The ultimate design of religion and magick should revolve around the creation or enhancement of harmony here on Earth as well as in other planes of existence. Whether we are talking about balancing your chakra energy, meditation, acts of magick and honor, helping a sick person to get better, situations of service (like a school club you might belong to), working within a coven environment, studying for a test at school, trying to work out relationship problems with our family or peers, finding love, living successfully, taking care of our pets and the environment, or following our talents, all, every bit, has to do with manipulating energy to build and support harmony. Even dealing with some of the heavier stuff—anger, crime, injustice, and discrimination—involves energy and harmony. Why? Because these situations arise when harmony is disrupted or disturbed. Magick, then, isn’t really a selfish thing after all (something that a few people worry about), but a tool that helps us bring harmony into focus in our lives, which in turn brings harmony into the lives of others.
Conformity and harmony aren’t the same thing. Conformity means you have to be like everyone else around you (and we know Witches aren’t), where harmony says there is unity through diversity. Our differences can actually work together to make a better world, if we let them—and that’s the key. Being willing to accept harmony is hard, especially if we somehow think that harmony is boring, weak, or, as I’ve heard in some Craft circles, “fluffy bunny stuff.” Conformity is all those things (and worse). Harmony is actually exciting, giving us a solid foundation where we can reach to capture our goals whether we want to be the next astronaut, race car driver, or Pulitzer prize winner. Harmony doesn’t mean you have to buckle under to someone else’s desires, or take second best, or tolerate a bully. That’s living in disharmony, right? There is no reason why you must accept disharmony. Instead, work to create harmony, and you have banished the negative energy of the situation.
Harmony, then, will bring change. If things are out of whack, then working for a harmonious conclusion will make adjustments to the situation. Sometimes these changes will occur only inside of you, because that is all that is necessary. Other times the changes will be outside of yourself. How long this takes, and what changes occur, depend on what was wrong in the first place.
Many Witches work on creating harmony every day by practicing some sort of devotion, of which there are several to choose from. Those that enjoy more ceremonial magick may practice the Middle Pillar Exercise or the Lesser Banishing Pentagram.16 Others may like working with a more shamanic energy by connecting with Earth (Gaia) and animal energies. Some individuals simply like to take a morning and evening walk, contemplating the wonder of the universe. It really doesn’t matter how you connect with Spirit every day, just that you try your best to do it. By practicing such daily devotions, you begin building a firm foundation for future magickal work, relieving daily stress and, through conscious effort, bringing harmony into your life.
Wicca, as you have seen in this book, opens the way for practitioners to use various pantheons (see part 1, Gods, Goddesses, and Pantheons). For our harmony exercise we’re going to use energies from the Egyptian culture, though you can substitute Celtic deities or the names of angels in the appropriate places. For now, though, we’ll work with the Four Adorations in its original form. The Four Adorations is a set of prayers that come from the ceremonial study called the Golden Dawn,17 and represents a technique of hailing the energy of Earth, Spirit, and sky, allowing your spirit to soar in the words as you say them each day. This devotion has four parts, the first to be said when you get up in the morning, the second to be recited at noon, the third at the setting of the sun, and the fourth right before you go to bed. You might want to copy them down on a piece of paper that you can keep handy. Granted, the hardest for the school student will be the noon devotion, because you may have class or be in the lunchroom surrounded by your peers. A moment of silence or reciting the words in your mind would be just fine. We can’t always have the privacy we need to do what we want.
As all pantheon work requires study, I’ve provided the associations of each deity energy after the prayers. Read the prayers once, then read through the explanations, matching the history to the poem. You may also wish to go to the library or surf online for more detailed information. One you have worked with this format and understand how it works, you can write your own adoration that fits your chosen pantheon.
In the morning, turn to the east, touch your forehead with the first three fingers (thumb, index, and third finger) and slowly draw your hand out toward the rising sun, saying:
Hail unto thee who art Ra in thy rising,
even unto thee who art Ra in thy strength,
who travellest over the heavens in thy bark
at the uprising of the sun.
Tahuti standeth in his splendor at the prow
and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto thee from the abodes of the night!
Hail unto thee in the arms of Nun.18
At noon, turn to the south, making the same hand gesture on the forehead, and then slowly moving your hand out toward the south, saying:
Hail unto thee who art Hathor
in thy triumphing,
Even unto thee who art Hathor in thy beauty,
who travellest over the heavens in thy bark
at the mid-course of the sun.
Tahuti standeth in his splendor at the prow,
and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto thee from the
abodes of the morning!
Hail unto thee in the arms of Nun!
At sunset, turn to the west, repeating the hand gesture toward the west, saying:
Hail unto thee, who art Tum in thy setting,
even unto thee who art Tum in thy joy,
who travellest over the heavens in thy bark
at the down-going of the sun.
Tahuti standeth in his splendor at the prow,
and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto thee from the abodes of the day!
Hail unto thee in the arms of Nun.
Before you go to bed, turn to the north, use the hand gesture, and say:
Hail unto thee who art Khephra
in thy hiding,
even unto thee who art Khephra
in thy silence.
Who travellest over the heavens in thy bark
at the midnight hour of the sun.
Tahuti standeth in his splendor at the prow
and Ra-Hoor abideth at the helm.
Hail unto thee from the abodes of the evening!
Hail unto thee in the arms of Nun!
This devotion invokes five Egyptian deities, who (if we check our history) have multiple spellings, according to which expert you talk to, and are linked to a particular theme: the sun as a representation of Spirit and enlightenment. Egyptian names are spelled differently because the original language was a series of pictures (remember our discussion on alchemy?) and are therefore subject to the translator’s interpretation.
