Strix

Devotional Witchcraft

by Oracle Hekataios
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Devotional Candle

In my forthcoming book, “StrixCraft: Ancient Greek Magic for the Modern Witch,” I introduce the term “Devotional Witchcraft.” I don’t know if others have used the phrase, but I do like it. Devotional Witchcraft is something I particularly enjoy. I have found in my journey that it works quite well for me, and I think others as well.

Christian Devotions
The Roman Catholic church (RCC) had a significant influence in my life, particularly rituals such as the novena. A novena is a devotional act in the RCC where one performs a set of prayers for 9 successive days (or 9 successive weeks). Candles and prayers are lifted to Mary or any other saint depending on what is needed. The atmosphere of lighting a candle and doing some rote prayers with the rosary was very magical to me. Of course, at the time I did not realize that the RCC integrated a lot of pre-Christian polytheistic forms of worship and religious activities into its doctrines. The ritualistic air about the church was metaphysical in so many ways: incense, prayer, statues, the altar, the Eucharist, and the candles all played with my imagination. I loved it.

When we converted to the Holiness Pentecostal church, the outward trappings were gone. We first met in a middle school cafeteria, and then in a high school auditorium. There was no incense, no Eucharist, no ritual. Just a lot of heavy preaching, shouting, and dancing. I swear it was great aerobics. However, I noticed in reading some of their early material that formality wasn’t far away. As they grew (in their minds) in prestige, the more formal rituals began to occur. They would banish evil spirits and then invoke the angels of the four quarters into the space. Afterwards, they would invoke the Holy Spirit to “have his way.” So we carried that on into our solitary devotionals. One thing I will give Christianity its due is its emphasis on private prayers and devotions. They’re not the only religion to do so, but that was the one which first impacted my life, and so I am using them as my example. I have Jewish friends who use private devotionals, along with Muslim friends. I’ll have to relay the time I attended a masjid (mosque) for a time to renew my faith. Another blog post for another time.

Side note: I wish Jesus’ admonishing to keep all prayers private would actually happen and none of this “National Day of Prayer” or “Prayer at the Flag” in school nonsense. Anyway…

Coming to Neopaganism
I didn’t pay attention to how much devotions had an impact on my life. Due to the intense pressure to conform, after I left the church I looked back and simply viewed anything we were “asked” to do as a threat to my individual time. I put asked in quotes because it was really more of a subtle threat that if we didn’t draw “closer to God,” then we were drawing ourselves further away and we could end up in Hell.

I was reading everything I could which was available on the Occult at that time. All that I read eventually said the same thing: altars, deities, tools, seasons, magick. Older books mentioned spirits, ceremonial circles, drawings that couldn’t be figured out (aka sigils), and fancy stuff you needed at certain times and days. I was much too ADHD for that. As I explored further, I realized that my heart was drawing me towards the Druid path. Having eidetic memory and a drive to pay attention to Nature more (not to mention the images of Merlin and Gandalf as inspiration), I veered from general Neopaganism to Druidry.

Druidry
Druidry was really a homecoming for me in a lot of ways. There was a huge difference in how to understand morality and ethics, especially because I didn’t rely on a book to give me all of the answers to life. I was also angry at the church in general. It totally ruined my family’s life I feel. If I could go back in time, I would vote to NOT go to the church. I had an interest in witchcraft since I was in 5th grade; that was due to my father’s interest in the paranormal.

In Druidry, I met a lot of Christians who were also Druids, and they were finding the commonalities they both had. These Christians were very progressive, and felt a pull towards the Divine Feminine, environmentalism, and pantheism: seeing the Divine in everything which exists rather than the Christian doctrine of God being outside of everything. The only thing in the world, so the churches taught, was the devil seeking whom he may devour.

