Mystes, Epoptes, Hierophantes, Avukah

י'ט בחשון תשס"ח

Quotes from Ancient Mysteries & Secret Societies:

The Nine Days Of Initiation The Initiation - Candle In The Womb and A Mystery of Consciousness

Just as the Lesser Mysteries discussed the prenatal epoch of man when the consciousness in its nine days (embryologically, months) was descending into the realm of illusion and assuming the veil of unreality, so the Greater Mysteries discussed the principles of spiritual regeneration and revealed to initiates not only the simplest but also the most direct and complete method of liberating their higher natures from the bondage of material ignorance. Like Prometheus chained to the top of Mount Caucasus, man's higher nature is chained to his inadequate personality. The nine days of initiation were also symbolic of the nine spheres through which the human soul descends during the process of assuming a terrestrial form. The secret exercises for spiritual unfoldment given to disciples of the higher degrees are unknown, but there is every reason to believe that they were similar to the Brahmanic Mysteries, since it is known that the Eleusinian ceremonies were closed with the Sanskrit words "Konx Om Pax."

The Mystes The Initiate - Dark Torah

The mystics of Eleusis also laid stress upon the evil of suicide, explaining that there was a profound mystery concerning this crime of which they could not speak, but warning their disciples that a great sorrow comes to all who take their own lives. This, in substance, constitutes the esoteric doctrine given to the initiates of the Lesser Mysteries. As the degree dealt largely with the miseries of those who failed to make the best use of their philosophic opportunities, the chambers of initiation were subterranean and the horrors of Hades were vividly depicted in a complicated ritualistic drama. After passing successfully through the tortuous passageways, with their trials and dangers, the candidate received the honorary title of Mystes. This meant one who saw through a veil or had a clouded vision. It also signified that the candidate had been brought up to the veil, which would be torn away in the higher degree. The modern word mystic, as referring to a seeker after truth according to the dictates of the heart along the path of faith, is probably derived from this ancient word, for faith is belief in the reality of things unseen or veiled.

The Epoptes The Seer - HaTorah Emet

In contrast to the idea of Hades as a state of darkness below, the gods were said to inhabit the tops of mountains, a well-known example being Mount Olympus, where the twelve deities of the Greek pantheon were said to dwell together. In his initiatory wanderings the neophyte therefore entered chambers of ever-increasing brilliancy to portray the ascent of the spirit from the lower worlds into the realms of bliss. As the climax to such wanderings he entered a great vaulted room, in the center of which stood a brilliantly illumined statue of the goddess Ceres. Here, in the presence of the hierophant and surrounded by priests in magnificent robes, he was instructed in the highest of the secret mysteries of the Eleusis. At the conclusion of this ceremony he was hailed as an Epoptes, which means one who has beheld or seen directly. For this reason also initiation was termed autopsy. The Epoptes was then given certain sacred books, probably written in cipher, together with tablets of stone on which secret instructions were engraved.

The Hierophantes The Communicator-Torchbearer - Maggidah Of Raz

In The Obelisk in Freemasonry, John A. Weisse describes the officiating personages of the Eleusinian Mysteries as consisting of a male and a female hierophant who directed the initiations; a male and a female torchbearer; a male herald; and a male and a female altar attendant. There were also numerous minor officials. He states that, according to Porphyry, the hierophant represents Plato's Demiurgus, or Creator of the world; the torch bearer, the Sun; the altar man, the Moon; the herald, Hermes, or Mercury; and the other officials, minor stars. From the records available, a number of strange and apparently supernatural phenomena accompanied the rituals. Many initiates claim to have actually seen the living gods themselves. Whether this was the result of religious ecstasy or the actual cooperation of invisible powers with the visible priests must remain a mystery.

The Torch Avukah - Mysteries Of The Flame
"Only the Torch is found by itself ..." Klach Pischey Chochmah 55
From my musical website .. The Torch

when facts tell lies and confusion reigns
when knowledge and ignorance with futility dance
when hope is dying and faith is failing
truth remains

when pain is endless and pleasure empty
when will lies heavy like stone and clarity is obscured
when wisdom reeks and reason flees
truth remains

when the heart staggers broken
with shattered strength and love drowns lost in the abyss
truth remains

when darkness reverberates blindly
and eternity is filled with hell
truth remains

when life is crushing and all is torn, when hiding cannot conceal
and wretching waters burn the naked dust
truth remains

when the pause is pregnant like a rock of hate against us
truth remains

Mesorah Of The River Mnemosyne

י'ט בחשון תשס"ח

My maternal grandmother, Gladys Collins-Faulkner, granddaughter of Sue Turner-Grunwald and Will Grunwald, daughter of Elizabeth Grunwald-Faulkner and George Samuel Faulkner, mother of Cheryl Collins-Taylor and grandmother to Liorah Lleucu HaMasovevet, passed over early this morning of Samhain, Ram Cheshvan 19, האלון full of years at the age of 92.

Mnemosyne was also the name for a river in Hades, counterpart to the river Lethe, according to a series of 4th century BC Greek funerary inscriptions in dactylic hexameter. Dead souls drank from Lethe so they would not remember their past lives when reincarnated. Initiates were encouraged to drink from the river Mnemosyne when they died, instead of Lethe. These inscriptions may have been connected with a private mystery religion, or with Orphic poetry. (Wiki on Mnemosyne, Titan Goddess of Memory and Inventor of Words, One of three or four Elder Muses and Mother of nine Younger Muses.)

As a Mother of Eternal Life and a Mother of Muses, in the pure family tradition and mesorah of natural witches, may my grandmother, as I did preincarnately (described here and here), drink from Achdut, the River of Eternal Memory, the River Mnemosyne, and remember. Remember!

