Friday, August 31, 2012

A Pagan Grimoire

Development notes for a Book of the Court of Brigid.
Part 1: Grimoire Lust
Like most occultists, I love books. Obviously, this is not a modern thing, this love affair between magicians and tomes, volumes, even scrolls. We hear of books of spells and rituals kept by Orphic mystagogues hundreds of years BC. We see written rolls of spells in Egyptian graves from well before that. By the end of the classical era occult practices are being gathered into what will be remembered as the Grecian Magical Papyri. It is no coincidence that gods of magic are almost always gods of letters and books, at least in literate cultures.

My own fascination with magical books (not just books about magic) goes back to my earliest reading. Whether it was the Book of the Vishanti, The Necronomicon or the Key of Solomon (as imagined…) my early enchantment with the milieu of occultism always included the Magician’s Book. My first personal spellbook was crudely bound using flour-paste and lots of it, but it lasted long enough to fill some 200 pages with a quill-style dip pen over my first years of self-invented apprenticeship. I probably filled two more blank books with copied material mixed with occasional originals, until I finished a coven Book of Shadows in the mid-80s.


That first Book. Been through a lot...

Then I discovered typesetting. ‘Cold’ type – strips of photo-paper developed with columns of what we now recognize as computer type – was becoming more accessible, initially because I had friends doing it. I was able to produce a first edition of the Book of the Dragon fully typeset back when most Pagan micro-press was still being produced on a Selectric.

Desk-top publishing took a while to reach my household, though, and I went the other direction and published the pre-initiatory material for our coven as The Portal Book (this is a later typeset edition) all prepared in my own handwriting, illustrated by myself. Thanks to a couple of fans that got some fairly wide distribution in the late 80s and early 90s.
pages from my first Book of Secrets,
in a 16-year old's hand.

Once I had desktop publishing capacity at home, starting in about 1996, I never looked back. I’m afraid that the days of handwritten spellbooks were, at that point, done. The truth is, my typing is, to this day, far from automatic. It certainly requires as much of my attention to type up a ritual then set it readably for a pamphlet as it ever did to hand-write such a thing.

The advent of on-demand publishing has allowed me to make one-off personal spellbooks that just push my buttons. I can now get attractively – even occult-ly – typeset hardbound versions of the rituals I use in solid hardbound books, for a few tens of dollars. Out of this, I have enjoyed the hell.

Part 2: Self-Publishing and Modern Occult Vanities
Evidence of mild mania.
Some of my one-off personal
grimoires.
Thanks to on-demand publishing I have been skipping the middleman and managing my own micro-press output. Because I typeset my own stuff I get total totalitarian totality of control, and a solid percentage of every sale. For that I sacrifice wide distribution. Because I had a back-log of small titles ready to go when I launched I have been able to keep a modest stream of sales (thanks to all…) that allows me to buy other people’s occult books.

A few years ago (about when el bloggo began) I made a decision to spend a few dollars on occult books that were both good hardbound editions and material I actually wanted to read. Fortunately this has been a good season for that. I’ve been very happy with the content quality of much of what is offered, though far from all. After a couple of less-than-satisfactory buys I found myself resenting paying nearly a dollar per page for the stuff.

On the topic of ‘vanity’ press, I suppose the difference between on-demand and vanity is just how much money one’s vanity is willing to risk on one’s little manuscript. Nobody produces foil-stamped cloth-bound books on demand. One must invest the purchase price of the print-run, and get the boxes of books delivered.

However, my own combination of vanity and grimoire lust is making me wanna do one. I wanna… And I have this manuscript.

Having spent a little time shopping for a short-run (say, a nicely symbolic eighty-one or hundred-and-eight copies) in smythe-sewn blocks with some stamping, I find that the vanity prices that had been irking me are probably pretty fair. In order to have any sensible markup my 125 page book would have to retail for $80 or above.

So, my forthcoming thing just isn’t major enough for that, I think. When I do such a thing, and I almost certainly will, it will be for some core text that frames up a how-to of Druidic sorcery, not a side issue, no matter how interesting. I’ve actually been editing such a thing together, but it will wait a while.

