As Witches and Pagans, our beliefs and practices have established a practical theology that proposes an immanent and intimate encounter and engagement with Deity. While monotheistic traditions had adopted a theology that proposed that Deity was both transcendental and immanent, in practice they established a Deity that was purely transcendental. This is why Islam and Judaism held forth sanctified individuals who acted as intermediaries for their Godhead (i.e., prophets, high priests or sheikhs), and why Christianity established a Son of God that was both flesh and blood, mortal and also one with the transcendental Deity. A transcendental Godhead is remote, segregated from material life and outside of creation altogether. This, of course, is a fundamental difference between modern Witchcraft and Paganism and monotheistic faiths, since our deities are a part of creation and also participate in the material world and our mortality. Witchcraft and Pagan Deities are accessible, immanent, and intimate to us as we worship them. Therefore, we have a right and a privilege to access them, and to engage, and assume, briefly, their god-like nature into our humanity.
I know that in my past years of functioning as a Witch that the tradition has reserved the godhead assumption to that elect group of initiates known as high priestesses and high priests. However, we should understand that there is no barrier between even the least experienced of us and the Goddesses and Gods that we worship. The role of vested and permanent intermediary in our faith is one that is false and borrowed from Christian sacerdotalism, so it must be stated that the titles of high priestess and high priest are both somewhat arrogant and likely misleading. In point of fact, we are all priestesses and priests of the Deities that we worship.
We don’t need unelected leaders and intermediaries in our faith and religious practices to block us from the true relationship between our Deities and ourselves, since we are gifted and privileged with direct access to our Goddesses and Gods. If someone leads a ritual, performs an exclusive drawing down, or lives their life as one who personifies and functions as a terrestrial representative of the Gods, then they do so with our affirmation, honor, and engagement. We know that such roles are assumed by us to worship and honor the Gods and they are not done for selfish and egotistic reasons. Some of us are gifted as role-playing leaders in our ceremonial rites, and some of us have mastered the art of godhead assumption or live as mortal representatives of the Gods, but only in service to the Deities, and such roles are brief or limited by human weakness and mortality.
There should never be any kind of assumption of personal power or assumed authority when it comes to acting as an intermediary for the Gods by an individual. This is why I believe that functioning as a group leader and also exclusively acting as an spiritual intermediary is a potential problem, and therefore, I don’t allow it for myself and I hope that it will evolve out of our praxis. Acting as an intermediary should always be a temporary role within the religious practices of a Witch or Neopagan group, and it should be separated from any kind of position of leadership.
Sacraments
Now that I have laid down the foundation of my thoughts on godhead assumption, I would like to progress to another associated concept and that it the generation and use of sacraments. Anything that is blessed by the Deity is considered a sacrament, particularly if it is blessed by someone acting through a godhead assumption. They will take the object in their hands, blow their breath upon it (pneuma - spirit), make a sign upon it, say words to the effect that it is now blessed, and that object is now and forever changed, becoming a sacrament associated with that Deity. Typically, sacraments consist of food and drink or lustral water, but they can also be amulets or tokens, oils or balms, perfumes, potions and medicinal concoctions.
These sacraments represent what is returned from the Deity to the worshipers, in contradistinction to the votive offerings and prayers made to it. There is a complete cycle of offerings made to the Deity by us and sacraments returned from it to us. The whole basis of generating sacraments is that it is a medium through which pagans and witches establish communion with their Deity, and in this fashion, they are continuing a methodology and practice that was found in Roman Catholic rites until recently. The difference is that pagans and witches deal directly with their Deities and experience them in a tangible and material fashion, unlike the Eucharistic rites of Catholic and Orthodox Christians, who make due with a surrogate officiant. A pious Catholic would never say that their priest had assumed the godhead of Christ, but they would say that he was acting as a mere representative for the miraculous transubstantiation ordained by their God. A godhead assumption does not even conceivably play a part in that rite, but it is a core practice in the rites of modern Paganism and Witchcraft.
So, it would seem that the central tenant in the modern practice of Paganism and Witchcraft is the ritual of godhead assumption, performed as not only a sacred communion rite, but where the practicing medium becomes for a short time the actual personification of that Deity. There is not only transubstantiation involved in the communion rite, but there is also a powerful transformation of the elected officiant who directly assumes the target covenstead Deity. However, that ritual practice and the role of priestess or priest is not delegated to a single specialized individual, but it is available to all participants. Additionally, the items that are consecrated and sacralized in the communion process can be used as magical tools and devices imbued as they are with the essence of the Deity. Not only can sacraments be used to charge and sanctify other objects, they can be used to project the power and authority of the Deity into the material world. Using sacraments in magical workings in this manner is what I call sacramental theurgy.