We are One.

I love you Grandma. May our memory be a blessing and carry us through it, to it, the brightening and the brilliance.

A witch is born, and by a witch a witch is made.

ברוך דיין האמת

Red-Handed With Shechinah

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

I've uncovered another interesting tidbit related to my "chance" purchase of some red ochre, my "chance" encounter with a deer which followed that purchase, and my "chance" discovery following both of those that links both red ochre and deer symbolism to Shechinah.

As the deer symbol is kabbalistically associated with Shechinah, red ochre is historically and more practically associated with Shechinah. Specifically, red ochre symbolizes the immersive creative explosion characteristic of the hashra'ah of Shechinah.

Kathleen Kimball writes in Red Handed: An Inquiry Into The Meaning Of Prehistoric Red Ochre:

Perhaps our ancestors painted or tattooed hand prints on their bodies. Tattooing and painting red ochre hands on human skin likely went on for many tens of thousands of years before so called ‘creative explosion’ 35,000 or so years ago.

This ‘creative revolution’ was an intensified interest in permanence generally and in the human hand specifically. This is when our species outlines objects on stone surfaces. This outlining seems to me to be a kind of making permanent or ‘binding’.

Taking all this together, it may be that another historic bestowal of hashra'ah and creative explosion is in the making ... information all linked together and brought down through the intended purchase of a 15-watt lightbulb for the elegantly witchy little desk lamp which stands beside my computer. יה

Light From Darkness

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

Yesterday, before I went to the store from which I returned to encounter the deer as decribed in earlier entries today, I had purchased some red ochre for craftworking. I had just "happend upon" the pigment, and had not gone looking to buy any. I bought it on a gut impulse that it could be useful for my magic-making. So, after purchasing it online, I went to the store for a 15-watt lightbulb. יה

Interestingly, the first color one sees when emerging from blindness or darkness is the color red. The first examples of human art were made with red ochre. The prehistoric art shown here is of a red ochre deer cave painting (thought by scholars to have been created during the Megathilic Period).

Eretz Tzvi

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

In follow-up to my earlier "deer" entries - Spared An Accident and Practical Hishtavut - where in the latter I wrote:

At some level, my nefesh already knew that the accident wasn't going to happen, even though my normal awareness perceived that, had the deer frozen, the accident indeed would have happened. In other words, my physical eyes saw accurately what was in front of me, but my spiritual eyes accurately saw the outcome - the deer would move and not freeze - and communicated this information in some very practical way to my nefesh, which responded by acting as if the (near) accident was not happening.

In this entry, I identify the "spiritual level" which perceived the outcome and was/ever is in integrated communication with my nefesh - it is the spiritual level called "the Land of the Deer" (Eretz Tzvi). Eretz Tzvi is one of the names by which the spiritual level of "the Land of Yisrael" is known.

From Kabbalaonline article, The Uniqueness Of The Land:

"The name of G-d is a tower of strength, through it a righteous man shall race and be strong"(Proverbs 18:10). The last three words beginning letters spell the word tzvi (deer). This implies that the tower of strength is called the "Land of the Deer (tzvi)", within which dwells the Name of G-d, which is the Shechina [The Divine Presence, usually connoting a feminine aspect].

It was no accident that happened last night. And "thank Goddess" was very appropriate.

Ruach Acheret

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

A poem against the consensus from my musical website in honor of Lurianic Samhain, Ruach Acheret ...

wicked, wicked
yet every impulse, every inmost thought
is for you, only you, dog juan
so I rest my case, seeking justice straight, well almost straight
maybe just a little bit crooked, to the nonlinear end
finding you favor, giving you acid indigestion
and sharing shining observations
collapsing crazy equations absolutely looney tunes
with honeyed words iterating from the khoo-khoo rock of many colors
and for our land, one who hears, through a loco-mutt's ears
like a meandering stream of streams with a wandering headache
the song of songs peregrinating through it

The Kabbalah Of Samhain

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

From the Witchvox article Samhain All Hallows Eve by Solaris BlueRaven:

With Samhain just around the corner the time is right for those of you wishing to conduct a Sacred Ceremony or ritual dedicated to beings who have transferred and those who may be trapped in form or consciousness.

After a serious discussion on this matter with Clergy we found there are many beings needing assistance in ascending beyond the veils of entrapment. Most Pagan communities create a ritual in resonance with those departed this time of year.

read entire article at link above

Sounds like raising-sparks Lurianic kabbalah to me.

Related, see my new spark-raising craftworking quill here - Klipat Nogah Quill Pen.

Also related, Samhain is the first night my crystal ball becomes ready for ritual use. Tonight is the seventh night of the 8-night active ritual consecration. Monday night is the eighth night. Tuesday night is the Night of Rest. Wednesday night is Samhain and the tenth night of the consecration, when my crystal ball is ritually complete.

Practical Hishtavut

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

A comment by Fairiegodmother on my livejournal regarding my near-accident experience with a deer stirred me toward recognizing that, other than noting the actual occurrence of the event, I was not physically, emotionally or mentally discombobulated by almost hitting a deer last night.

Concerning last night's event - It was odd, but I wasn't shaken up at all. One would have naturally expected some sort of adrenaline rush or pounding heart or some kind of physical reaction to the emergency - like one usually gets in situations like this - but that didn't happen, at all. I was clear and calm through the whole thing, as if it was not happening. No beating heart. No increased respirations. No exclamation of the emotions or mind. No panic reaction. Nothing. Odd.

I was calm through the near accident as if it was not happening. The accident didn't happen.

