The Magickal Pen

Happy Samhain! Please enjoy my post for Samhain on the Womb of Light Blog and may the blessings of the ancestors be realized on this most sacred of seasons…

Crackling leaves are burning
Transformed from life to death
The crow calls out relentlessly
To those unseen and life withers
In the blasting of its issue.

The Crone’s outstretched hand
Pulls me tightly to her breast
The air chills at her touch
Long icy fingers tapping out the
Heart beat of life’s pulse within.

The solemn silence of darkness
The pause of silent breath
Power and strength drawn
From the sinewy strands of time.

Quartered path of
Gravel and stone
Flesh and blood
Moonlight and stars.

The wellspring of Earth and
The light of the cosmos above
Host the spirits who walk
Along Her sacred path.

Read more at: The Wisdom of the Underworld

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This lengthy poem was inspired after last weekend’s Climbing the Tree ritual. The Climbing the Tree weekend is hosted by the Tradition to which I belong, The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. This is a large event requiring much planning, so it is only held every several years (the last being in 2009) and provides the experience of walking the lightning flash of the Qabalisic Tree of Life as an experiential grouping of 10 mini-rituals.

The Tree is laid out on the grounds of Seelie Court and participants move through the Tree, walking the paths and having a ritual experience in each of the spheres in accord with that sphere’s energy. I have had the honor of taking on the role of as one of the spheres for the past 3 runs, but never had the opportunity to actually walk the Tree in its entirety as a participant. This year, I had the good fortune to be able to experience the full Tree!

I wanted to share this writing as a source of inspiration for seeing the potential that is held in being a participant in your own spiritual journey. The lessons of the Qabalistic Tree are ones that are relatable to everyone’s mundane and spiritual experiences and the goal of study is one of self-knowledge and growth.

I invite you to walk with me on the Path of my experience of the Tree. The beauty is that you do not have to know anything about Qabalah to appreciate what this writing has to relate. You have but to set your foot upon the Path and be open to where that path may lead…….

I step upon the Path
And Earth’s energy
Stands as fertile ground.

Water flows from
Deeply hidden wells
Fire streams from
Sun’s quickened light
Air breathes life into
Earth that rises and shifts
Urging me onward.

The tool of my re-making
In heart –body –mind
And will is found.

I move along the path
Into the night sky temple
Of the moon where star
And dreamscape weave
A tapestry that tells of
Cycles of knowing and
Illusion’s sacrificial release.

The path is lit from celestial sky
And all clears with each step
Forward into clarity of mind
That holds creation’s intent
Breathed into life from
Library’s inspired great halls.

I move now with mind
Seeking the victory of
Beauty’s face and come
To pause in awe of Mother
Nature’s surrounding gifts.

Their power and wild beauty
Held within my own physical
Form now awakened and verdant
Mantle claimed as Gaia’s own.

I walk with tears of gnosis
Streaming from gates long
Needing the power of heart’s
Release and step out into the
Vast potential of the unknown.

Into Sun’s great downpour
Harmonious center of
Golden strands that demand
The sacrifice of full light’s scrutiny.

I scream into a breath that offers
Up true release and heat rising
From within empowers my intent
As I leave this place of synthesis
Ablaze with strength newly found.

The sun sets behind me as
Sharpened knife and the
Sword of truth challenge
And give fearsome dare.

Tears now flow freely
Reflected in shimmering
Blade of light and what I
Knew of myself is surrendered
To the pointed test of true worth.

From these fires of tempering
Comes new form that will wield
Its measure of might as warrior
As Goddess and as guardian
Of the sacred Great Work of self.

Courage has been tested
And mercy now awaits
What has been purposefully
Broken down to be birthed anew.

I walk to a place of mercy
I stand crowned as King of
My worldly and spiritual domains
The choice of ruler-ship and weight of
Responsibility now mine to claim.

Like pieces on a chess board
Each move affects the next
Each calculation of mind
Brings reality of heart’s consequence.

There is no winning play as the
Board continually changes and
The pieces transmute as the
Players evolve and grow.

Flexibility and mastery over
What holds me in chains as servant
Rather than ruler over how I would
Construct and command my
Worldly and spiritual domains.

The final realization is one hidden
In plain sight and boldly echoes
The truth of free will’s choice to move
Confidently in changing course and
Not lose sight of drawing to me
What is held dear in those conquests.

I breath deeply taking in all that has
Been learned as the next challenge
Awaits and the choice now at hand
To cross the abyss deep and wide.

I step moving cautiously along a
Path whose end cannot be seen
So great the veiling of light and dark
Faith and a silent promise my only guides
As I stand precariously balanced mid-point
Shedding the last of my mortal identity.

Mother’s voice calls to me gently
Into arms of dark black sea softly
Reminding of all that has been given
And what more remains in hopes
And wishes and dreams.

Time holds no false enchantment
As lifetimes flow as one and every
Pearl of dark sea’s creation has
Potential to be the great manifest one.

Dip deep into the waters
Drink freely from their source
Take one dream as heart’s most cherished
And bring it through the womb of manifest birth.

I breathe into the vision of potential’s hope
The path now one of nebula and galaxy
Of cosmos and starry birth.

I move as witness to the birthing of the Universe
The light of my being scattered as seeds
Of star-filled light moving and flowing
The memory of this potent exchange
Holding the understanding of re-union
And dissolution of what is contained in
Body of light and flesh and bone.

