sylvan traditions

SYLVAN

WICCA /SHAMANISM

LESSON 9C

Lesson Nine: The Deities (Part 3)

Within much of Wicca and modern Witchcraft, the God is considered to be a

duality,

the embodiment of both darkness and light. Part of the reason for this is

his association

with the sun. If we look back to our lesson on the Goddess, we'll

remember that each of

her phases (Maiden, Mother, and Crone) was associated with a phase of the

moon. As

the moon waxed and waned, the lunar energy cycling from one focus to the

next, so too

did her phases shift from Mother to Maiden to Crone and back to Maiden

again. Where

the Goddess is associated with the lunar cycle, the God is associated

with the cycle of

the solar year. If we use the Summer and Winter Solstices as the dividing

lines of the

solar year, we find that the year is equally separated into light and

dark portions. From

Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice, the hours of daylight are slowly

growing; each day

the light grows a little stronger. At Summer Solstice (Midsummer), the

hours of daylight

begin to slowly fade, the darkness growing until it reaches the pinnacle

of its strength at Winter Solstice (Yule).

When I began to work with the deities, discovering their energy through

ritual work

and guided meditations, I connected strongly with the concept of a dual

god, one who

embraced both the darkness and light of the natural world. Similar to the

symbolism of

mainstream Wicca, I associate one aspect of the God (the Oak King) with

the light

portion of the year and the other aspect (the Holly King) with the dark

half. This duality

can successfully be used as a tool for personal and spiritual growth,

something we'll look at a little further into this material.

The Oak King, associated with the light part of the year, begins his

reign at Yule. The

symbolism of the sun (or a sun god) being reborn at Summer Solstice is

such powerful

imagery that a number of cultures around the world have adopted it into

their early

beliefs. It's also the most common reason given for the Christian

religion's association

of Jesus's birth being on December 25th (which on early calendars fell as

close to

Winter Solstice as a fixed date can). The Oak King is associated with the

things of light,

not only noble emotions and love, but also vegetation (as plants grow

within his reign).

The Holly King takes over the year at Midsummer, slaying his twin. The

second half of

the year is a time of magick and death as the sun slowly fades. Mirroring

the Oak King's

association with vegetation, the Holly King is connected to animal life.

He is also

representative of shadows, both within and without us, and with death,

reminding us

that death is not something to be feared, but a natural part of life's

cycles.

There are two interesting concepts to consider, which aren't covered in

much of the

material that I've discovered. The first is the energy associated with

both the Holly

King and Oak King. The first point to consider is that their energy comes

from the same

source. In every myth I'm familiar with that holds to the concept of dual

male divinity, the

dark god and light god are often closely related. Within the material I

teach, we look at

them as twins - born from the same source, at the same time; as closely

related as any two

beings can be. On a magickal level, this begins to introduce us to the

concept that all

energy is the same, that it originates from the same source. From time to

time it simply takes on another focus.

This differing focus of energy is most apparent at the transition from

one half of the year

to the next. In many of the myths surrounding a dual god of darkness and

light, the god of

darkness (the Holly King) slays his twin to claim his half of the year.

Conversely, the god

of light is born as a child, taking over as the dark god dies from old

age or other natural

causes. To truly understand this differing focus of energy, we need to

look beyond the

concept of one god being associated with life and the other with death.

Both aspects of

the God are born; both also die. It's the manner in which they enter and

leave our perception that is useful to us in our work.

I teach that the Oak King, those aspects of the God that are associated

with the rising

energy of the earth, is the embodiment of what I call "being in tune."

It's a concept that is

difficult to explain until you realize that you're actually living it. To

simplify, being in tune

is simply the process of connecting enough with the energy around you,

with the daily

flow of your life and the energy of reality, that your instinctive

responses and desires

bring you to a place of abundance and growth. It's like "being in the

right place at the

right time," at all levels of your being. As you begin to explore any

spiritual path and work

on your own personal growth and development, being in tune is a process

that simply

ebbs and flows with your own natural growth cycles. It is paralleled in

our divine

mythology by the Oak King growing with the cycles of the earth, rising

and maturing as the natural world around him grows and matures.

The Holly King is a force, claiming the dark half of the year by slaying

his twin. Where the

Oak King is associated with vegetative life (which we grow, nurture, and

harvest as a food

source) the Holly King is associated with animal life (which we track,

hunt, and kill as a

source of food). What the Oak King needs, he finds in the natural world

around him; as he

grows, so his environment grows; they're in synch, in tune, reflecting

each other as they

grow. What the Holly King needs, he claims. When there is something he

believes in, he

is willing to fight for it. Where the Oak King teaches reverence of life

and the process of

finding our calling and following it, the Holly King reflects the need to

break through

barriers, to fight for our goals and put in the energy necessary to

succeed.

Exercise Ten: Discovering the God

Sit quietly, much the same way that you did with the observation

exercise

for the Exercise One: Learning to Listen. If you feel it's

appropriate for your

meditation, you may consider lighting a candle, burning some

incense,

and/or putting on some soft music. Make sure that you won't be

disturbed

(the ringer is turned off on the telephone, etc.) for at least five

minutes, but for no longer than a half-hour.

Sit quietly and clear your mind. Your eyes may be open or closed. As

your

mind clears imagine that you are sitting on a large moss-covered

boulder

near a forest path. It can be in the warm embrace of spring or

summer, or

swept by the cool winds of fall or winter. As you begin to visualize

the

forest around you, the God will come in the form most appropriate

for that

time of year. If he is slow to appear, quietly invite him in your

mind; ask him

to come. He may walk down the path toward you or emerge from the

trees

around you. If you'd like, feel free to speak to him in your mind,

but it isn't

necessary. Simply observe if that's all you feel led to do.

If the God appears as one aspect (either Oak King or Holly King),

when

you have completely experienced that aspect, say farewell and, when

he

has gone down the path or slipped back into the trees, invite his

other

aspect to appear. It's also somewhat common to have both aspects

appear

in one individual. If that happens, honor your vision and realize

that it's not

wrong, but simply the way that you view the God.

When you have completed your visualization, thank the God for

appearing

to you and for his presence in your meditation. If you'd like, feel

free to ask

him to guide you as you grow along your magickal path.

When you've completed the meditation, open your eyes and sit

quietly.

Think about your experience. Are you comfortable with what you saw?

Surprised? Why do you think the God initially appeared to you as he

did?

Are there any parallels between the God's appearance and your life?

The key to working with the deities isn't to learn what they are from a

book and then cater

your practice to how you believe they should be. The power of that

connection for you

will lay in exploring how you connect with both the Goddess and the God.

Repeat this

meditation as necessary or whenever you have the desire to do so. As you

grow more

comfortable with the visualization process, trust your instincts and

expand or change the meditation as you see fit.

Within magick, the God is not only associated with the sun, but also with

the right side of

the altar. Tools that have phallic symbolism (wands, athames, etc) or

have sharp angles are usually associated with the him as well.