New Moon Old Magick

Good morning dearies!

I’d like to share a small, solitary and personal Beltaine ritual for this evening.  This is my Beltaine Gift for you.  This ceremony uses rhythm, music, dance and visualization for a bit of a different and fun approach.

To start with, I’d like you to get out your dance music. What we are looking for are a number of songs with driving rhythm, rich sound, and minimal lyrics that just make your feet want to move.  The best examples I can think of are a bit dated.  I’m quite ancient, after all!  So insert your own choices here, but I like to use Mickey Hart’s post Dead recordings.  Planet Drum, Global Drum Project, Supralingua, etc.  You want to create a small playlist of work, specifically for this ritual, that gradually rises in intensity for about 1/2 hour or so.  Make sure you vet the music and carefully place each song, because when you are raising the cone of energy, there is nothing more frustrating to get your body to a rhythmic pitch and then be plunged suddenly into something ballad-like or contemplative.  We are not trying to shock your system, or to indulge in a long multiple hour ritual with several participants, but to rise smoothly and rather simply to the energetic climax of the ritual.  This is not a cerebral ritual of air.  We are welcoming in the season of fire!

So here is your list of magick ‘stuff’ for tonight.  On the cheap.

• A small glass jar (or cauldron) with a tea light or votif candle therein.
• A ritual candle symbolizing the presence of the Divine Light
• Green ribbon or strips of material to wrap.
• A rich smelling incense – patchouli, amber, cinnamon
• your music
• your wand if you have it
• something to light the candle
• salt and water in your usual vessels
• a ritual robe, nightgown, clean t-shirt and shorts, etc. – something that is clean and comfortable and easy to move in.
• an extra jug of water to subdue the fire elementals should they escape!

ALSO

• An object symbolizing that which you are intending to manifest.  Make it as simple as possible.  If you are a more advanced ritualist, you can bring paper and pen and ink into the circle.  Decide ahead of time what you will write, and remember to bring an ashtray for the burnt ashes.

❧ ❧ ❧ ❧

This time we are going to start a bit differently.  We will create the circle before the ritual.  You will be stepping thru from the mundane world into the space between the worlds to create that which you wish to bring into being.

For example: The main thrust of our ritual will be to create balancing energies for the planet.  We are in dire need of balance as the human race continues to create imbalance with industrialized pollution.  In ceremony we can help Mother Earth create balance out of disharmony.  In addition, you can also work for your own goals of creative and positive change.

Actively work for the goals you wish to bring into being.  Put some thought into what you wish, well in advance of the ritual.  Remember, as we said in the previous post, this is a holiday of positive creative manifestation.  This is not a time to dump or to work to remove, or to strike out at a person or situation in impatience and anger.

Please Note:  Actually, it’s never really a good idea to use rage or negative emotion in ceremony at the level in which we are working.  Not unless it comes up in process and you are working to transform it.  That is a bit more advanced than we want to deal with tonight, but just a word to the wise.  If anger comes as part of your process, then let it flow into light, let it transform into joy.  The anger itself is not bad, but we are working to turn the focus to creative joy.  Tonight, the energies are quite powerful, and you will be living with what you make for yourself.  Choose wisely and generously, with hope and love in your heart.

For myself personally, I’ll be working on my art career, such as it is.  I’d like to achieve more financial stability from my own creative efforts.  So in addition to working on Harmony for Gaia, I’ll also work on the dance of Balance in my own creative energies, and the desire for a more prolific art practice.  The thought being that the more art I make, the more energies of financial return I invite into my life.

For my personal object I could use a small painting or carving, or both, or perhaps even a Tarot card or three. If I was going with the Tarot, I’d use three cards to symbolize the cycle of creation: Mother, Father, and conception or Child; Yin, Yang and the Tao; talent plus work equals creative production; Spirit plus Form brings Life.

Therefor, using the Higher Arcana, I’d probably choose the Empress, the Ace of Wands, and the nine of pentacles.  This is a purely personal choice, with the Empress symbolizing the creative force of the Mother, the Ace of Wands for it’s phallic Life Force, and the nine of pentacles or discs as my creative product or ‘wishes coming true’ card, since I wish to be prolifically creative.  This is just my own example, and you can use whichever pattern seems right to you, as long as you use symbols for a creative force plus a limiting or embodiment principle, and a card symbolizing manifestation.

I’d like to say, just for a moment, that there is a lot of negative superstition about the idea of manifesting our dreams.  Some folks feel that trying to do so is to ask for trouble, that they have to ‘pay’ for what they get.  This is often an extension of personal guilt or feeling that they don’t deserve happiness.  While it is true that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, in this instance you are paying for your success by breathing.  By doing the Work.  We are put upon this planet to be a manifestation of the Divine Creator.  Our work is a manifestation of Divine Creation.  If we are working with Love in our hearts, this opens us up to dancing in harmony with the Divine Will, however you choose to symbolize that to yourself (God, Nirvahna, Gaia, Innana, Christ, the Giant Cosmic Mushroom).  If you have not Love, then you are working against the Harmonic pattern and can cause yourself difficulties.

