Spirited (9 page)

To become visible again, visualise yourself as solid, present, and composed of flesh, blood, and bone in the here and now. Make sure you eat and drink something, and once you are sure you have returned to your everyday state of being, approach a friend, family member, or stranger and strike up a conversation.

Note:
Make sure not to approach a friend or family member while still “invisible”—you may frighten them!

Perfume Is for Scent; Potions Are for Magick

This potion is brewed with the intent of attraction. This tonic will draw to you exactly who you want in terms of qualities (physical, emotional, and mental).

You will need:

Patchouli oil

Rose oil

Lavender oil

A cinnamon stick

A small piece of white paper (a little bigger than a Post-It) and a red pen

Red ribbon

One small glass bottle or jar (about the height of your middle finger)

A base oil like jojoba, almond, or sunflower

This potion is best made within a cast circle on a Friday night under the waxing moon. Chant the following to bless your evening's work:

By Freya's night 'neath waxing moon

By oils of love I'll conjure soon

A partner who shall know me when

His/her eyes fall upon me, then

Our love shall blossom from that time

And on this night he'll/she'll dream me fine.

Now take your glass bottle or jar and pour in the base oil one third of the way to the top. With the space left, devote one third each of that space to patchouli, rose, and lavender oil respectively (be sure to leave at least two centimetres of space at the top).

Now take the piece of paper and pen and write down at least five qualities you desire in a partner while visualising each one. When finished, hold the paper to your heart and focus on what you have written. Visualise your paper radiating with pink light and sustain the vision for several minutes. Then curl the paper lengthwise and tie it to the cinnamon stick with the red ribbon. Acknowledge in your mind that the cinnamon stick represents you and the piece of paper your desired partner. Try your best to fit these into the bottle. If they just won't fit, you can tie them to the neck of the bottle with a little bit of ribbon (if you use a jar, you won't have this problem).

Now shake the mixture while saying the following words:

Brew of oils, thou art made sacred

Cleansed and blessed by my own hand

So that you bring to me a lover

That we'll meet and understand

And thus as ribbon joins us now

We shall become conjoined the same

With love's great arms as guides between us

By my own will, this is my aim.

Visualise a pink orb of energy around your bottle as it imbues your potion with your intent. You may apply the oil to your body as you would with any perfume whenever you go out (you can follow the line of your chakras or the points of the Fivefold Kiss
9
if you want). If the potion is yet to work, over a period of at least a month simply hold it close to your heart, envision the qualities you want in a partner again, and recite the above chant. You'll soon come across what you are looking for.

The “Something Exciting” Charm

As young people, we can get particularly restless with a repetitive
routine
. To avoid the static flow, cast this spell to attract some fun into your life! (This spell was originally published in my first
Pagan Prattle
column in the Australian youth zine
Bizoo
.)

You will need:

Dragon's blood resin (alternatively, you can use flour)

Cauldron or other fireproof container

Fire starters

Focus your mind by clearing it of mundane thought (allowing thoughts to flow in and through your mind). Place the fire starters in the cauldron and light them carefully.

Hold the resin or flour in your power hand above the flames, and chant:

As chemicals do meld to light

And sparks of dust would lift in flight

May boring times be sent away

Ahead of me exciting days!

Throw the resin or flour into the flames while concentrating on the limitless opportunity for fun and excitement in your very near future.

Make sure that you respond to any intuitions you may have after the spell that could possibly lead to a night of frivolity and partying.

Romance & Relationships

Is my spirituality going to affect my romantic relationships, and to what level?
That's the question a lot of Pagans ask themselves when they meet someone they like and want to date. The answer is—it will as much as you let it! Being Pagan shouldn't stop us from experiencing what others so freely experience in this world—love, happiness, and fulfilment. As human beings, we are entitled to all these things and more, and so there is nothing stopping you from claiming them or seeking them out. Essentially, your relationships with others, if dictated by your spirituality, will be affected by your decision to make Paganism a big deal. If your partner is making a fuss over your being Pagan and endangering your relationship in doing so, is there anything that can be done to calm the waters of turbulence? Then again, is the relationship worth saving if your partner cannot find it within themselves to hear you out? It's unlikely that your relationship is going to survive if you are harbouring feelings of resentment for a partner who is close-minded. Your involvement in Paganism should not keep you from putting yourself out there. Be strong, wise, and compassionate, and someone will come your way.

I had never gone out with another Pagan until my last partner. Since then, we have parted ways; however, I am content in knowing that we helped each other to appreciate the sacred within the physical. Though two Pagans in a relationship would be nice and spiritually enriching in theory, it is not a sought-out prerequisite for a date. Your spirituality should not be the filter for the religious beliefs of your prospective boy/girlfriend. Move past your differences and involve yourself in the relationship for the romance, the friendship, and the support. You should also be able to freely talk about your spirituality around your partner without feeling scared or worried about what they might think. This is another “broom closet” issue, and it is ultimately up to you whether you want to keep Paganism a secret or open up about it. However, a good and nurturing relationship thrives on perfect love and perfect trust, and if your partner has placed their trust in you to always be truthful and straightforward with them, then you've got to out yourself someday. When that time comes, keep it simple, answer any questions to the best of your ability, and make sure that your partner is aware that you are still you—the person that they fell in love with in the first place.