Druidry was really a complete healing in my mind, spirit, and body. It encouraged me to make contact with Nature spirits, look inward, meditate, and see the enchantment in the world around me. Druidry also taught me the value of developing the arts; in my case, writing. I practiced writing poetry and hymns. I practiced journaling. I practiced writing rituals. Crude at the beginning to be sure, but hey everyone needs to start somewhere. I think Druidry really gave me a sense of devotions by going out into Nature and meditating. There was no emphasis on candle magic, or poppets, or anything of that kind. It was all about self-development, which I valued and continue to value, sharing this philosophy into other practices I am initiated in. Druidry, to me, is the closest I came to being an actual Wizard in that archetype caricature.

Witchcraft
When I began learning to be a witch, I found that devotionals were nil. Or at least, the emphasis was. I can’t speak for the other traditions of Witchcraft which exist (e.g. Mohsian, Blue Star, Silver Crescent, Central Valley, Gardnerian, etc). I just know for me it was all about generalities: deities, tools, seasons, altars, and a connection with Nature (like Druidry). But, there was also a lot of training in Magick: candles, poppets, hexing, spells, intention, correspondences, and ritual structure.

As I continued to learn, I then made a dedication to my patron Goddess Hekate, the Underworld Goddess of Witchcraft, the Dead, the Crossroads, the Dark Moon, and the Torch Bearer. I’ll go into the details of that in a later blog post. Suffice it to say that performing a formal dedication to her changed my entire being and outlook.

Hekate
It would be a long while before I realized something, but Hekate guided me along the way. That something was how powerful and effective my life would be when I performed devotions. At first I didn’t call them that. I just said “I am going to pray.” It was tough using that sentence, because I felt myself go right back to Christianity with the whole “thoughts and prayers” thing.  But I felt empty. My spiritual lifeline was fading I felt.

I was experiencing a dark night of the soul.

Devotional Witchcraft
As I learned different paths, I found myself drawn to Hellenic Polytheism, working with the Greek Gods and Goddesses. As I asked questions and remained observant, I realized that Hellenic Polytheists were split into two camps: Reconstructionists (who worked hard to recreate the exact ways their ancestors practiced and believed), and Revivalists (who adapted ancient writings and discoveries to modern times).

I discovered that I was a bit of both.

By Hekate’s training, I learned to venerate the ancestors. I also learned a ritual script that helped me to purify myself and work with the Gods and the ancestors. As I continued my workings, I came to realize something: I hated the term “work” or “work with.” To me, it made it sound like the Gods and I were equal pals who could just chum it up and I could use them for whatever I needed.

That’s now how this works.

People who claimed to be witches (or maybe who are witches; it’s difficult in this occult landscape to not be accused of gatekeeping while at the same time trying to live up to certain standards and define just what a witch is) were proud of the word “work.” I know a lot of Heathens (or claimed to be Heathens) would say, “Ha! I don’t bow down to my Gods. I don’t grovel. I don’t beg. We uphold our virtues and walk with courage!” (Yes, real conversation).

Side note: Not all Heathens thought this way. Some admitted that they gladly bow down to their Gods who are greater than they.

That’s when I realized something: the semantic of the word “worship” brought up memories of Christianity. People equated the word “worship” with begging and groveling. But, after having been on my journey, I came to discover that what I lacked was devotions: routine times of the day, week, or year when I could sit with my Gods and spirits and just communicate.

So I sat down and thought about it for quite some time. I wanted to know if me wanting devotions was something left over from my Christian days and was irrelevant, or was it something many religions encouraged, and Witchcraft just didn’t encourage it? I mean, lots of Neopagan and Polytheistic groups had festival days to their deities. But, I also learned that lots of Neopagans and Wiccans had the viewpoint that the Gods existed only in the mind. They were “archetypes,” that is, mental constructs which explained Nature and the world. They weren’t real, just symbols. They weren’t about to bow down to a symbol.

But, that wasn’t my experience. I experienced the Gods and the spirits of the world as real, unique beings. Hekate is. My ancestors were. Other deities I encountered were. They couldn’t just be symbols, could they? It took a while but I found other occultists who felt the same way as I did. But they still didn’t like the word “prayer.”

Well, I did.

I had to remember from my Christian time that worship meant “worthy of acknowledgement.” Veneration. Honor. All of those were included in “worship.” I did not think of groveling or begging. Of course, even if I did, what’s wrong with crying before their altars every now and again?

