FAERY MAGICK PRACTICES Part 2

   

From sex to pride, from pride to self, from self to power, from power to passion from passion to sex, the gate is formed. By my will the gate is opened. Blessed be.

Considered to be a foundational exercise of the Feri, the Iron Pentacle has proven to be a powerful symbol of the inner-work that is stressed so strongly in our tradition. Usually taught to students at or near the beginning of their training in order to provide a symbolic container for the work to come, the pentacle quickly becomes a personal mandala for the student, an energetic map that can lend important clues as to where we are wasting our energy, and provide us opportunities to heal imbalances in our inner selves. It is a talisman of great power.

Briefly, the points can be understood as follows:

The point of Sex conceptually represents the creative power of the Universe. It is both polarity and resonance within the current of Divine energy. It is that point of orgasm in which we open to the Universal dance and participate in its creation and in its destruction within each moment.

The point of Pride is our recognition of our own self-worth and the ability to live fully without reservation, allowing our true nature to shine outward while not giving in to the ego's temptation to compare ourselves to others. It is complete innocence, living fully and unabashedly in the moment.

Self represents our full knowledge of our own potential as well as our limitations along with the knowledge of who we are in relation to others and the Universe at large.

Power is the balanced outpouring of our whole being; the focused harmony of all five points in the pentacle which allows us greater access to our own deep potential. It is the projection of ourselves into the world that causes change, that makes magick. It is never manipulative, for true power exists in its own right and finds revelry in cooperative relationships with other beings and points of view.

Passion is our ability to be open to the fullest experience of feeling, whether that be of the highest bliss, or of the deepest depression. It is the true embodiment of ecstasy.

Taken individually, the points on our pentacle represent important aspects of our consciousness that are normally interpreted in a negative light from the standpoint of mainstream society. Even in those times when an energetic relationship to the conceptual point on the pentacle is one that is encouraged by the mainstream, we find the relationship is usually an unhealthy one. One needs only look to the prevalence of sexual imagery in modern advertising, and the unrealistic expectations that it encourages, for an example of this. Our negative relationships are formed and reinforced each time we compare our bodies to those we see in a magazine, each time we feel “selfish” for accepting a compliment or taking pride in our work, and each time we automatically equate power with corruption.

By restructuring our relationships to these concepts we can begin to balance our world-view through the removal of the negative preconceptions already firmly in place within our psyches. This allows us deeper access to our authentic selves unhindered by cultural conditioning, a state poetically referred to in our tradition as “The Black Heart of Innocence”.

It is from this space, this magnificent state of being, that magick is made. Only when we are free from our irrational fears can we begin to truly live, and it is precisely this that the Gods call for us to do. In order to mediate real power into the world (the true function of any priest or priestess) we must first be made pure; we must come to terms with ourselves for exactly who and what we are, and in the face of this truth, begin to live it fully. Easier said than done.

Each point on the pentacle represents a particular wavelength of consciousness that, even when in isolation from the others, is an invaluable aid to the cleansing and development of the psyche. By connecting meditatively to each point, we can begin to discern how its conceptual power flows through us individually, giving us opportunities to notice how we are affected. When I experience the conceptual energy of Pride, for example, I am faced with the possibility of an unhindered boundless wave of self acceptance and love, an experience that, when taken in the greater context of everyday awareness leaves me with the experiential understanding of how well I am or am not actualizing such acceptance within my own life. If I am living from my heart center, then I am validated in that experience. If I am not, then I am reminded of that center, and encouraged, by example, to allow my energies to flow freely, thus cultivating that sense of pride that I am connecting to.

When used early on in training, it is common to meditate on each point in succession, gaining speed with each pass until the conscious mind can no longer attach itself to any one particular concept, blurring them into one flow of power.  From Sex, to Pride, to Self, to Power, to Passion, and back to Sex, the points themselves become energetic markers, like bands of color in the spectrum, that stand out in the midst of the greater force, and yet are a necessary part of that force, lending to the experience rather than distracting from it.

When taken together, the points on the Iron Pentacle create a kind of harmony —not unlike the voices in a choir— that is greater than the sum of its parts. The five conceptual points of our pentacle interlock to create a kind of “psychic gateway” that leads us deeper into the realms of Faery, and into our own power. When we have actualized each point within ourselves, and are able to maintain a simultaneous connection to each of them and their relationships to each other within our consciousness, then we have embarked upon the remarkable journey: We have made the decision to abandon those negative traits forced upon us by the larger society in favor of a healthy relationship to ourselves, and have taken the first real step towards claiming our Divine birthright: We have decided to become more fully human.

