The Guardian's Grimoire

Number Twelve

~The Grand Finale~

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Playing Nice with Natural Energies

by Estara Korai

Before I get into this topic, I will need to coin a couple of terms. It's very difficult to talk about energies and entities and their effects without conjuring up the dualistic mindset that is such a strong part of the Western mind. "White magick" and "black magick," of course, create such a host of problems that they are known by most people to be useless. Anyway, we're going to be talking mostly about energies rather than magick per se. Most people would use "positive" and "negative," which on the surface would only suggest polarity, but in my opinion we use these two words in too many contexts to use them safely. By "positive," would we mean positive in polarity--active, "yang" energy? Or would we mean "good?" Most likely we would end up confusing the two meanings, leaving us dumbfounded if our "good" energy ended up being so strong that its imbalance was actually harmful. This confusion is so innate in our thought patterns that they have infected Western use of the concepts of yin and yang as well. We could give up any thought of describing innate qualities of energy and describe it simply as "good" or "bad," but good and bad by whose standards? Is an energy you don't work well with inherently bad, or does it have a proper place in the cosmos?

Confused yet?

The terms I am going to use come from my training in music. In Western music, we describe intervals--the space between one tone and another--as being either consonant or dissonant. A consonant interval is one that sounds pleasant and stable. Unison (both tones are exactly the same) is consonant: so are thirds and fifths, the intervals you hear most often in most Western music. A dissonant interval sounds harsh: it creates tension. Not that tension is inherently bad (although medieval musicians called the most dissonant interval "the devil tritone"); you can use it for dramatic effect, because it creates a desire to move back into a consonant interval. Notice also that these terms only describe the relationship between two or more tones: an F-sharp is not an inherently evil note--its effect depends on whether you play it along with a C (very dissonant) or a D (consonant). Music is very relativist that way.

So, I'm going to describe energy as either consonant, meaning that it is in a pleasing balance with the energies around it, including yours; or dissonant, meaning that it is clashing with something or someone. No other value judgements are added. And yes, it is a very subjective way of defining energy--but then, so are all the other options; and at least this way the fact that we're being subjective is clear.

Before you can work with the natural energies around you, you have to become aware of them. The best way to practice doing this is to enter a lightly meditative state, and gently turn your attention outward WITHOUT losing your meditation. (If you're a beginner this will take some practice.) People with well-developed "astral" senses may actually see, hear, smell, feel, specific details of the energies around them and of the worlds that overlay ours. Even without that, though, you may receive intuitive impressions. For example, a long time before I could "see" energy (second sight, like first sight, was my weakest sense) I would have colors and shapes pop into my head, and these would be accurate enough, though less entertaining.

You may also develop physical responses to energy if you are in a quiet state and are paying attention. The most common places to get these feelings are around the stomach area (the term "gut reaction" had to come from somewhere!) and the forehead (third eye). A strong energy may create a feeling like a tug--or if it is dissonant with you, a jab. A more diffuse energy, or less developed senses, may result in a stomachache or headache if it is dissonant. The feeling may be accompanied by an emotional response that is not connected to any other source. A consonant energy or area will create feelings of happiness or peace, of the kind you may have felt when you have been in a very beautiful place. A dissonant energy or area will create feelings of anger, anxiety, or illness. (It bears repeating that these would be emotional responses that were NOT easily explained by other means. However, it is possible that the two would be connected--for example, a very dissonant area might create stress in people, causing them to fight, causing a plausible explanation for more stress. So also be aware of energies around you if a whole group dynamic suddenly starts to change.)

The tugging feeling might suggest to you the direction in which energy is moving in an area; or you might even feel a suggestion of currents. If you are not able to feel the direction of energy in this way or get an intuitive suggestion of it, you can use a pendulum (an object suspended by a string or chain) to help you. This is a variation of a traditional Western practice called dowsing, which was also used to help find underground streams of water.