That leaves me choosing between various cheaper publishing routes for the item below. Really, In the end I think it will just be a lulu hardback. The good news is that I hope to make available sets of talismans and support items through The Magical Druid

Part 3: The Grimoire of the Court of Brigid
It’s nearly done. I must make a couple of editorial choices, and probably write a few thousand introductory and explanatory words. Here’s a shot at one of those ‘immodest promo pieces’ that have to be done:

The Court of Brigid
The core of Pagan magic and religion is contact with the spirits, from the mightiest Gods and Goddesses to the most common local herb-wight. Western magical arts have preserved ancient, reliable methods by which spirits can be contacted and their aid gained for both spiritual growth and practical success. Because these arts have been preserved in the rites of ceremonial magic and the grimoires they have often been ignored by modern Pagan magicians. Now Ian Corrigan has taken the outline and structure of classical spirit-arte and applied it to a polytheistic, nature-based worldview.

The Grimoire of the Court of Brigid is a suite of rituals that allow the magician to gain the aid of one of the most beloved of the Celtic deities – Brigid the High One, Goddess of Fire and Water, Lady of Skills and Inspiration, Keeper of the Good Hearth. With Her blessing the magician then calls and treats with a variety of spirits of her court. By making alliances with those spirits the magician is able to do a variety of more casual magical works, or spells.

The method of this grimoire combines traditional hierarchical evocation with a reverent and benign approach to the spirits. They are convoked in friendship and alliance, with proper offerings for each. There is no element of coercion or threat, and no discussion of ‘angels’ or ‘demons’. The spirits serve the Goddess and, by her blessing, they serve us. In this way the magic of the Court is placed firmly within the rites of Pagan religion.

The Court of Brigid provides a full system of ritual work, from the creation of the proper Druidic sacrifice Ground to the Three Rites by which the alliances are made, to spells and boon-rites for specific goals. Also included is the full text of the group rite that was the basis of the work. The names, powers and sigils of twenty-eight spirits are presented. These spirits showed themselves to our seers at one of two rites performed over the past year.

The work of the Court of Brigid is unique in current occult publishing – a system of formal evocation based firmly in a polytheistic (not to mention Celtic) context. Let the Fire of Offering be lit, and the spirits come to our call!

Coming for Fall Equinox.





Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Court of Brigid Talisman Rite

Here is the text of the rite done at Summerland Gathering to call and charge spirits of the Court of Brigid to aid in practical magic works. I appreciate the 25 or so people who worked in the rite with us, and I encourage any reports especially of successes, or of interactions with the spirits that might be valuable to other students. At the bottom I post the three talismanic forms. They may take a minute to load...

The Rite:

The talismans are prepared, and each is set up before the operator, open and steady. Each operator has a personal candle, which can be decorated as seems proper.
Find your basic trance, and attune to the Two Powers
Offer to the Fire, Well & Tree, saying:

• Mother of All, We offer to you, from whose womb all life springs. Uphold this rite as you do the whole world and grant us, we pray, your blessing. Earth Mother, accept our offering.

• The Fire the Well, the Sacred Tree
Flow and flame and grow in me.
In Land, Sea and Sky
Below and on high
Let the water be blessed and the Fire be hallowed.
So be it!

Sprinkle all from the Well, and cense from the Fire, saying:
• By the might of the Waters and the Light of the Fire,
This Grove is made whole and holy.

• Make an offering into the Fire, and say:
Keeper of Gates, aid me to open the Ways. Guard and ward the Ways Between as we call to the spirits, that only good may come to our rite. Hold open the way between the worlds we pray, and accept this offering:

• With your work hand (or wand) make a welcoming spiral over the Fire, saying:
By Land, Sky and Sea;
By Gods, Dead and Sidhe;
By Fire, Well and Tree;
Let the Gate be open!

Turn once deosil, saying:
• So the Way is opened and this place is claimed. Let no ill or harm come to us and ours, and Wisdom, Love and Power flow to me through this gate. So be it!

Pause and open the Inner Eye.
• Now let us recite the Charm of the Threshold, to open the Inner Eye:

Between Fire and Water, I find my balance
From the Union of Fire and Water the Mist rises
Let the Mist carry me, and my Eye of Vision open
Let the Eye lead me, and my vision be clear and true
Let my Vision enchant me, with the sorcerer’s sight
Eye of Vision, eye of flesh, let me see clearly
That the Work of the Wise be done.
With the Gates open, we turn our minds to Magic... renew your center... Earth below and Sky above... feel the currents of light and dark... flowing in our flesh, and in the Grove... We feel the Waters beneath, the Fire Above... they meet and flow within us... and from their merging rises the Mist of the Between... Rising to surround and encompass... as the common world fades... and the Sacred center becomes bright... as our Fire becomes the Great Fire... our Well the Great Well... our simple pillar the bole of the World-Tree... and we behold the shining Gates of the Otherworld... See the Mist draw back... surrounding on every side... and be present in the Threshold Vision... on the Edge of the Land of Spirits... whether your eyes are closed or open... the Threshold is before you...

