I stand before the mirror, looking at my disheveled hair, my unshaven face. It's early morning and the workday beckons insistently. My body is filled with sunlight, pulled from another beautiful sunrise, and my spirit is at ease from welcoming and thanking a new day. But there is yet another ritual to be done, one I do every weekday morning.
It's time to shave.
I slip my hands into the warm water that partially fills the sink, closing my eyes as I center myself. As I raise my cupped hands to my face, as I bask in the wet heat of the first touch of water on my unshaven skin, I picture the element of air, entering my body with the warmth of the water. Today I choose the memory of a ritual I did on a lonely windswept beach outside of San Francisco, reliving the beauty of the night, the moonlight coloring the waves with pale hues. As I feel the touch of water, as I summon the element of air with my cupped hands, I remember the ocean wind, the way it whipped through my hair, the way it danced around me. And as I call upon it once more, I feel Air filling me, refreshing me, preparing me for a new day.
With each caress of water, I call upon another element, reconnecting it to my being. Fire is the light of my match, the single candle that I nestled in the protected arms of a pocket of stone, sheltering the fragile flame. Water is the sea, the waves surging past the outcrop of stone I stand on, its power echoing in the roar of the surf. Earth is the stone beneath my feet, the rocks that extend out into the power of the Pacific Ocean. Spirit is the voices on the wind, the presence of the sea, the spark of life I carry within.
I'm no longer simply preparing to shave; I'm a witch with the power of the natural world at my fingertips.
It may seem silly at first, to instill something as mundane as shaving with a bit of magick, but the results are as potent as the most elaborate ceremony. We don't realize it, but our days are filled with rituals, little things we do the same way each day without thinking, ruled by habit and the prodding of our subconscious minds.
Think about the dish you set your car keys in when you come home from work. Is it simply so you can find them in the morning? Or is it a subconscious symbol that you're home, that you're stepping from the workday world into the embrace of the hearth? Or take, for instance, your morning coffee. Do you drink it simply for the taste? Or is it a tool you use to mentally prepare you for your day, the rush of caffeine the jump start you need to face the morning commute and the first hours in the office?
Our days are filled with countless moments, with minute ceremonies that are more than simple routine. We simply don't stop to think about why we do these things. Why did I use five handfuls of water to wet my face to shave? Was my face wetter than with just one? Did it make the razor sharper or the shaving cream more lubricating? As I stopped and thought about it, I realized that subconsciously I was pausing before the sink each morning to prepare myself to enter the flow of the work day, that in those few moments I was transitioning from the home to work, that it was a final deep breath before leaping into my day. By stopping and trying to understand the rituals in my life, I was able to move their significance from my subconscious to conscious mind. And by purposely honoring and embracing the rituals that my subconscious created, I was able to instill my immediate awareness with those things that I instinctively knew I needed.
When we begin to look at ritual, regardless of whether it is a magickal ceremony or a mundane moment in life, we slowly begin to realize that most rituals are composed of eight simple stages. Sometimes we may combine steps together; occasionally we may exclude one or two altogether. But more often than not, all eight of the steps outlined below are present in both our daily rituals and our magickal rites.
Step One: Cleansing
This isn't simply a matter of cleansing ourselves or a ritual area. It's a subconscious process of setting aside one type of energy or state of mind and transitioning to a new one. When I'm preparing to work an indoor magickal ceremony, I will often cleanse the room that I'll be using. I begin by physically cleaning the room, tidying it with the same care I would as if I were going to entertain a guest, and then I symbolically sweep the old energy away. This is followed by a focused visualization as I slowly smudge every surface of the room with smoldering white sage, cleansing and purifying the room. (These are all processes we will discuss, together or separately, later on in this course). But it isn't simply a matter of cleaning a room or removing old energy. What we are doing is creating a transition from one state of being to another.
Think of cleansing this way: Imagine that you are in a room with a single, soiled window. The light barely filters through the grime; the room is dim and dark, four walls and an opaque window that define our reality. As we take a cloth to the window, we aren't simply removing the dirt. Sunlight begins to filter through the glass, changing the lighting of the room, the brightness subconsciously changing our perspective and our mood. As we continue to wipe the dirt from the glass, what were simply dark shadows before becomes a tree branch filled with the new leaves of late spring.
If we were to only look at the process from a mundane perspective, we simply see what is immediately before us - we removed the grime and made the window clean. But to be a witch means to think like a witch, to think of the connections and the larger weave around us, rather than the individual parts. Instead of the window being a separate entity, it becomes a part of a larger whole. The process of cleaning the window is no longer simply a process of removing dirt. It is a process of transformation, changing our immediate reality, the room we stand in, from something dismal and secluded into a world filled with light and the whispers of spring.