When working with a site for the first time, unless it is an emergency, take it slowly. Sit quietly for a while, getting to know the way the local energies feel to you. When it feels right, ask, aloud or silently, if there are any local entities who would like to reveal themselves to you. Then sit quietly again and wait for a response. If you get none, don't push, but you can return and try again another day; some entities/places respond well to persistence, if you are always polite. If someone does respond, interact with them respectfully. Respectfully doesn't mean you have to treat them like gods, but neither should you assume that they are yours to command. On the whole, most entities of any sort respond well to the basics of human courtesy: be polite, listen to what they have to say, show interest in their needs, don't be pushy, and so on. Sometimes there are certain cultural differences, just as there are among humans--for example, it is more appropriate sometimes to offer a gift in exchange for a gift rather than saying "thank you"--but on the whole, if your overall approach is respectful and you are obviously a person of goodwill, such minor infringements will tend to be forgiven and corrected.

Again, unless there is an emergency situation, don't attempt any workings on a site during the first visit. You are there to get acquainted. You can further demonstrate your good will as you leave by offering a gift--cornmeal has a history of this use on American soil and is received well--or picking up trash. Making this kind of work-free visit periodically to a site establishes a good relationship. If you are working with an urban or indoor site, obviously, adapt to the situation. For cornmeal and trash pickup, you can substitute cleanup and "housewarming gifts."

On later visits, you can raise the subject of workings. To perform ritual at a site, ask your contact entities whether this would be appropriate, or think strongly about the intended ritual and then feel for any change in the "mood" of the place. If the site accepts the proposal, be sure to invite its consonant entities to attend. If limits are placed on what you can do, either respect them or go somewhere else.

To do a working ON a site, changing its energy, requires more care, particularly in an outdoor site. In urban settings and buildings, the dissonant energies you are dealing with are often human-created, or originate from spirits with a particular grudge against local humans either past or present. Occasionally urban dissonance wells up from the abused earth itself: this is often alleviated through beautification projects and decreased pollution. The situation is different in sites still in their natural state, which belong more to nonhuman entities and often have overarching "spirits" of their own which must be consulted. In these cases, it is the height of human arrogance to assume that you, however well-meaning, know what is best for a natural site better than the spirit of the site itself or the entities who live there.

Therefore, ASK before you do anything. Perform divinations; talk to the site and to neighboring sites; know whether the dissonance you feel is really an imbalance that needs to be corrected *for the good of the site itself,* or if it's just that the energy there isn't compatible with YOU personally. If it's just you, the answer is, stop going there. If there does seem to be a problem that you would like to correct, ask the site or your contact entity if your help is wanted. If the answer is no, back off. If the answer is yes, listen to any suggestions you receive. In the case of an extremely dissonant site, you may be speaking to a nearby site that is more friendly, in order to gain some sense of the history behind the problem and get suggestions that are still in harmony with the larger setting. The God/s of your choice are also a potential source of advice.

There are several general courses of action for site working, depending on the source of the dissonance. Sometimes the dissonance comes from leftover energy from dissonant human activities of the past ("hauntings"), or from the presence of beings of ill will toward other living things. These will probably call for cleansing and banishing type rituals. Sometimes the dissonance is the land's own feelings of stress, coming from environmental stresses including human activity. Here the best course is probably a protection, followed by mundane action that addresses the key issues--cleaning up pollution, planting trees, limiting human use of the land, for example. There are and have always been a handful of places that are simply not intended for humans and cannot be made friendly toward strong human presence. Leave them be, and encourage others to do the same. One example of this is a sacred stretch of land in Hawaii called "Pele's Walk," because it is the path Pele is said to take from her mountain to the sea. Pele's mountain is, of course, a volcano, and her path is the path that the lava tends to flow during eruptions. Some brilliant haule developers decided to build houses there, against the urgings of the natives. Then they wondered what to do about the small problem of houses being destroyed by lava flows.

A traditional, and apparently much loved, method of "healing" local energies involves changing their direction. The traditional method involved driving iron spikes or wooden stakes into the ground at the place where one wanted the energy to turn--I have seen it compared to acupuncture for the Earth. The modern, New Agey approach leans toward burying crystals and setting up astral dams. In my opinion this approach should be a last resort, and should only be done with the agreement and cooperation of local entities. Consider the effects of irrigation, the same principle applied to water. Sure, you get the water where you want it to go, but on the other hand, you affect a lot more area than that, and not all of it in a good way. The place you're diverting from goes dry; entire ecosystems are forced to change just so you can have a good farm on bad farmland. The same goes for diverting major flows of energy, so take the larger view into account before you do something so drastic.