But the question must be posed: Why in a shamanic tradition must we focus on tools and tricks that are obviously centered around affecting the psychological well-being of the student? Why not simply have the student enter into therapy and leave the psyche to the psychologists and the witchcraft to the witches?

It would be unwise to think that the realms of the psychological, the spiritual, and the magickal do not, at the very least, intersect. Much of the training work utilized in many of the branches that teach Feri today bear a striking resemblance to deep therapeutic techniques.  Breathing exercises, controlled relaxation, and guided introspection are all techniques that are utilized in both therapy and in modern witchcraft, so what, if anything, makes them different?

One difference is the deep spiritual connection of the community at large. In the presence of a teacher the Iron Pentacle becomes a connection point the student has to the greater Feri community, a symbol of how our diverse energies are interconnected and how they can flow together to form a unified working whole. Even if we each have a different understanding of the conceptual points, we have the work itself in common which leads us to a greater kinship with each other, as witches of the Feri clan. The fact that we each may have been taught differently on the subject merely reinforces the significance of the work to the individual; for the power to remain authentic it must, by definition, change from person to person to reflect the psychic make-up of the individual. When confronted with real power, real results occur. The Iron Pentacle, as a working tool, is a beginning point for understanding the Feri reality. For years practitioners of Feri have used these techniques, with much success, and have revised them to suit their individual needs as practicality demands. When I practice the Iron Pentacle I am filled with the knowledge that this is a path that other practitioners have embarked upon; other Feri have used these signposts in order to better understand their relationship to our Gods, the Universe, and themselves. When I practice, I am in good company.

Another major difference is in the very nature of the powers that we, as Feri, are dealing with. The Gods, Goddesses, Guardians, spirits, and powers that we are working with are real and not simply in a metaphorical sense as is seen in many modern traditions of the Craft. When I call upon the Gods they show up, providing me with perspectives that I was previously unaware of, or even leading me into situations where I have opportunity to claim and refine my power, my perceptual relationship to the universe.

In my opinion the exercises utilized in the Feri training are (for the right individual) much more powerful in effect than the standard therapeutic model. In addition to being a more direct way to deal with issues and complexes within the psyche, the magickal model enables the student to develop control of their relationship to their environment, and more importantly, provides an experiential understanding of how the world really works. Instead of just reinforcing the old paradigm of separateness, the magickal model does away with such nonsense and instills the understanding of interconnectedness as an experiential reality.

In light of all of this, the Iron Pentacle is, in one sense, a reminder of how that interconnectedness works on a personal level, thus bringing that understanding out into the world at large.

For many modern witches the symbol of the pentagram with it's five interlocking points has come to represent the interconnected forces of the five natural elemental principals of the Universe working in harmony. It is a reminder that these forces exist in relation to each other, each serving a unique purpose and yet are interdependent with each other, each relying on the next for holistic balance to be achieved.

The shape of the pentacle with one point upwards is roughly in the shape of the human body with arms and legs outstretched. With this in mind we are reminded of the holographic nature of reality, the microcosm/macrocosm: the idea that the very big is contained within the very small.  In each of us exists an energetic map for the entire universe.

The Iron Pentacle takes full advantage of this symbolism providing a framework for grounding the conceptual energy into the human body. While focusing on the points in succession, the energy is generally felt within the body beginning with the point of Sex at the center of the forehead, Pride at the right foot, Self at the left hand, Power at the right hand, and finally Passion at the left foot. By running energy between these points we are able to bring the power of the Pentacle into our bodies in an attempt to free ourselves of blocks that we may possess that serve to hinder our growth.

The pentacle is a way to begin to understand the universe in a personal way, as well as a means to understand ourselves, opening the gate to the Mystery and giving us access to the Star Goddess, the Primordial state of being. Like the iron in our blood, it is the foundation of our lives as well as our magick. As witches of the Feri Craft we are the holders of a sacred key which unlocks nothing less than our true potential, not only as witches but as fully realized human beings. With every breath we learn more about what that may be for each of us. 

©2000 Storm Faerywolf
www.faerywolf.com

SOURCE: http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/practices/practices_ironpentacle.htm- 

