme, and it is one of returning a person back to his or her original essence—the substance of stars.
In the cast of star beings that intervene in the human race we find the race known as the Irin or the Watchers. They appear in esoteric writings such the Book of Enoch. Enoch depicts them as “angels,” but I view this depiction as the diminishment of the star god theme over the ages (coupled with the suppression of the conquered cultures by their conquerors). To diminish the old gods lifts up the new ones (or the One) that have come to displace what lived in the before time.
Tracking the changing stories is important to understanding what changes took place and where things are now. It is not unlike understanding changes in family, why some moved away, how communication is or isn't working, and what if anything we can or should do about it. In this light let us follow the journey of the star people known as the Watchers.
We can look at the old, the stellar mythos, and interpret the Watchers as an old race of star gods who guarded the heavens and the earth. Their nature, as well as their “rank,” was altered by the successive Lunar and Solar Cults that displaced the earlier Stellar Cults. In time the Greeks reduced the Watchers to being spirits of the four winds, followed by the Christians who further diminished them to principalities of the air. Still, we can see the remaining core connection to the star god Astraios and his offspring as ancient star gods.
Mystic Cabalists organized the Watchers into Archangels, which I assume are derived from the early Hebrew concept of an order of angels known as the Irin. According to this doctrine the Irin were ruled over by four great angels known as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Auriel. It seems likely that the Hebrews borrowed (and then altered) this entire concept from the surrounding cultures they mixed with, which were stellar and lunar in nature.
In many modern systems these ancient beings are the Guardians of the Dimensional Planes, protectors of the ritual circle, and witnesses to the rites that are said to have been kept down through the ages. Each of the ruling Watchers oversees a “Watchtower,” which is now a portal marking one of the four quarters of the ritual circle. Interesting side note: In days of old, a “tower” was a military fighting unit, and a “watchtower” was a defending home unit, similar to a National Guard.
Outside of the modern structure, the Watchers are most easily linked to the concept of “guardian angels.” In the Old Testament (Daniel 4:13–17) there is reference made to the Irin, which appear to be an order of angels (in early Hebrew lore the Irin were a high order of angels who sat on the supreme Judgment Council of the Heavenly Court). In the Apocryphal Books of Enoch and Jubilees, the Watchers are mentioned as Fallen Angels who originally were sent to earth to teach men law and justice. In the Secret Book of Enoch, the Watchers are listed as rebellious angels who followed Sataniel in a heavenly war.
Gustav Davidson, in his Dictionary of Angels, portrays the Watchers as a high order of angels. In Rabbinic and Cabalistic lore, the “good” Watchers dwell in the 5th Heaven, and “evil” Watchers dwell in the 3rd Heaven. The Watchers of the 5th Heaven are ruled over by the archangels Uriel, Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel. In the Apocryphon of Genesis, it is said that Noah is the offspring of a Watcher who slept with Bat-Enosh, his mother.
In the Dictionary of Angels, the Watchers are listed as the Fallen Angels who instructed humankind in the ancient arts. The most common associations found in various texts on medieval magic regarding the Watchers are as follows:
It is these same angels who are referred to as the Sons of God in the Book of Genesis who mated with human women. According to Christian mythology their “sins” filled the earth with violence and the world was destroyed as a result of their intervention. Read Genesis 6:1–7 for the background in biblical reference.
Richard Cavendish, in his book The Powers of Evil, makes references to the possibilities of the Giants mentioned in Genesis 6:4 being the Giants or Titans of Greek mythology. He also lists the Watchers as the Fallen Angels that magicians call forth in ceremonial magic. Cavendish draws some interesting parallels and even mentions that the Watchers were so named because they were stars, the “eyes of night,” which can be regarded easily as a reference to the stars.
Saint Paul, in the New Testament, calls the Fallen Angels “principalities”: “for we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers . . . against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in High Places.” It was also Saint Paul who titled the biblical figure of Satan “the prince of power of the air.” Christian theologians promote the notion that Satan is connected to “a star” by interpreting the Book of Isaiah 14:12–14 as referring to him as fallen from the heights—heaven. The verses actually address the King of Babylon, but theologians argue that the passages are metaphors for Satan.
The 16th-century French theologian named Sinistrari spoke of Beings existing between Humans and Angels. He called them Demons, and associated them with the Elemental natures of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. This, however, was not a new concept but was taught by certain gnostic sects in the early days of Christianity. However, there was (and is) a difference between the rooted ideas of a daemon in Greek thought as opposed to a demon in Christian views. The former was an intelligence of a natural order of beings, whereas a demon was depicted as a creature of chaos.
Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, attributed the movement of the stars and the control of the Four Elements to angelic beings. Sinistrari attributed bodies of fire, air, earth, and water to these beings, and concluded that the Watchers were made of fire and air. Cardinal Newman, writing in the mid-1800s, proposed that certain angels existed who were neither totally good nor evil, and had only “partially fallen” from the heavens. This would seem to support Davidson's text which places the Watchers in two different “heavens.”
Many modern systems view the Watchers as Elemental Rulers, “lords” of the Four Elements of Creation: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. In metaphysics these forces are believed to be empowered by spiritual creatures known as Elementals. Old traditions assign folkloric beings to the Elements to symbolize their active principle. In this assignment we have gnomes in the element of Earth; within Air, the Sylphs; within Fire, the Salamanders; and within Water, the Undines. In traditional lore these Elemental races each have their own ruler, and so for Earth it is Gob; for Air, Paralda; for Fire, Djin; and for Water, Necksa.
This is the state of arrival in which we find the Watchers today. An alternative view is to see them as those who watch the generations pass into one another. They lend their vision to the Ancestral Spirit in which the Ancestors act to send “agents” aid or correct the current as it moves towards the manifestation of another generation.
You can choose to work with the Watchers in accord with your view. In the lore of the Watchers they came to aid humans by teaching them advancements. We saw this as a list of eleven things they introduced into human society. Our Ancestors took this knowledge and adapted it, not always for the best results. If you are interested in working with them you can find ritual material in books on Wicca and ceremonial magic.
When speaking of the stars or starry realms, it is almost impossible not to include the Faery or Elven race. This is not because they are “star beings” in the conventional sense of the term, but because there is a connective lore. Sometimes they are referred to as being in or of starry light. In most cases this is a depiction of the illuminated form of their bodies or what surrounds their bodies.
A direct connection between stars and the “Elven” race is found in the mythos created by J.R.R. Tolkien (and offshoots of it). Although the mythos that we see in his Lord of the Rings stories are not the accepted myths of known cultures, they do essentially come from the same place—the human spirit. Myths speak to us in a language that bypasses history and is understood by something greater than human reasoning. They are not true and they are not false; they exist in-between fact and fiction (which is the most magical of all places). In this light, the mythos that Tolkien left us is no less valid or authentic than the myths of the Greeks, Celts, Norse, or any other people.
In Tolkien's mythos we find a hero figure known as Eärendil who is depicted as a seafarer. In one tale he carries a star (or the light of a star) across the sea. This is sometimes referred to as the Star of Eärendil, the most beloved star of the Elven race (to borrow a line from the Lord of the Rings movie). The mythos involves crystals known as the silmarils or silmarilli. These crystals were fashioned from the essence of the Two Trees of Valinor (also known as the Trees of the Valar). One tree was called Laurelin (the gold tree) and the other was called Telerion (the silver tree). It is noteworthy to reflect back upon the Silver Bough of Northern European lore, and the Golden Bough of Southern European lore.
As the mythos goes, the trees were destroyed but not before the Valar took their last flower and fruit, which were then made into the sun and moon. While the sun is a star, the moon is not. The Star of Eärendil seems to not be either, but is instead Venus, the evening star. According to a letter written in 1967, Tolkien credited the origin of Eärendil to the Anglo-Saxon word earendel, which he interpreted as Venus (the morning and the evening star). In this light we can regard the Star of Eärendil as being the light of Venus captured in one of the crystals fashioned by Fäanor, the great craftsman and gemsmith of the Elves. This idea seemingly departs from the formal Tolkien mythos that mentions only Laurelin and Telperion. However, in Tolkien's story The Voyage of Eärendil (written around 1914 and later retitled The Last Voyage of Eärendil) there is reason to conclude that the star is Venus. This is connected to the ecliptic path of the Moon and Venus, which gives us the distinction we need in this matter.
From the misty pre-origins of myths we find the star and faery surfacing in the imaginations of various writers and poets. One modern depiction is the Blue Faery in the tale of Pinocchio. In this mythos she holds a wand mounted by a star, and we find this in many modern fairytales. Of special interest is fairytale author Christine Messina's mention that Cinderella's faery helper is actually the spirit of her dead mother returned to aid her. This speaks to the theme of faeries being associated with the spirit of the Dead, and by extension to the stars (in the theme of reincarnation).
A popular image in contemporary lore is what is commonly called the “Faery Star” or Septagram (seven-pointed star). It is also sometimes called the Elvenstar, which I prefer and will use as this chapter continues. For me this star represents the spirit of what is conveyed in myth and legend. It is pre-belief and pre-history. It comes from the fount of inner knowing, what is passed in the flame of the Ancestral gods. We are heirs to the star tales, the star lore of another reality.
In modern views the Faery Star is regarded as a gift from faeries to humans to bridge the understanding between the two realms. It is thought of as a gateway symbol, a portal or entrance between our world and that of Faery, the Otherworld. As such, modern practitioners assign various aspects to each tip of the star. These comprise a list of spiritual and mental attributes.