• A short invocation to the Kindreds, with a simple offering, can be done if this is being done formally at the shrine:
Hear us, Three Holy Kindreds, and turn your eyes upon this work. By these rites, by these signs and gifts, with these spirits we intend to work our wills. We seek, health, wealth and wisdom in the old way, and we ask you to open the ways for us, and especially to join us in the worship of Brigid the High One. Holy Ones, accept our offering!

Gods and Dead and Mighty Sidhe
Powers of Land and Sky and Sea
A gift I give, from me to thee
Come and lend your aid to me.

• Prepare an offering and invoke Brigid, saying:
Brigid of the mantles, Brigid of the hearth fire,
Brigid, friend of mortals, Brigid, fire of magic
Brigid the foster mother, Brigid woman of wisdom.
Brigid the daughter of Danu, Brigid the triple flame.
Kindle your flame in my head, heart and loins,
Send me your cup, your harp, your hammer,
That I may work with the spirits of your Court,
All in your honor, Brigid font of blessing.
So I call you, Brigid an Ardhaon, High one.
Receive these offerings!
Offerings of milk, honey & whiskey are given, with the verse sung as each is given:
Bríd thuas linn, Bríd thíos linn, Bríd maidir linn; Bríd inár gcroí
(Brigid above us, Brigid below us, Brigid around us, Brigid in our hearts)
• Prepare an offering to the Tri Cumhachtai, saying:
In the power of Brigid na Ardhaon
We call to the Servants of Brigid.
We call to the Clairseach Bríd - the Harp of Brigid.
teacht, cumhacht, teacht, de réir ainm Bríd
(come, power, come, in Brigid’s Name)
offering of crystal
We call to the Cuach Bríd - the Cup of Brigid.
teacht, cumhacht, teacht, de réir ainm Bríd

Offering of milk
We call to the Casúr Bríd - the Hammer of Brigid.
teacht, cumhacht, teacht, de réir ainm Bríd
Offering of incense
Oh great Servants of the High One, answer this calling.
To you, O Noble Ones, we give these offerings.
Fáilte a chur roimh, trí Cumhachtaí Bríd.
Come to the call, and accept our sacrifice!

Final offering is given, with meditation on the presence of Brigid. An omen could be taken to determine whether the goddess is favorably disposed to the work.
• We come to work our will, to seek boons by the might of Brigid. Give us your blessings, High One, and let the Cup bring healing, the Hammer bring prosperity and the Harp bring the fire of inspiration.
• Let the blessing flow through the Gate, as we prepare our hearts to speak with the Courtiers of Brigid! Let us receive the fire of the Goddess, to light the way for the spirits.
Flame is drawn from the Fire, and each personal candle is lit. Conjuring words intoned as candle is lit.
• We call now to those Courtiers who will aid us in these works. Come to this fire, as you have sworn when you received our offerings, and grant us you aid in all these works. Hear the hearts of these good folk, and heed the signs that have been assembled.
We call in the name of Brigid an Ardhaon, by the nine given gifts and the threefold blessing. By the Harp and Hammer and by the Cup I call you, to come to my Grove.
• Now we will name the spirits, and give the first offering. This we give because you come to our aid, but a further offering will be yours when you complete the work.
• First we call to the spirits who we ask for inspiration:
Behold you a woman dressed in the garb of a crafter, hair bound up, eye sharp as she shapes silver into beauty.

O spirit (Gredda) O Noble One
I call to you by Well and Fire and Tree
Draw near, and come in peace, I bid you now,
Take you this gift, O (Gredda) come to me!

Offer silver. The verse charm is repeated for each of the spirits, using their name.
• Behold you a man, dressed as a herald carrying a book, but bearing a sack of craftsman’s tools…
Micel – Offer metal wire

• Next we call to the spirits who we ask for prosperity
Behold a woman, dressed as the Lady of a fine house, bearing keys and a purse of coins…
Mendahlyn – offer silver coins
• Behold a man, childlike in size, and merry, yet with the appearance of a strong old farmer…
Ceimh – offer charcoal

• And we call to the spirits who we ask for healing
Behold a young girl, on the edge of womanhood, with dark hair, bearing a cup filled with steaming brew…
Slainte Beir – offer cream
• Behold a woman, dressed as a noble bard in many colors, bearing a cup and a quill…
Sirona – Offer incense and add:
We give you thanks Sirona, for your weal
In this our work of magic, cure and heal.

