Tending Your Spiritual Garden
“No eureka moment. No epiphany—just a series of psychic gearshifts that manifest themselves in . . . carriage and tone of voice.”3
As Within, So Without
Just as an earthly garden needs constant attention, so, too, does our spiritual garden. When we first begin our journey of spirituality our garden is filled with all sorts of interesting items—it was not, after all, a fallow place before we sought to investigate what might be there and what we could possibly put in it. Everyone’s spiritual garden is different, because each individual is unique and each person has specific goals related directly to them to accomplish—yet, as we are all human, we do share some commonalities, and our energy connections to each other become a vast and endless wellspring of possibility.
Working on our own spiritual garden is one of the toughest jobs assigned to us while we are on this plane. It just ain’t easy. Throughout life, lots of things crawl into our garden—misconceptions, emotional debris, broken dreams, errors in judgment, you name it. The analogy of a spiritual garden came to me one summer when my father was very ill. He is an avid gardener and has a series of raised beds in which he plants vegetables and herbs. The spring had been extremely wet and without being tended, due to his illness, the raised-bed garden turned into a sea of thistles and nettles. The family realized that the sad shape of the garden made my father extremely unhappy, so we set about pulling, clearing, and eventually planting the beds.
Like new students (and pay attention, old hands, this also applies to you) looking out over that ocean of nettles and considering our task was, needless to say, mentally daunting. We knew the soil was good (gad, the nettles were big enough) but to rid the area of those prickly nasty things without using a weed killer (that’s the easy way, but would adversely affect the soil), we had to get in there and clear it weed by weed. And so we did.
Our spiritual garden, when we begin, is much like this. We go through it, misconception by misconception, old trauma by old trauma, and begin to eradicate what is not useful to us by utilizing tools that are sometimes new—meditation, visualization, the practice of energy manipulation, increased introspection, behavior modification (by this I mean diminishing and removing bad habits under our own direction), etc. This process can be extremely painful (try grabbing a handful of nettles and see what that feels like!) and the time it takes to do this is not less than twenty-four hours. Depending on our current situation, background, level of understanding, body chemistry, and how much we are willing to rise to the challenge of looking within—well, this can take quite a while. The good thing about our spiritual garden, just like a real one, is that you can see progress right away if you are observant. By being cognizant of our steps forward, we can give ourselves the needed boost to keep going, even when that one root of that one nettle is very thick and very deep. Eventually, we learn the expertise of how to remove those big weeds, and the clearing process becomes easier.
Like a real garden, our spiritual garden needs tending. There are several dangers here that I have personally witnessed with one’s spiritual garden. Once we manage to clear the debris, it is highly possible for one to become too inflamed with the proposed image of our own newfound power. This creates a whole new kind of weed that grows at a phenomenal rate and often explodes the group mind (should you be in one), as I mentioned earlier in this book, and it puts our spiritual gardener back at least ten paces in life (trust me, I’ve seen it multiple times). Then, there is the gardener who, once he or she has cleared a lovely area, becomes lonely for old patterns (those thistles really weren’t that bad, and they do—on occasion—have pretty flowers) and allows everything to grow back again as it once was, and then bemoans the fact that this has occurred. Teachers who help you clear your garden once are not so inclined to do this a second time. Finally, many times we make the “first pass,” clear out most of the top garbage, and forget that when we pulled pretty hard at some of those weeds, they actually broke off—we didn’t get at the root. Then comes a planetary retrograde that applies to the energy of that root and—oops, we’re back in the saddle again!
For those of you who have been involved in magickal studies and spiritual advancement, there is yet another hurdle you must overcome: expanding the garden. You reach a point, you have an epiphany, you sigh in happiness and joy, and so you let the garden go (just for a little while) as you focus on a particular life issue, rather than keeping it weeded or trying to expand it. Perhaps you use a few of the tools you were taught, or perhaps the situation is so encompassing that you let go of what could help you most, mentally blocking the new skills you have learned. When you come back to the garden (if you get back)—you guessed it—the garden is choked with new weeds choking what you have so carefully planted.
We’ve talked about the weeds, but what actually goes into a spiritual garden? We can plant a new belief system, encourage the growth of inner harmony and outer understanding, and allow self-love to blossom and progress from within, where it will eventually affect our physical environment in a positive way. We can sow seeds of confidence, brother- and sisterhood, patience (I’ll repeat that: patience), creative skills (such as singing, drawing, painting, poetry, stories, etc.), and learning to know when things are really not about you. Sometimes we simply try to own garbage that doesn’t belong to us, you know? Therefore, think twice before dragging an unusual, funky item into your garden—it may catch your eye, but not for what you first intended. It could be a (gulp) plastic gnome with a “lesson” inside.
Learning to Read the Signs
Enlightenment appears to be difficult to obtain not only because this state is so hard to describe but also because of the way each person is built—that state (it would logically follow) would not be the same for everyone. Perhaps our error lies in assuming that enlightenment is standard, like 10,000 of the same make and model of a car. On the surface, of course, all those cars look alike—but they are not. I might buy the same make and model vehicle as you have, but yours might last longer, and in mine the transmission drops out after two years. This is why, I think, structured religions are born, live, and die. We have a vision of nirvana but, as we are all human, everyone’s vision is a bit different—for a time the group mind can create a single vision, but if it does not match the pattern of the universe in a healthy way, exactly, precisely, and it doesn’t attempt through actions, words, and thought to grow toward that perfect match, it will cease to serve its purpose. If we do not maintain our personal spiritual garden, then we cannot create patterns of positive change, either alone or in a group, and we will never blossom into all that we can be.