At some level, my nefesh already knew that the accident wasn't going to happen, even though my normal awareness perceived that, had the deer frozen, the accident indeed would have happened (see link). In other words, my physical eyes saw accurately what was in front of me, but my spiritual eyes accurately saw the outcome - the deer would move and not freeze - and communicated this information in some very practical way to my nefesh, which responded by acting as if the (near) accident was not happening. It feared not what my physical eyes saw.

The accident was a "not happening" event.

Interesting.

Local Witches Should Convert Or Get Out Of Town

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

From The Chicago Tribune:

Community on edge after Wiccans arrive
By Megan Twohey Tribune staff reporter
11:49 PM CDT, October 27, 2007

ROSSVILLE, Ill. — Things were already going downhill in this small farming community when the witches arrived.

Area factories had shut down. So had the local high school. A suspicious fire had gutted much of the downtown. The use of methamphetamine was destroying families.

So when a group of Wiccans from out of town moved into a storefront this summer and erected a sign advertising "Witch School," it was only a matter of time before alarm bells sounded and tempers started to boil in this village of 1,200, about 125 miles south of Chicago near the Indiana border.

"Remember the Salem witch trials?" resident Adam Marganski said. "That's what is happening here."

After percolating behind the scenes, anger erupted into public action last weekend when several churches canvassed the community with literature blasting the witches and organized a meeting to plan further steps.

In a town that sometimes feels closer to the Bible Belt than to the city, churches had been holding weekly prayer sessions for months in hopes of driving the outsiders away. They also had erected a billboard denouncing Wiccan beliefs, proclaiming, "Worship the Creator not Creation."

Fueling their sense of urgency was a ball held by the Wiccans last weekend to celebrate Samhain, their new year's festival, which falls on Halloween.

As more than 150 people filed into the shuttered high school Wednesday night for the meeting, Andy Thomas, youth minister at the Rossville Church of Christ, said residents had a spiritual responsibility to drive the witches out. If they didn't, he said, young people were in danger of being pulled off the Christian path.

At first, Rossville offered a warmer reception. The mayor said publicly they were welcome to do business downtown.

But some churches and residents were upset to see their village portrayed as witch-friendly. They feared the school could corrupt their children.

"We don't want them to go in there and get potions to put hexes on their friends," said Deb Robling, co-owner of a beauty salon on Chicago Street. Robling, also one of Rossville Church of Christ's 230 members, helped organize Wednesday night's meeting.

The high school brimmed with excitement as night fell and old and young filed into the gym.

But when Robert Kurka, the featured speaker, stepped to the lectern, an unexpected thing happened. Instead of leading a pep rally against the witches, the professor at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary delivered an academic lecture comparing Wicca and Christianity.

Kurka encouraged the crowd to try to convert the Wiccans rather than drive them away.

In other words, there are only two options the way the town sees it - the witches must be converted or be forced out of town.

Aren't there supposed to be laws against this kind of harrassment? Apparently, the laws of this country and the will of it's legal system are impotent to protect witches. First, Hoopeston. Now Rossville. A witch is just not safe around these parts from the hexes of the zealots.

read the full article at link above

Spared An Accident

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

Tonight on the way home from a trip to the store for a 15-watt lightbulb, I didn't hit a deer on the dark country road outside of town. Thank Goddess! the deer didn't startle in my headlights and instead bolted out of my car's path when I slammed on the brakes. If it had frozen, I would have hit it. But as it happened, both the deer and I were spared this accident.

Thank Goddess!

Semikhah B'Yad Ramah

With the moon 100% full, י'ד בחשון תשס"ח

just noting connections ...

between the poem-entry Ram Cheshvan of ב' בחשון תשס"ח where it is written:

resurrecting raining drops like semikhah
from the heart of timeless times to come, into time

and the tarot-entry From The Onset Of Time of י'ב בחשון תשס"ח where it is written:

מ'אז implies something advancing "from the onset of time"

The second tarot-entry bringing it down is 10 days following first poem-entry mentioning semikhah "coming into time". The 10 days of bestowal correspond to yad ramah.

From The Onset Of Time

י'ב בחשון תשס"ח

This evening's Hebrew letter tarot reading flows from this week's earlier entries discussing my wand's correspondences to the letter mem and water (Sod Ha-Ibbur, Turning History) and the dream about an ancient decree from an ancient time (An Ancient Decree).

מ ... from my wand to ...

Performed with the waxing gibbous moon 93% full during the planetary hour of Saturn, the 3 letters:

אז ט

מ'אז implies something advancing "from the onset of time".

ט implies eternal life - eternal life is associated with Chayah, Chavah's original name.

An Ancient Decree

ט' בחשון תשס"ח

I dreamt.

It was a very ancient lawless yet revolutionary time. Something catastrophic was coming that could destroy the world. Nothing we could do could alter the course of the coming catastrophe. We had tried to change the decree, but the decree was immutable and beyond our ability to influence any further, except in severity. I had the feeling a cosmic flood was coming. The only way we could save the world and the human race was to flee through time. If we stayed, the catastrophe would be able to draw enough power from our power to completely obliterate human life and all living creatures upon the earth. To remove ourselves from that time was the only hope for the survival of humankind and other higher living animals. It was a very dangerous endeavor for us to attempt, we could possibly obliterate ourselves in the process. Those "bringing" the catastrophe were counting on us not attempting it. But they had underestimated us. We had the will and the courage to do it - to remove ourselves from time into another time.

There was a small group, (at least) 3 of us - myself, my bashert and his friend who seemed like a priest-advisor or something. My bashert was a leader of some sort. In fact, I too was a leader of some sort. (Now that I am awake, our "positions" were similar to the "positions" of Neo, Trinity and Morpheus of "Matrix"-fame, although the time was of ancient days.)