Contact
So thus began my devotional journey. I included times to meditate to just breathe. To talk to them. To light a candle during certain times. To wash my face and my hands in a sacred act. In fact, I began to think of the Sacred and Mundane as one complete cohesive unit, not to be separated. All of life is sacred. Everything I did could be done in a holy fashion. Take time in the shower or a bath to relax and purge “goo” from your aura. In the morning say a prayer at your altar, shrine, or just wherever, in order to reconnect with them. True, they’ll never leave you. But it isn’t about them necessarily. It is about you, and what benefits you want to see from your life when you begin to create strong boundaries and view your life as a holy instrument.

Devotions are simply a way to treat our lives with a sense of Other. Of Enchantment. To view the world with eyes wide open filled with spirits, wonder, and honor. That tree has the spirit of a dryad. That spring flows with the blessing of a spirit. The ocean swells with the Old Sea Gods. Those squirrels are all related and belong to the Squirrel Spirit*, who has much to teach us. Take the awe of Nature home with you. The stars are the fires of the Elders who have passed away but watch over us in the bosom of the Star Mother.

Devotionals, I feel, help us to not plateau, and encourage us to come closer to our Gods and spirits. Don’t get me wrong: plateauing does happen, and there are steps to help us rectify and heal from that. But how we can enrich our lives in Witchcraft is by looking to the Gods and the spirits. Witchcraft, with its teachings on spells, can use devotions to weave throughout our Work so that we can become more effective as the people who we are striving to be. Based on my experiences and that of others, I feel that devotions in Witchcraft should supercede spellwork. Don’t get me wrong: spells have their place. We need to exercise our Will and shape our Reality. We need to know that we can affect others by manipulating energies and raising the Power. There is always that.

I just feel that if you have a bond with the Gods and the spirits, they will empower you and magnify your Magic. Their energies will be with yours. You’d be surprised at how high you can raise the Power when you are connected to them.

So if you are feeling low or disconnected, I recommend devotions. Write a hymn. Pray. Dance. Light a candle. Anoint yourself. Talk to them. They are real. Speak also with your ancestors and the spirits who dwell around you.

You are all connected.

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle

*I realize I mentioned ADHD and the first thing which came to mind as an example is Squirrel. The irony is not lost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 6 Steps of Our Arrangements with Gods

by Oracle Hekataios

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There are times when we, or rather I, do not feel the presence of the Gods or spirits. There is a quiet emptiness which pervades the entire atmosphere of my existence. I feel as though I have plateaued in my spiritual journey. Have you ever felt like that?

Observing human nature and the tangled web of relationships, I have noticed there tends to be certain steps we are inclined to all take. Mind you, this is a generalization, not a scientific study. It’s just my observations. Yours will vary.

Step 1: Connection
The first step is connection. It’s not easy, and oftentimes just because one party feels that bond towards someone, it doesn’t mean that the other one feels the exact same way. When it comes to Neopaganism, Polytheism, and Witchcraft in general, I get the sensation that newbies (and this even happens with long timers) want to experience this entire open avenue of the Gods. They want to connect with something, or Someone. So they go looking for who might be the most interesting towards their endeavors. Is it Hekate? Apollon? Athena? Brighid? Pan? Lugh? The list goes on and on. Connection can be precarious, because if we are not careful in our approach, we may miss the mark on who is really trying to contact us.

I encourage folks to look at their main activities and seek out who may be their patron (matron is applicable to humans, not deities). For example, are you a mechanic or someone who works with welding? Hephaestus, Brighid, or Goibniu might do. Are you a student in the arts? Athena, the Muses, Dionysos, Isis, Hathor, Bast, or even Bragi are choices. The medical field? Apollon, Asklepios, Airmid, Dian Cecht, Isis, and Sekhmet are also possibilities.

Be that as it may, sometimes even a seeming connection you want with a certain deity won’t happen. Your prayers may feel hollow. You may get a gut instinct that something is blocking you from engaging with that deity. You won’t get any affirmations or dreams (which are tricky to begin with so don’t always rely on them). The solution? Usually seeking out a skilled diviner can help guide you a certain way. But once a connection is made, now we move on to the next step of the process.