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The Pearl Pentacle: Community, Macrocosm, and Transpersonal Reality by Storm Faerywolf “God is Self And Self is God And God is a person like myself.” —Victor Anderson “Every man and woman is a star.” —Alistair Crowley From apex point of sex doth flow The gifts of love that we would know That lures us ever toward our pride Which shines as law and does provide Awareness of our self’s domain; And knowledge of all things arcane. A move toward power stirs within Power shared with other kin. As waves of passion fill our souls We grow with wisdom; life’s true goal. By the Iron and by the Pearl I claim my being; I claim my world. 1 Like its Iron counterpart, the Pearl Pentacle is a major teaching tool utilized by most lines of the F(a)eri(e) tradition. Whereas the Iron can be said to represent qualities pertaining to the self 2, the Pearl is often thought of as extending these concepts outward and into the transpersonal realm of community, complimenting the Iron with a type of comparative polarity. When taken together, the Iron and the Pearl embody the divine union that is necessary to fully awaken the awareness of our divine natures. Where the Iron can sometimes be felt as being sharp, frantic, and hot (much as the red hot iron in the blacksmith’s forge) the Pearl is often described as being soft, calm, and cool; a much needed balance to the Iron’s sometimes overwhelming severity. This is, of course, only a generalization; it should be understood that there are as many ways to experience the pentacles as there are people who work with them. In the style in which I was originally taught Feri, a great deal of time was spent working first with the Iron before the Pearl was even mentioned. On one level this makes perfect sense... if the Iron is about refining one’s personal relationship with the Self, then it seems a sound practice to allow that work to serve as a foundation before jumping outward into the work of building community, a particular lesson that the Pearl has to offer. While this does make sense, it is certainly not the only valid way to approach these tools. In fact it is reported that —on several occasions— the late Victor Anderson 3 himself would teach these two pentacles together, sometimes combined into one symbol known as the Copper Decagram 4. Here we see yet another example of how fluid our traditional methods really are; a perfect reminder that ours is a living tradition based on shamanic principals, and not a one-size-fits-all system of spiritual instruction. Feri loves paradoxes, and when considering the Iron and the Pearl pentacles we can contemplate one of the biggest of them all: There is only one pentacle. The Iron and the Pearl are not separate, but are instead the same pentacle as seen from different angles. When we are focused on working internally with the self, we see the Iron in all its fiery glory; its five points representing those qualities that all so often need to be healed in order to claim our personal power. Modern society perpetuates some very unhealthy attitudes toward certain natural qualities and behaviors, and because we are products of that society we often need to “un-learn” or “re-align” ourselves in a balanced and conscious way. Take for example the Iron Pentacle’s point of Pride. It exists in opposition to a larger societal standard that would teach us either to completely subjugate the ego (“Don’t be too proud”, “Pride is a sin”) or to exalt it above all else (“You’re the most important person in the world”, “Every man for himself”). The Iron Pentacle is a method to allow ourselves to achieve a true and personal balance between these two unhealthy extremes; helping us find our own way... our own truth. Love When our focus is about taking our own energy and sharing it outward with others, then the usefulness of the Pearl Pentacle comes into play. For example, consider how the Iron point of Sex becomes the Pearl point of Love. Sex, much more than simply the physical act, is the generation of a current of life-force energy. It is the experience of opening up to accept outside forces within ourselves so that we might merge with them in ecstasy, becoming more than we were before. It is both physical sex as well as non… it is the enlivening of the senses so that we may experience on a deeper level that which is all around us. In this view, even breathing consciously can be an act of sex. Love is the force of attraction that keeps that current flowing; the state of deep emotional attraction that leads us ever onward to return —again and again— to that state of sexual union. Knowledge The Self of Iron becomes the Knowledge of Pearl. If Self is the fullest awareness of one’s own limits and potentials, then Knowledge is that on a universal scale. When sharing our own fully-realized selves with one another, we are able to learn exponentially. We act as mirrors for those around us so that they may then see themselves in a new light, gaining new perspectives along the way. And in turn we too gain new vantage points from which we may view ourselves (an Iron experience) and the world around us (a Pearl perspective). Wisdom The point of Iron named Passion becomes that of Wisdom when viewed on the Pearl. Passion is the complete opening to life’s experience, so that we may engage the fullest spectrum of human emotions. Passion can be felt in any number of human emotions… from love... to hate… to joy… to fear… and everything in between. The lovers whose awareness of the outside world falls away so that they see only the object of their desires… The artist whose obsession leads them to create their masterpiece… or onward to madness… The parent, who’s all encompassing love for their child leads them to experiences that they had never previously considered… Passion is a moving force toward new experiences… and the cumulative integration of these experiences —our own and those shared with others— is the embodiment of Wisdom. Law Iron’s Pride becomes the Pearl point of Law; Pride being the unrestrained and natural shining forth of the innocent self... Law is quite simply the same phenomena only on a larger scale. It is literally the way in which the universe works; the natural order of all things. The journey of the earth through its orbit… the effects of gravity… the turning of the