When the spirits have arrived, greet them saying:
• Welcome spirits, to the fire in peace. Welcome without harm or deceit and in the name of Brigid. We bid you to remember your oath, and to fulfill all that we ask of you, with harm to none, neither in mind nor in body, in health, wealth or wisdom, in Land, Sea or Sky or in the places between. By that oath we welcome you, Courtiers of Brigid.
• Now let us open our inner eyes for a moment, and behold the images of the spirits, come here to stand with us at our spell-shrine. See the Three Powers, the Cup, Harp and Hammer, and see the two spirits who you ask to aid you in your intention. Let us abide, for a little while, in that vision…

Welcome again, Courtiers, in the High One’s name. We raise our lights to you, as we sound these words in the Old Speech.
Raise the flame before the shrine, and all intone their conjuring words
We have called you here to ask your aid in these works. Again we sing the words of our intent:
all intone their conjuring words
Now let us turn our minds inward, and quietly speak our intent, as we sing:
All sing “Power of the Spirits” as people speak their intent to the spirits. When all seem to be finished, the chant ends.

 
• So hear us, O Courtiers of Brigid, and be set to your task, as you have promised. So depart now, friends, O Gredda and Micel, O Sirona and the Heal-Fetch, O Mendahlyn and Ceimh, and remember your oath, complete the charges we have given you, with harm to none, and come again at the proper time, or whenever I might call you, and I will make to you due offering.

• Closing
When all is done, Recenter and close the Inner Eye fully and completely.close as usual, saying:
• Let bound be bound and wound be wound
Thus all is done, and done, and well done
And thus we end what was begun.
We have worked a work of magic art, for the good of each and the good of all. Now as we prepare to return to our more common tasks, it is proper that we give thanks to all those who have aided us.
• To the Courtiers of Brigid we give thanks
For your aid in these works of blessing
• To Brigid na Ardhaon, and to the Tri Cuchachtai Brid
We thank you for blessing this rite.
• Shining Ones, Mighty Dead , Noble Spirits
We thank you for your aid and blessing.
Triple Kindreds, Gods, Dead and Landspirits:
We thank you for upholding this magic.
Make a closing spiral over the Hallows.
• Lord of the Gates, lord of Wisdom,
We give you our thanks.
Now let the Fire be flame, the Well be water,
Let all be as it was before,
Save for the magic we have made
Let the Gates be closed!
Recenter and contemplate the entire working, and end, saying:
• To the Mother of All I give thanks,
For ever upholding our lives and our work.
The fire, the well and the tree
Flow and flame and grow in me!
Thus do we remember the work of the wise.
Peace and blessings to all beings,
The rite is ended!

Here is a short text that can be used as a maintenance rite for follow-up at home:

The Home Novena

Bless Water and Fire, saying:
The Fire, the Well, the Sacred Tree
Flow and Flame and Grow in me
In Land, Sea and Sky, Below and on High,
Let the Water be blessed
and the Fire be hallowed.
Sprinkle and cense all, saying:
By the Might of the Waters
and the Light of the Fire
Cleansed of ill and bane am I
By the Might of the Waters
and the Light of the Fire
Blessed in Land and Sea and Sky
Offer to the Fire, saying:
Gods and Dead and Mighty Sidhe
Powers of Earth and Sky and Sea
By Fire and Well, by Sacred Tree
Offering I give to ye.
Prepare a simple offering to Brigid, saying:
Brigid of the mantles, Brigid of the hearth fire,
Brigid, friend of mortals, Brigid, fire of magic
Brigid the foster mother, Brigid woman of wisdom.
Brigid the daughter of Danu, Brigid the triple flame.
Kindle your flame in my head, heart and loins,
Send me your cup, your harp, your hammer,
That your Courtiers may know me and hear me,
All in your honor, Brigid font of blessing.
So I ask your aid in my work, with this gift:
Bríd thuas linn, Bríd thíos linn, Bríd maidir linn; Bríd inár gcroí
(Brigid above us, Brigid below us, Brigid around us, Brigid in our hearts)

Light the candle before the Shrine, intoning the conjuring words, and then saying:
By the Fire of Brigid, let my call be heard.
Oh (spirit), Oh (spirit), let my voice be heard.
Remember the charge, Noble Ones, and aid me to (state intent),
In the name of the High One, and by my magic I bid you
And when you have done as I have bid
I will give to you due offering!