Step 2: Enthusiasm
The honey moon phase. The time when we are excited to research our deity. We set up an altar or shrine. We look eagerly for icons and want to tell the world about the goodness of our deities. You make up your own prayers and/or use pre-written ones. You give offerings weekly…daily even. There is much to learn and you want to connect with others of like mind to share your excitement. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Everyone deserves to feel loved, affirmed, and bonded with a higher power, if they believe it that is.

NOTE: There is nothing wrong with agnosticism or atheism. We all have our own journey.

Step 3: Dedication
This may or may not happen around Enthusiasm time. Usually it will blend, but not always. Dedicating yourself to the worship and work of a deity or spirit comes with responsibilities. In the human parallel, we decide to get to know our partner(s) and affirm our desires and listen to theirs. Still, you may live separately. Each one’s annoyances and clashes may be at a minimum. Things may not bother you as much. Dedicating yourself to a deity, to become their priest/ess, is fraught with danger. It is a major step, like you making the decision to move in with your partner(s). Now you’ve done it. It’s there. You are a partner. It’s real.

Step 4: Separation
I use the term “Separation” not just in the physical sense, but also the metaphysical. You may feel like there is a plateau: stable, but perhaps the little things are beginning to get to you and one another. In the human analogy, corporate stress between you two may lead to further disagreements. Growing anger may come between you two (or more), and it is up to each of you to make the step in reconciling. How does this translate to your growing relationship with a deity? Simple. At this stage, whether or not you have made a formal dedication to serve your deity or spirit, you get into a lot of problems. You’ll feel lost for a moment. You try to make offerings and prayers, but the words seem empty. You’re going through a lot of trials and tribulations. You feel this may be a test from your deity or spirit, and you begin to be afraid: will you fail and the deity will leave you? You’re having nightmares possibly. Your anxiety and depression come back. In short, the Enthusiasm is gone. You fear your spirituality was just a farce. A phase.

Step 5: Plateau 
This will probably blend in with Separation, but for simplicity’s sake, I categorize it separately. Plateauing takes place when our sadness turns inward at ourselves. Our altars or shrines begin to collect dust, or they are removed entirely. We become bored. Bored with life. And then the worst part can sneak in…apathy. We’re just tired. Why continue our worship and work when nothing is happening? There are no positive changes in our life? It’s just not worth it, we think. In addition, life is giving us enough issues and we don’t have the time to dedicate to them as much as we want. It just sounds even more exhausting. Whether we realize it or not, this is the part where we have to understand that when we are going through issues, their presence may be overwhelming. That’s right: the emotional thrill of the Gods’ presence may in fact be too dominating, and may turn our attention away from the work that needs to be done in our life towards seclusion. Our Gods are usually not ones to force seclusion or an ascetic lifestyle (certain ones may vary). We live. We breathe. We work. We survive. That is our lot. It isn’t a test. It’s life. We have to know how we are going to deal with these issues. Feeling an emotional and mental connection is great, but we can’t stay there. We have to know that we are not alone in our endeavors.

Step 6: Commitment
When we realize that life must go on, we then become more mature in how we deal with our religious obligations to the Gods and spirits while balancing life’s challenges. This leads to Commitment. Commitment is when we should now decide if we are going to be a priest/ess or a simple devotee. We shouldn’t make decisions when Enthusiasm is the predominating force in our lives. Like human marriage relationships in which there is a mature, mutual agreement to be committed to one another no matter the cost, that is the level of maturity we should explore. Ancient and modern folks, unless they were part of an established priesthood which was funded by the State (a different blog for another time), don’t always have time for private devotions lasting an hour or so. We have to rectify that. Gods and spirits tend to understand this situation way more than we care to admit. Some don’t, and that’s when we can let them know what the situation is and that’s that. Don’t be afraid to talk to your Gods or spirits. Despite what I have written, oftentimes we have to let them know that we are living a life, and they may need to back off from further responsibilities (which, ironically, may be the ones we put on ourselves in Enthusiasm stage).