Biminiscape

SO, once you have assembled your elements and tools, choose a time when you will be able to work undisturbed, and a place where music and dancing will not bring curious lookie-loo’s.  A note here: your music does not have to be loud.  Indeed if music will draw attention or curiosity, you can play it on your iPod with your earbuds in.  As long as it moves you and is relatively interruption free.

❧ ❧ ❧ ❧

Here are the ritual steps.  Read them over carefully first so that you know what to expect.  You can print this out to have with you, but may not need to, as the ritual itself is pretty simple and adaptable to your needs and level of experience.

• Enter your ritual space before the ceremony and cleanse it physically, assembling your ritual items.  Close the door on the space so that it remains undisturbed while you then go cleanse yourself. (shower and scrub! but avoid deodorant and perfume or other added scents)
• Dress in your ceremonial t-shirt, etc. and re-enter the space.  Make sure you have everything you will need and close the door behind you.
• Light the ritual candle upon your altar to symbolize the presence of Divine Light, and give thanks.❧
• Cleanse the space energetically, using your incense and walking in a clockwise direction around the space three times, allowing the smoke to permeate the space.  This is cleansing with ‘fire’.  However, if you are sensitive to smoke, you can use essential oil in a burner to the same purpose.
• Then use your salt and water.  Pour the salt into the water, symbolizing purity and the water of the source of Life, Marah the Great Sea from which we came.  Walk in the same clockwise direction three times, sprinkling as you go.
• Make sure once again that your items are within your ritual space, close at hand.
• Now walk the circle clockwise three times, visualizing the rising blue flame of your circle’s boundaries.  Let the cold fire rise higher as you go around until your space is encircled and sealed from disruption.
• Take a moment to acknowledge the Divine Presence in your space.  You can do this anyway you wish, either by praying to God, aligning yourself to Gaia, invoking and greeting the four Archangels.  It is your choice.  If you are a beginner, or desire a simple ceremony, simply pray to the Light, or to your God.  Greet the Divine presence and know that what you do here is in Service to that which is Good.
• Now turn your music on low.  It is beginning.  Start softly.  Move gently.❧
• Take your candle in your jar or cauldron and your green ribbon or material.  Wrap the jar with the ribbon, or place the cauldron in the center of your green material, setting it upon the floor in a place within the circle where you will not risk knocking it over, but will be able to jump over it when you wish.  If your altar is in one of the directions, the middle of the circle is an excellent place.
• Turn your music up slightly.

• Spurge yourself, or allow the smoke of the incense to waft over you.  Yes, you can certainly use warm essential oil if you are hyper sensitive to smoke.  The point is not to choke you, but to open your sensory doors by knocking on the most primitive one – the sense of smell.  Allow the scents you have chosen to fill you and begin to move in the scents and the rhythm of the music.  Turn it up a bit if you wish, just a little at a time.
• Now pick up the salted water and still moving sprinkle yourself gently just a little.  Do not turn the bowl over your head, just let the water spritz down like the gentle first drops of a Spring rain.❧
• Continue to move and begin to pick up steam.  Continue to turn up the volume a tiny amount at a time as is comfortable for you.
• Now pick up the object or things you have brought into the circle to symbolize your desire: 
  
  The creative object or the cards, the bank book if you wish to be more financially stable (with a symbolic amount written on the top check made out to yourself), or the heart symbol for a more loveable you if you wish to manifest joyful relationship; perhaps even a picture of yourself, photo or drawing of yourself fit and strong, if you are working on a healthy body and strong mind.  If you wish to work on your magickal practice, pick up your wand.  These are only suggestions.  Only you can know what symbols mean to you.  If you are a more advanced ritualist, you can use runes, ogham, astrological symbols, even Atlantean or another magickal language to bring your meaning into the circle, writing them now upon paper with your ritual inks.  You can plug in your own knowledge within the framework of this basic ritual.