Extinguish the candle, and close, saying:
The blessings of the Holy Ones be on me and mine
My blessings on all beings, with peace on thee and thine
The Fire, the Well, the Sacred Tree
Flow and Flame and Grow in me
Thus do I remember the work of the Wise.

Inspiration Shrine




Prosperity Shrine




Healing Shrine





Thursday, August 9, 2012

Spirit Sorcery

CoB Thaumaturgy Working; Development notes
I’m in the process, with L, of devising the form and ritual script for the Court of Brigid practical magic working. I’ll post these notes and reflections on the effort in hopes that they might be interesting to others who are developing new occult work. This will also serve as pre-pre-briefing for those few readers who might actually attend the working.

Once again, I’m in deep water. Sez my love to me, “What can we do next” meaning what’s the next step in all this spirit-arte stuff. More specifically “What can we do as a festival rite,” she asks. Well, the next step after convocation rites and gaining allies is to begin to use them in practical work. “Well, let’s do that!” OK…

So I’m designing a rite intended to let a medium-sized group of people (say 20 – 40) participate in the summoning and charging of a small group of spirits, for a set of disparate personal goals. No Prob! Yeah right…

Now, my personal practical work with the spirits has turned out mainly to be non-ritual in nature. While I make the pact-offerings at my shrine in (fairly) regular observances, when I need a service I’ve been addressing my allies internally and informally, usually using a mental voice, occasionally aloud. That doesn’t translate to interesting and engaging festival ritual, So I needed… a gimmick! A hook!

Unsurprisingly, I settled on a kind of talismanic work, sort of. How about a devotional shrine for Brigid? OK, but that doesn’t get us to practical work or spellbinding, and my own talismanic work over the years has often been more about ‘energies’ than about the spirits. This remains experimental. So the physical object that we’ll be using isn’t so much a ‘vehicle for the force it represents’ as they say, but rather a shrine to the spirits that the rite will ask to accomplish the work.

OK, so we must determine what sort of goals we will offer. Working under Brigid makes that fairly simple. We’ll allow people to choose between healing, prosperity and inspiration. To do that we’ll devise three different versions of the shrine-talisman, each with the proper sigils, words and spirits. Staring with those broad basic intentions we’ll provide time for each participant to customize their goal and devise a specific request (that time starts right now, if you happen to be one of the folks who will work the rite…). Each personal shrine-talisman (made of printed card, see illos) will be decorated and sigilized by the participants in a preliminary workshop, along with a candle that will serve as the ‘on button’ for the work. Each will also get some sort of scroll or booklet tht includes elements of the festival rite along with the home-game portion of the spell.

Fortunately, I like type and graphics. The triptych porta-shrine cards are laid out, and the scoring and cutting has all been tested. Next step (in no particular order) – what spirits will we actually call upon?

In the two main workings of the convocation rite we garnered two waves of spirit names and details. The fact is that L and I have worked personally only with the first of those waves (having been running like loons since the second working in late June…), and so we decided to limit our choices to those wights for this working. Also, the first wave was done at last year’s Summerland, and many of those folks are likely to sit in on this one, we suspect. So we chose the spirits from that group of sixteen.

Blank shrine-card, before applying
sigils, ogham, etc.
Each intention will be presided over by one of the Three Powers – the Harp, the Hammer or the Cup. These figures are placed in the system as the most senior of the Court, rather in the place that an ‘archangel’ might hold. Along with those we decided to choose two additional spirits from the list of courtiers. How to do that…

We began by choosing a short list of spirits proper to the three intentions. Several of the wights’ descriptions just didn’t seem to relate to any of them, and we ended with a set of 11 spirits, with one that crossed over – four names for each intent. From there we took to divination. After some dithering we opted to use ogham lots, one each, to seek a yes or no answer, allowing for qualitative variance as well. What that really means is rather a lot of ‘yes’ or at least ‘not no’ answers, with a few real ‘no’ possibilities. That was fine with me, since all these spirits had in fact taken the oath to work with us in the first working. A ‘no’ would require a clear indicator.