For the purposes of this chapter we will work with the seven points as representing the pathways here on the Earth Plane. Each point represents a link and an alignment to the Otherworld. The star also symbolizes the seven directions: north, east, south, west, above, below, and in-between. In some modern traditions the star symbolizes Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Mind, Body, and Spirit.
In this chapter, as a symbol, each point on the Elvenstar signifies a connective allocation related to its connection to material reality. Beginning at the top and moving clockwise the points represent: sun, magic, wind, moon, door, woods, and sea. When used in meditation and magic, the symbol is traced out in an unbroken line. This changes the order of the point assignments as indicated in the illustration: sun, moon, sea, wind, woods, magic, door. This is not a problem if you retain alignment to the star points (the alignment exercise is provided later in the chapter).
The core essence of the teachings surrounding the Elvenstar involves the presence and emanation of light and how it flows to us for practical purposes. The sun, which is actually a star, symbolizes the higher light emanation. This light represents spirit, and therefore light and spirit become one and the same in the Elvenstar teachings.
The metaphorical teachings depict light emanating from a higher plane (star point one) and channeled into the mortal world (star point two). The light of the moon is reflected into the Mortal Realm by the sea and given force in the tides (star point three). The wind arises from the tides and carries the light across the realm of mortalkind (star point four).
The trees catch the light on the breeze and gather it for those who seek enlightenment (star point five). The light resides within the trees and awaits the awakening, which is magic (star point six). Magic opens the doorway or portal that allows access to the Source (star point seven).
Each star point assignment has its own elven significance:
In ancient lore the concept of the faery door set within a tree trunk captures the essence of this Elvenstar theme. Here the symbolism comes together binding the light of sun and moon, filtered through the trees, into a magical setting through which an altered state of consciousness can be attained. Such an attainment allows one to enter into another dimension of time and space.
Needed items:
Elvenstar image
1 forest green candle
1 herbal sprig (a pinch of any live herb)
Seeds (grain, rice, or a seed packet)
1 charm (a leaf or stone)
1 small key
1 piece of cord
1 white poster board with marker
For this exercise/technique you will need to use a posterboard on which you will draw a large triangle. On each tip of the triangle you will draw a circle about two inches in diameter. In the top circle of the triangle you will place the green candle. Attach the herbal sprig with a string, binding it to the shaft of the candle.
In the lower right circle place the seeds. In the lower left circle place the charm. In the center of the triangle place the cord attached to the small key.
The underlying purpose of this rite is to deepen rapport with the Old Ones of the primal forces. Throughout the chapters of this book you have been introduced to the concept of other beings that dwell outside of our physical existence. Now it is time to open the inner gateway and move further along the pathways.
Before you begin, pick up the Elvenstar and trace the pattern with a fingertip:
Spend a few moments thinking about the Divine spirit permeating Nature, and reflect upon the links symbolized by the Elvenstar. The sun and moon symbolize the masculine and feminine forms that represent the Divine Source. The sea is the life essence of the very tides of existence. The wind is the presence and activity of spirit within the material world. The trees are the sacred groves, the wind catchers that hold sacred space. Magic is the mutable nature of the energy gifted to us by Divinity. The door is the act of accepting and entering into the mysteries that lie beyond our current level of understanding.
Following your meditation on the Elvenstar, set the Elvenstar symbol down near the base of the triangle of circles. Now light the candle in the top circle, and placing the palms of your hands towards the candle, say:
“Light in the places of darkness,
three are the things that bless.
(Pause.)
Eyes to see the nights and days,
to so be one with Elder Ways.”
(Reflect for a few moments upon the idea that you must be the light bearer who finds your truth within.)
Place your palms facing the left lower sphere containing your charm piece. Say these words:
“Spirit to body, to learn and rest,
three are the things that here do bless.
(Pause.)
Formed to know the nights and days,
and join me so to Elder Ways.”
Reflect for a few moments on the idea that spirits/souls enter into the Material Plane, and that you are one yourself, and that there are other spirits who are different and serve to aid you in your understanding and exploration of this life experience.)
Place your palms facing the lower right sphere containing the seeds. Say these words:
“Flower to seed, to pass the test,
three are the things that here do bless.
(Pause.)
Contained within the nights and days,
roots and growth for Elder Ways.”
(Reflect for a few moments on the idea that all you do in life generates a ripple of energy, and think about what you want your energy to contribute to the world in which you and your loved ones now dwell.)
Now, place your palms facing the center of the triangle that contains the cord and key. Say these words:
“Key to open, the way to press,
three are the things that here do bless.
(Pause.)
Turning both the nights and days,
into the gates of Elder Ways.”
(Reflect for a few moments on the idea that seeking is an energy, and that finding is the result, and that you do not walk alone. Instead, all who have come before you now guide you along on your own journey.)
