Nudity, Magic and Wicca

In a conversation with a dear friend this week the subject of “nudity” and magic raised its head.   I have noticed over the years that opinions on the subject seems to be rather divided, there are those who do – and those who don’t.  Those who don’t often have strong views about their reasons – just like those who do often cite reasons of tradition and the “flow of power” as the reason for being naked in their rites.

I have my own fixed ideas on the matter too.  I love the human body, the way it functions and the way it moves, and I also believe that being naked allows you to feel closer to the elements and that it also help foster a greater appreciation and awareness of our own bodies.  However, I also believe that there is something sacred and private about our bodies, which holds a power of its own.  A mystery perhaps, which should only be shared in circumstances which are appropriate to the act.  I don’t think of nudity and sexuality as being linked in an absolute way, and I believe that both sexuality and nakedness have the ability to awaken strong and powerful magical and spiritual energies – but only when it is applied in an intentionally sacred manner.

Mircea Eliade’s views, in some ways, reflect my own: - “The importance of ceremonial nudity and ritual intercourse must not be interpreted as merely lustful inclinations.  The recent sexual revolution has made obsolete such types of pretence and masquerade.  Rather, the purpose of ritual nudity and orgiastic practices is to recapture the sacramental value of sexuality.”[1]

If you want to read more, see the book Wicca Magickal Beginnings (ISBN  978-1-905297-15-3)  by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine.  See   http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/titles/wicca_mb.htm for more information.

If you would like to add your comments, opinions or additional ideas to this article please do so on my website, where it will be available for others to read in future:  http://www.sorita.co.uk/?p=895

(c) 2010 Sorita d’Este.  This blog was written by Sorita d’Este for www.sorita.co.uk, allrights reserved.

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Hekate & Me on AEON BYTE

This weekend’s AEON BYTE features an interview with me about the Goddess Hekate and the HEKATE Her Sacred Fires project.  Details can be found at:

http://aeonbyte.blogspot.com/2010/06/goddess-hekate-06262010.html

Hekate in Macbeth

One has to ask questions of art and literature in order to gain an understanding of it.  Sometimes you have to ask the same question again and again, before the veil is lifted to reveal something beautiful.  I was rereading Shakespeare’s Macbeth last night, as part of the research I am doing for an article on the Goddess Hekate and maybe it was because I was tired and it was well past the witching-hour but, I could hear the words being spoken in my head, words which must have been uttered on stages around the world many multiple thousands of times over the past four hundred years since it was first performed in the early 1600′s.  

HECATE: Have I not reason, beldams as you are,
Saucy and overbold? How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never called to bear my part
Or show the glory of our art?
And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you.
But make amends now: get you gone
And at the pit of Acheron
Meet me i’ th’ morning. Thither he
Will come to know his destiny.
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and everything beside.
I am for th’ air. This night I’ll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end.
Great business must be wrought ere noon.
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vap’rous drop profound;
I’ll catch it ere it come to ground:
And that, distilled by magic sleights,
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall draw him on to his confusion.
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace, and fear:
And you all know security
Is mortals’ chiefest enemy.
[Music, and a song.]
Hark! I am called. My little spirit, see,
Sits in a foggy cloud and stays for me.

And in these words I realised were contained so many of the mysteries of Hekate, so many of the misconceptions too.  I have always held the belief that deities who had strength and power would find ways of preserving their own mysteries by inspiring poets, artists, writers and mystics in each generation to keep their memory alive, and very few managed this with the same command and elequence of Hekate. 

Read that monologue again, does it really portray a dark, evil Hekate?

Fire Fire Fire!

Sometimes when I think of the Orphic Oath ie. “I am a Child of Earth and Starry Heavens, but my race is of Heaven alone…” I wonder, why they forgot to include “Fire” in there somewhere.   I admit it, I am a pyromaniac.  I make no excuses for that, I love fire, I love setting fire to things and watch it burn and I love sitting by an open fire – big or small, it makes me feel happy and no matter about the scientific explanations for it, fire is inherently magical.  To quote Theodore Roszak “Unless the eye catch fire, the god will not be seen”. 

Fire was described by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus as being the universal cause,  when he was writing in the 6th century BCE. He believed that fire was ‘intelligent’. Many hundreds of years later this view would still be echoed through the archives of time in the Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster.  It is a masculine element, associated with the concept of “The Word” (Logos) and in the physical macrocosm it is most obviously manifest in as the Sun in the sky.   Fire is the great transformer, whilst being in some ways the least obvious in the physical world around us (after all air, water and earth are all more physically manifest) the manifestation of fire is that of light, caused by the light of the Sun and enabling us to see and for life on Earth to flourish and grow. 

Its creative and destructive power is contained within every tiny spark and flame.  Right now parts of the world are experiencing extreme heatwaves and are facing fierce forest firest, whilst here in the UK we are experiencing a “mini-ice age” as the ground is covered in snow and ice, and we (especially humans) have to rely on fire for warmth and protection.   Fire is an element which embodies the concept of control very well, reminding us that venturing into the wonderful world of the mystical, we need to find a balance and continiously strive towards perfect, to avoid burning our fingers whilst at the same time keeping warm enough.

 Sweet fire the sire of muse, my soul needs this;
I want the one rapture of an inspiration.
O then if in my lagging lines you miss…  [Hopkins]

How to Burn Incense Grains!