Lesson: Be careful with your words.

Conclusion
These 6 steps may not always be perfectly separated, and may even bleed into one another. Nonetheless, it is important to examine our motives, our responsibilities, and our growth. It may take some time. Maybe months. Maybe years. Possibly decades. But these steps are pretty near-universal when it comes to our worship and our work. When we make do, we realize in the end that we aren’t abandoned by the Gods, but we are walking with them still, just on a different plane. We are never alone. We have moments of bliss, and others of boredom. But they are there. And our journey will only enlighten us further.

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle

 

The Sacred Marriage of Zeus and Demeter

by Oracle Hekataios

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There seems to be an air of potent sexual symbolism during the late part of April and the early part of May. This energy was manifested in certain ways across a few European cultures, but the one which is celebrated in StrixCraft as I teach it is based on a unique observation of our climate here in Florida.

Beltainne
In the beginning of May, many Neopagans and Witches celebrate the holiday known as Beltainne. Beltainne is a Gaelic fire festival and considered one of the Greater Sabbats in Wicca. The festival is also known as Cetshamhain, or “Summer’s Beginning,” the opposite of Samhain which is “Summer’s End.” As a fire festival, bonfires were lit across the countryside, offerings were left for the Good Neighbors, people and cattle walked between the flames (and jumped over them), and house fires were doused, ready to be lit by the bonfires. Yellow flowers – the color of the Sun – would decorate homes.

Beltainne is enjoyable with activities such as the ones mentioned above. However, it is the erection of the Maypole (double entendre purposefully made) which is the highlight of the festivities. There is a lot of potent sexual symbolism during this time. The Maypole being the penis and the hole that was dug to insert it in being the vagina.

Floralia
Another festival celebrated during this time was the Roman Floralia, held in honor of the Goddess Flora. In her sacred grove sacrifices were made. Due to the sexual symbolism also held during this time, sex workers were part of the festivities, along with wine drinking. While usually seen as outcasts in ancient Rome, their participation during the Floralia marked them as special guests free of harassment.

Along with Flora, the nymph named Maia was also worshiped. Maia is a Greek spirit who is a daughter of Atlas and one of the seven Pleiades. When her worship transferred to Rome, she was acknowledged as an aspect of the Great Goddess. She was said to promote growth, and her nymph status connected her to the dead. In fact, a group of Lares (ancestral spirits) were also celebrated on the first of May (the month named after the nymph).

The Sacred Marriage
In Florida, we have a subtropical climate. In the Summer begins the Wet Season; I call it the Green Time. Due to StrixCraft’s Greek roots, I observed the seasonal cycles and, during my worship one day, the lightning flashed in the afternoon followed by heavy rains. I knew instinctively that the God Zeus as the storm bearer over the land was making sensual love to Demeter, the Yellow Earth Mother. In the teachings I pass, the Earth Mother has three separate manifestations: Green, Black, and Yellow. The Green Mother is Gaia, the Black Mother is Rhea, and the Yellow Mother is Demeter.

The question comes as to why the Yellow Mother rather than the Green Mother? Simple. Demeter’s place in our myths is that the colors yellow are sacred to her, along with the symbol of agriculture (maize and wheat), as well as the specific function of fertility. With the union of Zeus and Demeter in our lands, the potential for fertility is there, and takes place.  Gaia is the wild Green Mother who can grow out of season. Certain plants in our climate will grow no matter when. But the fertility for harvest time is Demeter’s role.