The first step in ritual isn't simply a matter of cleansing away the old - it's a process of transition, moving from one state of energy to another.
Step Two: Setup
This is the process of preparing ourselves or our physical space to carry out the rite. In step one, we "cleansed" the energy so we could begin something new, so we could step from one type of energy to another. "Setup" is the process of gathering the energy that we need to continue with the rite, of bringing the elements we need together so that we are prepared to take the step forward that initiates the process. This differs from "raising energy" (explained below) which is much more active. An example of step two would be the actual process of continuing to change the room where we cleaned the window above. Imagine that it's a small room in a house you're renovating, that you want to set this room aside exclusively for ritual work and indoor ceremony. Cleansing would involve washing the windows, sweeping the floors, and removing the last traces of what the room had been used for before and beginning the shift into something new. In the setup portion of the ritual, you would gather the paints and brushes, spread your drop cloth, and bring in a stereo with a tape of your favorite music.
Although it may not seem so at first glance, this often precedes "intent" (below). We have yet to take that step from planning to doing. Our materials may be gathered, but subconsciously we still haven't focused on the creative process, the actual implementing of our plan. For many of the daily rituals we naturally go through, "cleansing" and "setup" are subconscious processes. You can think of cleansing as the moment that exists between ending of one period where you are consciously or subconsciously embracing a specific type of energy and the beginning of another, and setup as the planting of a seed to begin the new process. I've found in my life that, as I'm beginning to work towards a new goal, that I often find myself subconsciously studying related materials for weeks or even months before I actually begin.
Step 3: Intent
Once we have prepped the moment in "cleansing" and "setup," we are ready to make a final decision on what we're going to do with the energy. Intent is the moment of beginning, the moment that the seed we planted begins to grow, to reach toward the sun and we begin to reach toward our goal. In the example of our room, it's the decision that dips the brush into the paint, that says with a smile, "Let's do this." It's the moment when the energy changes from one state to another.
If you're new to the Craft, you may be asking yourself, "What's all this talk about energy? Isn't energy something that you simply use in spellwork?" It's true that energy is a fundamental component of spellwork, but it is more than just that. As you slowly work through this course, you will begin to realize how interconnected all of life is, that the energy we raise for our magickal rites is always present, that it is at the very core of our existence. Think of how you feel when you're upset and how you feel when you're not. Or how the sensation of your being feels when you're intently focused on a task or when you're relaxing and spending time with close friends. As you begin to pay attention to your life, you'll realize that your entire being goes through various states of energy throughout your day. The mental shift and accompanying change of energy that occurs when I prepare to go to work in the morning simply isn't there on a day off. There isn't that transition, that change from one state of being to another. And consequently, there is no morning ritual that takes me from a lazy Saturday morning to a carefree Saturday afternoon, simply because I don't require one. Why? Because I'm not creating a dramatic shift in energy.
And that's what a great deal of our ritual is about. When we cast a Circle, we're seeking to move beyond the energy of the mundane world, to move between the worlds, to dramatically change the energy around us. For those of us who have participated in athletics, we know that there's a shift in consciousness in that period of time where we're preparing ourselves to compete. Every athlete has rituals they use to prepare; a specific visualization, a pattern of breathing, a certain way to untie and tie their track shoes. None of these things would be valuable if they didn't usher in a change of energy, a specific transition from one state of being to another.
Step Three: Intent, is the deep breath we take as we approach the starting blocks, the dipping of the brush in the paint, that moment when we sit down and find the inspiration to reach for the first word to type in a manuscript.
In group work, after the cleansing has been done and the setup complete, I always ask that each participant speaks aloud their intent to the rest of the group. This not only puts everyone on the "same page" and focuses them on the rite at hand, but it makes sure that everyone knows what they are lending their personal energy to.
Step 4: Raising Energy
For anyone who has cast a modern Circle, this is the stage where you call the Quarters, raise energy for the rite and begin to weave the rite from the components you've chosen to use. As we begin to raise energy, we take that conscious step from making the decision to pursue a certain path to actually implementing the change. In the example of the room we're renovating, we begin to actually apply the paint to the walls, using combinations of colors to slowly change the reality of the room. If it were a magickal ceremony we were performing, this would be where we summoned the energy to our task (something we'll look at a little later on in this guide).