When a crisis occurs in our lives, Spirit drops hints of who, what, why, and how a successful solution can be activated by scattering pearls of energy everywhere; if we pay attention we can read these glittering signs. The whispers of assistance are all around us, yet we often don’t hear them because we haven’t attuned ourselves with the realization that help is already there. This information is constantly in motion. It only freezes and solidifies when you recognize it. That is science. Our emotions cloud our vision, causing a knee-jerk reaction that pushes the solution farther away than it was a moment ago. That is the effect of our own control and biochemistry. The solution doesn’t come rushing in on a white horse—it has always been in place. That is quantum physics. You just have to “push de button.” If your spiritual garden is relatively clean, then the button won’t get stuck and will ignite the solution. If your spiritual garden is filled with weeds, that solution-oriented button will most likely get stuck or detonate what you didn’t intend at all!
That button’s hardwiring is put into place by you. It could be prayer, positive thought, meditation, and the mental reliance on Spirit that all things will go as they should—representing the elusive word “faith.” If you have hardwired the button to negative emotions, then the solution you desire may turn into a negative outcome. Too, if the button is in good working order because you have been tending to your spirituality, then what might be disaster to one person will be a mere blip on the emotional scale for another.
Some scientists say our world is made up of ten dimensions, and the newest in string theory quotes the number as eleven (mastery). Scientists have been playing with the string theory for about thirty years now, and there’s a new theory on how the universe works (but totally untested)—brane, which actually equates to the magickal number seven (three-dimensional brane suspended in a four-dimensional bulk)—it will be interesting to see where they take that one in the future. However this discussion jumps us to an interesting place, but not entirely applicable to the work at hand.
The string theory, mathematically tested and supported by experimentation, although not conclusively, says that there are three dimensions we can see. The fourth equals time. The remaining six (or seven) are invisible to us, yet constantly touch us. Perhaps there are far more—but we, as humans, can only postulate as far as we can fathom at any given time and can recognize only what we wish to weigh and measure.
To explain: Hold up a pencil. You can see the pencil; what you can see are the three dimensions. Yet what it takes for that pencil to manifest goes beyond what you can see—envision, if you will, a string attached to the right and left ends of the pencil, as if it were suspended in the air. Now that is quantum physics. And that is magick. Your peripheral vision is mysticism (and science). It is mysticism only because they haven’t been able to weigh and measure it . . . yet. The more you become attuned to the wholeness, the more enlightened you are. The more enlightened you are, the more you will see in your personal peripheral vision, and this is where signs come from. This is where that “knowing” comes from—those threads that go beyond the end of that pencil (or car)—and this is where the sign of infinity fits neatly into place. The center, for the purpose of this discussion, is the dimensions you can weigh and measure, and the loops are the strings that vibrate to make the item in the center manifest, whether it is something as amorphous as love or as solid as a car.
If, for example, we wanted to manifest a car, the car is in the center—it is not the beginning or the end result, it is the composite of a pattern that appears in the three dimensions that we can see and measure with scientific machines. It takes the manipulation of energy through all the dimensions to create that car, and the creation of that car (since the world is such a busy place) occurs through the path of least resistance. What appears to take so long is our perception of time and the blocks we have already created through words, actions, and deeds—and our belief is predicated on those. If we let go and believe that time truly does not exist, that motion truly does not exist (very difficult), that we are quite capable of instant manifestation (as particle physics has already taught us), and if we have not mucked up the entire thing with stupid stuff, then, theoretically, that car could be manifested instantaneously by using one’s thoughts to create and manipulate the proper pattern. Therefore, one’s thoughts would be that missing percentage in all those calculations, as they travel faster than the speed of light and, like gravity, are not affected by time. We already know that one’s thoughts can affect a controlled experiment—that the observer can make or break a scientific study or a spell.
Our thoughts, then—your thoughts, my thoughts, your brother’s thoughts—would equate to the dark energy of the universe (called dark only because it is mysterious; this appears to be a metaphor in the scientific community, I didn’t make it up)—morphing into the collective unconscious, that totally ethereal .000001 percent that is fourteen times more powerful than anything known.
Each dimension, it is said, has rules of government—Newton’s old theory of order, which applies, but now has changed into something a bit different. A worm hole, then, might not be a hole at all, but a pathway of least resistance. If the scientists who are plodding along to properly measure and the mystics who are equally toiling to properly live by getting rid of emotional baggage ever combine their expertise, our world will be a different place overnight.
If we have grown sufficiently, we learn to read the signs afforded by the other dimensions. Whether we are talking about particle theory, string theory, or brane theory, these signs must process through the biological vehicle we are given in this lifetime. If we miss these signs, it does not necessarily imply “failure,” only a lack of growth. Newton taught us that there is a uniform order in the universe. New science teaches us that everything is connected, whether we’re talking about particles (the action), strings (the connection), brane (the theater in which it all plays out), or a combination of the three. Both quantum mechanics and the mystical world deal with the universal unknown—is it such a stretch to think that each is part of the same world, only coming from two entirely different directions? And the force that inhabits them all is pure thought? The scientist is focusing on getting in and the mystic is concentrating on expanding the consciousness outward—yet they are not so different after all! Much like a full moon (an opposition of the sun and the moon equated in our religion to the Lord and Lady), the magickal person who works with science as well as the mind stands in the center—the place of power.
Betwixt and between . . . you straddle the threshold. How do you proceed?