From this eternal cycle of cosmos
An awakening of key held within
Human’s birthing light and deeper
Place of manifesting star’s gift of sight.

I breathe out the light of wisdom
And enter the brilliance of liminal space
That blinds me from the child of the
Limitless All that I am.

What lays hidden in my being
That cries out to be brought
Into the crown of immanence.

I stand in the silence
No words or thoughts
No emotions or action
Can articulate the gnosis
That fills by Spirit and Soul.

All and nothing awaits
The next step upon this
Never ending Path.

The journey begins anew
The possibilities change
And every step has been taken
In all of its many forms.

And as the return of worldly
Affairs and knowledge of my
Place within.

I remain steadfast in my devotion to the Great Work
As the Kingdom of my manifest being
Seeks the Foundation that has been created
By the Glory-filled Victory of my inner Beauty.

Beauty that has been forged by my will to action honed
By the courage of justifiable Might
And cooled in the expansive waters of Mercy.

I have seen the fear of my own reflection in the
Knowledge of all parts of myself claimed by the Great Abyss
And these fears have been soothed by the ebb and flow of
The Dark Mother’s Understanding and my Celestial Father’s
Cosmic Wisdom.

I have experienced this and more in my journey upon the Path
Where the Crown of my Divine Kingship shines in brilliance
For all to see.

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“This project is about preserving our past and building our future.
It is a dream becoming manifest that will inspire scholarship and a deepening of magickal culture. It is proof that our community is maturing.”

Ivo Dominguez, Jr., Founding Member of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel

Photo Credit: The New Alexandrian Library, ASW

Historically, we have struggled to decide how, when and where to effectively bring forward those foundational teachings from our past that have served as the cornerstones of the multiple streams that make up the pagan community today. Too often, these golden pieces of our history and information were either kept in the shadows of secrecy or diluted and restructured in the manner of “whisper down the lane” leaving nothing intact that had been at the core of the original concept or energy of powerful rituals and protocol. Valuable resources of writings, teachings and artifacts have been unintentionally lost or buried away in personal file cabinets and collections. Many of these have been handed down to those inheritors who knew nothing of the true value stored in the dusty corners of the attic. We have all heard the stories of this or that magickal tool, painting or book being rescued from the local antique dealer, thrift store, second hand bookstore or being sold on e-bay.

The complex and multi-layered question continues to center around what actions we can take to insure that the legacy we leave to our future communities is one of authenticity and grounded in useable information. Moreover, we want to be sure that we guarantee that these resources are inclusive of the genuine artifacts and teachings of what has served to inform and move us forward as a community and will inspire what will become the newly birthed forms of solid spiritual practices?

Funding is always in short supply for any endeavor that hopes to pull together a vision of this magnitude. It is in even shorter supply for the creation of places of repository for those things of antiquity. Large and established museums continually fall prey to the lack of funding available for preservation of what they already have accumulated, let alone the acquisition of new finds. And smaller projects, in particular those that are religious or spiritually based rarely receive the support they are deserving of. Despite this often discouraging state of affairs, headway is being made in the way we think about archiving and preserving what has brought us this far and some physical steps are being taken to manifest those thoughts.

The New Alexandrian Library project of the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel Tradition is a work in progress that hopes to serve as a resource and home to many of these original texts, full collections of scholarly works and magickal items that have been scattered. Its goal is ambitious, but much needed in these times of proliferation of teachings and books; and the growing alliances between multiple streams of esoteric and magickal paths. A large portion of the energetic stability of these endeavors is dependent on the reliability and efficacy of the past experience and expertise that can be infused through access to the core materials of that energy. The axiom has always been “quality over quantity” and we are in no short supply of books, teachings and protocol of quantity that has never been grounded in the quality of tried and true as a resource.

Like the original Great Library of Alexandria, the schools of Qabala in medieval Spain, and the flourishing of magick that occurred in renaissance Italy, this diverse confluence of practices and resources would result in great leaps forward in theory and practice. The vision is that of the New Alexandrian Library serving as one of the cornerstones of a new magickal renaissance that is evolving more rapidly than we can keep pace. And, the dynamics of its function will be to serve as a magnet for the teachers, leaders and philosophies of many spiritual paths, each informing the other’s work.

Fundraising events generate some revenue, but the fact of the matter is that fundraisers only go so far in acquiring all that is needed just to initially open the doors, let alone acquire, maintain and catalogue what is housed within. In addition to financial support, what is needed is the fostering of a mindset that sees the vision of our collective efforts creating a foundation of sustainability that insures the finances, time, energy and the action needed will be available and have relevance to those who will become its stewards. The endorsement and support of our spiritual leaders in the community is invaluable in bringing awareness to projects such as the NAL, but ultimately, it is up to us as members of the pagan community to decide what our priorities are and how we can ensure that our future generations will have the resources they need to leave their own inspired legacy.

For more information about the New Alexandrian Library and how you can be part of preserving a legacy in the making,  visit us at:

Facebook: The New Alexandrian Library
Website: ASW/The New Alexandrian Library
E-mail: sacredwheel@sacredwheel.org
Write: Assembly of the Sacred Wheel
14914 Deer Forest Rd.,
Georgetown, DE 19947

For more information about The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel, its events and other projects:

The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel

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