A related warning goes for the currently popular sport of Veilwork, in which the Veil, envisioned as a living and semi-conscious being by many (and as soon as I say that, you should know what's coming), is thinned in order to change the dynamic between the physical and nonphysical worlds. All well and good, IF both the Veil and the site where you are thinning it are agreeable and willing to deal with the effects of your work. Ask them! And then, if all are agreed, do the bare minimum. It is much easier to go back and correct yourself by doing a little more, than by having to undo something that was too much. I have heard aspirations of "RENDING the Veil" and essentially eliminating *any* boundary between worlds that make my hair stand on end. Such talk seems to disregard the rights of the Veil, the physical world, and any beings who find perceptual limits helpful (which is most of them, in one way or another) as beings in their own right. Such attempts tend to do much more harm than good, and someone has to clean up after them if the site is not to be left much more dissonant than it started. As someone who has had to do this, and who has spoken to others who have had to do it, please believe me when I tell you that it is not easy, it is not fun, and we are not pleased to have to do it.

Basically, most of this advice comes down to the simple concept that we are not the center of the universe, and so we have to take the feelings of others into account. Hopefully your parents already impressed this basic idea on you, and we are just expanding it from humans and maybe animals to include other forms of Being.

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Riding the Web: an Introduction to Runemal

by Raistlin

Most people in the Craft look upon the runes as simply an unusual alternative to Tarot, something akin to a Norse I Ching. They could not be more wrong. By their very essence, the runes are an ancient, semi-sentient, powerful key to magic. Their primary purpose is NOT divination, though by virtue of linking directly into the wyrrd-web, they are quite potent when used in this manner as well. Their primary purpose is magic: actively re-weaving, altering the strands of wyrrd. They are not merely symbolic, rather they are living keys to gateways of power.

Everything one needs to know about working with the runes is contained in a handful of verses from The Poetic Edda (1). To work the runes, one must also work with Odin, and it is His story, the story of how He Himself suffered to claim power that provides the paradigm each vitki* must follow to master and control the runes. Odin's name means " ecstatic inspiration" or " ecstatic revelation" --seething ecstasy and that is what the vitki opens him or herself up to in casting the runes. It can be translated as 'berserker fury' from the German wodinas: berserker frenzy, implying a state of trance beyond control.

Let us begin with the requisite verses from the Havalmal(the Sayings of the High One--another name for Odin), line by line.

all of nights nine.

The tree refers to Yggsdrasil, the axis around which the wyrrd-web spins. It is essentially what Kabbalists would call the Tree of Knowledge. It is an eternal well - spring of cosmic power, the place every vitki must eventually go. This is the place the runes are cast from. Within it's branches, are gateways to the nine worlds: Asgard, the realm of the Aesir, the place where the vitki draws his or her power during galdr. At the opposite pole, beneath the tree: Hella's realm, the place of shadow, one of the possible death realms. Here energy is drawn for seith: powers of sex and death. We have the four elemental realms: Ljossalfheimr: the realm of the elves, of air and intellect; Muspellsheimr: the realm of flame and fire-demons; Vanaheim: the realm of water,( keeping in mind that in Norse theology all life was created by the alchemy of burning, devouring flame and raging waters); and Svartalfheimr: realm of the dwarves, of earth. We also have Jotunheimr: which contains the forces of raw elemental chaos and Niflheim, which is also a realm of water, though it is very different than Vanaheim, being a realm of icy stagnation, both the taut, poised balance before action and the murky, unhealthy stagnation precluding action. In the center of the tree, lies Midhgardhr: our realm the physical, material realm. It is a doorway between the worlds, a place where all worlds meet and are balanced, by the vitki. It is a realm where physical and spiritual meet and are animated, given vital life by the will and desire of the magician. (2)

Odin, the wanderer, the Journeyman, hung for nine nights, hung three times three (a number of mystical power) on the tree, His soul passing through the different realms in search of power. Nietsche wrote that " the tree that would grow to heaven must send its roots to hell." Like Inanna descending to the realm of Her sister Ereshkigal and being forced to face the most frightful parts of Herself, Odin hung on that tree and died.

given myself to myself.

