WITCHCRAFT IN THE LOTHLORIEN TRADITION Initiations & Codes of a Witch -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is an admonition given to students as they enter the Mystery School in the Tradition of Lothlorien. No matter what tradition you choose to study and follow, I believe that the following admonition will encourage and challenge you, and give you a deeper appreciation of the pathworking which lies before you... Blessed Be!!! MoonRaven -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Admonition One does not read about the Wicca. One does not study about the Craft of the Wise. The knowledge I will teach is not idle. You can only learn this knowledge if you use it -- if you put it to work. This study is only for those who have a willingness to learn Each of you has expressed a desire to learn. Each of you has shown talent at being magickal -- at making things happen. If you are to learn the Craft, you must swear that you will work all your Magick in Perfect Love. Work negative magick and you are not one of us. You must work at growing positive, even if it requires change. Each of you has shown that you are capable of making changes in the self, in order that your Magick be more positive. Each of you has learned that change allows you to be happier. To learn the Craft of Wicca, you must make changes. Each of you has done this, and it is joyous and beautiful of you, and it is this happiness we share. At this level of your training, you must maintain secrecy. If your friends, your family, your lovers were truly ready for this knowledge, they would be here -- now. But if they are not; that is proof that they are not yet ready. Speak no Magick to those who know less than you, unless you are prepared to tell all of us that you are a teacher of the Craft. A true teacher does not teach teh Craft until s/he has completed the training. If those we are with are in positive Craft Traditions, we can speak to our peers and to those more wise than ourselves. Each of you has your own timing. You learn at your own rate. Should you leave this study, there is no sorrow, only joy at the love we have shared. Each of you has shown the ability to work together to raise good, positive energy. Each of you knows how to help and to share. Each of you will learn to trust each other. You must have with me Perfect Trust. If you do not trust me as your Mentor, I cannot teach you. And I give you Perfect Trust. If you swear to trust me, it is because I swear that I trust you. You have not arrived here by chance. You have displayed a desire to learn. You have displayed a talent at Magick. This Magick is to heal, to help; it only works in Perfect Love. You are here because you have shown us that you are learning to work in Perfect Love. It is the only way to happiness; and you are here because you are growing in happiness. You are learning to unlock joy. Each of you is capable of becoming a teacher -- to learn the Craft of Wicca and to share that knowledge. Each of you must grow into becoming a teacher. Each of you has taken the Path of being willing to learn, the Path of wanting to learn. Each of you is growing. Each of you is creative. Each of you is special to the Magick of the Universe. Each of you perceives the Magick of the Universe as a balance of Yin and Yang, of masculine and feminine, of God and Goddess. Each of you recognizes the feminine and masculine within the self. Each of you has been told this knowledge is only for those who seek to become of the Wicca. Each of you is here because it is felt by the Wise, by the Wicca, that you are capable of knowing stronger Magick than you have thus far conceived of. By being here, now, you have demonstrated a desire to take this Path. You have already begun. You are here because you have shown love to the World. Because you, also, are Wise. The Wicca means the Wise: The Wise Ones. We meet together to talk as wise people and celebrate our happiness. All of us, even your teachers, are pursuing wisdom and we all follow the Laws. To complete this study, to follow this Path into Initiation means you will be ready to celebrate the Wisdom you have attained, to celebrate in ritual the knowledge that you are Magick; To share with us wine and happiness, words of beauty and laughter... By the time you complete this course of study you will be a Priest/ess of Lothlorien and an Initiated Child of the God and the Goddess. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ritual Dedication to the Tradition of Lothlorien Do you wish to be Dedicated to the Lady of the Moon, who spills Her love into the night; do you wish to be Dedicated to the Lord of the Sun Who shines in glory upon Her fields? Do you seek to learn of the cycles and the ways in which we share in them? Do you desire to learn of the Craft of Wicca and to learn to gaze upon your inner Mysteries? May the Lord and Lady give you visions of joy. May They fill your rituals with songs of love and creation... May the Goddess and God sing you songs of wisdom and may your heart be filled with Divine music... May your songs fill the night and your love pour out as the laughing of a stream... May your chants be butterflies in the breeze, the cry of the lone bird, the might of thunder, the sigh of a newborn baby... May you fill your rituals with songs to praise the Mother, to honor the Father... May you love Them Both as One. You have come here to share in Them, to grow of Their Wisdom. You seek to follow Their Paths. You have not arrived here by chance. You have put yourself on this Path long ago. We shall walk some of it together and rejoice. We first began in past sorrows, in past lives. We were of the Wicca, gazing at the stars, feeling deep unnamed secrets; touching the Earth in joy and sensing life within; seeing birth and knowing that it was a miracle, a Mystery, a joy; being still in the forest, being warm in the water... We are all lights, and we follow the Path through the God and Goddess, by all Their names, and in growing, we grow in brightness, following the cycles of Sun and Moon, and glowing in Divine Radiance... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Principles of Belief In the Spring Witchmeet of 1974, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Council of American Witches created and adopted a statement entitled "Principles of Wiccan Belief" in an effort to inform and educate both the general public and Witches in general. The text of the "Principles of Belief" follows: The Council of American Witches finds it necessary to define modern Witchcraft in terms of the American experience and needs. We are not bound by traditions from other times and other cultures, and owe no allegiance to any person or power greater than the Divinity manifest through our own being. As American Witches, we welcome and respect all life-affirming teachings and traditions, and seek to learn from all and to share our learning within our Council. It is in this spirit of welcome and cooperation that we adopt these few principles of Wiccan belief. In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophes and practices contradictory to these principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless or race, color, sex, age, national or cultural origins, or sexual preference. We therefore ask only that those who seek to identify with us accept these few basic principles: 1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal quarters and cross-quarters. 2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility toward our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept. 3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary, it is sometimes called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all. 4. We conceive of the Creative Power of the Universe as manifesting through polarity -- as masculine and feminine -- and that this same creative Power lives in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sexuality as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of Life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship. 5. We recognize both outer worlds and inner, or psychological worlds -- sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, the Inner Planes, etc. -- and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment. 6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership. 7. We see religion, magick, and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it -- a world view and philosophy of life, which we identify as Witchcraft or the Wiccan Way. 8. Calling oneself "Witch" does not make a Witch -- but neither does heredity itself, or the collecting of titles, degrees, and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within him/herself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well, without harm to others, and in harmony with Nature. 9. We acknowledge that it is the affirmation and fulfillment of life, in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and to our personal role within it. 10. Our only animosity toward Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy-of-life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the one true right and only way" and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practices and belief. 11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the legitimacy of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future. 12. We do not accept the concept of "absolute evil", nor do we worship any entity known as "Satan" or "the Devil" as defined by Christian Tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept the concept that personal benefits can only be derived by denial to another. 13. We work within Nature for that which is contributory to our health and well-being. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following personal manifesto was presented by Paul V. Beyerl to the 1987 Harvest Moon Celebration in Woodland Hills, California. It was in no way written to represent a set of laws to govern the behavior of others, but only as an open discussion of personal ethics to provoke thought and communication. A WITCH'S PERSONAL MANIFESTO I demand these things as a Witch: - I must pursue my Highest Ideals - I must strive to elevate my ethics - I must be as good as my word - I must demand integrity of myself - I must be willing to suffer for my religion - I must willingly embrace discipline - I must develop financial responsibility and independence - I must be able to pay my bills - I must pay attention to my diet & intake of food - I must LIVE the Hermetic Principle - I must respect the astral - I must approach ritual with great care - I must see ritual work as a disciplined art form - I must consider seriously the ramifications of reincarnation - I must conserve fuels - I must recycle whenever possible - I must not litter, not even a cigarette butt - I must avoid negative energy, even within my own thoughts - I must avoid placing blame for any of the events in my life - I must take responsibility for my ill health - I must take myself seriously - I must have humor - I must live with my eyes open and my feet grounded I demand these things of myself as a member of the Wiccan Community: - I must support the work of making Wicca a respected religion - I must expect financial accountability from those groups to which I donate monies - I must stop the mockery of other religions (including anti-Christian sentiment sometimes found in modern Paganism) - I must not support religious plagiarism (such as the teaching of shamanism by those who have never experienced the wilderness nor studied from a real shaman). - I must be respectful of all other's ritual forms - I must separate myths and reality in our history and in our future - I must work to contribute towards a reputable public image of Wicca - I must protest against pagans who use shock tactics in dealing with the public - I must upgrade standards of Wiccan education - I must support serious research of our religious heritage - I must demand quality in pagan literature, newsletters and books - I must support the assembling of libraries - I must not be a religious isolationist and I must work to remove pagan ghetto mentalities from our communities - I must demand provocative, challenging workshops over entertainment - I must share my knowledge and skills - I must make Initiations increasingly difficult, challenging and rewarding - I must consider the amount of education other religions expect of their clergy when planning Wiccan training - I must be willing to network - I must remain in contact with pagans in other places I demand these things of myself as a Priest/ess: - I must prepare for the deaths and burials of our peoples - I must provide for the future of my consecrated tools beyond my physicala death - I must work towards the establishment of legal ministries - I must provide for children and their education - I must provide for the survival of my Tradition I demand these things of myself as a Wiccan citizen: - I must promote community service, being of help to all peoples regardless of their beliefs - I must be willing to be political - I must be a knowledgeable, active voter - I must respect and utilize the system - I must find value in the political system in which I live or work actively to promote change - I must be aware of the world perspective - I must extend myself to world poverty and hunger A Witches Tools Athame: The athame is a ritual knife with a double-edged blade which may be engraved with various magickal symbols. The Athame represents the elements of air. It is used by Witches to draw circles, to exorcise negative forces, to control and banish elemental spirits, and to store and direct energy during magickal rituals. Bell: A bell is used by many Witches to summon spirits or deities or to signal the beginning or ending of a ritual. Oftentimes bells are rung at Wiccan funeral rites to bless the soul of the Witch who has crossed over. Bolline: The bolline is a curved, white-handled knife which is used for practical magickal purposes such as harvesting herbs, cutting a branch for a wand, inscribing a candle, etc. Book of Shadows: This is a Witches personal book of information on spells, rituals, recipes, invocations, dreams, etc. kept for a Witch's reference. Another name for the Book of Shadows is the grimoire. Cauldron: The cauldron is a black, cast-iron pot which is used for brewing potions, burning incense or parchment papers, etc. It symbolizes the elements of earth, air, fire, and water and represents the divine womb of the Goddess. Some Witches fill their cauldrons with water on Samhain night and use them to gaze into the future or past. Chalice: The chalice or cup represents the element of air, and is used to hold wine or water on the altar during rituals. Traditionally, the chalice was made of silver, however many modern Witches use pewter, ceramic, brass, or even crystal chalices. Pentacle - The pentacle is a flat disc which may be made of wood, brass, clay, wax, or other products. The pentacle is symbolic of the element earth, and is used during rituals to hold charms, amulets, gemstones, herbs, poppets, or other consecrated objects. Sword - The sword generally represents the element of fire and is a symbol of a Witch's strength. It is sometimes used in place of the Athame to cast and uncast the circle. It may also be used to store and direct energy during magickal rituals, and to control and banish elemental spirits. Wand - The wand is fashioned from the branch of a tree, and is traditionally 21 inches in length. It is symbolic of the element of fire, and is used for directing energy, drawing magickal symbols into the air or ground, and for various other purposes. Sabbats for Witches There are eight standard Wiccan holidays, or Sabbats as they are more popularly called, which are celebrated during each calendar year. These Sabbats represent the God and Goddess in their various aspects, and the seasonal aspects of birth, death, and rebirth. It is interesting to note that the eight Sabbats now known to modern Western pagans used to number only five: Bealtain, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Yule. The word Sabbat comes from the Greek work "sabatu", which means "to rest". Traditionally, no magick is done on a Sabbat (unless it is a life or death emergency). The Sabbats are a