seasons… these are manifestations of Law that we are all familiar with. Simple, natural, and to the point. When we embody Law it is the adoption of a personal ethical code, not based on the expectations of those around us (for we have purified ourselves of the egos impulse to compare ourselves to others by working with the point of Pride) but based on our own true and balanced will. Power/Liberty Much controversy has been wrought over this next station on our beloved pearlescent pentacle and to this I must make some observations. In one way of viewing these pentacles 5 it is said that the Iron point of Power (representing ones power-from-within; our own ability to extend ourselves outward to cause change) morphs into the Pearl-version, also named Power, only now representing the concept of power-with; that is to say, power shared with others in concert without restriction or oppressive hierarchy. While this certainly follows the previous pattern of taking the individual concepts expressed in the Iron and moving them outward into the world via the Pearl, there are other nuances of interpretation for this point which also have traditional “validity”. In some lines of Feri this point on the Pearl Pentacle is named Liberty 6, and represents freedom from restraint, especially (though not exclusively) that put upon us by outside forces wielding power-over, or coercive control. It is actually not difficult to see how these two interpretations actually reflect the same core understanding. They are both concerned with a release from restriction and the fostering of a healthy —and uninhibited— personal authority; a state that is necessary when striving toward the realization of ones personal divinity. So why the controversy? Surely in a path such as Feri where much has been said of the fiercely individual methods of working within our tradition, there is room for different interpretations of even core materials? Part of the issue, in my opinion, comes from the (perfectly reasonable) desire to preserve what is traditionally handed-down, as opposed to the (perfectly valid) innovations that have been introduced later on. While this might be seen as a practical stance from a somewhat anthropological point of view, when taken in the context of actually working within the tradition it begins to break-down as there are several traditional methods for working with this material, even going back as far as Victor himself, as mentioned previously. Many of the practitioners who worked early on with him have reported that he tailored his teachings to them individually, which would account for some people being taught the Iron Pentacle before even mentioning the Pearl, while others were introduced to them for the first time together as one, sometimes as the aforementioned decagram. This revelation should put to rest once and for all that one method is more traditional than another, as both have a definite precedent. There are many valid methods of working with these symbols, and many more yet to be discovered. That there has been controversy over the issue should be a clear indicator that more work with the Pearl Pentacle is in order. While working with the Iron we become strong personalities, but strength of ones personality does not necessarily mean that we are able to function well with others. In fact, the type of strength usually achieved by working exclusively with the Iron Pentacle, while important, is only the beginning. On the path toward claiming our divinity, there are many challenges that we are called to face. We must be prepared to share the world with others if we are to be worthy of the powers that we would claim. None of us exists in a vacuum. It is relatively easy for the spiritual master to become enlightened up on a mountain in solitude. The real challenge is to do it and still be a part of the world. The Pearl has much to teach us in that regard. The ideals of working with others should not imply that it is necessary to suffer unhealthy interactions with people should they arise. Part of building any healthy community is learning when to establish definite boundaries; when to say “no”. Certainly the lessons of the Iron Pentacle teach us to be powerful and to never surrender that power to anyone or to anything. When combined with the insights of the Pearl, an alchemical transformation is allowed to take place; one that strives to allow our Black Hearts to shine in harmony with others. What follows is a basic exercise to connect with the Pearl Pentacle. Feel free to adapt it for your own use. Invoking the Pearl Pentacle Ground and center. Perform a Three Souls alignment. Invoke the Iron Pentacle before you. Feel the red fiery energy moving between each of the points, merging and blurring with each pass between them. Take your time with this. You may wish to perform whatever Iron cleansing/balancing exercises you are accustomed to. When you are ready, focus on the point of Sex and feel that the red energy is becoming a soft white pearlescence… feel how Sex has become Love. Feel how the point is now different than it was, but how it is also the same. Take your time. Now allow this soft white glow to travel along the lines toward the Iron point of Pride where it becomes Law. Follow the same pattern until the whole pentacle has been transmuted into the Pearl. Feel how it is the same pentacle as the Iron, only seen from a different perspective. Feel how the energy overall seems different, and yet is the same. Be open to the subtlety of the experience. Now, focusing on the uppermost point, call out three times: “I invoke Love!” Imagine the point growing larger than all the others… shining its healing light deep within you. Feel your own ability to feel deep compassion… attraction… love. Remember a time in your life when you were in love with someone or something and recall how that felt. Know that it is your birthright as a human being to feel love. Say: “In the name of Love!” Feel yourself permeated with Love, raised to the power of Divinity. Focus on the point at your right foot and call out three times: “I invoke Law!” Imagine the point growing larger than all the others… shining its healing light deep within you. Feel how the natural laws of the universe affect you and how they are no different than those laws that govern your own life. Become aware of how other