By partaking of the life force of Spirit, the collective soul of humankind grows and prospers. When individuals bow to the blood of hatred, evil acts, pointless hurts, lies, gossip, etc., the soul is weakened and the person enacting this vortex will eventually fall upon his or her own sword. Primal power is not wishing others harm; it is wishing everything right and allowing Spirit to determine what is right and what is needless.
In parts one and two we discussed the importance of cleansing, which keeps negativity from building up within and without, and setting our mental and physical feet upon a spiritual pathway. In this part we are stepping back and viewing the world as a whole, not as a bunch of random, unorchestrated events. We are toiling within our own spiritual garden in an effort to affect the world (as well as ourselves) in a positive way. This is pure science. And this is pure mysticism.
What is done within shows without. And what is done without affects the very fabric of our inner universe. Always.
Indeed, it is highly possible that you are the wormhole of manifestation and how healthy you are in body, mind, and spirit directly relates to your capability of creation. Imagination, then, is not a foolhardy escape from reality but the actual birth mother of the world we live in. If this is so, then belief isn’t just a word or a feeling, it is a process.
And if belief is a process?
Then think how much breath we’ve all wasted on arguing about it, the lives we have lost in the wars over it, and the ridiculous machinations we put ourselves through on a daily basis due to our misconception of it.
If we pay attention to the signs . . . well . . . here is an e-mail from a Black Forest member who received the above information to study prior to the release of this book. It tells you what just might happen if you only pay attention:
Signs . . . hmm. It’s been an interesting week as far as signs go. I agree with you that it’s how we process and interpret them that makes it helpful or not.
I had an incident occur this week that was very instructive on that subject. I was on the way to the gym to work out and as I was getting ready to make the turn into the mall where the gym was, a swallow-type bird started to swoop down into oncoming traffic. I saw it and immediately knew it was going to get hit. I was yelling at it to “Stop! Go back!” but it landed in the road and an oncoming red car struck it dead on. I literally heard the bird “pop” and saw it explode into feathers. It really was dramatic in a gruesome sort of way and upsetting. I made the turn and parked. There was no doubt in my mind that it was a sign. I could tell that by the way I felt. But what on earth did it mean? I had been thinking about our coven’s upcoming dedications . . . did it have to do with that? No, didn’t feel right. I felt really upset by the incident, felt bad for the bird and almost went home even. I had to ground and center myself before I went in to exercise and decided I would make a conscious effort to pay attention to what was happening around me until I knew what this was about.
When I came out, there was a red work-type van parked directly across from my car. It was around twilight, businesses were closing up, and the parking lot was mostly empty. A man sitting in the van’s driver’s seat called out, “Excuse me, ma’am,” then he mumbled something. I responded with “What?” He mumbled again and I felt like he wanted me to approach the van. There was no way that was gonna happen because warning bells were going off big time. The third time he mumbled, I just shrugged my shoulders and shook my head and started to get into my car, which was unlocked by this time. He yelled, “Tough IT!” and peeled out of the parking lot at top speed.
Normally I probably would have shrugged it off and went about my business, but because of the bird, I was on the alert and I called my sister when I got home to tell her about it (she belongs to the same gym). It turns out she had a run-in with the same guy the week before and on another day had seen the red van circling the parking lot. I reported him the next day as soon as the place was open (did some mojo too). A police report was filed on him and notices were distributed to all the businesses in the strip mall. Evidently, other women also had run-ins with this dude. I feel like a bad scene was nipped in the bud and the creepy van guy’s game is up. The police are on the lookout for him and will be patrolling the area more often around the time he’s been known to show up and all the women are on the alert. He’s going down.
Who knows how this could have played out if I had interpreted the bird explosion differently or just blown it off as a freaky bird thing? I noticed also that while I was alert, I had made a deliberate choice to plug into positive, harmonious energy before I went in to exercise. I was in the right place at the right time and ready to rock. Another woman might not have been as observant and could have been hurt (it’s a women-only gym). Anyway, I thought the whole scenario was interesting and it fits right into what you have been saying about signs, omens, and portents. They are a three-dimensional alert system, almost like an astral guard dog—if you pay attention and learn that the “event” has strings that will lead you to safe choices, you are absolutely ahead of the game.
In this student’s experience, the string theory was in play. The blown-up bird (as gross as this may be) was a significant enough three-dimensional event for her to pay attention. Rather than viewing it as a single event, an entity unto itself, she followed the strings that she could not yet readily see, forward and backward. To handle the upsetting input, she grounded and centered and, interestingly enough, did a very positive thing: physical exercise. Significantly, she chose to stay alert to determine why the event—this three-dimensional physical manifestation—may have occurred and, in that alert stage, she was able to act in accordance with a harmonious outcome (her protection) and perhaps foiled the perpetration of a future crime too.
Gemstone Spiritual Garden Exercise
Please do not perform this exercise until you have read through all of part three. It is often helpful to students to have hands-on projects to assist them in focusing their energies for magick, meditation, and daily life—this is what the tools in the Craft are used for, such as the wand, the athame, the chalice, etc. Each tool has a collective focus generally agreed upon by most members within the group mind. Some members carry a more detailed analysis of their tools, where others basically see them as a means to an end. Neither interpretation is wrong. The only necessary tool in the Craft, on which all elders seem to agree, is your own true self.