The Children of the Earth and Storm
Persephone is the child of Zeus and Demeter. As such, her Underworld associations are potent during the Summer here in Florida. How? Persephone is not viewed as Kore/Persephone of the seasons in the myths as we learn in our StrixCraft. She WAS a Kore, but now she reigns eternal as Persephone: in her own power and glory she rules alongside Hades. As the Queen, she provides the necessary telluric (earth) energies that help break the seeds and send forth the roots. Demeter from above, Persephone from below. This symbolism is also in Wicca:

By seed and by root, by bud and by stem, by leaf and flower and fruit…

Here we see the interactions of the energies produced by the Two Goddesses as I interpret it via a Strix lens. This gives our festival a completely different paradigm. Not just a polarity construct, the Sacred Marriage of Zeus and Demeter involves the Underworld along with the birth of nymphai who pervade the clouds, the storms, and the land. The Dead, led by Persephone, can arise and bathe in the ecstatic life of lightning and earth. Communing with them is easier during certain times of the year, and the Sacred Marriage is one of them. Other hallowed times are the Anthesteria, the Feast of the Dead, and the sacred festivals of Hekate in November.

Celebrations in the World
While this was an observation I have made for Florida, there is no reason why similar observations cannot be done in other climates. Just observe and see which Gods and spirits are active during this time. The Gods are flexible that way. Polytheism is flexible this way. For example, the wet season in the Mediterranean is in the Winter, so Zeus and Demeter would be active during this time rather than the dry Summer (I believe California also has a Mediterranean climate).

In other climates the addition of Helios (the Sun God) would be a perfect. Again, this is based on your observations of the natural world. One of the necessary reading materials I encourage some students to read are books which discuss their local weather patterns instead of Magic. Magic is an inherent part of the natural world I feel. Therefore, to know the tides of Magic means knowing your local area’s patterns and climate which will grant you the opportunity to know your local spirits.

The Spirits of the Season
All in all, the Sacred Marriage is more than just the union of Storm and Land. It is about awakening the spirits around you. It is about contact with the Other, and using the portals of Storm and Land to broaden your experiences. The Gods and the spirits exist simultaneously. They are all part of the Divine. Touch one and the other will also be contacted. Remember, it is more than just the Gods. The daimons (spirits) of our world also deserve our attention.

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle

Death and Darkness

by Oracle Hekataios

Darkness

April 7th. I’ll never forget that date moving forward.

It was the day I found my dad dead in his apartment.

My father had a smartphone that he didn’t know how to work very well. Sometimes he would accidentally shut it off, or put it on airplane mode. I called over the weekend, as I was busy doing his laundry. My sister and I got in the car and drove to his place. I received a phone call from his nurse for home health aid that they weren’t able to reach him. They were there on Monday and no one could get in contact with him.

Arriving at his place, I knocked on the door and there was no answer. I figured he must be in the restroom. I went to the office to get a key and open the door. Maybe he was sick again? He had just come out of rehab (physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy). A few weeks earlier, he was in the hospital because he had a stoke which led to a seizure. They started him on a new blood thinner and seizure medication.

I opened the door.

That is when the smell hit me.

I was in shock. He was on the floor in his room passed out. But when I went into the room, it was too late: my father was dead and his body must have been there for a couple of days. I panicked. I cried. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I called 911, but again, it was too late. They were sending out police officers. I didn’t even have adequate time to grieve. I had to be stoic and in my right mind as best as I was able so I could speak with the officers. I called my brother and my mother to tell them the shocking news. I won’t bore you with the rest of the details. But, that’s when I confronted death and darkness.

Days later, I contemplated and spoke with my High Priest in the Alexandrian Tradition, along with my Minos (High Priest) in the Minoan Brotherhood. I spoke separately with them. I noticed, looking through our Witchcraft and Trad Wiccan liturgy, that there was nothing on how to deal with death and darkness. Sure, requiem ceremonies could be used. But my question was HOW to deal with death and darkness. So, I turned to the philosophies of both StrixCraft as well as liturgy from the Trad Witch and Trad Wiccan BoS’s. What was missing, I wanted to add to our grove and coven’s work. So, I turned to one of our sacred liturgies: the Charge of the Goddess.

The Charge of the Goddess

In the Charge, there are several lines that seem to work with how death deals:

I am the Gracious Goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart. Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor do I demand sacrifice, for behold I am the Mother of All Living, and my love is poured out upon the earth.