We met together in a cave-like hideout in the high rocky mountains. Oddly, in the dream, it was clearly a sunny and bright day the day we met together to discuss "how to" technically go about removing ourselves from that time and "how to" find one another again in some future time to "complete" our mission. We figured out the technicalities and made a binding pact together.

Then, we were each projected forward in time. Observing from a distance, I saw that we each landed upon different points on the projected "timeline" of conscious reality, then somehow made an adjustment so that we, at some point in time, would end up "thrown close enough together in time" to find one another on the planet and to meet again.

I was then thrown forward in time, as were my bashert and his priest-advisor. I "landed" at a place in time (reminds me of the early 1960's). I stood up, shook off the dust from landing on the ground, and looked around, wondering how in the world I was actually going to find my comrades. I had no idea where in the world they were in this new time. I had no idea the new identities each would have in this new time. I know they are somewhere in the world, but the small details as they have played out in this new time we had not been able to plan in that ancient ancient time. I remembered the pact which still binds us together.

I woke up.

United Jerusalem Trilogies

ח' בחשון תשס"ח

In follow-up to my previous entry, Evolution - City, Citadel, Star, the poem Thirst, A Serpent Song, A Scorpion Tale from my musical website with a picture in it of David's citadel with a star shining over it in the City of David, making the trilogy serpent-scorpion-thirst correspond to the trilogy City of David-David's Citadel-Star of David:

transformative
emerging, deep deep
simply chaos
some sweet madness, an enigmatic surprise
setting shells free
yet wonderfully bound together
as one
with nothing of our own
empty of insight
yet curling with delight, insight
without contradiction, a perfect paradox
riveting, relentless, crazy sane
floating on the feeling
wrestling with the expression
of something essential, something true
as healing flames weave through us
intercalating moments, ever unfolding
a serpent song, a scorpion tale, of complete wellbeing
dancing brilliantly over opposite reflections
as ayins collide, releasing
wordlessly, effortlessly, naturally
a thirst
that splits the endless sea

... dare to be true to yourself ... לך לך

Give Ear

ח' בחשון תשס"ח

In follow-up to my previous entry introducing my new bronze Jewitch star, I note now that bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, typically 88% copper and 12% tin. Like my new star, the alloy from which it is made also represents a synthesis of Tohu and Tikun (greater than Tohu or Tikun alone).

Copper has an atomic number of 29. Tin has an atomic number of 50. The combined gematria of the major elements within bronze is 79 = Ha'azinu (האזינו meaning "give ear"). Jewish tradition teaches that parashah Ha'azinu contains the entire Torah. יהיה

Science (at Wiki :) further teaches us about the properties of bronze:

Bronze is superior to iron in nearly every application. Although bronze develops a patina, it does not oxidize beyond the surface. It is considerably less brittle than iron and has a lower casting temperature.

Iron has an atomic number of 26, the same gematria as the Divine Name YHVH יהוה .

From my musical website, see Tefilah Shel Yihyeh.

A Pluto Soul

Another fun blogthing. Hat-tip to Fairiegodmother.

You Are From Pluto

You are a dark, mysterious soul, full of magic and the secrets of the universe. You can get the scoop on anything, but you keep your own secrets locked in your heart. You love change and you use it to your advantage, whether by choice or chance. You don't like to compromise, to the point of being self-destructive with your stubborness. Live life with love, and your deep powers will open the world to you.

What Planet Are You From?

Evolution - City, Citadel, Star

ח' בחשון תשס"ח

A star comes forth from Yaakov, and a staff arises from Yisrael ... Bamidbar 24:17-18

I recently purchased a second Jewitch star. My first one is made of silver. My new one is made of antiqued bronze, in Hebrew - Arad (ארד).

In the bronze age, Arad was an ancient Canaanite city in the Negev.

In the iron age, Arad became a citadel of Israel with a Temple in it.

In the information age, Arad became a star symbolizing rectified synthesis of the worlds of Tohu and Tikun, empowered with the essence of the Divine Feminine.

Excellent.

A star and a staff (a wand, see Sod Ha-Ibbur, Turning History).

M'Chagim & The Cauldron Spiral Triskelion

ח' בחשון תשס"ח

In follow-up to my previous entry regarding my magic wand, where I note that the length of my instrument contains within it the power of sod ha-ibbur through the word m'chagim (מחגים), I'm reposting an old entry from Craftwork Of A Jewitch which explains the symbolism of the cauldron spiral triskelion within that blog's masthead. Interestingly, the word m'chagim is the letter gimel (ג whose number is 3) "surrounded" by 2 additional letters of "two" sides (מח-ים meaning "bring together into a messianic sea the dark and light faces of life") - this fact perfectly reflects the structure and feminine power of the cauldron spiral triskelion in my Craftwork blog masthead. אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא

The cauldron-triple spiral triskelion in my masthead is a Celtic [1] symbol of the 3-fold aspect of the Sacred Feminine - as maiden, mother and crone. It represents the power of the earth (malchut), shapeshifting (transformation) and the "place" where Divine Inspiration (hashra'ah) and Knowledge (da'at Torah) are brewed. Psychospiritually, it represents wholeness through integration of mind (neshamah), spirit (ruach) and body (nefesh elokit) with one's Divine Image (the 2 encompassing circles - each circle with dark and light "faces", representing chayah and yechidah). פ

Correspondences:

Maiden Aspect - New Moon

birth & regrowth
new beginnings
inception, expansion
excitement, carefree erotic aura

Mother Aspect - Full Moon

love & battle
ripeness, fertility, fulfillment
stability & power

Crone Aspect - Old Moon

mystical power
rebirth & renewal
wisdom, repose, compassion

Footnote:

[1] My natural ancestry includes Celtic (maternal & paternal), Jewish (maternal) and Native American (paternal) bloodlines.