Odin consciously chose to sacrifice Himself in this manner. The origin of the word 'sacrifice' is the Latin sacer to make holy, to sanctify. Odin, knew that the only way to grow strong, to truly understand and claim the forces that He desired was through painstaking discipline, a shredding of the soul, a tearing away of layer after layer of unneeded facades. That is the symbolism of the blade. It is a symbol of furious will: will to become, to transform, to survive, to learn; a furious well to power. He surrendered totally in his quest, having the courage to trust in Himself, to open fully to the transformation. He wounded Himself, consciously offering His blood to feed the tree. I have found in the practice of runemal, that the feeding of the runes with one's life essence is occasionally required. Menstrual blood is not an acceptable offering because it is in effect waste blood, contrary to popular magical/wiccan thought. Menstruation is a time of cleansing, of purifying the body, not of collecting and honing that internal power. It is not the blood of life, but rather the blood that would have nourished life. The magic lies as much in the will that makes the offering as the offering itself. runes are semi-sentient, and will occasionally need the energy source, the deeper, more intimate connection with the magician that blooding them allows. Rune magic is all about will.

The vitki must be willing to make that descent. Because the runes are semi-sentient, they will show the wise vitki how they wish to be cast, but first they must be mastered and this is an act of pure will. To read the runes, to be able to reach them at all, the vitki must make Odin's journey---not on the physical but in the spiritual and magical planes. Rune magic is not for the weak of heart, or those besotted by sweetness and light, it is the path of the warrior, one of integrity, courage, and brutal honest awareness of the self and all that entails. To work the runes is to hone the spirit and the vitki must be ready for the tempering. Odin shed His blood, staining the Tree of Knowledge, opening the gateway to the runes and the other worlds; it is by such fearless sacrifice of the self, by looking at every dark corner within, that the vitki grows in power. And, though not a popular position today, blood is still the key to unlocking and empowering the runes. A few drops of one's own blood will ignite them. It is not always necessary, but there are times when it is required. In time, the runes will sing and whisper to the bold vitki, unlocking little by little, their secrets.

from what deep roots it rises.

Odin's journey was his own, experiential, mystical. such a thing cannot be revealed or explained by words alone, it must be experienced again and again by each aspiring vitki. One must journey into the darkness of Hella's realm alone, and the journey may well be different for everyone. There is more than one path to the runes and certainly more than one path to power.

I gazed toward the ground.

Though both the physical and the spiritual are sacred, to access these realms, Odin had to reach a state akin to sensory deprivation. It was necessary to move beyond the fetters of the rational mind and seek the inner darkness. He had to move beyond what the physical body could comprehand, beyond its limitations. It was a surrendering of control, of the need to control and an acceptance of the fact that one cannot control the time and nature of one's own transformation. It was also an act of trust in Himself. Above all else, the magician must trust him or herself, clinging to the truth of the soul like a lioness. (3) It is very like the vision quest of certain Native American peoples and it is well known in magical circles that fasting increases one's ability to move and journey on the astral: it weakens the connection between the physical and spiritual bodies. Odin focused on the earth, grounding ,that most basic of exercises. It is the classic shaman's journey: going deep within the earth, and within the self, to find the source of one's power. (4) Interestingly enough, shapeshifting is often an integral part of shamanic magic. Odin's primary totem is the raven, a bird magically said to journey between the worlds, not only a harbinger of death (transformation) but a guide and guard. As His soul journeyed, perhaps it did so in the guise of His power animal. The Northern version of shamanic magic was called seithcraft or seidhr, and though it was generally the venue of women, Odin was one of the few men who sought out this path of magic as well.

finally I fell.

The original Norse phrase is oepandi nam which makes an excellent mantra. (7) The path of Odin and the path of the rune-vitki is intimately connected to the power of breath, speech and song. It is the magical concept that to speak is to invoke, to bring to life. The concept of breath being sacred is found in many cultures from the Ruach of Kabbalistic practice to the mytical evocation " In the beginning was the Word..." found in the gospel of John. (6) Edred Thorsson writes, " You must first really hear and understand the runes--deep down in the depths of your being--before you can begin to use them magically." (7) By chanting the rune, singing it directly into the web, it flows through the vitki, taking life as it is shaped by the power of the voice and imprinting its essence of the spirit of the caster.

the holy vessel held.