• Taking your symbol in your hands, move around the circle, dancing as much or as little as you wish.  Continue to raise the volume as is comfortable and move as much as you wish.  You will probably feel more and more like dancing if your music is good, once you get over your initial feeling that you are making an idiot of yourself!
• As you move, as you feel the music feel you, and allow your body to beat with the rhythm of the drums, begin to also visualize Light rising from the Earth.
• Begin with Red Light, the color of Love and red roses, of Life Force and blood, rising up around you from beneath your feet up your legs to your hips.  Let your vision of this light fill the whole circle and rise slowly as the drums beat and you move gently around.
• Allow the red to mutate into the Orange of Will as the Light rises past your hips and lower belly,
• then to Yellow Light like the sunshine of your Higher Will as it rises past your solar plexus, the lower edge of your ribcage.  If you like, you can visualize a glowing sphere like the sun between your lower ribs, below your breasts and above your belly button.  Feel the warmth!  This is the Sun of Divine Will where it lives within you.
• As the Light continues to rise it changes to Green.  Green for the open heart and the Love of All Things in Creation.
• Fill the circle with your green energy as it rises past your breasts and
• as it reaches your shoulders it changes to Blue.  Blue for Truth and clear knowing as the Light rises up your neck and face.
• As it fills the circle around you and rises up past your nose and your eyes, the Light changes to Purple, the mystic Ray of Devotion and inner knowledge.
• Allow the Light to continue to rise up above your head, and let it become White Clear Light.  The Light of the Divine, the Presence of All Rays of Color.❧
• Continue to move and dance in these rainbow lights and let them flow around the circle.
• Begin to see that which you wish to bring into your life:

  A gallery filled with your art.  A bank account with a comfortable balance, enough to meet your needs and a bit extra; a company of good friends laughing and celebrating; see yourself as a loving being, feeling Love in your Heart; or see yourself as a physically fit being, mentally and physically strong, competing in the Iron Man or running in the woods, or performing acts of strength the mean something to you.  Use the symbols you have assembled and carry in your hands to assist your visualization.

• As you find yourself approaching your peak energy, within your mind’s eye, see the White Light blossom above your head, this is the Light of Divine Becoming, Kether, the I AM.
• Allow it to flow down your Center, down thru the top of your head, your throat, and into your Heart.
• Let it blossom out from there, the Light stretching out your arms, and down thru your belly, hips and legs.
• Fill yourself up with Light, until you are a complete Light Being, dancing in a room filled with colors and the energy of Love and Joy, bringing Balance and Harmony into manifestation.
• Place your objects upon your altar, and when you wish and the energy builds, jump your candle.
• Make it a part of your dance and the music, and if you can, allow the climax of the music to time this for you.  You are crossing the divide into Life, bringing your Divine Fire to the Earth Realm.
• Allow the White Light at your core to join with and flow into the Rainbow Light around you in an enormous Flash! and know that your desires are already manifesting, and that your Balance is part of the Earth’s Balance.
• Feel the Earth below you begin to receive the energies you have raised, like crops soaking up the rain, feeding the energies of Gaia with the Clear White and Rainbow Light of Balance and Harmony.  Offer Her every bit of extra energy within the circle.
• Continue to dance as you let the energies settle, and gradually turn down the volume on your music as the Lights settle into earth.  Finally, place your hands and feet upon the earth and let any remaining extra Light flow down into the Earth.  We are giving the Energies from this ceremony to Gaia for Her use.  She needs us as we need Her.❧

• When you feel that all the remaining energy flow has been properly grounded in Earth, and that you are fully back into your body, allow the music to end if it has not already.
• Those of you whose wands have been sitting upon the altar can now be sure that your wand is awake!  Spend some time holding it before you completely close the circle, and allowing your energies to resonate together with your wand before wrapping it carefully, and putting it away until the next time you have need.

• Pinch off the Beltaine candle.
• Thank the Divine for bringing the presence of Light to your work.
• Walk counter clockwise around the circle three times and visualize the sealing cold blue flame of the circle ebbing down into the earth once more.
• Pinch the altar candle and go eat something.

  Chocolate is good in small amounts.  So is anything that is complex carb like a root vegetable or whole grain.  Please take my advice and have something ready.  It is very easy to simply sit after a ritual, and drift half in and half out, and not take the trouble of cooking.  So if you can just grab it, that’s the best.  That will help ground you the rest of the way.  Also be aware that this ceremony runs lots of energy thru you, so drink lots of good pure water to help flush yourself out.  Otherwise you may find yourself with sore muscles in the morning.

If this ritual was interesting enough to you that you’d like to learn more about my ritual magick series, and would like to participate in the eBook Challenge, you can contact me at the link in the sidebar and tell me:

1. the one thing you would most like to learn about Magick, and
2. what you would like to get out of your magickal practice.
3. Please also tell me a bit about yourself, if you’d like.

You can go here to read about the Challenge.

I hope to hear from you, my friends.  Have a blessed Holiday, and and wonderful Season.

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli

Hello my dears!

We have a few eventful days coming upon us quickly!  Time is flying, and we are approaching the New Moon of March.  (the peak of the Dark moon will be March 22 at about 2:45pm UT)

The peak is close, and thus the energies of the Dark moon begin to seep into our consciousness.  This is the time of pruning, of cutting from our lives those things that we no longer need or want, or of harvesting or taking in those things that belong to us.  It is a time of defining what we have accomplished in this past month, and beginning to plan what we wish to achieve in the new month approaching.