I turned to the Goddess, specifically, the Goddesses Hekate and Persephone. Both are Underworld deities with a host of daimons (spirits) that follow them. In the Charge of the Goddess, she speaks about what is beyond death; namely, peace, freedom, and reunion. it comforted me to some extent. But again, the grief was too much. I was having nightmares and flashbacks to what I found. Just HOW do I grieve. HOW do I deal with the PTSD?

Nyx: First Mother

I then turned my awareness to my own teachings in the Ophic Strix Trad. There are steps in how to deal with that kind of suffering. Let me explain. In my mythology, there was First Mother, whom we call Nyx (“Night”), also known as the Star Goddess (a title also used in the liturgy of the Charge). Nyx felt empty within. Lonely. She searched the entire Cosmos for one like her. Finally, she came upon the curved black mirror of Space. When she saw herself in all of her glory, she fell in love and lust with what she had seen: herself. She fell in love with what she was seeing, and immediately began to masturbate. At the explosion of orgasm, the two first beings came out in sexual embrace:

Eros and Thanatos. The Sacred Twins.

Now two males, then two females, then one or the other: eroticism birthed the Cosmos. It is an essential component of who we are as people, as animals. It is the pull of the song of Eros – playing with his flute (no pun intended) – which draws things together. It is the blade of Thanatos that causes separation.

Having discovered herself in all of her glory, the image before her now was shattered. Pieces of Nyx began to move, like nebulas, in which Nyx changed herself to become the very creative force that she birthed. She was searching for herself again. The theme of evolution is her love story. She would know herself in all of her being. Again. In an effort to do that, she began to birth and create all of what she knew. So, in essence, the evolution of bacteria, beings on other worlds, us, Nature, plants, galaxies, etc are all of Nyx attempting to know herself again. Once she does, the Cosmos will fold in upon itself, and it was begin again.

Polishing the Sacred Mirror

Inspired by this myth, I realized that the heart is our mirror. Not the physical heart, but the spiritual heart. The seat of emotions, the anchor to our energy bodies, and the center of our entire being. The heart is the key to one of the most powerful shadow working experiences that we can do: polishing it and bringing back the pieces which were shattered.

Trauma causes our heart to be shattered. Our pieces break off and may go into the ether. The only way to heal the shattered heart is to confront out darkness and spend time in healing techniques to bring back the pieces which are lost. In a sense, this is similar to “shamanic” soul retrievals. The ancient Greeks had something similar in a technique known as incubation, who’s purpose is to seek out the healing Gods Asklepios and Apollon to give the patient inspiration in dream work so that they may discover the key to their healing. The “shamans” were known as physician-seers, or an iatromanis.

Their main goal was to help patients come to know themselves via dream work and the silence of incubation. Unlike some shamanic techniques which encourage drumming and loud chanting, incubation was done in silence. It would begin with a purification bath and then lead to a sleeping chamber. Herbs would help with the cleansing bath, along with sacred drinks to help purge the body.

In an effort to help bring pieces together, this procedure was focused intently on healing the whole being: body, mind, spirit, environmental, and character-wise. Likewise, I interpret it that the key to holistic healing was to heal the shattered heart. That being said, shattered pieces often did not return or can be retrieved. Reasons vary. So, the heart would need to formulate new pieces which would match with the shattered pieces, and a new heart would be born. This is what is meant to polish the sacred mirror: return to love and First Mother, whose inspiration to know herself in all of her being was utilized on the microcosm. 

Darkness and the Shadow

Healing is never simple. In fact, in and of itself can be traumatic. Healing challenges us to confront the darkness within, what some call the Shadow. The Shadow, that alter-ego which encompasses the negativity and trauma that has shattered our hearts, is a very real presence we all carry. Some people feel that as long as we suppress those behaviors and feelings, we are doing a great job. Others try not to embrace the Shadow, instead encouraging a positive outlook. Finally, the Shadow is viewed as the enemy; something “demonic” and an entity that will pull us down, and so exorcisms to banish the Shadow (which you can’t do) are done. Like an active volcano that has enough pressure within it before a powerful explosion, these teachings do not help. Instead, they try and keep the Shadow buried, something that will only lead to a very difficult and strenuous path that results in psychotic breaks.