Bolthorn and Bestla refer to progeniters of Odin. And this stanza may be taken two-fold: firstly, he worked with the spirits of His ancestors, particularly relevant if one, you consider that He entered the realm of Hel where the souls of some of the dead are found, and two, His was a very shamanic practice which would involve communing with, learning from and seeking protection and guidance from one's ancestors. It also emphasizes the slow,careful crafting of the will, the need for patience and discipline in the study of magic. Odin did not simply receive the runes one day, He worked for years, ultimately hanging and dying to be reborn into power. That costly mead is the mead of inspiration, guarded in the sacred cauldron of Mimir (by some accounts, Odin's grandfather). Odin traded an eye for a draught of the sacred water and this too emphasizes the need for careful study. Magic is not free--often it is very much a quid pro quo. the vitki will face Mimir and for a draught of that sweet mead, there will be a bargain. I have found in my own practice that the Norse Gods expect, not cowering submission, but a willingness to argue, barter, explore, and create from Their children. However, first Odin studied, watched and learned, then for nine nights and days he quested, only then was He given entrance to the rune-realm.

verses multiplied where I sought verse.

Galdr-craft, seith-craft, and rune-craft are very mystical arts, and by that I mean very experiential. At times, it is not so much the vitki casting the rune, as the rune casting the vitki. the runes know how they want to be cast, and when the vitki calls up the power, visualizes or traces the rune pattern, and opens the door to the web-world, the runes will show him or her the pattern to sing, they will define themselves to the caster, filling the vitki with the essence of their magic, intimately touching the vitki's soul. In doing so, they will ultimately reveal more and more of themselves. Once that door to power is opened, learning flows forth and all the vitki need do is accept it. I have also found, that Odin takes and intimate interest in rune-vitki. I have often been possessed, or 'ridden' as the voudou tradition would call it, during a casting (the order I belong to trains it's clergy in accepting Divine possession) and at times He will guide my hands and open doors to greater knowledge. Galdr-craft is just as shamanic as seith, the difference being that in galdr, the power is being drawn from Asgard, in seith (at least when working through Loki) the power is drawn from Hel. Actually the two go hand in hand. the word 'galdr' is drawn from the Old Norse word gala which means 'to crow' or 'to shriek".In seidhr, the trance is often induced by opening to the rune or spirit energies and allowing kennings, or chants to form and flow from the throat, guiding the consciousness deeper into the shadowy worlds of power. (8)

wisdom of Odin.

Because it is so experiential, there is constant room for experimentation and invention. The runes are capable of nearly any transformation and may reveal themselves quite differently to each vitki. Odin is the guide through the perils of the Tree. Learning to adequately cast the runes is an exercise of the mind, will and heart. I demands constant study, constant attention. One must study the old lore for clues as to how to progress, and one must learn from the spirits of those who passed before. During a galdr-casting, I was once given a vision of the souls of vitki who followed in Odin's footsteps hovering in the flaming leaves of the World-Tree, the Tree of sacrifice and whispering their secrets to Him (and to any bold enough to hang as He did). A mage's soul is forged in the crucible of his magic. (9) That above all else is the lesson of the Tree: the one who claims the power is very different from the one who began the quest. Magic changes a person, it purifies, strips away the inessential from the soul. It becomes an obsession, a passion and to truly claim any true degree of power, the vitki must be willing to sacrifice. The physical world is never the same to one who has gazed and walked the wyrrd realm.

I made some myself.

The runes are very elemental in nature, yet they are birthed from the ream wherein the world tree sits. One must be ready to travel to the other worlds upon the tree in seeking their power. I have also seen Yggsdrasil in Svartalfheimr, though I have never read an account of this anywhere, occasionally, I See the roots of the tree, journeying through that realm. Runes are birthed in darkness and there is a need to seek out the earth and her various realms when learning of them. A deep understanding of the power and nature of the magical elements will only increase one's understanding of the runes, for at their essential nature, they are birthed from the alchemy of balance between the elements, enlivened by the heart of the vitki.

These are the keys to using the runes, the various methods of casting them. They may be carved into wood, drawn on parchment and stained with blood. They may be cast for divination, though reading also refers to knowing which to cast. As Balzac wrote, " Power is not revealed by striking hard or striking often but in striking true." Do you know how to work the web, where to focus the magic, and do you know where to draw the power to feed the casting from? Do you know how to gain the help of Odin and the Gods? Do you know how to call the rune-power into you, and how to harness and use it? Do you know when to submit and when to seize control? Do you know how to use them to open the gates to the worlds, controlling the entities found in the lower ones? Do you know how to summon forth the power, how to bind spirits, and do you know exactly what you are willing to give of yourself to do so? And most importantly, are you strong enough to withstand the giving?