Sod Ha-Ibbur, Turning History

ח' בחשון תשס"ח

Elucidating further on my entry at Craftwork Of A Jewitch, my simple wand looks like the one pictured. I harvested it last winter as it soaked in the snow near the lilac bush that grows right outside the window of the room I had as a little girl (and during the time of the epiphany).

As a snow-soaked water-oriented instrument of the earth, my wand carries a powerful synthesis of earth and water elemental energies. This powerful energy is represented by the Hebrew letter mem (מ, ם). Through mem (see link), my wand has the following correspondences:

Concept: The springing up of wisdom from the well of the superconscious.

Meaning: Water; a perfect imperfection.

Shape: A reservoir, with a slight opening in its lower left corner. The final mem: A completely enclosed reservoir.

Number: 40.

Space: Earth.

Time: Winter.

Soul: Lower torso, specifically the abdomen.

Quality: Love expressing itself like water.

Archetype: Mashiach ben David.

Channel: From netzach to hod.

Made from lilac wood, my wand has further correspondences to feminine power, Venus and again, the element of water. It's magical properties include protection and exorcism of negativity and evil. In other words, it functions to guard the integrity of the energy it directs.

It has no adornments other than the magical carvings I have made into it. Measuring 10 and 3/8 inches long from point to point, the wood of the slender instrument is kept supple by treating it periodically with Feminine Clarity oil.

The 10 3/8 inch length of my wand contains the strengths of the encompassing souls: yechidah (י yod, 10) and chayah (ח chet, 8). It also contains the strengths of the 3 (ג gimel) personal souls: neshamah, ruach and nefesh. All these levels acting with unity as one instrument brings out the Holy Voice of Shabbat Consciousness, neshamah yetzirah, ruach hakodesh.

The 10 3/8 inch length of my wand contains the power of all the letters of creation: 10 + 3 + 8 + 1 (the im hakolel, the entirety of instrument) = 22 (letters of the aleph-beit).

The 10 3/8 inch length of my wand is the gematria (21) of the Divine Name, Ehyeh אהיה.

The 10 3/8 inch length of my wand contains the gematriot of all time – past (היו, were Bereshit 6:4), present (היו, be Shemot 19:15) and future (אהיה, will be Shemot 3:12).

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days … Bereshit 6:4 (yod)

She said to the people, “Be prepared, after a 3 (gimel) day period …” Shemot 19:15

For I will be with you and this is your sign (chet) that I have sent you … Shemot 3:12

The letters of the length of my wand using messianic reverse vision become chet-gimel-yod (חגי), meaning “my festival” and “my turning of time”. So appropriate is this wand for itta hatafsaret, Liorah Lleucu HaMasovevet.

The 3 letter-numbers (חגי) of my wand's length plus the two letters mem (מם) of it's water-earth correspondence make the word m'chagim (מחגים) - "of the turning of the festivals" (Celtic and Jewish). Sod Ha-ibbur.

M'chagim has a gematria of 101 = יצא (issues forth)

A river issues forth from Eden to water the garden ... Bereshit 2:10

So much destiny within a wand picked up one day from the snow.

Instrument Of The Epiphany

ז' בחשון תשס"ח

From my musical website, in follow-up to today's earlier post on Craftwork Of A Jewitch - Wand Of The Epiphany - my poem Instrument:

thirst

heart and soul and might
all of it, one instrument
off the edge
gripped within
simple strokes uncoiling
something essential, something true
crazy, insane
wild
a serpent song, a scorpion tale
stringing through dark dark sounds
of a brilliant lovestory

quick!
catch it!

A Passover Event

ה' בחשון תשס"ח

Interesting bit-o-news in follow-up to my entries, Hidden Treasures Of The Sand and Rosh Chodesh In Gan Eden:

Foxnews reports on another California fatal highway accident:

LANCASTER, Calif. — A dozen vehicles slammed into one another when a blinding sandstorm surprised motorists Tuesday in the high desert north of Los Angeles, killing at least two people and injuring 16.

"I've never seen dust like that," said Valdespino, adding that he drives through the area daily. "I've lived out here most of my life and I've never seen dust that thick like that before."

The accident happened just west of Edwards Air Force Base and at the northern edge of Los Angeles County. The pileup was about 40 miles northeast from the sight of a fiery truck pileup Friday night in a tunnel on the Interstate 5 freeway in Santa Clarita.

Why is this interesting? It is interesting because the fatal accident secondary to sand arose following a fatal accident within a tunnel (an underpass). In my dream of hidden treasures, the sand which saved me from a fatal accident arose right after passing over a bridge (an overpass).

The "difference" and connection is this:

my dream - the news stories
overpass - underpass
sand "following" overpass event - sand "following" underpass event
deliverance to life - deliverance to death

Death has passed over me. Or perhaps more accurately, death has passed under me.

The one over death loves me ... Shir Hashirim 1:3

Kinda Cute Blogthing

Hat-tip to Leah In Chicago.

Prophetic Benevolence In Motion

ד' בחשון תשס"ח

This evening's Hebrew letter tarot reading, performed with the waxing crescent moon 19% full, during the planetary hour of Venus:

טף ג

Taf (טף) pertains to a prophetic "drop". Gimel (ג) pertains to benevolent movement.

Taken together, the reading simply suggests a bestowal of prophetic benevolence.