That pencil we talked about earlier is not a separation of those dimensions but a point where all the dimensions come together in a specific energy pattern. This pattern can represent anything: a person, a feeling, a goal, a place, a thing, an animal, etc. Perhaps, as in scientific study, each unfoldment is simply different than the next, yet each influences the other in its own dynamic way—the idea is to harmonize to create. For example, you can call just one quarter in a ritual, but that does not mean that the one you activated doesn’t affect the others simply because you focused on the single element (or whatever)—it is all still a part of the circle, still connected to the one.
For this first exercise you will need a sturdy flat box, sand, and a focus (the focus here is creating and building your spiritual garden, although you could use this technique for other applications). Or you are certainly free to clear an outside area in your garden during the warmer months (as I did in my initial experiment), a design that matches your focus and either the gemstones listed or gemstones of your choice with a list of their magickal correspondences. I began this project twenty years into my occult studies, so wherever you may be in your studies, the exercise still applies. The number, type, and size of your gemstones depends directly on your design. Here I used a sunburst of gems with one central piece, but you could use a pentacle, vèvè, seal, or a creation of your own—this is entirely up to you. Choose the design that speaks to you. As this is an exercise of beginnings, timing might be relegated to the new moon, your birthday, a special spiritual day, etc. I used the new moon.
In my original design I chose four types of gemstones: rose quartz, crystal points, amethyst points, and citrine, and used four very large pieces of each gemstone. I chose the crystal points to generate power; the rose quartz for harmony and universal love; the amethyst points for transmuting negative energy, cleansing, protection, and personal empowerment; and the citrine for success. The size of the gemstones depends on what you can procure or how you see the design in your mind’s eye.
Sunburst gemstone illustration.
My central focus was a flowered garden plate with a very large bee—I wanted my spiritual garden to be an active place with industrious energy. To begin, I literally got down on my knees and weeded a medium-sized area in my front yard flower bed. As I pulled the weeds, I concentrated on pulling out the negativity in my life. At the time, an interesting Mercury retrograde, old issues had reared their ugly heads and I was at a loss as to why. I felt that by clearing my spiritual garden and working to the best of my abilities in a positive way I could overcome the noxious energies that appeared to be banging at the closed door.
Note: If you use the box and sand technique, you can perform a cleansing ceremony (as given in previous parts) to reach the same effect. Sand is considered a cleansing agent.
As you work on the cleansing process for your garden, remember that your past actions and decisions bring to you what you are ready for—nothing more, nothing less. This is the same in life as it is in magickal studies. Although you are working with a clean slate to begin (such as the pristine sand or the weeded garden), it is only a level on which to build. What has gone before absolutely affects what you are doing now. You can be given everything and still come out empty-handed if you do not invest in your own spiritual garden—and, I’ve learned, the more students stress and complain about not having enough material from their teacher, the less likely they will succeed simply because they are ignoring their own creativity. To me, the old “suffer to learn” adage did not mean imposed punishment, but the difficulties and frustrations one encounters when rising to the challenge of learning, and how from that learning unfolds the composite of one’s artistic creation. To me, all life is artistry. The suffering artist is not the gaunt, bipolar, starving soul that many people stereotypically picture. The suffering encompasses the mental hurdles you must jump in order to bring thought into form. Whether you are an artist or a mechanic, there is no difference. Screwing in a light bulb in a dark basement ain’t easy for anyone! And it will take as long as it takes for each individual person—there is no rushing the process. Like that light bulb in the dark, you can try several times until you manage to line up those threads just right, and even when you do, if someone hits the switch while you are on top of it, you’ll be blinded by the light . . . at least momentarily. Those that are permanently blinded due to their own stupidity speak of their “mission” in life ad nauseum—stay away from those people! If someone says, “I’m on a mission . . . ”—run!
Now that we have all our supplies, and you believe that your work area is properly prepared, we can move onto the next step: determining the unfoldments of the magick. What do you want to seed in this spiritual garden? For everyone the choices will be different.
I first placed the central piece, a plate, a representation of what I wished to create: the self-mastery of preparing and seeding my own spiritual garden in a positive way, devoid of negativity caused by anger, hurt, insult, or just plain downright stupidity. I envisioned the plate representing the void, the primordial soup from which I could create what I desired. As I did not wish to manifest a physical object, such as a car, I concentrated on the feelings—love, protection, positive change, power, etc.—that might manifest from my own garden and allowed me to experience those emotions in my mind. From there, as I physically set the plate on the ground, I went to “no mind,” where all is calm and serene. I stayed there for a while, not mentally meditating but just being still, calm, and relaxed in a communal way with Spirit.
Then I began placing the crystals, empowering each slowly and with purpose from the heart chakra. Moving them out slowly, I placed each of the four crystals at a cardinal point—west, east, north, and then south. Once these were aligned, I chose the rose quartz pieces next, putting them to the right of each crystal, focusing on universal love and empowering them in the same way. I placed the amethyst points to the right of the rose quartz, considering the energies I wanted to cultivate. The working was not to combat negativity alone but to progress to a stage where I could do more positive activities in a spiritual, harmonious way. I empowered the amethyst in the same way for protection and the transmutation of energy. Finally, I added the citrine points, empowered them as well, and placed them beside the amethyst and next to the quartz crystals. As I was doing this I contemplated the infinity sign, the coalescing of energy to produce a positive pattern of spiritual growth from past actions to future empowerment, compacting the dimensions of quantum physics (however many there may be) to a three-dimensional point of manifestation within my own life.
Phase one of the exercise was now complete.
Now . . . I had to live it.
And that is what magick is all about—playing out what you have personally orchestrated and put into place. It is not a guessing game, it is an orderly process. If you have worked on positive, life-affirming applications, then the resulting circumstances may be surprising but harmonious in nature. If you have worked from a negative standpoint, then you will most assuredly reap the culmination of that impetus.