These are the things the vitki must learn, must internalize through painstaking effort, study and often through trial and error.

where He rose up when He returned.

All rune magic is about balance: balance within the vitki's personal wyrrd, balance of elemental forces, and balance of power given and received. The vitki must know when and what to cast. Power is precious and should not be wasted. Also, the giving of a gift demands return, know why power is being offered, have no doubts in the casting of the magic. Know, however, that the casting will take something of the self. No magic is passionless, or without cost. No effective magic, that is.

The Witches Rede has absolutely nothing to do with magic. I will say this again: the witches rede is a statement of ethics along the same lines as " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The rede is extremely simplistic, and from the magician's stand-point painfully naive. Magic is power, power is neither good nor evil as the intent lies in the heart of the magician. That is not to say that the Rede isn't an admirable guide for ethical conduct, it is; however that is a realm not of magic but of ethics and religious philosophy.

The energy that we put out definitely will affect our wyrrd, but it is the common sense duty of the magician to give thought to balancing that wyrrd out. And there are ways to do this even after calling down the blackest of curses. As I noted earlier, there is a price for all magic and one must be absolutely sure one is willing to pay. There are times when a well-placed curse is the right and just thing to do, and to remain passive would bring greater imbalance to one's thread than to act. In such a case, no harm will befall the caster provided they cast their spells correctly. Strength is no sin. And there are times when sins of omission are greater than sins of commission. A magician should not have to have someone looking over his or her shoulder weighing the ethics of each spell-- if one is that afraid of the consequences of magic, then he shouldn't be working it in the first place. The three-fold law is nonsense and often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as the magi yields to superstitious fear. There is a law of magic that I call the law of negative rebound which states that if the person targeted by the magic is stronger or better shielded than the person casting it, one of two things may happen: A) the magic will strike the person closest to the target, or the material situation where they are weakest, or B) the magic will rebound and hit the caster. Obviously common sense dictates, know your abilities, and use good judgement. There are precious few people I personally would waste time or magic on.

One powerful meditation symbol for the rune-vitki is the Valknot, the Knot of Odin. This is a series of three triangles overlaying overlaying each other. It is an extremely powerful symbol and an extremely mystical one. On one level, it represents one who is dedicated to Odin, to be used and claimed as and when He sees fit. (10) On another level, it represents both the wound of Odin's spear, where He blooded Himself upon the tree and the worlds of mind/emotion, magic/spirit and physicality. It is also by its number three a reminder of the nine days and nights of His seeking. It is a symbol both of His sacrifice and of our goal and journey. It makes an excellent visual mandala on which to meditate.

There are several ways to learn the runes. It is not enough just to memorize meanings from a book, though that is not a bad place to start (in conjunction with experimental work), the vitki must internalize the runes. I would recommend studying Freya Aswynn's Northern Mysteries and Magic (formerly titled Leaves of Yggsdrasil) since it is a fairly accessible primer of rune lore. It is best to make one's own set of runes to study with, but there are several excellent decks of rune cards on the market which are excellent for meditative purposes should this prove impossible.

The first exercise should be done, before ever opening a book on runes (and it then should be repeated after the runes are learned. Actually, it's not a bad idea to repeat this one from time to time over the course of one's study, the results can be enlightening.). The exercise runs thusly:

Choose a rune. Center yourself, clearing your mind of all outside influences. As you gaze at the rune, take note of any images, thoughts, feelings, even smells or sounds that come to your mind. Spend about ten minutes on the rune then write down everything that came to you. This will, in time, be your own personal notebook of runic correspondences. At times, when gazing into the rune, it is possible to enter a deep trance and actually access the wyrrd realms through the image of the rune. Eventually, the vitki needs neither images nor even voice, the rune is cast from silent will itself; the song and voice of that will echoing on the wyrrd plane. The second exercise, after the first has been completed at least once, and the basics of the runes academically learned, is to begin galdr. Now it is of utmost importance to enter into this with no preconceived expectations of how the rune should be cast: they will reveal themselves during the course of the casting, often in unexpected ways. During magic, know why you are casting them, and hold that intent with will and mind, but allow the images and chant to unfold as the rune will lead. For this exercise, also center and ground. Choose a rune and visualize its image forming in front of you. If your Sight isn't particularly strong, Feel it forming there. Begin to chant, starting with it's name. This may feel a little silly at first, but eventually the rune will guide the chanting. The point of this chanting isn't to sound pretty or elegant, but to raise power and open magical doorways. Remember that the meaning of galdr is 'to crow' and often that's exactly what it sounds like! As you chant, allow images, thoughts and feelings to form in your mind and work those images into the chant. Basically, sing what you see, always returning to the rune name when the images falter. After ten or fifteen minutes, ground the energy (were this an actual magical casting, that energy would be sent along the wyrrd web, which in time every vitki learns to see, read and manipulate), ground yourself and write down everything you remember about the experience. If you actually managed to access the web worlds, your eyes may feel a bit odd and unfocused. That is normal, the vision takes a bit of time to adjust again to the physical world. You were essentially using your third eye and it's a bit jolting to switch to the physical ones again! The important thing is to be patient with yourself. The runes will not reveal themselves in their entirety even after years of study, it is an ongoing journey, an ongoing process of probing the endless faceted depths of each and every rune. Give it time and practice without fear and with full concentration. It should be noted that in time, rune casting can be a very kinetic experience.

Those two exercises, as simple as they seem, will, with a concentrated course of study provide the basics of rune magic. It is important to read as much as possible, but pick and choose what knowledge is kept: let your own experience be your guide. There are many paths to power, and the runes have many faces. In time, just as everyone has totem animal guides, you may discover that you have acquired a personal rune. Treasure this, for this rune may be used to augment or refresh one's personal power reservoirs.

This is the first of many articles on rune magic. The journey begins with Odin, but Loki and Freya each play Their parts. The path to mastery of the runes is a life long process. It will hone the spirit and make manifest the will. It is not a path for the frivolous or the hedonistic. Runes contain the raw energy, the raw forces of creation/destruction, the key to the forces that link us together, down to the smallest atom. It is only by the studied, controlled will of the vitki, a will forged in pain and frustration and sacrifice that such power is transmuted to a finely focused tool of creative manifestation. Endurance and patience are the keys.

Notes:

1. Poems of the Elder Edda, Terry, Patricia (translator). University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.

2. Northern Magic, Thorrson, Edred. Llewellyn Publications, 1998.

3. With Roots in Heaven, Fierstone, Tirzah. Viking Press, 1998.

4. Way of the Shaman, Harner, Michael. HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.

5. Rune Might, Thorsson, Edred. Llewellyn Publications, 1989.

6. The NIV Student Bible, Zondervan Publishing House, 1996.

7. Northern Magic, Thorsson, Edred. Llewellyn Publications, 1998.

8. Seidhr - Seith - Sejd, by Sir Megrez (an on line article that, to my knowledge, has since been removed.)

9. Soulforge, Weiss, Margaret. TSR, Inc., 1998.

10. Northern Mysteries and Magic, Aswynn, Freya. Llewellyn Publications, 1998.

11. Using the Runes, Cooper, Jason. Aquarian Press, 1989.

12. Northern Mysteries and Magic, Aswynn, Freya. Llewellyn Publications, 1998.

Grimoire contents Article contents

Lore of the Set of 5 Tablets

by Shadewolf

The Set of 5 Tablets is a set of powerful artifacts that contain vast amounts of knowledge. They are identified as follows:

1) Emerald

2) Ruby

3) Sapphire

4) Diamond

5) Stone

They can't be possessed in the familiar sense of the word, they're like the section in a public library that you can't sign books out from (to use an analogy), read-only in other words. These tablets can appear in any form, and when a person is ready to find one, the tablet will appear in a form readily acceptable to that person. For instance, a green lap-top computer would be an acceptable form for me for the Emerald Tablet. The catch - you may not recognize it for what it is unless you're consciously looking for it. The tablets generally appear one at a time as I understand it.

Upon finding each tablet, you will gain new insight and knowledge you had not had before. Involved with finding these tablets is a test/challenge you must pass before accessing the tablet. For every person, the challenge is different. The challenge may be dangerous, it may not, it could be physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, you name it. Be as prepared as you can. As well, the Tablets are never in the same place twice. Once any person finds one of them, its position changes thus ensuring that everyone has to pass their challenge and strive along the path of finding these things like everyone else. No freebies in this quest.