The total gematria of the three letters is 91, a number of my name Lleucu and of the word amen.

Related entry: Lleucu & The Secret Of Amen

Face Of A Witch

ג' בחשון תשס"ח

Luna the witch writes:

Witches at black masses swirl up vile brews in dark and sinister cauldrons, worshiping Satan with evil intentions. Sloe-eyed vixens and their brothers in sorcery paint evil pentagrams on the floor then sacrifice and torture both animal and human, taking pleasure in cruelty, damning themselves to a hell unmentionable. Conjuring spirits of the dead, not caring whether it's safe or not, necessary or not, witches and mediums break the boundaries of the living and the dead, heaven and hell, opening a doorway for evil things to enter our world.

These are the stereotypes of the witch: conniving, unholy, foul, and violent.

To many people throughout the world, witches, at their best, are charlatans, preying upon the desperation of the weak-minded; at their worst they are absolutely real. These are the views of witches promulgated by western theologians, church officials, and rationalists for centuries. And though for many it may seem that the description above is THE definitive one, a new face of the witch has emerged in the 20th century.

Read the rest of the story here at Witchvox. It's an articulate, excellently written article.

Hate Crime

(Pictured) The Halloween display in question.

ב' בחשון תשס"ח

Jason of The Wild Hunt Blog asks the question about a case in Massachusetts, home to the infamous Salem witch trials:

Hate Crime?

Is displaying a gallows-hung witch in Massachusetts a religious hate crime? That is the accusation by Kelly Lynch towards a home-owner in Chicopee. According to Lynch, the display is a personal offense to religious Witchcraft and not an innocent Halloween display.

The Chicopee witch explains:

To many, it's an innocent Halloween decoration, but for Kelly Lynch it's offensive.

That's why when she saw the life-like witch hanging in someones front yard she went straight to the home owner's door.

"He told me to lighten up, it was a Halloween decoration, I know it's his constitutional right, but I want it down. To make that your only decoration...it's kind of odd, " stresses Lynch.

But the owner will do no such thing. His neighbor says he has every intention of keeping it up.

It's offensive to me as well. More importantly, the homeowner is engaging in a hate crime.

Leaving the witch hanging, now that it has been directly and unequivocably brought to the homeowner's attention that it is hateful and intimidating to witches, brings to light the maliciousness hidden in the original intent.

I think the homeowner would like to string you up Kelly, in the place of his Halloween decoration.

Ram Cheshvan

ב' בחשון תשס"ח

originally published on my musical website, Ram Cheshvan, Evolution

neither dark nor light, walking on fire, weaving
some power of transformation, some seamless harmony
reverberating along pivoting perturbations
perfectly imperfect
embedded beyond the vacuum, yet ever reaching through it
turning inside out, simply running with the night
seizing moments, tasting of many colors
emerging from where, some sweet evolution
unfurling in mystic rhythm, incensing the wind
proto-anomalies and paleo-disparities
iterating myriads and myriads, like many shepherds
rushing into reality, unleashing virtual diamonds of delight
passion dancing with the eternal language
mysterious motions of stillness, with paradox
kindling keys to treasures, holy shells with divine audacity
resurrecting raining drops like semikhah
from the heart of timeless times to come, into time
penetrating every action, stengthening every recollection

Rosh Chodesh In Gan Eden

ב' בחשון תשס"ח

Reading the news this evening, I see a massive fire struck a California tunnel over this rosh chodesh Shabbat when some initial collision caused a 15 truck pile-up. Foxnews reports:

The charred skeletons of at least a half-dozen big rigs peeked out of the tunnel's south end. At least one truck was carrying produce, and a smoldering load of cabbages lay scattered across the pavement.

The small detail of smoldering cabbages struck me as holding hidden information. Cabbages?

In Hebrew, cabbage is כרוב. Kruv (cherub) is also כרוב.

So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.
Bereshit 3:24

Here, at Walking On Fire, I think it is a benevolent warning from a kruv to someone who may live in the direction of that tragically destructive and life-taking fire.

A Mist Rose Up From The Earth

א' בחשון תשס"ח

In follow-up to the previous post, Drawn From Satisfaction, describing my new unique pure quartz crystal ball, I note that my sphere has a diameter of 5 1/4 inches. What kabbalistic secret resting within the mystery of Chavah's original name (Chayah), enduring forever (Yenon), can be understood from this fact?

ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים; ויהי האדם, לנפש חיה

The numbers which comprise the diameter running through the heart of my healing sphere are 5-1-4. These numbers correspond to the letters of the word "hod" (הוד), except a letter aleph is in the position of the vav, making the configuration האד.

האד means "the vapor", "the mist". This is a "specific" mist, spoken forth in Bereshit 2:6:

... and there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

Bereshit 2:7 follows the mist's rising which waters:

Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Interestingly, at the supermarket yesterday on the way home from work, I bought a relaxation CD with beautifully peaceful music and background sounds of misty sea waves crashing into shore on it. I was listening to the mezmerizingly peaceful sounds emanating from this CD as I finalized the purchase of my crystal ball. What an amazing unplanned synchronicity with the sphere I also acquired yesterday!

Catch it.

Drawn From Satisfaction

א' בחשון תשס"ח

And emerging drawn from satisfaction, is understanding ...
וסור מרע בינה
Iyov 28:18

I looked through many crystal balls at several places (even ebay) as I waited for the day I had the money to purchase my own - some spheres were more expensive and others had more visual "clarity", but I chose the one pictured (click to enlarge). I finally made the purchase yesterday. My unique pure quartz sphere has a diameter of 5 1/4 inches, and is blessed with veils, inclusions, rainbows and "depth".