When you feel ready to finish, take up the items and put everything away. You can add the charm, the star, and other items to a charm bag that you can carry with you to stay within the emanation of this energy. Keep the candle and use it again to repeat the alignment at a later time.
The purpose of this technique is to come into communication with an elven/faery being on the inner planes through a guided imagery journey. The journey provided here will supply you with basics for first contact.
You may wish to record the following journey on a tape recorder, or have someone do this for you in their voice. Read slowly with a brief pause between each sentence. The alignment is best performed on the night of the full moon, but you may perform this anytime during the waxing period. Before you begin the exercise, place the talisman in front of you.
(BEGIN TAPING) Imagine that you are standing at the crossroads in a remote woodland area. The moon lights the night sky and is filtered through the tree branches all around you. You remain at the crossroads for a few moments. A breeze softly drifts past you, and you can feel its touch.
In the distance you see a soft light, and it seems as though this might be a lantern moving in your direction. You silently watch the approaching light. It continues to slowly move in the darkness and towards the place where you stand.
As the light draws near, you begin to see that it is an illuminated figure. The light emanating from this being is as soft and bright as moonlight. The figure peacefully approaches you, and you gaze upon its features. It is an elven being from the Otherworld. The elven being speaks to you, and it has a message. Observe the being with your eyes of imagination and listen to it, speak with it.
(Leave about ten minutes of blank tape running, and then record the following alignment exercise).
The elven being hands you an Elvenstar talisman. Upon it you see a seven-pointed star etched into the talisman. You touch the top point of the star with your left index finger. This point is a sign of the sacred source that exists outside and within all things. It is the indwelling spark and the outdwelling presence that unites all things and maintains universal harmony.
You slide your finger down to the next point, following the line down in an unbroken path. This point is a sign of the light in the places of darkness, for here is the unconquerable light that cannot be overcome.
You move you finger up to the next point. This point is a sign of light reflected from within, and then outward to others. Now you move your finger along the line to the next point. This point is a sign of the light carried into the world and across all barriers.
You move your finger across to the next point. This point is a sign of sacred space, the point in time and space where veneration and alignment are freely offered. Next you move your finger upward to the next point. This point is a sign of shaped reality, the power of mind and spirit over material manifestation.
You move your finger down to the next point. This point is a sign of passage, a crossing to and a crossing from. It is the access point and the moment of interface with that which is greater than the self. As a last gesture, you move your finger back up to the top point, which reunites one with the source. (END TAPING)
Spend a few moments looking at the Elvenstar image. When not in use, place this in its protective wrappings. Whenever you wish to interface with the Elven race, simply meditate on the Elvenstar talisman for a few moments. Then perform the mental journey by returning to the crossroads and watching the elven being approach as in your original meditation. Be relaxed and receptive, and do not force anything to happen. Just allow it all to take place naturally as you remain open and receptive. Keep a journal account of your experiences.
The old star lore is connected to primordial and pre-human eras. We can think of them as the pristine worlds, a time when the Faery Realm had no borders with the realm of humankind. The earth had clarity of mind in those days, unpopulated with the toxins generated by human civilization. Our longing for a “paradise” after death may be an inherited memory of the first pure ages on the earth. Perhaps the tale of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is a marker of the state of consciousness in which humans made a choice to leave the Old World in favor of dominating all lands and things within them.
When humans first emerged as people, there were older races on earth. Their ways and traditions shaped our own over the ages. Contact with these beings later on populated our stories that are now relegated to myth, legend, and fairytale. Through contact with other beings, and the way our Ancestors understood or misunderstood them, arose the seers and mystics of the human race. Old tales tell of mating between faery or elven and humans. This is also a theme connected to the star gods.
The idea that some humans have “mixed blood” in them is a very old one. It was a popular theme back in the 1960s and 1970s during which some people claimed to have faery blood in them. Fewer claimed to have the blood of star gods in them, but the knowledge of the old lore was not as well-known then as it is now.
Do we look upon the stars simply for their beauty and wonder? Or is this something of ancient memory within our bodies and inner beings that stirs us? In the tradition that I practice there are teachings that we are descended from the stars. Our lives are guided through a spiritual quest that ultimately leads to a return to stars, a return to the Community of Souls from which we came.
You and I stand beneath a circle of stars. It the beginning and the conclusion, and we are placed in its very center. The starry circle is not broken; it is a reminder that we are beings within the natural order of things. This order is birth, life, death, and renewal. It issues forth at the Source of All Things and is embedded in all planes of existence.
The three-way crossroads awaits us all. In time there will come to be a day when the Elemental Body, Human Consciousness, and the Soul Body will all take different roads. We walk the round here on Earth beneath the stars. From the stars we look down to decide upon another round. Stars make visions come true.