To picture this process, imagine that you're teaching a lesson to a group of people. To cleanse, you've taken the visualizations that you've done over the past few days, the mental preparation, and summoned it to the forefront of your mind, bringing forth that state of consciousness that you will need to effectively teach to life. You've gathered the visual aids you will need and a glass of water to keep your voice fresh as a matter of setting up. As you focus your intent, you think of exactly what you are intending to do. Is it simply a matter of speaking in front of a group of people without being nervous or do you seek to impart a bit of knowledge to them that they can use in their daily lives? As you step before them, you begin to interact with the energy of the group. Each sentence receives a reaction, no matter how subtle, that a skilled speaker can read. Do you need to ask them questions that will draw them into the lesson, that will weave their answers into the process and make them a part of the class? Have you begun to establish a rapport with them that will enable your intent to take life?
Raising energy is the step from simply intending to make a change to actually interacting with the energy that is involved in that change. It is the process of moving from merely wanting or intending to reach toward a specific goal, and actually taking the steps to reach it.
Step 5: Applying Energy
In the example of our room renovation, when we raise the energy, we began to paint the room, adding new colors to the world around us. But at this point they are merely brighter hues on a dim canvas, they are simply colors without form, without substance, and without a precisely defined role.
That's where we begin to apply the energy, to take the colors that we've brought to the room and slowly weave them into something beautiful. We carefully tape the window's glass and, with a smaller brush, bring new life to a faded window frame. We might paint the floorboards a complimentary color or decide to put a new plate on the light switch. But even though it may seem that we are simply continuing the process outlined in Stage 4: Raising Energy, we are now doing something more.
We're creating.
If you talk to an artist, they'll tell you that their finished work often turns out quite differently than they originally intended. That, as they begin to work, they may become inspired by new colors or decide that the piece seems to be leading them in a new direction. There is a fragile, undefined moment when a process stops becoming a mental exercise and begins to take on a life of its own. In the example of our room, we may find ourselves smiling as we can suddenly see how the room is taking shape. It is no longer something we simply intended to do, it is no longer a process of moving from one state of energy to another. We are there, we are embracing the energy we've created, and in the next step, we will seal it and make it strong.
This stage, applying energy, is that moment when "it all comes together." If you've done a certain amount of magickal ritual work, you know that in your ceremonies there comes a time when everything begins to flow, when it seems as if there is an unseen wind at your back, filling your magickal sails. There simply comes that moment when it all begins to fall into place and, subconsciously, we begin to approach the process with a new state of mind. No longer are we simply trying to create something - we are actually creating, we can see the process coming to life before our eyes.
But, if you pay attention to what's going on inside you, we don't stop what we're doing at this point. We are within the flow of energy, we have stepped from one state of being to another. We are no longer simply a person with mundane concerns, with a thousand questions about who we are and why we're here. We're the artist, creating something that gives us joy; the athlete, seeing all of our training pay off; the musician, at one with the music, feeling it flow. Or the home owner, smiling in pride as an old dismal room begins to come to life and slowly forms into something magickal beneath our touch.
Step 6: Sealing Energy
Our room is painted and beautiful, the windows open, letting in the cool breeze of spring. But if you think back, that wasn't our intent. We wanted to reclaim the room, to make it a special place devoted to ritual and ceremony within our home. At the moment, it is simply a bright, cheerful room. If we were to walk away, to leave it in its current state, it's purpose may change. It may sit, unused, until we begin using it for storage, to keep the empty boxes that once contained the household we've unpacked into our new home. The room itself is ready, we simply have to take the final step, to seal it into its intended purpose.
Sealing the energy is the "lock" of the ritual, a process of binding the energy to a spell or taking the steps to insure an endeavor is successful. It's the handshake on a deal, the "By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife" in a Christian wedding, the "As I speak, so shall it be" in spellwork.
This sealing is important for two reasons. First of all, it creates a subconscious shift within us. In the example of the room, we have only created something beautiful that we intended to be used for a specific purpose. But we have yet to name the creation, to give it life, to welcome it into its new role (we will discuss the power of naming in a later Phase of this course). By naming the room or presenting it with its purpose, we define it. The work of art is no longer a simple painting but, "A Morning With Roses." The room is no longer simply a beautiful room when we stop and say, "I have created this room for ritual and ceremony. And it is complete."
So what is involved in sealing energy?
It can actually be a very simple process. When most people do spellwork, they stop the process after directing the energy to its destination. Sealing the energy is simply visualizing it actually accomplishing it's task and saying something like, "As I speak, so shall it be," claiming the completion of the spell and sealing that completion to the energy you just directed.