Individual Godhead Assumption
Godhead assumption is not limited to the drawing down rites of the covenstead Goddess or God, but a singular version of it can be used to assume a godhead for any practical and magical working. Witches can observe and experience strong and deep trance alignments with the Deity, or weaker and more conscious focused assumptions. The effect of the godhead assumption can be made more intense and deep or less intense and more conscious by establishing the baseline trance as either deep or shallow. In either situation, the connection between the Deity and practitioner is strong enough to impact the communion rite at its deepest level, or any other magical ritual working while assuming a state that allows for conscious actions and individual awareness. When I consider the methodologies that I use to perform my ritual workings, everything that I do while performing rituals is through the guise of a weak but effective godhead assumption. In this manner, all the magic that I am performing is a form of theurgy, because the gods are engaged and aligned with the ritual work that I am doing, and they are guiding and adding their power and authority to assist my goals. What that means is that my magic is, at its core, not will-based magic, since I am incorporating the Deity whose persona I have assumed and through that guise I will perform my magical working. When I work magic, then, it is the “will of the Gods” through whom I am seeking a material or spiritual objective.
While the Drawing Down rite for a goddess assumption is publicly available as is the drawing down of the god, the more basic and simpler version of this more elaborate rite is what is used by individuals to perform the godhead assumption rite. I have covered this ritual extensively in my book “Spirit Conjuring for Witches”, but I will briefly discuss it here as the nine steps for individual godhead assumption. It is assumed that the operator will have previously performed votive offerings, prayers, hymns of praise and adulation, and other liturgical tasks associated with the worship of this Deity before attempting to perform the godhead assumption. (We will cover that in the next section.)
Rite of Godhead Assumption
1. Begin with a preliminary period of meditation and trance induction. The trance state can be deep or shallow, depending on the type of godhead assumption to be worked. Once the meditation is completed, then stand fully erect, aware and awake.
2. First self-centering and ascending wave of energy. Visualize and draw the energy up from the soles of one’s feet, through the body positions, of feet, knees, crotch, heart, lips and crown and beyond in an ascending wave. Lift the arms up and look to the zenith point and beyond. Feel the body open up to the greater spiritual influences. The ascending wave is marked by a slow inhalation and body stretch from feet to crown.
3. Primary invocation to a specific Deity. Call to a specific Deity, request it to descend down into oneself. Build an image or imago of the Deity, and establish an emotional yearning and passion for union. The calling and summoning can be memorized or it can be extemporaneous, or a combination of both.
4. Second self-centering and descending wave of energy. Visualize and draw the energy down from above the crown of the head, to the crown, lips, heart, crotch, knees and feet in a descending wave. Start with the arms up raised and then draw the energy down into oneself, where the arms are swept down to one’s side and head down and looking at the feet. Feel the spiritual light enter into the body and flow down from the crown to the feet, while performing a slow exhalation.
5. Mantle of Glory - draw a cross on the body, connecting the head to the crotch, right shoulder to the left shoulder with the right hand. Place the hands palms together before the chest and feel the energy of the cross radiating on one’s body and centering in the heart.
6. Heart Gateway - with the right hand, draw a triangle on one’s body, with the points of the right breast, left breast, and the crotch. Place the hands palms together before the chest and feel one’s heart opening and filled with love. Then perform a second invocation, calling the Deity to enter into the gateway of the heart and to join with the operator. This invocative becomes more like a chant, where the operator says, over and over, “come into me, join with me, let us be one.”
7. After pausing for a short period, perform the third centering and ascending energy wave. Visualize and draw the energy up from the soles of one’s feet, through the body positions, of feet, knees, crotch, heart, lips and crown and beyond in an ascending wave. Lift the arms up and look to the zenith point and beyond. Feel the body with its assumed Deity riding up into the heavens. The ascending wave is marked by a slow inhalation and body stretch from feet to crown.
8. Connect with assumed Deity and feel the merging of both strands of consciousness into a single strand. Stand for a period until the state of mind feels stable and fully established. Once this is done, then one can perform any tasks in the guise of the Deity, especially the blessing, charging and consecrating of sacraments.
9. Once the work is completed, stand silently for a moment, and thank the Deity for its appearance, feel love and gratitude for it, and then release it from oneself. After a short period of sitting meditation, perform a ground exercise to unburden the body of excess energies and to return to fully normal consciousness.