Once the magick for a goal is performed, in an orderly fashion you must live out the resulting pathway, assisted by reading the signs afforded by your own actions. Your will, manifest. When you do the magick you create a blueprint. A pattern. It is as simple (and as complicated) as that. Once I performed the magick, every time a related issue came up, I would go out to that garden and weed it, purposefully throwing out through physical action what I did not desire. The tending of our garden after its initial implementation is just as necessary as the preparation and building process.
And this is where many students fall short of the mark. They do the magick, but they are uncertain of how to handle the consequences, as magick is not linear—it is of its own nature, which is that of quantum physics, carrying its own signs and portents (as Lady Shantih showed us). We must learn to read what is given to us by our own acts of energy manifestation. This is not as easy as we would like and is far beyond the basic contemplation of Wicca, which is a philosophy as much as it is a modern religion.
Playing Out the Magick
Learning how to handle what you have created is just as difficult as learning how to manifest what you desire. So many times students do the magick and then are confounded when things occur that they didn’t expect, especially for difficult situations or amorphous requests (such as peace, harmony, enlightenment, etc.). This is a three-dimensional world. All magick is an act of balance. If your three-dimensional world is in the toilet, then it is a guarantee that situations are probably going to get worse before they get better, so that balance can occur. How you initially worded your spell and the thoughts and visualizations you created with that mystery energy of thought are vitally important when cultivating the event or item you wish to procure, allowing you to control what you receive and how it comes to you. That’s why we have those sayings: “Don’t call up what you can’t put down.” And “Be careful what you ask for—you just might get it.” Granted, a minimum of specifics can get you what you want faster, but it can also unfold a compendium of loose ends that weren’t necessary and are sometimes downright difficult to deal with. For example, “I want all my bills paid by the thirtieth of this month” might bring you trials and tribulations you never thought possible. Yeah, the bills got paid, but what the heck did you have to suffer with for six months past that? Even if you did keep your spiritual and personal life relatively in order, who is to say that a past decision made months ago that you forgot about, deeming it trivial, won’t explode like a wild card right under your nose?
Yes, magick is for everyone because anyone can inherently perform it (whether they know they are doing it or not—it is a natural function of all human beings because its premise lies in quantum physics); however, the mystery lies in the recognition and proper application of its power before (cleansing), during (the performance), and after (how you handle the outcome), not in the fact that it exists or not. All three steps—before, during, and after—make up the entirety of the application and without monitoring all three, stuff can happen that you didn’t intend. For the skilled practitioner, the question should not be “What will happen if . . . ”—the statement should be “This will happen now.” Looking at it differently may jam your finger in a light socket twenty times over! This is why occult teachers are so adamant on particular elements, especially those predicated on their own experiences, such as cleansing, casting the circle, being specific in your requests, remembering to finish magickally what you’ve begun, sealing applications, etc. If you don’t do these things, then you are simply asking for difficulties. Drilling such steps into the head of the student isn’t easy, and some simply never learn. And, even though you’ve gone over all these things a hundred times with a particular student, a jerk is a jerk is a jerk, meaning they can have all the magickal keys and jingle them frantically in your face when they are displeased at a decision you’ve made on their training (or even expulsion), but if their behavior is spiritually inhibited (lies, boasting, gossip, stealing, destruction of property, megalomania) then, frankly, it’s like spitting in the wind. Eventually Spirit (not you) will take away all those magickal keys and each door will slam shut, door by door by door, in their faces. This is an incredibly painful process for these people. Spirit does take away ability. Karma is a bitch.
How do you properly play out your magick? By remembering the pencil explanation: You only see what condenses at the point of entry, and you must also be aware that energy lies at each end of the stick that you cannot see, but of which you can be cognizant. This energy brings signs, omens, and portents into your life as your desire (or even nonmagickal events and issues) unfolds in your three-dimensional world. Awareness opens the first lock, acknowledgment releases the second. Do not forget, too, that a three-dimensional object is constantly moving of its own accord—it is only stable because the collective unconscious says it is stable, thereby allowing it to be in this world. (Yes, I know, you could go all over the map with this one.) As the volleys of the results of your desires reach you, you can learn to swing your racket of action in a positive, solution-oriented way, scoring points rather than suffering a black eye. Understanding that what is entering your life may be a direct result of a magickal application (even if the two don’t seem to match at first) broadens your future expertise.
Eleven Mysteries Exercise
For this application you will need a quartz crystal (a good clear one with a point works well); your specific, focused desire written on a piece of parchment paper (add sigils if you like); your two hands; and a strip of flat paper forty-three inches long and at least two inches wide. Beginning at the right end, mark off two-inch increments with a ruler until you have nine marks on the paper. Do the same thing with the left side of the paper. Once you have read this exercise through, feel free to decorate the paper as you see fit in accordance with your own creativity on the technique. Before you actually perform the exercise, practice the charm, which is in French and English, so that your first application will have a smoother performance. The purpose of using two languages is to force the brain to switch gears while manifesting energy. The soft, musical French adds mystery to the working as well.
When you are ready to work the spell, have chosen your timing, and ironed out the kinks of being specific, gathered your tools and feel ready to rock ’n roll, lay the long paper out on a smooth surface. Place your petition in the center of the paper, at the open space that is bracketed by the marks you made previously. Put the crystal on top of the petition. Set a white or colored candle that reflects your intention above the petition (but off the paper). Turn out the lights; this one works well for the first time in total darkness.