At the beginning of the present moon cycle, I wrote about finding your wand.  I recommended searching for the tree and the branch and marking it for yourself, or finding the dowel or walking stick to re-purpose.  I recommended taking time to align your energies with the host tree, to wend your way psychically into the wood element.  I spoke of some of the benefits of aligning your spine with wood energy in nature, and of the extension of your own life force blended with the tree’s energy that your wand would become.

Spring Dogwood

Now we come to the time of wand taking.  On the 17th of this month of March, at about 4:30pm UT (or 30 minutes past 12 noon here on the East Coast of the US), the moon will go into Aquarius.  You may remember my last post on the New Moon in Aquarius, and how I spoke of Aquarius as being a barren air sign, most commonly used for pruning, or even harvesting.  Well this wand was conceived, if you will, in a fruitful sign, either Pisces or Taurus if you were following along with my suggestions.  It is appropriate that it be harvested in the sign of cutting.

Why would we want to avoid harvesting in the sign of Pisces, just days before the New Moon?  After all, the Pisces Moon was the first choice of times to choose the tree and mark the branch.  Wouldn’t it be good to go full cycle?  It is not about cycle, so much as it is about timing.  Pisces, being a fertile and watery sign, increases the likelihood that whatever you cut during this sign will bleed and rot.  It is neither a good sign for surgery, nor for harvesting things you wish to keep from plants you wish to live.  So we will avoid it, and use the waning moon in Aquarius, as it is perfect for our purposes.  If you are otherwise occupied on the 17th and 18th, and cannot go out to harvest your wand, then you CAN use the last four or five hours before the peak of the Dark of the Moon, when the Moon will go into Aries.  However, the caveat here is twofold:

• First, you will be two days after the Spring Equinox, as the Sun will enter Aries at 5:15am UT on March 20.  This is pretty much traditionally the last of the wand harvesting days.  But again, it is only two days past, and it would be better to time the harvest to the moon phase and sign, so as to avoid the complications of harvesting at a time that will impede what you are trying to do.
• Second, I tend to avoid practical magick during the peak of the Dark Moon personally, as I find the energies to be very intense.  Instead, I use the Dark of the Moon for divination, where I seek to see into the unknown, or internally purposed High Ritual, where I attempt to journey into deep inner paths.  But it is true that Moon in Aries is dry, fiery, and fast.  Very good for harvest overall.  So if you wish, or circumstances allow, the small window of time just before the peak of the Dark would be the next time to cut the wand.

However, as I said above, the best timing in terms of high holiday and moon phase, would be the 17th and the 18th of March.

Here are your wand cutting suggestions:

• Remember to take an offering to the tree, and present yourself respectfully.  A cup of compost tea, a jug of good blessed spring water, copper pennies, something small and silver.  Whatever you give is up to you, but don’t forget to give in thanks.  You are not dominating the tree or the branch by cutting it.  You are being gifted by the forces of nature.  This is a privilege.
• When you cut your wand, use the sharpest trimmers or pruners you can find.  Sharpen them yourself if you need to.  This will make the cut much less traumatic, less crushing, and cleaner for the tree.
• Cut your branch outside of the branch collar or the knot in the trunk that your branch springs out from.
• Make the cut at a diagonal, so that the bottom sticks out and the top of the cut comes closer to the collar.
• Just remember NOT to cut into the collar.  Remain just outside of it.  This way the tree will remain healthy and it’s main branch will not be impaired.
• Since we are cutting for wands, the branch you will cut probably will not be larger than 1″ in diameter, and so you can just cut cleanly in a single snip.
• And, since the branch we are cutting is relatively small, you should not need to worry about sealing the wound.  The tree will heal itself just fine, especially if you have meditated with the tree, and it has withdrawn some of its energy in preparation for the loss of the branch.

Next you will need to trim the branch to the correct size for your wand.

• Take the branch back to your place, and lay it down on a table.
• Determine where you want the butt-end of the wand to be (about your thumb’s width or slightly larger OR at a place where the branch looks really wonderful or unusual)
• Mark this place with a pen or chalk.
• Lay your forearm down next to or on top of the branch, with your elbow at the place you’ve just marked.
• Stretch out your fingers to their furthest reach along the branch, and mark the place where your longest or middle finger ends.
• Using a dremmel or a similar small saw, cut the two places you have marked.

Congratulations.  You have your wand.

Now put the wand in a warm dry place for a few days.  Don’t be afraid to handle it as much as you want.  Familiarity breeds better magick.  And don’t throw away the branch pieces you have trimmed off.  You will use these for that Rune set we will make a bit later on!  Leave these pieces in the same warm dry place for awhile.

Good work, my dears!  You have the first of your magickal tools.  I will be back in a few days to talk about the Spring Equinox, and to suggest ways to decorate your wand to make it fully yours.

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli