Spirited (36 page)

NeoPaganism is a global phenomenon; Paganism is a global reality and certainty. We have come forth from the shadows into something new and bright, but we have not quit the night for the day, for we hold both to be sacred and necessary. Paganism's popularity is nothing new, for it is pre-Christian and was once ubiquitous; we have simply fused the old with the new, producing something dynamic that resonates with countless people the world over.

As Pagans, we have much to offer the global community. We are, generally speaking, eco-conscious, politically liberated, spiritually empowered, and integral thinkers with streaks of individuality and social flair. What does this say about the reality of our spirituality in a modern context—about its power and its privilege? Are we set apart because we are privy to an underlying flow and rhythm that infuses all of life? Are we special; are we different? How does one distinguish oneself as Pagan, and what does that truly mean?

As a Youth …

Of the three spoken above, I can attest to belonging to each. I am priest to my gods and to my coven, I am a Witch in all I know, and I am Pagan-born, a wild child of Nature. I can then also admit to being of the youth, a delicate yet stringent category that demands from its adherents devotion to a strange paradox of work and whimsy, of passion and profession. With one foot firmly placed in the lucid land of misadventure and another dangling in the realm of rudimentary rites of passage and responsibility, we are neither bound nor free. We stand at the threshold of initiation; however, it is our choice to accept the status quo or to walk away unheard of, unseen beyond the perfectly trimmed hedges surrounding suburbia.

As the youth, there is no denying that we possess an edge—a clarity by which we glisten in the light of the new day. We are highly opinionated, with zealous cries abounding in righteousness and
temperamental
fervour. Youth is a moment captured; a fleeting procession of
memories
against a grey horizon. But instilled within its depths hides potent energy, prepared to rise to the occasion and imbue the individual with power and confidence. This, of course, is of utmost importance in the raising of power that is customary to many, if not all, Pagan rites. After all, we are an ecstatic and transformative group of people!

As the current incarnation of youth, we are also the emissaries for the future, and we must begin to make our mark if we are to create the change we wish to see in the world. We must champion the earth and work for peace among the tribes. The prophecies of many will come to pass, and we must prepare for the tremendous field of potential we will encounter. It is here we will reap what we sow.

The Wyrd Web is vibrating higher, keening tones each day, and like blue fire it strikes at the heartwaves, causing intuitive palpitations. Where are we going? Who are we? What are we? What is this power that we can and must raise?

Power & Privilege

One of the most highly regarded members of the global Pagan community is undoubtedly Starhawk. With the publication of
The Spiral Dance
in 1979, she displayed such poetic flair and warmth of spirit that it was hard not to fall in love with her and her writings immediately. In saying this, I was born after 1979, and
The Spiral Dance
was not one of the first books I read on Paganism. However, when I did finally manage to get my hands on it, any expectations I had were dashed by the immense beauty and grace that arose from the words. Every sentence was a thread of pure Magick woven by a priestess who was not only well-versed in her Craft but also had depth of insight, passion, and integrity. Starhawk also articulated the concept of power and how we relate to it best of all through power-over, power-from-within, and power-with. The former is, of course, the paradigm that produced the rigid, logos-loving, authoritarian culture of society today. The latter two are essentially Pagan in that they speak of the power that stems from the autonomy of the individual and our harmonious connections with other beings in the cosmos. As the Pagan traditions are earth-based and pluralistic, the concept of wielding one's power over another aspect of the divine whole is a foreign one.

Earlier on in this chapter is one of my poems, “The Age of Anarchy.” I wrote it at a time in my life when I was extremely antagonistic towards any form of authority. During this time I was also collaborating with a Pagan friend living in Italy concerning something we called “The Revival,” which represented to us the very essence of Paganism and, more specifically, Witchcraft. The ideas of freedom and empowerment and turning back the tide of tyranny and oppression were central. Much of the inspiration seemed to stem subconsciously from the Stregheria teachings concerning their prophetess Aradia and her mother, Diana.
The famous Charge of the Goddess reveals to us (as is done in the way of drawing down) that we are to be free, and as a sign of our freedom we are to be naked in our rites. Interestingly, at my coven's pre-Lughnasadh circle in '07 (falling on a full moon night), our crescent-crowned Goddess was drawn down into my body, and as usually happens I was moved to speak and move by the deity. The Goddess seemed to speak a semblance of th
e Charge through me, giving especial emphasis to the nakedness as a symbol of freedom. None of us thought much of it after the circle, however at Lughnasadh, without even realising, we began to slowly strip until we were completely naked with each other, something we had never done before.

Once liberated from the shackles of a life-rejecting philosophy, we are free to embrace life as it is, in all its power and privilege. Life is a gift, one that we cannot return without dire consequences. We must not forsake the charge to fulfil our individual destinies and to add to the myriad colours that are the wellspring of our unconscious. Perhaps when old Gerald spoke of clothes as being inhibitors of the natural life force that flows from the body, he was also alluding to the concept that the power within each of us will only come forth when we have dispensed with the illusions of a society that seeks to mask our inner realities and truths from the megalomaniac macrocosm that is Western civilisation. Therefore, power-from-within is a journey from isolation to connection, and in so doing we reveal the divinity within and choose to embrace it for the betterment of oneself, the community, and the cosmos. Power-with is something else altogether.

In an animistic culture such as ours, there is no denying that the interconnection of life is one of our most sacred principles. As Pagans, we are each intimately aware of the relationships between ourselves and other beings.

Totemism in indigenous cultures is one example of animistic spirituality, and this has filtered down into the modern traditions of the Craft as the relationship between the Witch and her familiar. Shamanistic influences have, of course, revived the practice of seeking out one's totem, or power, animal, though whether this has become the substitute for the Witch's familiar is a question of choice, varying from person to person.