From what bits I remember about the Set of 5 is that you must find the gem tablets before the Stone Tablet, or the Stone Tablet will be useless to you. You are only allowed access to the Stone tablet once, now if that is once ever or once per incarnation I'm not clear on. It is helpful to find the gem tablets in order, but not absolutely necessary as each holds different information. That being said, Happy Hunting!

Finding a tablet will accelerate your Awakening, and greatly enhance your memories (past-incarnation memories, if this isn't your first incarnation. Of course it really helps if your world-view includes past lives etc.) as well as restoring an amount of lost memories to you, all on top of learning a whole bunch of New Stuff. Its very much akin to having a set of encyclopedias very quickly downloaded into your brain.

Pursuing these tablets may very well take you on Journeys away from this Realm of Earth. It was necessary for me to remember how to Travel between the Realms, as well as how to go about business inside of other Realms such as the Astral. Along the course of your journeys you'll learn many things to help you in your training as a Guardian. I stumbled upon a school where I once trained and they still have my records on file! (I'm seriously thinking about picking up where I left off at that place.)

The first incident of the Emerald Tablet I had was a vision of them in what I thought was a dream when I was quite young. Later, I learned that I was actually in the Astral Realm and had inadvertently stumbled upon the Tablet before I was really ready. In this case, the Tablet appeared as a large emerald crystal tablet and I was able to interface my mind with it and learn many things from it. To this day I have a very clear image in my mind of what it looked like as if it was right in front of me. Unlike the Stone Tablet, I've got the inclination to believe that if you can find it again, you can access the gem Tablets again. I've been keeping my eye out for the Emerald Tablet again and think I ran across it again last year - it had changed form, but in retrospect I was able to figure out that it was indeed the Emerald Tablet, it just looked like a computer disk that time. The interfacing in that instance was different but still fascinating.

I stumbled across an interesting article on the net that may be related to the Set of 5 Tablets. After reading it, it seemed to me that it could be illustrating an appearance of the Emerald Tablet. Or not, there could be something else by that name as well. YMMV. Anyhow, here's what I found:

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(Webmistress SharTasha's note: We are looking for the original author of the article below that you are about to read entitled "The Emerald Tablet" to be able to give you proper credit as well as link to your page that this is from. If you are the original author, know the original author, or just happen to know where this is from please e-mail me at katjon@pacbell.net so I can promptly give credit where credit is due. Thanks!)

Emerald Tablet, The

The Emerald Tablet, or the Emerald Table as it is frequently called is part of the Hermetica and is one of most revered magical documents in Western occultism. Hermes Trismegistus is portrayed in art as holding an emerald upon which he inscribed the entire Egyptian philosophy.

Grimoire contents Article contents

It's the End of the Grimoire as We Know It and I Feel Fine

by Estara Korai

As we previously announced, this is the last Guardian's Grimoire that will be appearing in the quarterly format, at least for the time being.

First of all, I want to make it clear that we are NOT killing the site. All the previous Grimoires will stay up at the Five Trees website. They will still be available in the original quarterly format. We also plan to make it easier to find articles by topic.

We will still accept new articles and add them to the site, and we will still write articles from time to time. The Fivetrees list will remain active.

When I started the Grimoires, I had no other responsibilities. I was a solitary and a housewife, and my actual Work was in a lull. It was a good time to stop and reflect, and create something by which I could give the benefits of my and others' experience thus far to other Workers in my field and related fields. It was a good idea, and it's gone well.

Today, I work full time, I am an ordained priestess with my own Iseum to run, I am also teaching for the Lyceum in which I trained, and my Work is in high gear. At the same time, I have started to run low on ideas for new things to say about Guardian work, and what I do say, is often decried as being not universal enough. Of course it isn't universal--but I'm not trying to complain about that. The point is, that part of the reason for this is that my writing, like my work, is verging into areas that still involve the principles of Guardianship but are not Guardian work pure and simple. And I don't always have the energy or presence of mind to write about half a Grimoire's worth of material even then.

I don't want to end up feeding you all a bunch of Wicca 101 filler in the place of good solid articles. You can get that stuff in an embarrassingly wide variety of places already. So, for my part, it's better to do away with the quarterly, and post articles when I feel that there are articles worth posting, my own or someone else's.

Should Time and the Muses later give me more to devote to the Grimoires, I will consider coming back to quarterly or biannual.

Blessings to all of you!