My perfectly imperfect chosen one "spoke" to me with Presence. The stand pictured with my crystal sphere wasn't included (the carved stand I purchased for it is shown here). I strongly wanted a simple yet elegant wooden stand (as opposed to metal, synthetic or fancified).

I also purchased yesterday a lovely blue and black designed sheer cloth remnant (very much with a "midnight essence") with which to keep it covered from a discount store.

I'm almost ready ... I'm not sure for what really, but I feel like all my diligently made purchases are leading me somewhere. Ever had that feeling? This is all going somewhere, very important. I'm so excited inside. I'm alive inside.

I love being a witch!

Yenon

כ'ט בתשרי תשס"ח

GoldaLeah, commenting at DovBear, writes regarding Chavah's name originally being Chayah:

She (a bat mitzvah) also made an interesting point about why her name (Chavah) was not Chaya having to do with stretching the yud down from heaven to earth, so it became a vav.

I don't agree with that. In my mind, the neshamah-chayah souls "extend" into action via the letter nun, not via "stretching" the letter yod. The yod-nun actions of conciousness are distinct from one another (as are the letters). I imagine the "extension" of the "chayah" soul into action is all part of the mystery of the "name" Yenon (ינון).

Dreams "Of Five"

כ'ז בתשרי תשס"ח

I'm not the only one dreaming in a set "of five" over the holy days. My "dream of five" occurred on the shabbat on the heel of Simchat Torah. Judah HaKohain's "dream of five" occurred Hoshanah Rabbah.

My dream of five was structured as one dream in five seamlessly connected parts (like the five books of Torah) over a single night. I did not awaken between the parts, nor was there any break of consciousness between them.

Judah's dream was one dream repeated five times over a single night. Judah HaKohain writes about his "dream of five":

I would not give the dream too much thought except for the fact that I kept waking up from it, falling back asleep and then I dreamed the same dream all over again. This happened five times in the same night.

That two individuals experienced "dreams of five" over this year's holy days is interesting, I think.

Shamir - דיVisions Of The Night

כ'ד בתשרי תשס"ח

Originally published on my musical website, Shamir - דיVisions Of The Night:

first rhythms ever plunge, eternal hosts driven into life
drawing through a field of topographic brilliance
where judgment lovingly flows, churning out whole stones
resting against asymmetries trying, like diamonds in chaos
proto-perception foams, over annihilating operations
and from it, dark bursts of lucidity finely entwine
coarse grains of almost something, almost yet sufficient
the silent rush of yet nothing slides, wildly as percolating pivots
diligently thread through it, casting clarity
upon myriads, hard pauses startle into vision
projecting arrays without mass, strings of confluency
impressing discovery, a shadowy tail-end lingers
between depths of opposite observation
iterating embraces of many meanings like quasi-quanta
gathering functions about the head and, and
spinning spectra, pushing forward, yearning toward home
not knowing, yet only knowing
as some featureless reach edging edges stretches out
the magnetic sweet dance
where divisions collapse like crystal caves
softly sprinkling the belly of the night divine
with bytes of thoughtbare kisses
extending the glorious field of apprehension


related entry: Crystal Caves

Ani Vahu - Shem Vayisa Vayet

כ'ד בתשרי תשס"ח

זאת, אז, is the sod of what Chazal wrote: “Michael in one . . . Eliyahu in four” (Brochos 4b). Understand this.

I dreamt a single dream expressed through 4 revealed parts and 1 touching yet not touching part. Understand this.

Part 1. Hu'alam. אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא

Hidden. On the verge of awareness. At the threshold. Almost. Inside out, outside in. Over the edge into perception.

Part 2. House. Elishaba (אלישבע).

My "husband" and I with our 3 children (beriyah, yetzirah, assiyah) were looking to buy a house to live in. We had just come through some hard financial times. We didn't have any good credit rating built up, so we had little hope that anyone would sell us a house "on time". My husband remembered his friend whom he thought would surely sell us a house. We journeyed (ויסע) to find my husband's friend.

We went up the small bare porch to the door of my husband's friend's trailer, from where he engaged in the business of selling houses. I was holding our baby sleeping soundly in a swaddling blanket. My husband knocked on the door. The friend's wife answered the door, then went to get her husband while we stood on the small porch. Her husband came to the door, spoke in words I could not hear with my husband, slipped a notepaper into my husband's hand, and shut the door on us. My husband indicated to me we should leave. I was perplexed as to why we were leaving abruptly without conducting the business of buying a house.

My husband's friend opened the door, came outside and walked toward us as we were walking toward our red pickup truck. My husband was near the driver's side door of the truck. I was approaching my side door to it. My husband's "friend" approached me. He wanted me to leave my husband for him. I was appalled at the suggestion that I should leave my husband and rebuffed him. He turned and went back inside the trailer. I looked at my husband, we looked at one another (ani vahu) over the roof the red pickup truck as we both stood in front of our respective doors. I had no intention of ever leaving him. We got inside the pickup truck at the same time.

My husband brought out (ויבא) and handed me the notepaper his friend had given him explaining to my husband why he wouldn't sell us a house. The notepaper told my husband "I am in love with your wife." The message had been transmitted from my husband's friend, into the hand of my husband (who read it as he did), into my hand (where it remained folded for safekeeping and unread). [As I write this, it occurs to me that there is more to the "essential message" I received from my husband's hand for safekeeping than meets the eye.]

We were on our own with regard to getting a house. His friend would not sell us a house (ב). We would have to get one ourselves, some other way.