Take a deep breath. Ground and center. Light the candle, saying, “From out of the darkness and into the light, the focus is pure, the manifestation is right.” This statement means that you are casting the circle with the aura of the flame and that only positive results can be achieved by the spell. Read that again so you know what you are saying when you are saying it.
There are two ways to proceed: you can either move your hands from the center of the paper out or from the outside of the paper in. We’re working from the outer edges to the crystal in this example, thinking of that pencil analogy—from energy to solidification in the three-dimensional world. If you are trying to materialize an object, place a lodestone or pair of lodestones beside the crystal.
Take another deep breath. Place your hands, palms down, one on each side of the paper. Find “no mind” within yourself. Slowly open your hands so that they still rest on the table, but the palms are facing each other—still the same distance apart—one on each end of the paper. As you say the Mystery Chant, bring your hands together—a mark at a time. This means that you will be saying the chant eleven times in all, while focusing on the crystal in the middle that rests upon your desire. Begin with the first ten repetitions.
“Venez à moi. (pause) Come to me.
Déplier. (pause) Unfold.
Dimension to dimension.
[move your hands in to the next line]
Déplier. (pause) Unfold.”
(repeat charm)
As you utter the charm, your hands will most likely grow significantly warm and you may feel as if you are actually holding something—which, in essence, you are. If you are focusing on drawing a material object, visualize that object in the center, above the crystal, as much as possible.
The eleventh repetition is the final one. And as you utter this portion, close your hands around the crystal and close your eyes, feeling the power surge between your hands. As you utter the last word (“Déplier!”), with a rush of breath, open your eyes and look immediately up to the right—that place where we manufacture from fantasy into reality of the spoken word—and say, “Cachet! Tow!” which means “hide the spell” (yes, I know that’s not exactly how it translates, but this is the spell). You may also add, “May this spell not reverse, or place upon me any curse” or any other definitive statement to ensure a positive manifestation. Carry the paper with you until your desire manifests. Burn the paper, cleanse the crystal, and thank the gods when you are satisfied with the results.
Variations on this exercise (and worth experimentation) include the following:
• Working from the center, holding the crystal, and moving your hands outward.
• Drawing a large infinity sign on the table, with the crystal in the center.
• Lining up candles and lighting them, from one end to the other to represent the eleven dimensions.
• Once you have learned the cadence with the eleven repetition, lose the paper.
• Make the paper a wooden form if you teach a high number of students and wish to explain this technique or quantum physics in general.
• Tape the infinity symbol (or a symbol of your choice) on top of your drum and drum the spell.
Weeding Your Garden
Once your spiritual garden is in place and you continue to work through a series of positive, growth-oriented issues, there will be a time or two when you will need to weed out any negativity that may have managed to sneak in there. Fear is a big fat weed that spreads quickly and is so pervasive that we don’t often realize that it has gotten out of hand. Magickal training will bring our fears to light in order to cut them from us, as it is extremely well put in the following piece; yet, unlike those who succumb to it, this powerful Witch was determined to weed her spiritual garden of this nasty pest. With her second elevation in a traditional Wiccan format less than a month away, this student of the occult began to enter her own ritual of descent, very much associated with most second elevation ceremonies in the Craft. In the descent one must face their own fears, cast off old and crusty habits that do not serve them, and gather power to rise above one’s own orchestrated complications. The second level is all about dealing with the self and gaining the mastery needed to continue on one’s spiritual path.
Dear ________,
For the past few days I have made myself take a ruthless and honest inventory of myself and my state of mind. What I found with the help of Spirit is that since this past February I have been living with an incredible amount of fear that has colored my every thought, action, reaction, and attitude. My fears have been many . . . the fear of “not enough” (material world), the fear of disappointing those I love, the fear of discovery—that someone will find out that I’m a fake and “not good enough,” fear of myself and my own power and abilities, the fear of losing the core of “me” in this journey through my studies (I believe this is called “ego death” and it is by far the scariest of the fears listed) . . . there are more, but they are basically offshoots of the ones listed above. These have ultimately culminated in the pervasive fear and anxiety that I am in danger, that I am going to be hurt. This has also (not surprisingly) manifested in some health issues, not serious, but wakeup calls that I cannot continue living under this self-imposed stress level.
I have decided that something has to give or I will simply implode, so this is what I have come up with—my personal game plan. I’m telling you this because it’s only fair that you know what’s going on.
1. Use my words positively to manifest the positive.
2. Do not take anything personally. (This one will be very hard. I played around with this one—what could I take personally and what could I not. Spirit was/is pretty definite on “nothing.” Nothing can be taken personally because each person is living their own “truth” . . . their truth has nothing to do with mine and therefore, nothing anyone says or does “to” me can be taken personally.)
3. Nothing can hurt me. (The energy I’m feeling is not about me [see above]. I can acknowledge it and let it pass by, or I can choose to not open myself to it at all. It’s my reality, my “illusion” . . . I can control what comes in and out and how I respond to it.)
4. Do my best at all times, no more, no less. (If I’ve done my best on whatever task I’m on than I cannot beat myself up. I’ve done the best I can do, I’ve given it my full effort and that’s it. No judge/victim roleplaying will be acceptable within myself.)
5. Stay in the moment. (Now is all I have. Enjoy it. In my meditations I was given the thought of the Angel of Death. This angel sweeps up all that has been, providing for the Now. He does not make any promises for the future. His gift is the present moment only. If I remember this I think it will be easier to stay in the Now . . . it’s all I am guaranteed.)