people’s laws have tried to sway you and what the consequences have been for either following or abandoning them. Say: “In the name of Law!” Feel yourself permeated with Law, raised to the power of Divinity. Focus on the point at your left hand and call out three times: “I invoke Knowledge!” Imagine the point growing larger than all the others… shining deep within you. Feel how true knowledge begins with the self and how we are all mirrors for each other; revealing the blind spots that —when left on our own— we might not notice. Feel how true Knowledge is something that continually grows through sharing, but also must be nurtured and respected. Say: “In the name of Knowledge!” Feel yourself filled with Knowledge, raised to Divinity. Focus now on the point at your right hand and call out three times: “I invoke Power/Liberty!” (try mixing it up for different sessions, but at least in the beginning try to stick to one or the other for awhile to get a feel for it.) Imagine the point growing larger than the others… shining deep within you. Feel how Power shared freely frees you from the bonds of expectation… of always having to be “right” or “in control”. When you feel powerless, you can accept help from another… and when you are powerful, you can assist those who need it. Feel how liberating this experience is. Say: “In the name of Power/Liberty!” Feel yourself filled with Power/Liberty raised to Divinity. Focus now on the point at your left foot and cal out three times: “I invoke Wisdom!” Imagine the point growing larger than all the others… shining within you. Feel how the depths of your emotions have led you into life experiences that have made you who you are. Feel how because of those experiences you are a unique individual with a unique point of view. Feel how the integration of these experiences makes you strong and powerful. Say: “In the name of Wisdom!” Feel yourself filled with Wisdom raised to Divinity. Now, allow your awareness to flow from point, to point, in the order invoked as you focus on the energies of each while calling out their names: “In the name of Love… in the name of Law… etc.” Remember to keep your breathing slow and deep while you allow the energy to get faster and faster. Eventually shorten your chant to just the names of the points, “Love, Law, Knowledge, Power, Wisdom!” and then even abandon those and just breathe as the power moves fluidly between each of the points. Notice the quality of the energy… if there are any blockages between any of the points. Notice if any of the points seem dim or overly bright… take note of them and notice how they feel. After awhile you might experiment with consciously directing any excess energy into the areas that seem to need it, balancing your pentacle. When you have done this for at least several minutes, take three deep breaths while focusing on the entire pentacle as a whole. Then with another three, absorb the pentacle into your body, allowing it to inform and heal each cell. Feel it move into each of your Three Souls. End by saying: “By the Iron and by the Pearl, I claim my being; I claim my world!” *** In addition to the varied working methods already discussed, another interesting permutation of these pentacles has emerged, although at the time of this writing its origin is still unclear to me. 7 When arranging the points of the two pentacles into a single geometry, and combining the two points of Power into one, a nine-pointed star can be used to represent the Iron and Pearl as a combined force. Further meditations on this particular symbol have yielded some interesting bits of lore, including a peculiar visualization [see image below] of the nine-rayed star with the gap between the two bottommost points slightly widened (as in a decagram with the bottommost point missing) and the addition of a small green dot in a blue circle (called “the stone of fire”) which represents Liberty & Freedom. This particular symbol is said to be a gateway (called “the way of night”) and reportedly can be used in meditation as a portal into the dark, or night-realm, of Faery. Yet before the pentacles can be safely used to traverse into other realms, it is wise to use them to discover more about our inner landscapes and both the powers and the poisons that reside there. The pentacles of Feri tend to first be used as a sort of ‘psychic diagnostic tool’ that enables us to see more of where we are directing our energies so that we may make informed decisions about the use of our personal power. Between strengthening our individual selves with the processes of the Iron Pentacle, and the community building gifts of the Pearl, we have a tremendous opportunity to claim our human birthright of recognizing our own Godhood. 1. A reworking of a poem published in my book The Stars Within the Earth, ©2003 Storm Faerywolf. Available from www.FeriTradition.org. 2. For more information on the Iron Pentacle, see my article The Iron Pentacle: Understanding the Harmonics of Consciousness, www.faerywolf.com/essay_ironpentacle.htm ©2000 Storm Faerywolf. 3. Victor Anderson (1917-2001) was the original Grandmaster of Feri, and is generally regarded as the founding member of the tradition, although he would not have agreed with that description, seeing himself as simply the then current mouthpiece for the survival of an ancient form of working magick. All initiates of the Feri tradition can trace their lineage through him. 4. Not much is generally known about the Copper Decagram outside of the Feri lineage known as Vicia; the lineage that worked directly with Victor prior to his passing. I have mentioned it here based on personal conversations that I have had with Vicia members. 5. This was true of how I was initially taught, but not all lines of the tradition work in this fashion. As stated before, there are many ways of working Feri authentically. 6. It is my understanding that when working with the Copper Decagram the Pearl point of Liberty is used to distinguish it from the Iron point of Power, as they are used together as part of the same symbol. 7. This particular bit of lore was presented to me as a part of my Feri training and so I have assumed that it finds its origins somewhere in the Bloodrose lineage of our tradition. I would be most interested to hear about the experiences of other practitioners who decide to use this.

