safphire:

Go for it Red

PAnightowl:

at least you know how to spell it

Nestor:

that ko --i mean ok

RED DEER:

Merry Meet ALL & Brightest Blessings

Nestor:

are you ready to start?

PAnightowl:

yes

RED DEER:

Yes!

Screens:

(finds a comfy chair)

Nestor:

Ok -I take the door

BankerLady:

ready

SlvrGryphon:

ready

RED DEER:

For those who know me a little or not, By Birth I have been One Who Runs with the Deer By Initiation I have been a Hawk Upon the Cliff

RED DEER:

I'd like to take a moment to cast the circle before we begin. Please lend your own energy to this weaving, each as you may.

Grant me hearing, Holy mother

By North, by East, by South, by West, by North again

Thrice three - let cast the undiffracted circle be.

By Earth, by Air, by Fire, by Water by Earth again

Of sacred fifth - Your children seek to be infused with.

Under the aegis of mighty Athena's shield,

Joyfully we come - among the pillars of Your Home.

Around the Birch, Thee we beseech, wonders to conceive

each for our measure, each in our passion, each help to weave.

RED DEER:

So mote it be.

Nestor:

So mote it be.

SlvrGryphon:

So mote it be

PAnightowl:

so mote it be

safphire:

so mote it be

BankerLady:

So mote it be

Morningstar:

So mote it be

BrianD:

so mote it be.

Mox Llevia:

So mote it be

Moongleam:

So mote it be

Screens:

so mote it be

RED DEER:

Today I address deep magic & I anticipate - even with a potentially lengthy offering - to draw upon but a few threads of the Web that has no weaver. Weaving (spells) is a Skill of which there are many aspects. Semantics, syntax & context are the linguistic foundation. Please know that I do not wield force - I am a weaver. Spell casting is the selection of specific threads from the Web & the reweaving of them into an altered tapestry - bringing to the explicate order a potential already conceived within the implicate order. For those new to the craft, I will not offer specific spells. I suggest that using spells, as from a cookbook, is fraught with problems. OK to use another's spell - but make sure you completely understand what you use. Probably better to weave your own. Be happy with small beginnings - just as you would not attempt to weave a Flemish Tapestry before you've learned to hang your loom.

drifter:

red deer, I don't understand what you mean!

RED DEER:

How can I help, drifter?

RED DEER:

[drifter left the room] Oh well on we go - unless others have ???'s.

PAnightowl:

Red Deer.. please warn that cross weaving can destroy the fabric...

RED DEER:

Thanks, PA

safphire:

Questions after, elder input welcome

SlvrGryphon:

Cross weaving??

SlvrGryphon:

Oops sorry never mind I'll wait

RED DEER:

Cross weaving is the intentional alteration of the natural order - extracting from the implicate that which is NOT meant to be within our reality. Could be viewed as evil.

I want to use 3 questions to set the tone for today's class: What is poetry? What is a spell? Is a spell poetry? I believe that the "rules" of poetry deserve special consideration in the weaving of spells. I don't mean meter & rhyme - both of which are effective but not requisite. Spells operate from a more basic level. Graves states that true poetry is a retelling of some aspect of the Great Myth - the unfolding story of the Goddess & the God, the Lady & Her Lord. Since the Great Myth encompasses all that the (human) mind can conceptualize, any undertaking may be addressed within It's context. Maintaining the context is an exquisite aid to completing an effective spell. Trying to be all-encompassing doesn't help, & can actually dilute the effect! If, for example, you would cast a spell for love - the context should fit within the calendric context of love between Goddess & God, Lady & Lord. Consider the ages of any entities invoked, the minerals, plants & animals involved and the season of the year. For example, when naming a specific plant, consider its context in the calendric cycle & note whether the plant is dormant, in leaf, in bloom, with seed, etc. In a straight forward spell for love, neither the elder nor the cuckoo have much place.

By adhering to poetic semantics, a good spell becomes as a Celtic knot - a seamless, unbroken whole. But how is this accomplished with language, which is inherently linear & divisive? My approach is 3- fold. The first weaving is to craft verse which follows Grave's rule. In retelling part of the Great Myth, the verse itself becomes part of the whole. Through this isomorphism (or mapping) the verse becomes a seamless, unbroken whole - like that from which it is drawn. The second weaving is to assure, before the actual working of the spell, that all participants (human & familiar) understand the intended semantics of the work. Open discussion is fundamental (ouch - LOL) to this accomplishment. The third weaving (the ritual retelling) is to transcend language - & semantics of the verse itself may hurt or hinder this. As the works are spoken, the mind must be freed of their limitations, of linguistic divisions, & merged with the Web. Here, meter & rhyme are of assistance as trance-inducers, especially for the novice. To illustrate that semantics MATTER, consider: A spell is an aweful thing to unleash upon the world. This statement illustrated the importance of semantics. First, I've introduced a deliberate ambiguity - which most do not anticipate.

PAnightowl:

Semantics Red Deer you do mean AWE Full not awful

RED DEER:

GREAT PAnightowl.

