Spirited (34 page)

Tradition marks intervals along our road of progression. It indicates what worked for a certain group of people and when it did. The Eclectic is timeless, forever changing with the tide and looking deeper into the mysteries of life, never feeling imposed on or restricted. Paganism was never meant to be dogmatic.

Eclecticism is natural. It is our innate curiosity and our willingness to participate upon observation. Tradition is our inheritance, not necessarily a stagnant remnant of the past but a romantic and subtle aspect of our own identities. At all times we should actively question what appears backward or useless while at the same time acknowledging what works.

Eclecticism and tradition are not adversaries. They are simply two different things that cross paths and seem to deny the other. Hopefully, the next time they meet, reconciliation will be first on the priority list.

[contents]

We are an old people, we are a new people.
We are the same people, stronger than before.

—Morning Feather and Will Shepardson

An Era of Change

We are living in a time of social upheaval, environmental unrest, political folly, and spiritual ambiguity. Boundaries are blurred, dogma rejected, and systematic public liaisons are no longer fodder for the masses. The propagandist tricks of the government are passing into the tides of karma, and all seems to hang in the balance.

There is a cosmic shift occurring on a grand scale. The New Age, perhaps? The transition from Pisces into Aquarius (finally)? Or is it something else—deeper, primal, and grounded within the old mysteries of the earth? Being a Pagan, I am somewhat biased towards its terminology, and therefore I call this energy shift, this transition into a new era of change, the Greening.

The Greening

Deep beneath the shade and power
Of this Tree we call our Tower
Day is fleeting, shadows fall
Across the Path our feet touch all

End to end the Circle's Path
Blazing, shining, as we laugh
Dance the merry round with spark
As we Witches tread the dark

Wheel turning, eight-rayed sun
Spiral serpents birth the One
Crescent Moon lays down her claim
To her lover, hanging lame

And we the Witches of WildWood
Stand where ancient stones once stood
Now the Greening seeks the Grove
And that which rests in treasure trove.

—
The Call to WildWood
used by the Coven of the WildWood
and written by Gede Parma, 2006

The Greening is a force of the primal wild. It is an etheric current of infinite possibility that drives into the very heart of the vessel and shakes the firmament of what we call creation, of what we know as the kingdom (the power-current wielded by sovereignty). Its garment is the splendour of a higher vibration. It is both celestial and terrestrial, deriving from the star-strung stellar regions and the pulse of Gaia herself. The earth dances and spirals as the cosmos contracts and expands, and wave after wave of the Greening is focussed into a finer and finer thread, and then into ivy that will cover the earth. So what is this Greening, anyway?

Whether by divine decree of the gods or because of the shameless desecration of this earth and her resources, the Greening has been conjured, and it has heard its charge. Like the serpent at the base of the World Tree, it is rising, and like fire, the energy is being felt. Soon it will merge with the boundaries of earth and become the ouroboros, symbol of eternity, the continuum. It will circle about the earth and then, at some point, all will break loose, the skin will be shed and swallowed, and the dance of chaos will ensue. A cleansing will eventuate and all will come to the scourge. Earth Mother will rid herself of all that stagnate and conserve outworn strictures. I have seen the gods gathering and taking their mounts, weapons in hand, to begin their Wild Hunt. A gathering of forces is at hand, and many are blissfully ignorant. To aid in rebalancing the earth and bringing peace to this paradise, we should aim to live our lives with honour and respect and do all we can to cherish, celebrate, and care for our Mother.

Before I was dedicated to the Coven of the WildWood, I lived my solitude in the Craft in earnest (and still do to this day). However, despite visions and sensations of the
heightening
Greening experienced by my coven, I sensed this oncoming power long before.

“An old and ancient power is returning—opposites/enemies will blend—things will not appear as they are. A dark shroud clouds us to the deeper changes now—an old charge will be fulfilled.”
This passage comes from one of my old Books of Shadows, and it came from a vision I had several years ago while gazing in my dark mirror. At the time, I thought it may have referred to my path, but as it stands, it seems to prophesy the Greening in perfection. Since then, I have received countless visions, and through my own self and my work with the coven, I/we have been witness to many wonders. But things are moving—and at a pace that defies any rationale on progression. For the Greening, most naturally, rides with the cyclic flow of Nature, and in doing so, the seed becomes the sprout, which becomes the tree, whose fruit then falls to sow the seed of itself and to begin the process anew. A forest will cover the world, and this is the charge the Old Ones decree.

What can this all mean to the Pagan youth who are uncertain of their place in the world and of their destinies? To those who are priest/ess born, it means devotion and service to the current as it unfurls. To the Witches, it can mean spirit flight to the astral sanctuaries to view the process of it all, and it also may entail magickal work to aid and empower the Greening tide. To the Pagans, it means pausing to listen and to open the senses to the amazing cacophony of voices that are chanting for the Greening to blossom.

We have an obligation to the future, but we must be ever diligent in the present moment, working for compassion, peace, love, and trust, and dispelling the ruthless tyranny that seeks to root out and destroy the beautiful anarchy that our spirits pertain to.

The Age of Anarchy

Each one of us is one alone
Upon the earthly, mortal throne
To live and die and be reborn
This is the making of our scorn

In service to the Gods most high
These men do murder, rape and lie
Sated innocence of flame
Lay siege to unwarranted acclaim

Danger darkens heaven's lustre
And Woman beckons those who trust her
Power over is power won
Until the debt is paid and done

For truth is greater than one stone
Though men scar Earth—pillaged and hewn
Radiate eternal skies
And sear the flesh of unseeing eyes

Looking upward, spiral down
Where is the path, the middle ground?
Temple pillars, strong and proud
About the sacred site they crowd

Solomon is seated near
The two who bide the blue-robed seer
Columns, black and white, do pierce
The fearful gaze of ignorance fierce

Love is love and love is fire
Come forth by true heartfelt desire
Flesh and body wither and wane
But pain inflicted will remain

Now rules the cruel, oppressive king
The tyrant dancing in his ring
A ring of malice, cruelty, greed
His sickness spawned within his seed

The Serpent stirs within her sleep
She battles for what she will keep
She swallows fools, destroying fear
The Age of Anarchy is here.

—Gede Parma, 2005

The Greening Crew

We must never forget that within the riddle of the prophecy, there is always a solution offered—a promise beseeched to the people from the divine. In this case, Gaia has made her message clear, and she declares that it will be the “bringer of peace” who will clear the debris after the destruction and once more ignite the flame of the sacred within the heartland of earth.

I have seen the great Earth Mother tower like a mountain cradling our planet, and her eyes are brimming with rage and despair. We have forsaken her and fallen into a routine of desecration. We have opted for transcendence over immanence; we have forgotten and dismissed the delicate balance between what is within and what is without, what is illusion and what is reality. We can no longer tell the difference. Our minds collectively grapple with the consumerist tendencies of this day and age, built upon a concrete slab of industrialisation. But we must re-member. We must restore the lost fragments of our souls if we are to champion the cause of the sovereign and invoke the Blessed One of Light, born from the darkest hour. This is our prophecy. The once and future king … how could we forget?

The “Greening crew” is the term my coven uses when referring to those involved directly with receiving messages from the gods concerning the Greening (oracles, signs, omens, and indeed their own literal words) and who also battle on the astral with destructive
thought
forms
45
seeking to implant notions of separation and subjugation within our psyches. Across the globe there has been an awakening, and Pagan or not, there are myriad individuals who feel within their core that there is something to be done (now)! They feel restless, useless if left idle, as if they need to be doing something, but they are unsure of what that something is. The physical laws of our universe seem to impinge on the forces that are peaking within them as latent realities stir. I know all of this because I have felt it. I have imparted the message, and now I must teach and work with those who are to come. We of this experience are the messengers and the teachers.

A messenger is one who feels and lives the reality that I have described above, though words cannot do justice to the frustration that ensues when self-doubt and uncertainty seek to blot out the broader possibilities. The teachers are those who are drawn into roles of responsibility and leadership, and who often find themselves offering support, advice, and words of wisdom. A teacher can be intolerably harsh, but this is necessary in the grand scheme of things. We can also be bright, loving, and merciful. We embody she who is most enraged at this current time: the Sovereign Queen herself—the indwelling dragon-fuelled vital flow of power that is land, that is earth. She is more than Mother. She is Creatrix, Celestial, Scourge, Destroyer, Dancer of Life, Preserver, and Decay. She is the matrix of Nature, the spiral pattern that connects us to what was once, and still is, the WildWood of the Witches. May it flourish in our hearts and minds forever.

Interestingly, my coven seems to attract these folk, and we have received intuitions of the whereabouts of several other messengers globally. I have received glimpses and psychic flashes of teachers who have sought me out simply to say
we are here, you are not alone in your task
.

The Great Mystery does not seek to obscure or confuse, nor does she toy. By the sky, the land, and the sea, she has wrought her message, and it is up to us to convince humanity of the rest. This is not a crusade of conversion; this is a wake-up call to those who slumber, tucked away beneath their own ignorance.

My coven, in one of its many facets, is a Greening crew. I teach the messengers what I know of psychic self-defence, of working with energy, of drawing down the gods, of sight and the divine. Magick is of utmost importance in our endeavour; it is at once one of our most sacred principles and also the life force with which we shift and shape the folds of Wyrd to attain necessity or desire. We gather together to aid the Greening forces. This is not a task reserved for specially assigned individuals; this is something we can all participate in. In fact, at the Pagan Summer Gathering 2007 (a Church of All Worlds event), a fellow priest and I led a cone of power ritual to aid the Greening, and we received only glowing response from the participants. It really hit hard with all of them.

If you feel as if this all has something to do with you, feel free to contact me, and I will gladly discuss with you what I know—what the Great Ones have decided to tip me on this week (divine updates, if you will). Let's embrace the change; after all, it is the Law. Remember, however, that the Greening is a reality; it will come (is here), and its tide will be felt by all. Like the Christian vision of an apocalypse, the ending of the Kali Yuga, the Ragnarok of Norse legend, the Mayan year of great change and upheaval (
2012)
, the Arthurian mythos played out—it is all myth suggesting a convergence and therefore a death of the old and rebirth of the new. Order or (and) chaos, who knows?

Obligations: Tomorrow's Leaders

Who holds the light of the way into the future? Who will remain when our elders depart to the fair realms and bid us farewell? It is the youth, and we are the Hidden Children—the leaders of tomorrow.

The Hidden Children

Hidden Children by the fire
Dancing, singing of desire
Cloaked in secrets, shadow dwelt
Ancient power seen and felt
Here we stand between the worlds
Circle marked and light unfurled
Air and Fire, Water, Earth
Bless our spells and give them birth!

—from “Invocation of the Two” by Gede Parma, 2006

The Pagan youth of today are a spirited bunch! From what I have seen of late, we are also diverse. In the Coven of the WildWood, our circles often consist of both experienced and inexperienced practitioners. There are those who have been at it for most of their current incarnations (and most certainly their previous ones) and those who come as the neophyte to the sword. We are an ecstasy-driven, earth-based Pagan group that upholds perfect love and perfect trust as best we can.