source: http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/practices/practices_pearlpentacle.htm 

[ source: http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/practices/practices_pearlpentacle.htm ) 

 http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/practices/practices_pearlpentacle.htm

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Claiming the Blue Cord: A Feri Self-Dedication Rite By Chas Bogan and Storm Faerywolf Feri can be described as a modern mystery tradition of witchcraft. Among its varied practices is a rite of initiation in which certain mysteries are passed, along with what is often described as ‘a current of magical energy’ that distinguishes our particular craft. Because of the emphasis on initiation, it has sometimes been expressed that those individuals who have not undergone such a rite are not Feri and have no right to call themselves such. At one time this position was the majority one; when the tradition was quite small and largely self-involved. Feri, however, is changing, becoming a path not solely trod by initiates, but by increasing numbers of dedicated practitioners who identify with the Feri faith but have not sought or had access to a traditional initiation rite. The community currently struggles with this change, seeking to be inclusive of every individual who has a spiritual relationship to Feri, while continuing to honor the sacred rite of initiation and those who have undergone it. Among uninitiated practitioners responses vary; some are secure in their recognition of their path and proudly claim the name ‘Feri.’ Others are conflicted, feeling that their relationship to Feri is incomplete, or even invalid, without undergoing an initiation. With the rite presented in this article we hope to provide a means for individuals to dedicate themselves to our tradition and to claim in name and in spirit their identity as Feri practitioners. Feri teaches us to cultivate our own divine authority, thus conflict arises when individuals feel that they cannot rightly associate themselves with being Feri even though they know it to be their path. To help reconcile these issues we propose magic. The rite which we will present is a way to impress upon your fetch that you have passed a necessary threshold; it is a means to formally state that you dwell in the realm of Feri and that Feri dwells in you. By performing this ritual you are casting a spell upon yourself; you are aligning your inner energies with those of the symbols and powers of the Feri Craft, and opening yourself to the guidance of the Feri Power and the various beings that associate with it. Among the symbols we will engage is the blue cord. In traditional craft rites of passage are often marked by the passing of particular cords. For this rite we have chosen a blue cord to represent the blue fire that so many Feri utilize to fuel their magic. Before undertaking this ritual it is extremely important that you have first been consistently practicing some form of the Feri tradition and are comfortable with all of the_exercises_referenced_in_this text. If you have not been consistently working with all of this material for at least a full cycle of the moon then this rite is not intended for you. You will also need to construct a personal sigil, based on your name, magical or mundane, whichever you prefer. Self-Dedication Rite Materials needed: 3 candles: black, white, and red A glass or cup of water A small bowl of water Some sea salt Anointing oil A cup of whole milk Honey A piece of parchment paper Dragon’s blood ink A quill or pen Incense A ritual knife or blade An apple A simple robe A length of blue cord Your personal sigil A small shovel A small ash pot A plate Begin by gathering your materials and then aligning your Three Souls. Perform the Water Cleansing (Kala rite). Light the incense and “smudge” the parchment with the smoke, feeling that you are cleansing and charging it with the magical purpose of the rite. Take your time with this as you meditate on what you are about to enter into. Take your pen & ink and write out the following statement. It may be in your own words, if you prefer. “By the aligned will of my three souls, I (Your Name) dedicate myself to the Feri craft. As the path toward my Black Heart is lit by the stars of Iron and Pearl, I swear to embrace my own power and my own godhood. By the flower above me I will allow nothing to hinder the work of this god, and by these statements and signs and in the presence of the Star God/dess, the elements, powers, and spirits here assembled do I declare myself a Feri witch/warlock! As I will, so must it be! IO Evohe!” Put the parchment aside and prepare a ritual bath. Take a small handful of sea salt and pray over it, feeling how it brings purity and healing. Breathe blue fire into it and see it glow with ethereal light. Throw this into the water and know that it has become a healing bath. Stir some honey and several drops of your anointing oil into the cup of milk and then pour this mixture into the bath. As you bathe, meditate on the rite you are about to perform and the statement that you have written. At midnight during a full moon go to some place where you can see it unobstructed and where you will be undisturbed.  