Think of it like this. Let's say you're at the beach and you want to fill a bottle with seawater. Rather than just dunking it in the ocean until it's filled, you dig a little indentation in the sand and lay the bottle on its side with the mouth facing the surf. As the waves come crashing in, some of it gets into the bottle while some of it erodes the sand, so the mouth of the bottle points down at a slight angle. If the seawater was the energy of the rite and the bottle was where you were directing it, you'll notice that while the water goes into the bottle with each wave, a portion of it also pours out because the bottle is tilted downward. Sealing the energy (by visualizing the spell to it's completion) is kind of like waiting for a wave to fill the bottle and then sticking a cork in it before the water can run out. I like to say something similar to, "As I speak, so shall it be," as a way of saying, "I got the cork in! And water, you're going to stay in there!" The verbal component is not completely necessary, but there is a certain power to the spoken word and every little bit helps.
I always have a purpose behind every ritual I do -- magickal or otherwise. This is the intent we speak. Even if I am simply casting a Circle to honor the moon, I will specifically focus on honoring the moon within that Circle. In a situation such as that, I may spend some time focusing on the moon, visualizing it's energy filling me and then to seal it, I might visualize that as I turn my face away from the moon, I remain filled with the moon's glowing light, that I can still feel its presence even though my eyes are no longer on it. I might say something simple like, "Even when I can't see you, Moon, I am still connected to you and filled with your light."
Sealing the energy is the period at the end of the sentence, the moment when we realize that our task is complete, that we claim the victorious outcome as our own. But we aren't done yet. There are still two very important steps to complete.
Step 7: Giving Thanks
I was taught, both by teachers and by monitoring my own state of mind while working with Nature, that we should always give thanks. This is as fundamental to me as grounding energy at the end of a rite and is a lesson that I seek to instill in every student I work with.
There are a number of reasons as to why we give thanks, but I believe the most important is that it begins to change our perspective and our attitude toward all of life. When we thank someone, even ourselves, it implies that what was done has value, that it's important. Try thanking yourself for a job well done. It's amazing how it changes the way you think and feel. When you thank the natural world for a wonderful day of hiking, you will stop seeing the forest as merely dirt and trees, but rather a special, interwoven creation which provided you with the memories of the day, with the energy of the afternoon, and with the spiritual recharging that so many of us find outdoors.
Giving thanks implies that we received something, rather than simply taking it. As we move deeper into our paths and begin working with spirits, both natural and ethereal, you'll realize how much of your ability to interconnect with them has to do with your frame of mind. It is a little understood, seldom mentioned area of witchcraft, but one which we will address in this course.
The process of giving thanks can be simple or elaborate. It can take the shape of a quiet moment or a gift we give the energy around us. Think back to the magickal room we've been renovating in these pages. It has changed from a dismal corner of our house to an enchanted place to create ritual and magick. To say thanks, we could simply stand in the doorway, admiring the colors of the fresh painted room, basking in the caress of the wind, the sunlight that spills through the open window and say, "Thank you room, for coming to life." We could then turn and thank ourselves for bringing something beautiful to our home. We could allow our thanks to take a physical form, bringing a bouquet of flowers from our garden in to further enliven the energy around us.
As we begin to be thankful for the various rituals within our lives, we begin to understand the value of each sacred moment. The path I teach focuses on awakening to life, it seeks to teach us to open our eyes to the life we live. If you could give yourself one gift, would it be a car? A house? Or the ability to look back upon each day, seeing it as richly lived, feeling that we truly experienced what it means to be alive. Giving thanks is a fundamental part of this process, which is a gift to ourselves precious beyond compare.
Step 8: Grounding
When we work ritual, we specifically take hold of the energy of a moment and move it from one state of being to another. We have gone from early morning at home to the hustle of the morning commute. We've taken a dingy room and turned it into something beautiful. Or perhaps we've cast a Circle and woven the energy into a spell. Whatever the purpose, we've connected ourselves to the energy of the moment. By taking charge of the situation, we've bound our being to the things we've changed.
This energy has a definite, often subtle impact on our daily lives. Occasionally, we will specifically choose not to ground. There are a number of reasons that we may seek to do this; for instance a rite which connects our sick body to healing energy. But normally we seek to let go of one type of energy, so we can begin to embrace another. This process is as important in a magickal ceremony as it is finding closure when ending a job or a relationship.
Grounding is simple and there are countless ways to do it. After a magickal rite, I often stomp my feet or eat a bit of food. Both shift the subconscious back to the realm of the physical. If neither method is appropriate, I will often say something simple, such as, "I let go of the moment, freeing myself from all but the wisdom and memories it contains."