One thing that I will make apparent to my readers is that the above ritual has an implicit pattern of invocation, constraining, binding and releasing within it. These are the hallmarks of Witchcraft magic, except that the receptacle of this work is oneself.
Votive Offerings and Deity Worship
In order to assume the godhead of a Deity, it is important to give offerings and worship to it before ever approaching the godhead assumption rite. Regarding the cycle of Deity reciprocity, it is important to begin that cycle with the offerings and worship of a votive offering. I have discussed this in previous articles, the books “Spirit Conjuring for Witches” and my latest book, “Mastering the Art of Witchcraft,” so here is what that formal liturgical pattern would look like. You will need to have written up special invocations, worshipful hymns, and have at hand the offering of candles, incense, food and drink. Focusing on one special Deity is also a good idea as long as the other Deities in the pantheon are not omitted from the general offering. If this votive offering is being made to seek a favor from the Gods, then that will be part of what is stated when the working is performed.
This rite is performed in sacred space, so the circle will be consecrated before this work commences. In addition to the prayer hymns, the officiant will also use the image descriptions and the invocation calls to each Deity, asking them to descend and bless the temple. When this rite is performed as part of a full moon esbat or solar sabbat, the officiant will present to the Deities token offerings of food and drink. Here is the pattern for this rite.
1. Perform the circle consecration and any preparation steps required for a full temple operation. Liturgical rites are best performed in sacred space.
2. Stand before a shrine or altar decorated for one’s pantheon, and light some candles. Then using the censor, incense the whole area of the altar or shrine. Then bow low before it and back away, facing the altar or shrine from a comfortable distance.
3. With arms and hands extended in the form of an entreaty, recite a memorized short hymn or prayer to each of the Deities in the pantheon. (These can be extemporized as well.)
4. Kneel and bow before the shrine or altar briefly touching the head to floor, and then rise and recite the memorized invocation for each of the Deities, including the short description to formulate an image of each one.
5. If this is a monthly full moon or a solar sabbat, then the officiant will rise and get the food and drink offering and place it on the shrine or altar. Officiant bows low before the shrine and says: I offer unto you a more fitting sacrifice of food and drink, given to you as a sign of my care, devotion, and alliance. May this offering please you and be acceptable.
6. Sit before the shrine or altar and perform the meditation session for around fifteen minutes.
7. Stand up, bow before the shrine, and address each Deity and thank them for attending your prayer session.
Meditation and prayer in the temple should be a daily practice, and votive offerings of incense and candle light can be part of a weekly practice. You can also add offerings of food and drink at least once a month or whenever a magical working is planned.
The cycle of reciprocity with the Deity will help to empower your magical workings and bring you closer to your pantheon. It consists of votive offerings, godhead assumption and sacramental communion. The rite of godhead assumption and communion can be performed once a month when the moon is full, or whenever you have need. A regular liturgical practice such as this should function as the foundation of your religious and magical endeavors. It will also ensure that you are in proper alignment with your pantheon, and with that special godhead to whom you are performing the assumption rite.
Intimate Deities and Magic
This brings us to our conclusion, and that is to discuss pulling together all of these practices to ensure that the operator is fully empowered, sacramentally aligned and capable of working magic in the guise of their Deity. What this does to the operator is to mask their individual will with that of the Gods, so that the magic that is performed is represented as the work in the material world of the Deity. Working magic while under the powerful influence of the godhead assumption will give greater power and authority to whatever magical objective one seeks to achieve.
However, there is a wrinkle to this approach to magic, and that is knowing the will of the Gods. When approaching the Deity for a favor or securing a material objective, it is important to know that such a goal is within the provenance of the Deity. Individual Deities have individualized personalities and motives, and they can be capricious and changeable. Yet, even Gods cannot make the impossible into an achievable objective, unless conditions for a “black swan” incident are met. Asking for the impossible may also be deemed impertinent, and asking for a favor that is outside the purview of their powers and qualities will meet with little success. Thus, it is always wise to divine the will of the Gods for any spiritual or magical endeavor. The use of dice or knucklebones is probably the easiest way to ask if the Gods are aligned to a specific objective, and through offerings and worship, a negative response can possibly be made into a positive one.
If an operator performs the cycle of devotion and assumption for a long enough period of time, then it is likely that they will begin to intuitively know the will of the Gods without having to perform divination. Still, it is a good idea to always to check, and so there is always a role for divination to know, at that moment, what the Gods ordain.
Frater Barrabbas
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