6. There is nothing wrong with power, but there is something wrong with refusing to acknowledge it. (Spirit showed me everything has power. The pine tree contains immense power and uses it for its own well-being, which in turn benefits everything in its environment. I must begin to discipline myself to harness my power for my own benefit and well-being which will in turn benefit those around me. I had been going about this bass-ackwards, BTW).
7. Fear is a way to avoid change. Change cannot be avoided. (Oh, what a rub! But the fear I have been feeling is all about the “me” I have been told to be by outside sources and early conditioning. I chose to believe these things and now that “me” is a parasite and is not willing to go easily. It is a many-headed monster that has thrown fear into my psyche whenever it feels threatened. This is how I describe the ego death. There is the true me in there and it is stronger than the parasite. I have chosen to do away with the false me. Spirit showed the way—stop fighting, stop fearing, All Is Well.)
8. Refrain, don’t repress (emotions).
So, there it is. Forty-eight hours of digging at my wounds. I feel better . . .
I am a realist, though; I will fall on my face with a few of these a few times. I am a creature of habit and I have habituated myself to these negative thoughtforms and behaviors. But I think I may actually come out on the other side of this.
The references I used to make my list are as follows:
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz
Conversations with God (1, 2, & 3) by Neale Donald Walsch
Illusions by Richard Bach
A Woman’s Way Through the Twelve Steps by Stephanie S. Covington, Ph.D.
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
My own writings in my burgeoning Pagan Recovery
Program—Healer, heal thyself! smirk >:)
Let Spirit Show the Way
Ever feel totally overwhelmed? Like you’ve just got so much to do and so little time to do it? Have you ever sat just staring at something, your brain frozen because you simply don’t know what to do first? Here’s a simple technique to “git ’er done”!
Supplies: Paper, pencil, rolled quartz gemstones, amethyst (at least one piece), white candle, your choice of power/activity magickal oil, and scissors.
Write down on a piece of paper all those things you have to do. Don’t worry about prioritizing, the magick and your mind are going to do that for you effortlessly! Just make the list. For as many items on the list, choose an equal number of rolled quartz gemstones. Place these in a black bag along with your priority list. Shake lightly, then spill the stones on a soft cloth. Do not shake out the list. Do not touch the stone pattern. Remove the list from the bag and cut it into slips, one item per slip of paper. Place the slips of paper in the bag. Empower the bag and the stone pattern for ease in action and accomplishment. Now, pull one slip of paper from the bag and place it on top of the stone pattern. Do the task on the paper. When the task is finished, burn the slip of paper and wash the stone in running water. Dry. Place the stone in the bag with the other slips. This is to give you power and momentum to complete the other tasks. Repeat taking out one piece of paper from the bag, finishing the task, burning the paper, cleansing the stone and returning it to the bag until the pattern of activity is gone and all the rolled crystals are back in the bag. Wash the amethyst, dry, and return it to the black bag. Now the bag is ready for the next time that you feel you have too much to do and too little time to accomplish what is required!
Cosmograph for Spiritual Power
Many magickal people enjoy working with designs for talismans and sigils. Unless you create it yourself, however, you may not know all the nuances, especially if the design is older and there is no way to speak to the original creator. What may have been taught about a design a hundred years ago could have a totally new twist by the time someone hands it to you. I created the Cosmograph for Spiritual Power—a line art design—that incorporates numerous occult principles focused on the enlightenment of self specifically for this section. I chose line art to keep the design simple and easy to re-create, purposefully staying away from the more familiar symbols of moons, stars, pentacles, etc., in an effort to incorporate sacred geometry.
The center of this design is the Spirit Circle—a sacred vortex representing the four elemental directions and the point of manifestation. Write your desire in or on the back of the circle when re-creating the drawing, if you like. The four diamonds stand for the occult principle “as above, so below” and the necessity to unfold energy through all the dimensions (however many that may be) to create your desire (in this case, spiritual empowerment). The four wings are stylized representations of feathers or leaves, used in ancient times to sweep out a ritual space. I chose four so that you can envision them sweeping around the design in a clockwise motion, clearing out any negativity in a positive way. The stars on the end of the feathers (and elsewhere in the design) are stylized and look like big asterisks. These are portals where energy can move in and out of the design. They represent day and night, the sun and the moon, balance, mastery, and movement. There are ten stars in this design—which factors to one—the totality of the whole. Energies must become one to create a particular pattern. The triangles capped with horns are power points incorporating manifestation through the three known dimensions, and the hook at the end is to draw in and capture the energy. The S shape at the top of the design is a stylized version of the infinity symbol. The stairs represent the building process that it takes to become a better person—it doesn’t happen overnight, and is a reminder that we should always try to move onward and upward, making decisions to empower rather than succumb to lower levels of behavior. The first stair level contains eleven dots, speaking of self-mastery. The second level contains seven dots, a magickal number of victory and movement, and the last tier contains three dots—the representation of spirituality, three-dimensional change, and earth, sea, and sky. The steps are connected to the design to keep the energy moving yet provide a solid base from which you can always draw. Too, the stairs speak of your ability to analyze and the power of your thought. The boxes speak of how we compartmentalize thoughts, shift them into a pattern without boundaries, then relegate them again into something different, with new lines of delineation. Finally, the dots on the upper portion of the design, of which there are six, ties into alchemical formulary.
The Cosmograph for Spiritual Power.