Build an altar facing North. Upon it place your candles, red on the left, white on the right, and black in the middle. Before the black candle place the parchment. To the left (west) of the paper place the bowl of water. Place your knife on the southernmost part of the altar, while the plate is placed at the far north. Upon the plate place the apple. Place the pen and ink to the right (east) of the paper. Perform another Three Souls Alignment. Ground and center, orienting yourself to each of the directions and their associated elemental powers. Take some time to charge yourself by breathing the Blue Fire. When you feel powerful, breathe some of this fire into the blue cord and then lay it out in a circle around you. Feel it crackling and vibrating with power. After a moment, breathe even more of your power outward and into the black candle as you light it, saying: “Holy Mother, You we live, move, and have our being. From You all things emerge... And unto You all things return. By your power do I call: Sugma’ad! Quakoralina! Dryghtyn! Mari! Nimüe! Ana! Lilith! Starry Mother on your Throne, Shine your silver light upon my path And lead me to the secret door That leads beyond the middle world.” Feel how the light of the candle is the same light of divinity that burns within you, as well as all around you in the blue cord circle. Facing North, begin to cast a circle clockwise by connecting to the power in the cord circle and willing it to rise upward and downward simultaneously. “See” it as a smoke or vapor that swirls and moves and you invoke, seeing it finally completely envelope you in a sphere or “egg” of swirling power as your finish creating your ritual space. “By the Earth, Her fertile body, By the Air, Her vital breath, By the Fire, Her quickening spirit, By the Water, Her abyssal womb, By the Heavens, Her starry mind, By the Core, Her beating heart, And by the Center, the circumference of All, Is the circle made.” Feel how the energy of your ritual space is being constantly “charged” by the light of the full moon. If you work with the various Guardian spirits of our tradition, then feel free to invoke them now in whichever method you are most comfortable with. If you have not been introduced to them, and have no formal working relationship with them, then omit this step. Strip off your robe so that you are skyclad. Open yourself up to the presence of the moon. Feel its light not only charging your circle-space, but permeating your skin and flowing through you. Imagine that you are breathing in the lunar light with every breath. Ask the Goddess of the Bright Heavens to guide you... to illuminate the path that you are to follow. Take some time (probably at least several minutes) to commune with this power. Now focus on the darkness around you. Feel it as a conscious force and know that it is a part of the natural order. Ask the God of the Dark Earth to guide you, so that you become comfortable with the unknown secrets that lie within. Again, take some time to feel this power. Light the red candle, feeling how its color calls forth the properties of the iron in your blood. With the candle, trace in the air before you a five pointed star, feeling each of the points come alive as you call them out in turn: Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion. Now, stand with your arms and legs outstretched so that your physical body resembles the five-pointed star. Open yourself up to it. Feel each point on the pentacle before you glowing strong and clear, and feel how the power flows easily and unobstructed between each point as you call out their names. Feel how the Iron Pentacle purifies and strengthens your personal power. Say, “I invoke the Iron!” Feel its power continue to grow. When you feel that the power of the pentacle has reached its peak, light the white candle from the red and then trace another five-pointed star in the air before you, calling out the names in turn: Love, Law, Knowledge, Power (or Liberty), and Wisdom. Feel how the energy of the Iron Pentacle is still there, but is now expressed outward becoming the Pearl Pentacle. Allow the energies to continue moving between each point as you call out their names. Feel how the Pearl Pentacle purifies and strengthens your relationships with others; your connection to the outside world. Say: “I invoke the Pearl!” Feel its power continue to grow. When you feel that it has reached its peak, see both the Iron and the Pearl as one pentacle, shining brightly in the space before you. Say: “By Sex and Love, By Pride and Law, By Self and Knowledge, By Power and Power (or Liberty), By Passion and Wisdom, By the Iron and by the Pearl, I claim my being, I claim my world.” Take three deep breaths of power and absorb the pentacle into your body and your three souls. Feeling charged, take out your parchment. Meditate on this pact you are entering into, and know that it is not to be taken lightly. This spell you perform on yourself will propel you further down the path, meaning more inner work, and likely more difficult as well. If you choose not to enter at this time, simply burn the paper from your black candle allowing the power to be released from its forms while you reabsorb it into your fetch. If you decide to enter into this pact, speak aloud that which is written upon the parchment as a definitive statement of the direction for your spiritual life. Feel how you are making a pact with the Gods, and most importantly, with your daemon. When you are finished, take your pen & ink and sign the paper with your name and your sigil, feeling the act of putting them on this paper is sealing the power therein. Meditate on your sigil. Imagine it glowing with power. Feel those powers around you... the darkness of the night... and the brightness of the moon... feel how they shift their genders...they are lovers... and they arouse you. Sexually stimulate yourself, feeling all those powers rushing through you... imagine that you can mediate all these powers into your sigil on the parchment. Feel how your sexual arousal is flowing like a current of electricity and into that sigil, and how your energy field is becoming larger with every breath. Visualize the