Well, we got ‘em. We asked first (after a simple conjuring of spirits who had already sworn to come when called) whether each of our choices were willing to serve in the desired intents. Mainly we got yesses, but several negative answers as well. In each case we ended up with at least two spirits who were willing to work. We then did a confirmation draw, determining which sets of two spirits were most proper. Again, we were told no on some sets, but arrived at six spirits willing to participate in the work.

The pairs chosen for each intent are:

Prosperity:

Mendahlyn, who helps households reach financial stability, and Ceimh who ‘brings vitality to forge and hearth’. Mendahlyn is of the Court of the Cup, and Ceimh of the Court of the Hammer.

Healing:

Slainte Beir – the ‘Heal-Fetch’, who bears Brigid’s Healing Cup, and Sirona, who crosses over between the Harp and the Cup, but is quite proper for healing. The Heal-Fetch is of the Court of the Cup, and Sirona crosses between the Cup and Harp.

Inspiration:

Gredda, who gives the gift of craft, especially in precious metals and Micel, who also crosses over, and is both a messenger and bearer of spells as well as a smith. Gredda is of the Hammer’s Court while Micel crosses between the Harp and the Hammer.

To indulge in a little analysis:

The first two pairs are plainly suited to their intent. The third is interesting, in that two smithcraft spirits have stepped up to offer inspiration. Of course, this is all beneath the Goddess of Skills, and it is Her inspiration that guides the goldsmith’s hammer as surely as the poet’s tongue. Those who might want to seek poetic or artistic inspiration in this working should take note. Incidentally, I actively asked whether I could remedy that by choosing another spirit out of the yesses. I was given a plain no, and so we have the set we have.

Each of the pairs is mixed between the Courts – that is between Brigid’s three categories of poetry, healing (and hearth) and smithcraft. There are only two spirits of the first sixteen who cross between the Courts, and they are both involved. It is interesting that ‘poetic inspiration’ doesn’t appear as part of the prosperity charm… I’ll refrain from any conclusion on that.

As I/we approach this, we must bear in mind that all these spirit contacts are very new, and that we know only their business card’s worth of data about them. We’ll give a call and engage a commission and see how things go. I’ve been pleased with the results of group effort so far. By this festival rite I hope to get more Druids working on/with this system, and produce additional feedback to deepen connection with those spirits who can really aid us.

So having determined which spirits would work with us, I arranged the three triptych designs, and did some test-prints. Is the cart and horse in the right order if I then sat down to write the ritual itself? Too bad…

This isn’t a grand work of theurgy, and I intend it to be not-high-church. We may work it in a hall, where the wind won’t knock over our little card shrines. In any case I think we’ll work it with ‘table-top’ Hallows – a Fire, Well and Tree that we can carry in a small box and set up easily. Offerings will be small, in token of greater to come.

We’ll use a very simple Grove-Opening, probably the shortest and most direct folks will have seen me do. We’ve been working with simple, folkloric, rhymed and metered charms at home. I think demonstrating how our big ol’ ADF Order of Ritual can be digested into simple charms will have some value in itself. In any case we’ll get from beginning to the main incantations in minutes. The short invocations then follow a standard hierarchic order – the Goddess, her Three Powers, then the Courtiers.

Here we begin to encounter the ‘traffic problems’ that my design causes. The rite is built on the usual conjure-then-charge approach. The six Courtiers will be called, given their due offering per the arrangement, and promised greater offerings to come when they fulfill the charges of the participants.

What we’ll have is a number of participants, divided into fairly random numbers who are working different intentions. Each of them will be personally concerned with only two of the six Courtiers. Each of them needs the opportunity to ‘give the charge’ to the spirit. No way we’re going around the room to have this happen one-at-a-time.

My plan is to reach the key moment, when the participants are abiding in the vision of the Goddess and the spirits, prepared to speak to their specific spirits. Then we’ll sing. L and I will hold the recitation of one of our simple songs, and everyone can either sing along and/or recite their intent/charge aloud, under cover of the voices. We’ll see…

Each participant who actually does an intent (I’m unsure whether we should allow observer/participants) will take home their shrine-talisman, a candle and some little booklet or scroll with a follow-up rite. I’ll go home with a nice experiment in practical magic with these spirits. Unfortunately we won’t have feedback nearly as quickly as in the primary convocation rites, but hopefully we’ll get some.

Whew.