There are always questions which people are reluctant to ask about, after all it might seem that it is a pretty straightforward and easy thing to do and that everyone should know!   One of those questions which seem to shyly surface every now and then is “how to burn grain incense”.  The following is a reproduction of an article I wrote for avalonia.co.uk and which was subsequently reproduced in a couple of books and in magazines over the years.  I hope that it helps those of you who have been pondering this rather simple, but highly arousing and sublime practice with fear!

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Burning Incence Grains

HOW TO BURN INCENSE GRAINS
(Written by Sorita d’Este for avalonia.co.uk, 1998, updated 2004)

Loose incense grains are frequently used during Wiccan ceremonies, as offerings, for purificatory rites, for consecrations and as a symbolical representation of the element of Air. The grains are placed on charcoal blocks in a fireproof container or censer which is placed on the altar and may sometimes be taken around the circle, especially when performing purifications or blessings. In order to burn loose incense you will need:

” Incense grains (a specially prepared blend, or a resin that can be burned by itself, for example frankincense)

” Charcoal disks

” A heat resistant dish or censer made for the purpose

” You will also need matches or a lighter with which to light the charcoal.

You should first prepare the container in which you will be burning the incense. It is a good idea to place some clean sand or gravel at the base of the container as this will help with heat insulation and will also allow air to circulate more effectively to the burning charcoal, which in turn will allow both the charcoal and incense to burn more evenly. Once you have prepared the container the next step is to light the charcoal block, this is done by holding the edge of the disk in a flame (a lighter or candle flame works well). If you are worried about burning your fingers, use an old pair or tweezers or tongs to hold it with.

Once it ignites you will need to place it in the censer and allow it to ignite properly. Sometimes charcoal can be troublesome and in some instances you may have to relight it, but with most good quality self-igniting charcoal blocks you should be able to see the sparks travelling across the block. Once the charcoal is fully lit, place approx ¼ to ½ teaspoon of incense grains on the block and enjoy! Different types of incense grains and blends burn at a different pace from each other, as a result you will need to keep an eye on it and add more grains as need be.

Common Sense Warnings:

” If you suffer from respiratory problems, or are prone to allergies, it is best to avoid the use of incense in enclosed spaces.

” Do not leave burning incense unattended

” Treat burning charcoal with caution; keep away from flammable objects at all times.

” On occasion a charcoal block may sparkle profusely upon ignition, so take extra care when lighting as the sparks may ignite nearby flammable objects or cause damage to clothing, carpets or upholstery.

Faery Birds

With the coldness of winter slowly creeping nearer, I often find myself reflecting a lot more on the myths of the landscape and its animals, trees and other creatures which exists in the shadow of the Celtic sky.  There are many birds which visit our garden and this vicinity: Raven, Crow, Black Bird, Red-tailed Kite, Buzzard, Falcon, Magpie, Blue tit, Sparrow, Wren, Starlings and many more.

This morning as I was watching the comings and goings of a few corvidae feasting on the insects who are devouring  windfall apples which came down in the last few days, I was reflecting on the theme of “faery birds” which appear in some of the Celtic myths, especially those featuring the hero Cu Chulainn.  The following is an adapted extract from the first book I co-authored with David entitled “The Guises of the Morrigan” :

In the Conception of Cu Chulainn (Compert Con Culainn)( a flight of faery birds lay waste to the plain before Emain Macha, and are pursued by the druid Conchobar and his daughter (wife?) Deichtine. 

“The flight of the birds, and their song, captivated the Ulstermen with their beauty.  there were nine score birds in all, with a silver chain between each pair of birds, and each score flew its own way.  And two birds flew out in front, a silver yoke between them.”

[Compert Con Culainn, from the Book of Druimm Snechta]

The birds eventually lead the party to a house where they feast, and the God lugh appears to Deichtine in her dreams and tells her she will bear his child.  The child is of course our hero Cu Chulainn.

There are different versions of this story, in one Deichtine and fifty maidens are transformed into the faery birds, after three years of searching the men of Ulster fidn the maidens at a faery house, and Cu Chulainn is born there.

The theme of otherworldly birds also appears in the Wasting Sickness of Cu Chulainn (Serglige Con Culainn).  The men of Ulster and their wives have gathered at the Plain of Murthemne to celebrate Samhain, when a flock of beautiful birds land on a lake nearby to them.  All the women want a pair of the birds, but argue about who is worth of owning them.  Cu Chulainn catches them all and distributes them, but when he finishes giving them out he realises there are none left for his wife (who in this particular text is named as Ethne, rather than her usual name of Emer).  She is angry at being left out (understandably!) and Cu Chulainn promises her the next pair of birds to arrive. 

A pair of birds joined together by a chain arrives.  Recognising their otherworldly nature (the connecting chain symbolism) his wife and charioteer urge him not to use his sling on them.  Cu Chulainn ignores them at on his third strike hits one of the birds on the wing. 

Cu Chulainn subsequently falls asleep sitting against a pillar of stone and has a dream where two beautiful women laught at him and beat him ferociously with a whip.  When he wakes he is unable to speak and lies sick in bed for a year.  Such is his punishment for attacking the faery women, after ignoring the omen of missing them twice when he threw the stones.  The fact that he had never previously missed a throw in his entire life should have made him realise that his misses were for a magical reason.

The magical and otherworldly nature of the women is subsequently revealed when Cu Chulainn is invited to the faery realms to fight for one of the women in battle, with the promise of her favour.  He does so, but the subsequent tryst is prevented by his wife, who intervenes and holds his favour by strength of words and personality.

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If you are interested in finding out more about this myth, as well as Faery Ravens, you may find The Guises of the Morrigan of interest.