Many Pagans today are also fans of the Standing Ones, the tree folk and the plethora of plant spirits that co-inhabit this world. Some choose to focus solely on the plant kingdom and weave connections infused with the green power of the earth. Darkness, moisture, contraction, and feminine mystery punctuated by the dance of the Lord of Life—this is the truth of all that dies only to rise again; the sun that goes into the seed.

Power-with is the term Starhawk uses to describe the Pagan affinity with the natural world and the strands of power that are woven between us all. In the Craft, we draw on these strands to send vibrations out into the cosmos so that we may sow our own seeds and prosper from their yield. We also reflect on the internal microcosmic reality in which the essence of the macrocosm also dwells. It is here we face our Shadow, the repressed Self that has sought refuge in our darkest corner. The Shadow contains within itself all that we as individuals seek to be rid of—all that the ego detests as abominable to the persona.

It was Carl Jung who articulated this psychological process and called the journey of attaining to the ideal wholeness
individuation
. As we work towards integrated, spiritual wholeness, it is possible to forge connections between all the essential fragments that comprise the sum and create a synergy to empower and balance the parts. Ultimately we are enlightened to the inherent unity infusing the Self, and that this unity is of the same essence that underlies all things. The substance of this essence is known as Magick to Witches, and it is a secret that we hold dear and close to our hearts. The secret is by its nature sacred, and if abused there is much to answer for. This is our power, and this is our privilege.

Song of the Youth/Weaving the Web

We are the flow, we are the ebb
We are the weavers, we are the web;
She is the needle, we are the thread
She is the Weaver, we are the web.

—Shekhinah Mountainwater

In the Coven of the WildWood, one of our principle deities is the Weaver, and she is the first invoked. She is the gossamer thread of the Otherworld that weaves its way into the heartstrings of all those of the old ways. She is the flow, she is the ebb; she is the Weaver, she is the web!

When we invoke her—when we call her forth and honour her paradox of transcendence and immanence—we come to the core, the spiral, the origin. We see not a spot to be marked and remembered but a threshold into a mystery, and the spiral path goes on. A graceful unfolding of shining power, the light is hidden within the shadow; the sun is but a fleeting flash over the sea of darkness.

The womb is eternal, and yet she knows not to keep us within her sanctuary for too long at a time, underdeveloped and yearning for selfhood. We are released with the ancient Charge in our veins. It is this desire to be free that is called the Dance of the Lord of Life. It is he who is born with the ancient sun at the dawn. It is he who frolics wildly across the ashes of the dead, beating the bounds and calling up the old spiral-ways so that the great Earth Mother may be revitalised and re-membered. His dance is spirited, and as he dances, he sings to add power, to aid rhythm, to keep the beat; this is his Song of the Youth.

Sent forth from the womb, given strong new bodies to complete our earth “walk” … I'd much rather dance—dance through death into rebirth.

Dance of Life, Song of Youth Ritual

This ritual is designed to be performed not only by the youth (in terms of the conventional age categories) but by all of those who are spirited and who yearn to be free.

We were given these bodies to honour and celebrate, not to desecrate and destroy. We all fall under the shroud of age, but we can choose to dance on or to be dragged kicking and screaming by the gleaming scythe of Death. Invoke the Spirit, the Quintessence, the Heart and Truth, and take it in completely. Let it infuse your every fibre with vibrating power. Become as you are. Become your divinity. Dance life and sing youth. Blessed be!

You will need:

A coven/grove/circle/temple/group of
like-minded individuals

A representation of the axis mundi (e.g., a maypole, tree, or besom)

Blessing oil (a combination of sandalwood, rose and frankincense)

Personal offerings

A drum, rattle, or other rhythm-keeper

A chalice filled with fruit juice or water

The space is demarcated and made sacred in the eyes of the participants. You may choose to cast a circle, acknowledge the ancient Celtic trinity (land, sky, and sea), smudge, or whatever you prefer. The participants should then link hands, if this has not already been done, and the connection between everyone should be reaffirmed through the opening of both inner and outer senses.

The representation of the axis mundi is placed in the centre of the circle, and beginning in the east, one by one deosil, each participant will go forth and kneel before the axis mundi to receive the universal blessing, followed by the giving up of personal offerings. As this is happening, a preappointed individual should be drumming a simple beat to maintain a level of energy and to enhance focus. After all have received their blessings and given their offerings at the axis mundi, the blessing with oil will begin (once again deosil and beginning in the east).

With the blessing oil, anoint the person next to you with the index finger of your power hand. It is best to anoint on the forehead, just below the crown. You may choose to use the spiral or wheel of life motif. You may also recite the following whilst doing so:

Thou art blessed by the inner and the outer, by the spiral and the sun-wheel of Life, in the name of the axis mundi, our centre and continuum. By the light of the divine, before these, your friends and family, I bless you with this pure oil. Spirited, blessed be.

Once this cycle of blessing has been completed, hands are linked again to begin the raising of power. The circle should begin to move slowly deosil. The feet should follow the general pattern of the circle-dance, with the leading foot stepping first (either to the right or the left, depending on the hemisphere and using the respective foot). For example, in the Southern Hemisphere where our deosil is anticlockwise, we begin with our right foot, followed by the left foot stepping behind it, and then the right foot moves to the side again and the left foot steps in front of it. The pattern is repeated. Once you have been around the circle at least once, you should be familiar enough with the pattern to speed it up. As you dance, you may choose to sing the following:

Dance the rhythm, dance the beat