Part 3. Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

The baby my husband and I had was as yet unformed. It had an inverted mouth (chotam hamithapech) with projecting extensions (makeef hakarov, mazon, levush, bayit). Miraculously however, and to the amazement of everyone, our still as-yet unformed baby could talk using the vibrating extensions (ויט) which radiated like cords from it's mouth. Not only could our baby talk in this world, but it talked of and demonstrated an exquisitely brilliant understanding of extremely advanced and complex topics - topics as yet not understood by the most brilliant minds in the world. The truth in our baby's words was recognized by the greatest minds in the world, but the fullness of understanding they did not yet possess. Our baby was an anomaly of brilliance possessing the keys to advancing understanding throughout the entire world.

Our baby discoursed upon space, time, spacetime, how to reverse and move time, and such things in ways no scientist had yet accomplished. Scientists listening to our baby speak discussed among themselves the idea that many thought time could be changed, but no one had actually done it yet. They discussed the impact our baby's words would one day have on advancing knowledge and human development. If they could only understand that being transmitted through our baby more fully, they could make the thoughts of changing time a reality. They waited with anticipation for the day our baby would "form" - to bring down the details needed to accomplish all the wondrous things our baby spoke of.

Part 4. Cloak Of Many Colors

I observed two women, one was powerful and the other walking behind her was her assistant. In a fall festival fair-like environment, a handsome man with long hair (like Samson) came to tempt and bring down the powerful woman, but she was not tempted. The woman's assistant, however, was tempted and went with the handsome man to his place and slept with him. There was no love in this joining. It was purely sexual. The assistant didn't care. Neither did the handsome man. I didn't see the two together, but when they came out of his bedroom together, I saw that he had given her a colorful silky nightcloak. As the man went into the kitchen to fix some food, the assistant used the telephone to call the powerful woman. The assistant "gloated" sweetly to the powerful woman how she herself now had what the powerful woman "should have" had. My feeling was that the powerful woman was nonplussed by the assistant's call. In other words, the powerful woman had not been tempted nor was she "stricken" (the assistant's intent) by the assistant's assertion that the assistant now had something which "should have" gone to the powerful woman. The assistant was gloating in vain. The assistant was the one unable to control her impulses, not the powerful woman. In observing all this, in my mind were the thoughts that the man was intervening in a situation to defend me and that he was a Druid. He was also a friend of my husband. And while the assistant felt she (in the place of the powerful woman) had had the powerful yet totally sexual encounter and had obtained the gift of a beautiful cloak, I knew, by the way she was gloating in vain, that the assistant was clueless as to what the solely sexual experience and the colorful silky cloak brought with them. She wouldn't be gloating soon.

Part 5. Michael Splits The Water

I was with many people playing in the water (מ) of a sea or large river. Suddenly, "in yet behind" the "watery" sky over the watery water, a hole like a wormhole in spacetime appeared. It was separated thinly from the rest of the watery world (ו, made of both the waterywater and the waterysky, seamlessly unbroken) of the dream by a thin sheer veil. Something had emerged from beyond into the watery world. We all backed away from the hole so as not to be sucked up into it or collide with whatever was going to come through it into our watery world.

I looked and saw. A huge movement came through, traveled under the surface of the water and onto the beach, also under the sand. Then, a huge worm-like slug-like whale-sized creature emerged. (It brings to mind a combination of shamir and livyatan.) A Voice in the atmosphere beside me informed me that more like it would be coming. They would invade and settle my planet.

I had to decide what to do about the creature. Was it friend or foe? Did I want this creature here or not? I had to decide what to do. If I did nothing and allowed it to remain, more would come. I just looked at it. I wanted to figure it out before doing anything. I was curious about it. So, rather than do nothing or anything ...

I woke up, doing both in one action.

Vayavo (ויבא) has a gematria of 19, the same as Chavah (חוה). In my dream, I did not unfold the note given to me by my husband. Unfolding the note in a dream, corresponds to eating from the Tree of Knowledge prematurely. I waited, holding the folded message for safekeeping.

ואין חכמה אלא ברכה שנאמר ויברך אלהים את שלמה וכתיב וה' נתן חכמה לשלמה
Sefer HaBahir, verse 3 excerpt

Fire In The Sky

כ'ד בתשרי תשס"ח

Driving to work this morning on the interstate heading east, the sky was full of grey clouds. Yet, for a few minutes, 3 sunbeams broke through, joined at the base, radiating outward, forming a fiery letter shin across the horizon of the entire sky. It was an amazing sight to behold.

As I observed the fiery chariot (ש) with 3 horses (ו), Elisha's experience of Eliyahu's ascension came to mind. I felt like Elisha.

From the JewishVirtualLibrary on Eliyahu and Elisha:

Given his career as a prophet, it should not be surprising that it should end in a miraculous way. When Elijah returned from his sojourn in the desert he ran across a young man plowing a field named Elisha. He took Elisha under his wing to be his successor.

One day Elisha becomes aware that Elijah's time on earth is nearly over. They are walking together and, when they reach the Jordan River, Elijah strikes the water with his cloak and the river parts to allow them to cross. Later, the prophet asks Elisha what he can do for him before he goes and Elisha asks for "a double portion of your spirit."

Elijah replies that it is a difficult request, but "If you see me as I am being taken from you, this will be granted to you; if not, it will not" (2:9-10). Then a fiery chariot, drawn by fiery horses, comes out of the sky and takes Elijah away to the heavens. Elisha picks up the cloak Elijah dropped and strikes it against the river, causing the waters again to separate. Seeing this, Elijah's followers proclaim, "Elijah's spirit now rests on Elisha" (2:15).

Without a doubt, one of my Hebrew names is clearly confirmed to me to be Elishaba (אלישבע).