time for celebrating, feasting (yes, we Wiccans LOVE our holidays!), and spending time with friends and loved ones. The Sabbats are representative of the turning of the wheel and each honor different phases in the life cycle of the Goddess and the God. There is enough rich lore associated with each Sabbat to fill a book! Below are the eight Wiccan Sabbats, starting with Samhain (pronounced Sow-in or Sah-vin), which is the Witches' New Year and marks the beginning of the Wheel: SAMHAIN Samhain is celebrated on October 31st. Other names for this Sabbat include Halloween, Shadowfest (Strega), Martinmas or Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic). Samhain is the Celtic name for this Sabbat. This is the night where the veil which separates the land of the living from the land of the dead is at its thinnest, and deceased ancestors and other spirits are easiest to contact. Rituals to honor the dead are performed on this night, and divination is at its high point. Scrying into fire, glass, or a dark bowl is a popular method of contacting the dead on this night, and guided meditation for the purpose of past-life regression is successful on this night as well. Spirits will help you in divination, and you may also wish to contact the recently departed to strengthen your karmic ties with them if you wish to help ensure that you will be together again. It is an Irish-Wiccan (or Wittan) custom to place black candles in the windows for protection against evil spirits and to leave plates of food out for the spirits who will come and visit you on this night. Some people even set a special plate at their dinner table for their loved ones who have passed on before. The Crone is called upon during this night, the dying God is mourned, and we reaffirm our beliefs in the oneness of all spirits and in the knowledge that our own physical deaths are not a finality. YULE YULE (which comes from a Nordic word meaning "wheel") is the Winter Solstice, also known as Yuletide (Teutonic) and usually occurs on December 21st. This is the shortest day of the year and, obviously, the longest night. The waxing sun finally overcomes the waning sun and from this day on, the days will once again grow longer as we head toward spring and the rebirth of fertility once again. The God represents the sun which "returns" after this night to bring warmth and fertility to the land. Yule trees are cut and decorated with images of what we wish to receive during the next year, such as love charms to draw love, nuts for fertility, fruits for a successful harvest, or coins to ensure wealth and prosperity. A Yule log is burned and a portion of it saved to be used for protection of the home during the next year and in the lighting of the next year's Yule log. Some Wiccans drill three holes in the Yule log and fill them with either three white candles, or one white, one red, and one black candle to symbolize the Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother, and Crone). The Yule logs are then decorated with holly and evergreens to symbolize the intertwining of the God and the Goddess who have been reunited on this day. Bayberry candles are burned to ensure wealth and happiness in the coming year. The Holly King (representing the death aspect of the God) is overcome by the Oak King (representing the re-birth of the God) and the Goddess gives birth to her Son, sometimes known as the "Divine Child". IMBOLC Imbolc or Imbolg (Celtic), Candlemas, Lupercus (Strega), Candelaria (Mexican Craft) is celebrated on February 2nd, and marks the banishing of the Winter Season and the welcoming of Spring. It is celebrated as a fertility festival and celebrates the things which are to come. In Ireland, Imbolc started out as a special day to honor the Great Mother Goddess Brigid. Corn is used is many of the rituals which are celebrated and grain dollies are made from stalks of wheat, corn or barley which has been kept from the last harvest. It is a Festival of Lights, and candles are lit in profusion as a form of sympathetic magick to draw warmth from the sun and to represent the increasing warmth. In America, Groundhog's Day is celebrated on February 2nd. Groundhog's Day is basically a weather divination ritual. Depending on whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow, we learn whether we will have an early Spring or whether Winter will last six more weeks until the Spring Equinox. On this night, it is also said that the spirits of the dead walk among the living. In Ireland, these spirits are said to be seen at a crossroads. OSTARA Ostara, or the Spring (Vernal) Equinox occurs in mid-march (usually between March 20 - 22nd) when the night and day are of equal length. It is a celebration of balance and a festival of fertility. This second Sabbat is the trinity of spring celebrations is also a time of blessing seeds for future planting. In Wales, Ostara was known as Lady Day and signified the official return of the Goddess from her long winter hibernation. Many of the myths associated with Ostara concern trips by deities into the mysterious underworld, and their struggle and eventual return to the land of the living. Ostara comes from a Latin name for the Spring Goddess Eostre, for whom Easter was named. In fact, the story of the Easter Bunny which delights children so much in America comes from the legend of a humble little rabbit's dealings with the Goddess Eostre. As the legend goes, a lowly little