Nyx is darkness. In witchcraft, darkness and shadow are holy. There is nothing unorthodox about working with our dark alter-ego in order to find fulfillment. In fact. death itself is holy. It is Nature. It is evolution. It is the love story of Nyx attempting to find herself. Dark matter encompasses 85% of the Cosmos, and dark energy is a repulsive, causing things to scatter away from each other. These are natural. It is natural to work with your alter-ego. It is natural to be afraid, to be grieving and feel alone. It is natural to be in the dark for some time. Like wounded animals which seek to hide and incubate for some time until they are healed, we as humans must be able to also know when it is time to step away from the chaos and noise to focus on ourselves in order to be whole again. You can ask for help. You can ask for boundaries and patience. All that you do is sacred. Remember that.

My own Shadow

So, after everything, just how do I feel? Simple. I am angry. I feel it is unfair that I lost my dad and yet others still have theirs. Yes, I realize I make no sense. Logic is gone. I am pure emotion. But, I am also in a sacred place. Death is an inevitable part of life. He is dead. My father preferred the term “phased.” He has phased to another existence. The Goddess teaches us to know how to light our torches in the darkest of times. Hekate is a Torch Bearer, someone who walks with us in the shade, holding aloft her torches which light the way. I follow her willingly. These are tough times, and it will take time and patience (two words I hate). However, it is all part of the process: polishing the sacred mirror of our hearts, embracing our Shadow, and moving forward to help us adapt so that Nyx as us can rediscover her own truth. I remind you now with a saying for the Goddess Hekate: En Erebos Phos! (In Darkness, Light!).

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle

 

 

 

Return of the Oracle

by Oracle Hekataios
Oracle of Delphi
The Pythia Copyright: Currently Unknown

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have been very busy with life: I am going to school, publishing a book, lecture frequently, and help take care of my family. Nothing is simple. Yet I have felt the need to return to blogging; sharing my thoughts and aspirations. Helping to demonstrate research on various topics. Also, to transmit oracular knowledge to the communities at large. After all, that is my contract with Hekate and Dionysos: serve the community.

School

I decided to go back to school to earn my Bachelor’s degree in Alternative Medicine. What caught my eye were the nutrition classes I had. I believe that is where I should go. I am planning – when I graduate – to go for my Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition. I feel that is where I belong. With the encouragement of one of my professors, I will also be looking into Herbology. I have a background in Allopathic (read: Western) Medicine. So I have that knowledge to help me make certain decisions on whether some alternative protocols are called for, or allopathic, or both (complementary medicine). This education provides an excellent opportunity for me, and I feel as though I belong.

Lecture

I lecture frequently at a local Unity church along with making videos and being interviewed by various folks. In upcoming posts, I will link to the videos and see what your feedback is. The way the lecturing works is this: I am part of a interfaith rotation of speakers. We are all given abstract themes (e.g. forgiveness, darkness, faith, etc.), and we can talk about it from our points of view both individually and what our various religious beliefs have to say. Suffice it to say, as a witch I am the odd one out. I do my best to deliver snippets of what I believe in accordance from my faith. However, as in all things Neopagan and witchy, there is no popedom and we are not orthodox. Therefore, only I can speak for myself. I use that disclaimer a lot before I lecture. I also, while at it, oracle people who need healing or prayers for something. As an oracle (not a psychic), I find these opportunities a welcome breath that sets me apart from others.

Book

I’d like to inform you all that I am having a book published via Llewellyn Publications. The title is “StrixCraft: Ancient Greek Magic for the Modern Witch.” I am really excited with this project. It’s been a year and a half in the works. Writing a book is never simple. The editing process is a pain, and the words you want to say almost never come out of right. Thank heavens for editors. The book can be preordered, as it is released on October 8th of this year, 2020. The link is below.

Thank you dear readers for having patience with me as I have not blogged in quite some time. Over the course of the next several weeks, I will work on doing so regularly. There is so much to talk about. Thank you again.

Eirene kai Hugieia!
(Peace and Health!)
Oracle