Ehwaz reversed: addiction and the mind/body connection

While meditating on the meaning of this rune a few years ago, the following imagery came to me:

A horse and rider are caught in the rain. The road has become muddy and too difficult to move on, leaving the rider little choice but to stop and wait out the storm. The wait is less bearable due to lack of fire for warmth and food. The rider feels defeated, but knows the only sensible choice is to wait.

According to Freya Aswynn in Northern Mysteries & Magick, one lesson offered by Ehwaz is how to adjust to changing circumstances (75-76). In its inverted form, difficulty adjusting to change seems implied. In my imagery above, the rider is certainly unhappy about (and having difficulty adjusting to) waiting out the storm.

In Futhark: A Handbook of Rune Magic, Edred Thorsson says “Ehwaz is a combination of two sympathetic, yet dually arrayed forces or entities that work harmoniously together toward one goal” (59). With horse and rider, the latter’s progress is dependent on the former’s ability/willingness to move. Delving deeper into this duality, I begin to see the rider as mind and the horse as heart/emotion. The rider is less “in the moment” because he’s focused on the destination, and anxiety and restlessness arise from difficulty in adjusting to circumstances. The horse, a being of instinct and impulse that knows only the present, simply is regardless of whether it’s galloping down the road or standing motionless in the rain.

It’s a short leap to relate Ehwaz reversed to the challenges inherent in overcoming addictive behavior. Horse (body/instinct/impulse) has been trained by rider (mind) to a certain pattern of behavior. Anyone who’s spent any time around horses knows that getting them to take action contrary to their training or will is a difficult task. As someone who’s struggled with addictive behaviors, I can say that though I was keenly aware of (and very unhappy with) the destructive patterns I was engaging in, the impulse to follow through with those behaviors nearly always took precedence.

How are these patterns undone? I’m not entirely certain, though I do know that impulse and instinct must be retrained, and that takes time.

Other posts about Ehwaz reversed:

Ehwaz, reversed

The Birth of the Warrior, Part IV

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A Witch Alone by Marian Green: Introduction

I recently picked up a copy of A Witch Alone: The Essential Guide for the Solo Practitioner of the Magical Arts by Marian Green. The book has 13 chapters for the 13 moons in a year. I plan to work through one chapter per lunar cycle beginning just after the new moon, as Green recommends. Interestingly enough, the next new moon is on February 13th, which also marks the beginning of a new year on the Chinese lunar calendar. After 13 chapters, 13 moons, and one lunar year to the day, I will have completed Green’s course. It seems the book came my way at exactly the right time! If you come across this post before the 13th and would like to share in this synchronicity, get the book and make the journey with me! Throughout the coming year I’ll be posting thoughts on the readings, exercises, and outcomes for discussion.

A quote from the introduction:

None of the paths of magic leads away from the world, setting you free from life’s troubles at a stroke; they lead you deeper in. They show you with unveiled eyes the reality of situations, relationships, and the need to come to grips with your own problems and solve them.

How many would-be witches confuse fantasy with reality, and become disenchanted when they discover the Craft is neither easy nor glamorous? How many give up and move on to a less demanding path when they realize it takes more than the waving of a store-bought wand to create the lives they want? Apparently enough that Green thought it warranted mentioning.

I appreciate the reminder that walking a sacred path – any sacred path – requires dedication and commitment, and that by taking my spiritual growth seriously I honor the Old Ones as well as myself. I’m looking forward to the coming year of learning and growth, and again extend an invitation to any who’d like to share in the journey.

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The Birth of the Warrior, Part IV

Though I’d been completing the precursors to this ritual subconsciously, on a conscious level the ritual itself was completely spontaneous. In retrospect, I wonder if this is why it was such a profound experience for me.

I had been feeling out of sorts for several days. Mired waste-deep in mud is probably a more accurate description of how I’d been feeling – the absolute essence of the rune Ehwaz, reversed. I went into the room where my altar is and closed the door. Everything that came after was intuited, and it all flowed together strikingly well.

Before I launch into the ritual itself, I want to briefly belabor something witches with far more experience than I have stressed in their writings: Intention and emotional connection to a spell’s outcome trump every other factor. I was in desperate need of the healing that this spell catalyzed – my intent was focused and I was emotionally engaged. This is why my working has been successful. Though factors like the position of the moon and other celestial bodies, the correspondences chosen, (oils, herbs, etc.), and the use of ritual tools can certainly help a spell, they do not make or break it. It is not what you use, it’s how you use it. 

That said here are the materials I chose:

• White sage (also called “Grandfather Sage”), for cleansing/purifying.
• Sweetgrass, for innocence.
• Loose tobacco, for offering to the Deities and creating sacred space.
• Essential oils of sage (for cleansing), basil (for protection), and coriander (for transformation – linked with the element of fire) – a drop or two of each added to the sage/sweetgrass/tobacco mixture. (Be careful not to add too much or your mixture won’t ignite.) I was called to use cedarwood oil initially, but didn’t have any. Cedarwood oil is grounding and purifying.
• Optional: charcoal burner in heat safe container for burning the mixture created from the ingredients above. (I didn’t use one for my ritual; I simply combined the ingredients in my “heat-safe” container – a large abalone shell – and fanned the small flame while I conducted the ritual. Use whatever method works best for you.)
• Black candle, symbolizing the death of the Victim, or a white candle to symbolize the birth of the Warrior (I used black.)
• Music that moves you and something to play it on (this is very important). Suggestion: almost anything by Loreena McKennitt. The Mystic’s Dream, All Soul’s Night, Kecharitomene, Santiago, The Mummer’s Dance, and The Old Ways are a few of my favorites. (Follow this link to preview songs from her most recent album. Her earlier work can be found on iTunes.) If possible, loop your music so it can play continuously.