Re (or Ra) is considered a sun god, his name meaning “the creator” or “creative power.” He rose to prominence in Egyptian history in the fifth dynasty. The Egyptians believed that the sun was fire and the heaven water. The sun could not travel through water unless it was in a boat, which is where the reference to the “bark” (or boat) comes into play in the adoration.
Ra-Hoor is a combination of Ra/Re and Horus, the god who represented the heights of the skies. These two, Ra and Horus, stood for the united Solar Force (or Spirit). Horus is called the “divine child.” Isis, the prominent Egyptian female divinity, was often represented in statuary holding the divine sun/son, Horus. The statues made their way through Europe and were a part of the cult of the Black Madonna.
Tahuti is another name for Thoth, the god of wisdom and learning. Although not mentioned in the poem, his lady friend (for those who would like to work with them in pairs) is Ma’at. Her name means “truth.” Therefore, if you would like to find truth, wisdom, or learning, then you would call on this duo in spell or ritual, but be careful—to ask for truth must mean that you wish to give it in return. In some myths, both Tahuti and Ma’at stand on either side of Ra-Hoor in his boat as he travels across the sky on his daily journey, and they are responsible for keeping the Sun on course. The Tarot deck is often associated with the magickal and hermetic arts (see part 3, Alchemy), and is sometimes called the Book of Thoth. Tahuti (Thoth) is also associated with the moon, and as Ra traveled across the sky, Tahuti gave light to the moon to dispel the darkness in the waters of the night, which is why he is located at the back of the boat, casting the light upon the midnight skies that fall behind the sun’s passing.
Hathor’s history, like so many of the deity legends, touches on more than one persona. Hathor is linked to Nun (or Nut, as she was sometimes called), who was considered the cosmic mother. In early Egyptian legend, Nun was the queen of the heavens, and gave birth to the sun, the moon, and the stars. Later she was associated with the journey to the underworld. In time she would be partnered with Hathor. In early legend, Hathor is also Sekhmet, goddess of the afternoon sun, and destroyer of bad guys. As Hathor, she is the goddess of happiness, dancing, music, and women, and she wears a solar disk on her horned headdress. If you know someone who is pregnant, you can always call on Hathor to help protect mom and baby through those nine months and at the birth of the baby. At one time, Hathor was known as the mother of Horus, and is said to have the powers of divination, prophecy, and the knowledge of a person’s destiny. All this good stuff gets her a seat in the boat, and associates her with the midday sun. Hathor, if you forget the details, is a goddess of many faces and energies.
Tum (also known as Tem, Temu, Tum, Atem) is considered to be one of the oldest gods of ancient Egypt. Originally an Earth god, he eventually became associated with the sun. He was thought to be the first god to emerge from the waters of heaven (Nun) and will return to those waters at the end of time. Atum was also a first in that he wasn’t considered male or female, but both. He was called the “Great He-She” and his name meant the “complete one.” Because he would someday return to Nun, he was associated with all sunsets. Of all the Egyptian gods, Tum may be the closest to the modern-day mindset in Wicca of the God and Goddess being one, yet also being able to operate separately if necessary.
Khephra (Khepera, Khepri, Khopri) is also a form of the sun god, Ra, and is associated with the scarab beetle. Legend has it that as a beetle he pushes the moon through the sky. He stands for self-generation and renewal, the dawn, and the beginning of all things.
Read through the adorations while you are outside (the time of day doesn’t matter). Look to the heavens as you say some of the lines of the poem. Can you visualize Nut, the cosmic waters of the universe? Do you see the difference that research makes? It is one thing to read through a magickal book, but it is something else altogether different when you have researched the history and then apply that information to your life in a pleasant or practical way. The words begin to mean something special to you, rather than just marching across the page or tumbling out of your mouth without a thought to where they might have originated. Cool, huh? Try standing outside at dawn and saying the first adoration. If you can’t remember the whole thing, simply start by looking up as the soft, liquid light streams over the horizon, and say: “Hail to thee who art Ra in thy rising.” The power you will touch is indescribable.
Many magickal individuals perform some sort of daily devotion such as the one listed above. These devotions might be done out-of-doors, at a family altar, or in the privacy of one’s room and can include prayers, the lighting of incense, an offering to deity, meditation, or other spiritual activity. You’ll find more information on daily devotions in my book To Stir a Magick Cauldron.
The Stress of Change
As we work to change our behavior patterns and our way of life, we will encounter various stresses that result from our needs to meet the new structure we have created for ourselves. Students who work a great deal of magick have found that after a flurry of magickal practices they may feel “out of wack” or that events are happening so fast they weren’t prepared to deal with the emotional upheavals. Although daily devotions help to make this transition smoother, we can also add “riders” to our spellwork and ritual that include an effortless flow from one type of structure to another. For example, you may wish to add any of the following to the body of your spellwork:
“Change will flow with ease and love, blessed by Goddess from above.”
“My transition to my new life will be effortless and natural.”
“I will easily find success and happiness.” You may also find that you will go through periods of enforced rest, meaning you just don’t feel like doing magick or ritual because that’s precisely the way you’re supposed to feel. Sometimes these breathers can last up to a full year and they are a direct result of the germination process required by the spellwork and ritual you have done in the past. Rather than worry about your lack of desire to zap the world fantastic, sit back, relax, and take the changes in stride, one day at a time. Here again, daily devotions or meditation will be very helpful. After a while you will feel that familiar excitement that precedes a magickal working and then you’ll be off again, working toward obtaining your goals.
Recommended Reading
Celtic Devotional: Daily Prayers and Blessings by Caitlin Matthews