The design can be activated in one of two ways: Use a rattle to sound out the design or draw a pentacle in the air over the central portion of the drawing. If using candle magick, place four candles, one at each power point (triangle and horns), to draw in the energy to the center of the design, which represents your petition or what you desire to manifest. Any herbs, gems, stones, etc., should be placed on the stars (as many or as few as you like).
You can draw the design on paper and place it in a poppet, gris-gris bag, dream pillow, etc., or make a larger design directly on your personal altar and work with it for eleven days (for self-mastery). Use your creativity to enhance the sigil by weaving your own abilities of enchantment to lift the spirit and manifest more desirable behaviors in your self.
A Light in the Garden: Forever Healing Flame
Originally designed as an outdoor project for an AIDS patient healing ritual, you can re-create this exercise in your home; however, you will need an area that can remain undisturbed and the flame must be monitored at all times. The instructions here will give you a stone mandala that is approximately fifteen inches in diameter. To make a smaller one, cut the number of stones in half. You will need one pound rolled rose quartz crystals; one pound rolled sodalite gemstones; one pound rolled amethyst gemstones; one pound blue lace agate gemstones; 1⁄4 pound sugalite gemstones; 21–26 large quartz points; 1⁄4 pound rolled crystal quartz; one flat piece of flagstone, about 8 x 8 inches or 6 x 6 inches; a drill with a drill bit for stone; two wicks (cotton for indoors, synthetic for outdoors); smokeless lamp oil; and a stainless steel bowl (you can use glass, but if you are doing this for an outside ritual, especially in the fall or winter, the heat-safe glass can crack with the temperature fluctuations).
Stone mandala built with crystals, sugalite, rose quartz,
amethyst, sodalite, and blue lace agates.
Although designed specifically for AIDS patients, the mandala can be used for other healings as well. The circle ring, constructed using large crystal points from Brazil, collects and activates the healing energy. Six different gemstone types are used for self-actualization and alchemical change. As above, so below.
The center of the circle contains sugalite from South Africa— the “love” stone representing spiritual transformation. The stone is thought to promote positive thoughts, protect one from shock or disappointment, and has been used by magickal people for cancer patients. Rose quartz (up and to the right) is for empowerment through love and kindness. It’s a stone of compassion and healing used in all manner of magick for those who have fallen ill. The stones in the lower right are amethyst from South Africa, the gem of transformation, healing, and protection. The upper right contains sodalite from Burma, encouraging a calm mind and emotional balance as well as cleansing the organs and the immune system. Lower left pictures blue lace agate, promoting peace, spirituality, and balancing the chakras.
Take your time creating your stone mandala, focusing on what you wish to bring forth into this dimension. A black and white illustration does not give this design justice, but it will show you how I built the one here.
When the design is completed, empower under both the sun and the moon when each is at its zenith—therefore, you will be working with the design twice to activate it.
The Forever Light (which isn’t really forever, just a symbol of an unending light) is very easy to put together. Drill two holes in the flagstone about an inch and a half apart. Partially fill the small stainless steel bowl with lamp oil (smokeless is best). Don’t overfill or you’ll have a mess and create a fire hazard. Carefully set the bowl on the design. If it wobbles, make adjustments—it is okay to move the stones because you’ve already done the activation of the pattern. Carefully set the flagstone “cover” on top of the bowl. Thread the wicks into the holes you have drilled, leaving only a bit of wick above the surface of the stone. Give the wicks several minutes to soak up the lamp oil.
The ritual is very simple. Cast a circle and call the quarters. Sit in front of the design and meditate on the healing you wish to provide and to whom, then light the wicks. While you watch the flame, meditate, drum, or chant, raising power. When the hair on your arms starts to tingle or you feel the gathering of energy (it feels like you are a cat, ready to pounce), let the energy flow over the design and up by moving your arms over the design and up. The work for this day is done. You can allow the flame to continue to burn (closely monitored) or extinguish the flame. Trim the wick before using it again. Warning: Because the flagstone cap only sits on the bowl without a proper lid, be very, very careful of children, pets, and ritual participants. It is best to position the mandala and the flame where no one can bump into it, even by accident.
Summary
This part contained only two main exercises and a great deal of dissertation and theory on science and the occult. Its main purpose was not to inform you “what is,” but to stretch your mind to “what could be.” My focus was to encourage you to look outside of the box (or the book) and acknowledge that the world is full of mysteries to contemplate and, in that quiet analysis, to determine what may or may not be true for you. Learning to work within the confines of a structure (Craft teachings) and drawing in information gathered by the self (the study of quantum physics, accurate historical research, or through one’s own trial and error, etc.) is no easy task. It requires guts. Even if I am inaccurate on my postulations of science and magick, you hopefully have learned these things:
One, what we call “magick” is natural phenomena and not relegated to special people.
Two, it takes courage to acknowledge our own idiosyncrasies, let alone examine them and then alter what we feel does not serve us well in an ever-changing world and still keep up with the partner, the job, the kids, the dog, and whatever else.
Three, we have far more power than we realize.
Four, indeed, our world is a mystery.
If you are using this book as a training vehicle, there is enough material here to keep you busy from moon to moon and beyond. You cannot build your spiritual garden in one day, although you can make a conscious effort to begin anew at any given moment. As the quote at the beginning of the part states, cultivating your own inner garden will most likely occur in a series of mental shifting of gears. A personal journal or even a series of short crib notes may be extremely helpful as you work through this stage of your development. Each movement forward in contemplation will bring new ideas, challenges, and spiritual work to do. You can ignore this work or you can embrace it.
3. Mike D’ Angelo, “Two Amigos,” Esquire, March 2004, page 76.