Okay, so now you're open about your spirituality, and your partner is okay with it. If they are not, then you are probably living through a cycle of bewilderment and confusion as to whether to remain in the relationship or not. If your partner has admitted that they're still in love with you despite the surface tension, then you've caught yourself a winner and you may have to simply keep your spirituality to yourself when your partner is around. However, I am also aware that many Pagans would feel hurt, shocked, and dismayed if their partner did not accept their faith; therefore, it is up to you concerning sustaining or ending the relationship.

If you are currently single and on the lookout for someone to be with, then make sure that you do not make your spirituality the central focus of your dates. It's just plain stupid to sit down opposite a potential candidate and matter-of-factly state “I'm Pagan and you are …?” Names first, Romeo! Do not treat your spirituality as a surface label that constitutes specific laws constraining your relationships with others. If that's the case, then you've become the very opposite of what Pagans aim to be.

Going out with someone is about embracing the opportunity of love, friendship, and beauty. It's about the emotional cultivation of patience and peace and the mindful channelling of the sensual energy of the bedroom. Here is your chance for salvation in the arms of your other half, or twin flame, and by seeking out only Pagan partners, you are clashing with the Fates and tempting the tides of karma.

Once you have found someone whom you have fallen for and vice versa, you can get in depth, serious, friendly, and, yes, erotic! Do things for the fun of it; keep the spontaneity and randomness of life intact within your relationship. Embrace the hilarity of occurrence, and transform the downfalls into learning experiences. Keep things aware, growing, and vibrant, and you've got yourself a world for two.

Sense & Sensuality

Paganism is one of the few known spiritualities that can openly declare its tolerance and open-mindedness towards sexual minorities. For one, it embraces women as equal and complementary to men and considers the Divine Feminine as an especially significant aspect of the various traditions, and two, it does not pass judgement or discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, or transgendered (GLBT) individuals. Paganism advocates freedom and diversity in all aspects of life, and sexuality is by no means excluded.

As a gay Pagan myself, I can attest to having experienced discrimination on the grounds of my sexuality. I have been physically chased, taunted, and vilified simply because I love men in an intimate way. For the track record, I would like to say that sexuality is hardly ever a matter of personal choice; it is generally something that is predisposed. Whether this owes to genetics or not, I cannot say; however, there are many interesting studies that experiment with the various theories regarding the origin and derivation of one's sexual nature.

I'd like to think that the Pagan community is one of the safest places to be open about sexuality, and in my experience it has been! However, simply because someone is Pagan does not necessarily mean that the individual will feel kindly towards those who identify as GLBT. There is prejudice everywhere. For this reason, I suggest discretion (not cowardice) and confidence rather than confrontation.

There is ample evidence to suggest that homosexuality and gender illusionism were considered sacred by the ancients. In the classical Hellenic world, homosexual relationships between older men and younger boys were socially acceptable, as this reflected a paradigm within the myth of Zeus and his beloved cupbearer and youth Ganymede and Apollo and his beautiful Hyakinthos, who was transformed into the hyacinth flower after he was killed by a jealous Zephyros (god of the west wind). The Amazonians tolerated a women-only society and refused male infants at birth. These warrior women were said to cut off their right breasts so that accuracy with the bow was heightened. Sappho, one of history's first celebrated female poets, hailed from the isle of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea where the current-day term
lesbian
is derived from. Women were often featured as the intimate subjects of her poetry. Androgyny, or the fusion of both male and female aspects to create an asexual or bisexual being, was a prime alchemical status to aspire to. Many considered Hermaphroditos, the son of Aphrodite and Hermes, the embodiment of the intricacies of the natural world—the complementary co-existence and mutual marriage between the sexes.

The sacred Hieros Gamos (Great Marriage) was not and is not an institution for heterosexuality over any other form of sexual expression but the metaphorical symbol for the union of love between two complementary forces, a dynamic that is marked by projection (traditionally masculine) and reception (traditionally feminine), alternating patterns that stir the creative channels. Remember, we all comprise within our psyches masculine and feminine aspects, and these have nothing to do with physical gender. Our bodies are one thing, but our spirits are another thing completely! It is important to raise consciousness to the level where all life is as it is, and is not impeded by the seductive
coercion
of the illusory forces at play.

Men may love men as women love men and as women love women in whichever way they choose to do so. The fact that there exist in this world organisations and groups of people that hold deep-set prejudices against GBLT-identified individuals indicates that fear is liable to assume the form of ignorance at the get-go. Conservative Christians, right-wing political parties, and fascist organisations (e.g., the Ku Klux Klan) all claim that their love for the social norm—defined by a narrowly prescribed field of a Western paradigm—is their reason for and behind their hatred for particular groups of people. I say it is hypocrisy to uphold a symbol of universal love and divine truth (e.g., Christ), as so many of these organisations do, whilst also engendering bigotry, intolerance, and discrimination.

It is a scientific fact that without varying and contrasting factors, the evolutionary progression of life would stagnate and deteriorate. At their core, Pagan values reflect the beauty of Cosmos and the necessity of Chaos, two forces that are both, in and of themselves, positive and perfect. Remember that to draw parallels between two things is to reveal the quality of the unifying connection that strengthens the ultimate relationship—both Pagans and GBLT individuals have lived the closeted life once (sometimes twice) before.