RED DEER:

The root meaning of "aweful" (the archaic spelling WAS purposeful) is something full of awe & wonder, or something that fills you with these. Not the "terrible" most of us interpret with. Second, no spell represents something that is created & released by the weaver alone. Weaving represents NOT the creation of force (impudent, considering the Great Myth, no?) but a purposeful selection of threads from the Web & a careful reweaving - or retelling - of them in such a manner as to influence the local properties of the Web. And third, I recognize that SHE creates - I recreate. Again, consider the semantics: to recreate is to remake in the explicate (the "real" universe) that which already exists (a potential) within the implicate order (the unfolding Web). & recreation is the JOYFUL doing of a thing.

SHE has full understanding of our meaning, but a spell falls not on Her ears alone. Working in a circle of friends leads your words to their ears as well. For others to lend energy fully to a work, each must have full understanding of the casting in progress. Ambiguity, however, is not the problem. (Actually, the ambiguity is over there, in a box (LOL)) In fact, it can be quite sublime. Ambiguity simply necessitates clarity within the circle. For example, I begin all rituals with the invocation "Grant me hearing, Holy Mother" Seems simple on the surface. Well, there are multiple semantic implications. I am asking Her to listen. I am asking Her to let me hear. I am asking Her to let others hear me. I intend them all - there is clarity in the ambiguity so long as everyone working (human & familiar) understands the intent. We simply need to share the ambiguity, know where it lies and know for what it is intended. I believe, for this reason, that any ritual, invocation or spell is worth sharing among the circle BEFORE the ritual retelling. I, as a principle weaver, strive to prevent my innate egocentrism from interfering with others' ability to ADAPT to the work & I, as a member of a circle, as a secondary weaver, strive to offer all resources available to UNDERSTAND & ACCEPT a principle's intent - without undue quibbling over my own (egocentric) interpretations of the exact semantics & syntax. In the unity of our disparities lies a true path towards powerful weaving, towards enlightenment & towards the passion of being. The joyful union of friends in Retelling the Goddess (RECREATION!) is as or more important than the actual work undertaken. Thanks for all the attention - let's open up the floor for discussion.

Screens:

{{{{{{{{{{{Red Deer}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} :)

Moongleam:

But what if you are a solitary?

safphire:

Am still digesting (((((((((((((((red)))))))))))))))))))

PAnightowl:

BB Red Deer ... concise and your own light shines through

Mox Llevia:

I agree safphire (G) Great job Red Deer!

RED DEER:

Thanks, and {{{{{{{{{Screens}}}}}}}}} in return!

BankerLady:

Many thanks, this is very helpful for a beginner like myself.

RED DEER:

I'm a solitary, MG. But I still work with familiars -especially the cats I belong to.

Mox Llevia:

I have a silly question, I think. :-} By, crossweaving of the Web, what do you mean?

dmd1:

Red where can I get more info off-line, to help in my learning.

safphire:

LOL have many that own me!

RED DEER:

No silly questions exist if you don't know the answer.

Moongleam:

All I have is myself.

BankerLady:

Just one that owns me, sitting on my lap now!

PAnightowl:

Red can I answer Cross Weave?

safphire:

:)

RED DEER:

go for it PA

Mox Llevia:

Me too Moongleam. I'm also solitary. But these classes have been wonderful in the learning.

RED DEER:

I'll try [to post on the BB]. Also, I and Alonda and Safphire have told others we'd copy the log and forward to them.

PAnightowl:

When You have a possibility that your working towards, like mending a hole in a sock, you work with the weave. If you cross weave your stitches cut the original fabric destroying all

Mox Llevia:

(-- is Alonda (G)

RED DEER:

OOPS (silly G) HOWDY MOX

safphire:

(loves Alonda)

PAnightowl:

so it is when dealing with people. You can't make them do something against their grain and preserve their own identity

BrianD:

Ahh.. finally finished comprehending

Mox Llevia:

Loves everyone from the Wicca BB {{ HUGS }}

Mox Llevia:

So, PAnightowl, it's like in crocheting...if you don't follow the pattern, you end up with a mess?

safphire:

saved your comments too Pa. learned much.

RED DEER:

Of course, there's much, much more - but the real deep stuff is most easily dealt with in PRACTICE, not on-line!

PAnightowl:

No one wants to be responsible for destroying a work of art, so you must know what materials you're working with and how to manage them

PAnightowl:

Practice and more practice helps.

PAnightowl:

Red, don't forget to close the circle

Moongleam:

I've been so nervous about getting the words right. Now I see how much more important it is to feel what you say, in accordance with what the ritual/spell is for. And not to be afraid. afraid to make mistakes. To always try.

Nestor:

We give the Thanks and praise of Grey-eyed Daughter of Zeus for your Protection and Your Wisdom which you have allowed this room to be filled with We ask that you blessed , protect , and enlighten all in attendance and let us have the same in our homes Blessed Be to All. So Mote It Be

PAnightowl:

amen

Mox Llevia:

So Mote It Be.

safphire:

So mote is be

Moongleam:

So mote it be.

BrianD:

So mote it be.

BankerLady:

So mote it be

Freinsch:

So mote it be

Screens:

So mote it be :)

RED DEER:

Thanks, and {{{{{{{{{Screens}}}}}}}}} in return!

BankerLady:

Many thanks, this is very helpful for a beginner like myself.