sigil being drawn in your talker and then send it down into your fetch. Feed the sigil here until you reach a point of climax (or are satisfied) at which point you send the sigil up from fetch and up into your daemon in a rush of power and pleasure. See your sigil explode with crystalline light that cascades down all around you, soaking into your skin, charging you with power. In this open state reach out with your awareness and call out silently to the Star Goddess; God Herself, and ask Hir for Hir name that you may use to call on Hir in a deeper way. After a time, if you received a name, chant it softly until it becomes a long low drone. Intone the name and feel it aligning you with Hir presence. If you receive no name, simply intone the AUM with the same intent. Feel the power fill you like a light and anoint first your third eye and then the paper with some of your body’s fluid (sexual fluid, saliva, etc.) allowing your inner eye to be opened while some of the light is transferred to the paper. Take some time to commune with the presence of the God/dess, and ask that S/he guide you on your path leading you to those lessons that you need to learn. Feel Hir presence flow into you through the medium of your own daemon. Take some time with this. Fold the paper into thirds so that the writing is concealed inside and so that the top and bottom of the paper overlap in the middle. Taking the white and red candles both, and recalling the powers they hold/represent, pour some of the melted wax upon the parchment on the left and right, so as to seal the folded paper closed, and keeping the center free of wax. Feel the Iron and Pearl Pentacles sealing your pact and giving it power. Now take the black candle and do the same, allowing the wax to seal the center of the paper. Feel how the God/dess is sealing your pact, giving you a blessing. Hold up the apple. Know that it is a traditional food of the Mighty Dead and feeds the ancestors. With it in your hands, call out to you own ancestors, both physical and spiritual and ask for their blessing. Say: “From your waiting houses, come, Through the dread gate of the west, Old Ones! Mothers and Fathers of the Craft! Keepers of the secrets of the Fey! I am your child! Come to me! And celebrate with me my chosen path This mad road in between .” Feel them coming from a space from the west and imagine a doorway opening in your circle that allows them through. Call them by name if you desire. When you feel their presence slice open the apple horizontally through its middle, revealing the pentacle of seeds within. Choose the half that shows the pentacle best and then offer the other half to the ancestors by placing it upon the plate on the altar, feeling how it nourishes their spirits, giving them vitality. Begin eating your half in complete silence, eating around the seed pentacle. Savor the flavor... the texture. Feel how it is becoming a part of you, nourishing you. You may receive messages from loved ones who have passed as you do this... just notice how you feel as you continue in silence. When you are finished you will have a pentacle charm that has been formed from apple seeds. Place this upon the altar on top of your knife. If you are performing this rite outdoors then use your shovel and dig a small hole in your circle, big enough to completely bury the remaining half of the apple and the parchment. If you are indoors then take your shovel, the bowl of water, the remaining apple, the parchment, and the cord, and go outdoors where you can bury the apple and paper, spreading the cord around you once more in the circle, feeling how you have brought its power with you intact. As you bury the items, feel how it is like a seed that will grow as you nurture it with your studies and devotion. Take a sip from the bowl of water and then pour some over the spot where you buried them while intoning the name that you received (again using the AUM if you did not receive one.) Trace a pentacle over the spot with your fingers and make a silent prayer to God Hirself. Take the cord and tie it around your waist, feeling how it is sealing the power within you, and bringing you spiritually and energetically into the fold of the Feri tradition. Say: “I declare myself a witch/warlock and claim Feri as my path. Let all the powers between the worlds rise up and assist me in my growth. As I do will, so must it be!” Give thanks to all the powers present. Extinguish the white and then the red candles. Take three deep breaths of power and reabsorb all the power that you lent to lighting the black candle, and then extinguish it. Breathe three deep breaths in silence. It is done. ©2007 Chas Bogan and Storm Faerywolf www.FeriTradition.org To properly utilize this rite you should be proficient in the following core Feri exercises: Aligning the Three Souls Blue Fire (breathing and directing) Water Cleansing (the Kala Rite) The Iron Pentacle The Pearl Pentacle In addition, you should be skilled in basic exercises such as relaxation, grounding, and creating a ritual space (casting a circle).  This can be done with whatever method you wish. One of my favorites is to take the letters in the name or I am starting from and then omitting every repeated letter, so that I am left with only unique letters. Then I arrange and combine them in any way that I wish, often concealing the letters in a stylized glyph that speaks now to the fetch as a piece of art, rather than to the talker as a bunch of letters. For an example, see http://faerywolf.com/art_MelekTaus.htm which contains a sigil for the god Melek Ta’us, which was created using stylized letters of that name.    source: http://www.feritradition.org/grimoire/practices/practices_self_dedication.html