The ritual itself follows. If you decide to work this magick, don’t hesitate to add/delete/change as you see fit to make it your own.

1. Start your music. (You may want to choose a selection of songs that grow in intensity as they play. For example, the playlist I created started with a couple songs that were very peaceful and contemplative. As the last peaceful song ended, another that was more upbeat and passionate began. I ended the ritual with another peaceful, relaxing song.)
2. Light your sage/tobacco/sweetgrass/oil smudge.
3. Smudge yourself and your sacred space.
4. If possible take your heat-safe smudge pot in your hands as you offer thanks to the Deities, the Earth Mother, your guides, and all beings of Love and Light in the Universe. With joy and humility, invite these to join you in your magickal working. I also invited the element of fire to my ritual – asking that it lend its passionate, transformative presence to my working.
5. I was not lead to cast a circle for this working. Cast one if you desire. If you choose not to, instead see intense, living, loving white light enveloping you, the room you’re standing in (if any), and your entire home (if inside). The white light is less to “protect” you and more to raise your vibration.
6. Light your chosen candle, reaffirming its purpose in your mind (i.e. to celebrate the death of the Victim or the birth of the Warrior).
7. DANCE. There is a technique in shamanism called Dancing the Power Animal. Think of an animal you’ve felt drawn to. Imagine yourself transforming into that animal, and move as you envision it would move. As you dance, feel your energy and passion rise to a fever pitch. As you become the power animal, see/feel/know that you are casting off the energy of the Victim. As you dance, take deep breaths of bright white light from above – see/feel/know that this light is filling your entire being. Perceive the energy of the Warrior entering every part of you, filling you with courage and strength. Exhale sharply, seeing the grey, heavy energy of the Victim being expelled. Continue dancing, breathing in, and exhaling as long as you feel engaged and enlivened. As the last of your energy is spent, your heart racing and the energy of the Warrior lighting you up like a lightning rod in a thunderstorm, kneel to the ground. Place your forehead and both palms on the floor/ground. Inhale and exhale no less than three times. As you do this, see/feel/know that you and the energy you raised are grounding fully into the earth, leaving you fully present in your body, energized, peaceful, and aware of your surroundings.
8. When you feel ready stand and give thanks to the Deities, the Earth Mother, your guides and power animal(s), any of the elements you called, and all beings of Love and Light in the Universe.
9. Extinguish your candle if it’s still burning, and extinguish your smudge.
10. Drink LOTS of water over the next three days (8-12 glasses or so – use your own judgment). You’ll want to flush out the energy of the Victim you released by working this ceremony.
11. Record any insights you receive during waking hours or while asleep in your Book of Shadows or journal.

Blessed Be!

Jerome

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Spell: Creating an Amulet of Protection

I’ve shied away from posting spells on this site up until now, for a few reasons.

Those unaware of its true nature and origins – Christian fundamentalists and Wiccans/Neo-Pagans alike – make inaccurate assumptions about witchcraft. These assumptions have long distorted the truth of what it is and is not – a quagmire impossible to remedy with a single post on a little-known blog. While I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about The Craft, I do know it is not many of the things close-minded religious zealots and novice Neo-Pagans think it is. I’ll write more on this topic in the future, but for now I offer this:

Witchcraft is nothing more and nothing less than focused intent united with action. It does not spring from anything supernatural or inherently evil. Christian religions have been practicing it for centuries, though they’ve given it names like prayer and communion.

Contrary to popular Wiccan opinion, witchcraft as we know it today is not ancient – it’s probably less than 200 years old. (Read Dr. Ronald Hutton’s book Triumph of the Moon to learn more). 

Also, casting a spell you find on the internet or within the pages of that book you bought at Barnes & Noble won’t yield the results you desire unless you invest personal time and energy. (That is, more than using a search engine or handing the clerk your debit card).

Disclaimers behind us, here is a short and simple spell I use regularly to focus protective energy on my pentacle necklace. It can be adapted as you wish and can be used on any type of jewelry.

*** *** *** 

Holding the pendant in my left hand, I raise it skyward and extend index finger and thumb (tips pointing up) with the other fingers holding the jewelry. (This hand gesture is symbolic of the crescent moon and the Goddess, or the feminine aspect of the Divine.)

“By the grace of the Goddess [insert name of a particular Goddess if you wish]…”

(As you speak these words, perceive the Divine Feminine in any way you wish. Make it real for yourself. Sometimes I see Her face, sometimes I feel Her feminine energy wash over me.)

Moving the pendant to my right hand, I again raise it skyward with my index and middle fingers pointing upward and the other fingers holding the pendant. (This hand gesture is symbolic of the Horned God, or the masculine aspect of the Divine.)

“By the grace of the God [insert name of particular God if you wish]…”

(As you speak the words above, perceive the Divine Masculine in any way you wish. Sometimes I see His face, sometimes I feel His masculine energy.)

“And by my own will, I now don this sacred symbol to protect me from all types of harm – and to illuminate the Path of Power before me. So mote it be!”

As I speak the last part above, I trace an invoking pentagram on the face of the pendant. (Refer to the illustration below. Using your index finger, trace an unbroken line from point 1 to point 5 and back to 1 while visualizing blue-white fire illuminating the path you trace. Blue-white is a protective color, and fire is the element that rules protective magick.)

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