rabbit wanted so much to please his Goddess that he laid sacred eggs in her honor and decorated them in beautiful rainbow colors. When the rabbit presented Eostre with his gift, she was so pleased that she desired for all humans to share in her joy and asked the little rabbit to go throughout the world distributing the little gifts. During Ostara, eggs are decorated and used as altar decorations to honor the Goddess and the God, as well as carried as magickal talismans for fertility. As sacred objects of life and fertility, eggs are also given as cherished gifts. The Great Rite, symbolic of the sexual union between Goddess and God and of the physical and spiritual union between all men and women, began to be enacted on the day of Ostara. The positive effects of this rite, a form of sympathetic magick, helped to bring fertility to the people, the land, and their animals. BELTANE Beltane, or Bealtaine (Celtic), Mayday, Walburgal (Teutonic), Rudemas (Mexican Craft), Festival of Tana (Strega) occurs on May 1st, falling opposite Samhain in the wheel of the year. Beltane marks the start of summer, and is a time for feasting, merry-making, celebration, and joy. It is a time to look outward and forward to the future, and to prepare for the warm summer months ahead. It is also a time for love and union, representing the Divine Union of the Goddess and the God. The rituals may be quite erotic in nature, symbolizing the union of deity and of the newly impregnated Goddess. It is another fertility Sabbat, and the Great Rite may also be a part of the ritual. Dancing around the Maypole may be a part of the festivities. The original Maypole was a pine tree which had been previously decorated for Yule. It was then stripped of all but its uppermost branches, creating a phallic symbol. It was strung with white ribbons (symbolizing the Goddess) and red ribbons (symbolizing the God). Beltane is thought by Wiccans to be derived from a word meaning "balefire". It is traditional to take home a smoldering piece of the Beltane bonfire to bring blessings to your home during the coming summer months. It is also believed that the smoke from a Beltane bonfire is the best to use for ritual purification of tools, jewelry, etc. LITHA Litha or Midsummer, Summer Solstice, Midsummer Night's Celebration occurs around June 22nd, and is the longest day of the year. Litha represents the Sun King in all his glory and power. It is a celebration of passion and of ensuring the success of the crop. The Goddess is heavy with pregnancy and so is the earth. Again, this ritual is full of the symbols of fertility. It also celebrates the Mother and Father aspects of the Goddess and God, although this particular Sabbat leans more heavily on the God aspect of deity, rather on the Goddess. The Oak King and Holly King are at it again, only this time the Oak King is slain and the Holly King now reigns, gaining in power and strength until Yule. Animal blessings are popular at Litha Celebrations, especially those designed for protection of familiars. Because this is a Sabbat which glorifies the God, it is a good time to make protective amulets. Ashes from a Midsummer Night's balefire were often scattered over fields for fertility. Midsummer Night is when the Druids gathered their sacred and magickal plants, especially mistletoe, and dried and stored them for winter. LAMMAS Lammas, or Lughnassadh (Celtic), Cornucopia (Strega) ,Thingtide (Teutonic) occurs on August 2nd and is the first of three Wiccan harvest celebrations. It represents the beginning of the harvest cycle. In Western paganism, it is a grain festival which is sometimes called the Sabbat of the First Fruits. Lammas or Lughnassadh honors the Celtic God Lugh and may also have some association with the Roman Moon Goddess, Luna. Lugh was a God of harvest, fire, light and sun. He was King of the Tuatha De Danaan and the consort of Dana, the first Great Mother Goddess of Ireland. Dana, as Lugh's Queen and Mother Goddess, is also honored on this Sabbat. Lugh's sacrificial death and rebirth as a sheaf of grain at Lughnasadh is often re-enacted on Lammas, symbolizing that even a God must eventually bow down to his Goddess through whose benevolence he is reborn. Other rituals on this Sabbat contain enactments of growth, birth, honor, and thanks to the Goddess from whose womb they grew, and thanks to Lugh in his aspect as Sun God for blessing and impregnating the womb with heat and light. MABON Mabon, or Autumn Equinox or Winter Finding (Teutonic) is the second Wiccan harvest festival and occurs at or around September 21st. It is associated with the taking of corn and the completion of the harvest. Druids honored the willow tree, a tree associated with the Goddess and with death, and cut their wands from its branches just before Mabon. After this night of balance, darkness will once again overcome the light. This is considered, by many Wiccan Traditions, the official turning point to the dark of the year. This Sabbat was named for Mabon, the Welsh God who symbolized the male fertilizing principle. Rituals which enact the elderly aspects of both the Goddess and the God are performed at this Sabbat. The God is preparing for his death at Samhain and the Goddess is entering into her aspect of The Crone, though deep inside her Maiden aspect the impregnated seed of the God lives on to be born again at Yule. And so the Wheel of the year eternally turns... -----------------------------