The F(a)eri(e) tradition has long been sexually positive. Recognizing both the power and the sacredness of sexuality, the myths of Feri often speak of sexual longing, desire, and fulfillment. In one Feri tale the universe itself was said to have been created from the Holy Lust of the Star Goddess, birthed on the waves of Her Divine orgasm. Far from being shameful or a “sin”, Feri sees sex as a sacred expression of our own Divine natures, and at times seeks to commune with that nature, either for magickal ritual, or for other reasons including simply the giving and receiving of pleasure, a magickal act in itself.

Sexual energy and spiritual energy are one and the same, or at least a part of the same current. Likewise the energy that keeps our bodies functioning properly is sexual in nature. When seen in the context of the Feri Three Souls, most specifically the fetch, we recognize this as being the same energy that also allows us communion with Deities and other higher (or deeper) powers, including our own. Traditions that work with the serpent —or kundalini— energy recognize that sex and spirit are manifestations of the same force. The primal and sexual kundalini rises from the base of the spine and undulates upward toward the crown where it ignites the fire of divine presence within the practitioner causing them to achieve enlightenment. Sexual energy channeled to bring about a spiritual result. In Feri terms this is both the alignment of the Three Souls in harmony as well as the full embodiment of the Sex point of the Iron Pentacle, which rests in the center of the forehead when invoked. Together, along with the balancing of the remaining points of the Pentacle, leads us into that state known in Feri as the Black Heart of Innocence.

Much of the work done in Feri practice is concerned with the generation, direction, and purification of one’s life-force energy. Many activities are said to generate this energy; eating, exercise, breathing, and of course sex. While many mainstream religious traditions have prohibitions against (at least some) sexual activity, Feri revels in its status as a “left hand path”, utilizing those activities and behaviors that are considered undesirable or even ‘taboo’ by the larger, more ‘orthodox’ paths. It is precisely the transgression of such mainstream observances from which Feri derives much of its power. Where the more conventionally minded might regard sex as a distraction from spiritual pursuits, the Feri sees sex as a natural and sacred expression of the Divine itself, and so engages in sexual activity without fear that it is a detriment to their spiritual goals. The Feri sees sex as a pathway to spiritual power, a valid and sacred expression of God(dess)-within.

In terms of the Feri Three Souls it is easy to see that sexual energy has its place within the fetch; that part of ourselves that is animal, primal, childlike, and innocent, but this is not the only place within us that sex is appropriate. An interesting bit of Feri lore describes the GodSelf in potentially sexual terms when it refers to it with the name “Dian y Glas”. This name is recognizable to Feri practitioners as a name given to our Blue God; that Feri Deity who is associated with youth, potency, and sexuality. Examining how this God can be both our own GodSelf as well as a Deity in His own right has brought me to the idea of the Blue God as the GodSelf of the Earth from which position he is most easily able to be dually embodied within the highest of our Three Souls.

This idea is nothing new. It is hinted at with odd pieces of lore such as that mentioned above. This was first communicated to me directly from Melek Ta’us in trance and was later “confirmed” while studying variations on the myths of the Peacock Angel1. In this particular understanding it is the collective GodSelf of humankind that comprises this angelic presence, making Him both personal and transpersonal at once.

This idea is also implied in the core observances of some branches of the tradition when they expressly state that the practitioners themselves identify with the God in his aspect of child of the Goddess. In most lines of Feri2 the Blue God plays a major role in our mythic understanding of the universe, and our place within it. He is the Holy Child of the Star Goddess, and as such we identify with him when we recognize that we too are children of the Goddess. In one Feri myth it is he who petitions the Goddess for the creation of humankind and so it is to him that we make our initial prayers, for in doing so he is truly the God of this world. When we recognize our own Divinity, he is present within us.

In at least some interpretations of the middle-eastern Yezidi mythos the Peacock Angel, Melek Ta’us, is seen as the God of the World3, a title which dovetails nicely with my personal take on the Feri Blue God with whom this angelic presence is most definitely a part. Within the larger matrix of the Divinity complex which is the Blue God, Dian y Glas exists alongside the beloved Melek, along with others such as Eros, Krishna, Shiva, and even at times Jesus the Christ.

When we pray to our personal God-within we are making a petition to our highest (or deepest) natures. From within this state we are able to commune with powers that exist outside ourselves. With this in mind the Blue God becomes a sort of “gatekeeper” standing at the edge of our own Divinity with the purpose of bridging the gap between the powers of the Outer Darkness, and that of our own. We pray to Him and he opens the way… an act that can be seen as sexual in itself; we open and surrender to a power greater than our own… we are then penetrated by it and we merge, two energetic bodies writhing together in holy communion.

When I connect to the Blue God as an individual Deity I am immediately confronted by His seductive influence. As a gay man perhaps I am perhaps predisposed to being aroused by him; His soft, almost effeminate allure drawing me ever closer. But I often hear that even heterosexual males who encounter him find themselves aroused by His presence. He is “the rising serpent in the well”, an obvious phallic reference, and it would appear that no one is immune to his influence. Like the Pied Piper from the fairytale, He plays his silver flute and those who hear his music are lead down His path to be changed forever.

I was first drawn to the Feri tradition by a brief mention of the Blue God in Starhawk’s book The Spiral Dance. I knew from that very moment that Feri (or as it was spelled then, Faery) was the path for me. Something about His sensual presence was mediated through those few words written in that text, words that described a being very different from the generic Horned God that is usually as far as most Craft paths will go when considering the male face of Deity. Here, finally, was a God that spoke to me; a God whose focus on sexuality was healthy, sacred, intense, and perhaps most importantly, not limited to (or even overtly concerned with) procreation.

In some lines of the Feri tradition, the Blue God Melek Ta’us is described as being a manifestation of the Divine Twins, merged together into a single being. Hints of this union are reflected in the symbolic language that articulates the Peacock Angel, specifically the presence of the peacock along with that of the serpent; two totems that are traditionally associated with the Blue God. The peacock has a long and rich mythic history drawing attention to the powers of beauty, pride, redemption, clairvoyance, and immortality. The deep rich greens and blues of the eye feathers draw further association with the heavenly sphere, making the peacock a totemic power of celestial proportions. The serpent, by contrast, is a terrestrial figure, living close to the ground, as well as being phallic and sexual. Often the peacock is depicted with a serpent coiled around his leg or feet, metaphorically grounding the otherwise heavenly bird so that its Divine presence might be felt on the earthly sphere. Together the serpent and the peacock represent a union of opposites normally depicted in Craft workings as a heterosexual coupling; the marriage of God and Goddess. In Feri we are fortunate to have many more options to choose from.

What follows is a solo sex magick exercise aimed at aligning the Three Souls using the mythic imagery of the Blue God. Since I am a gay man it is centered on my own experience, as I cannot speak to the many nuances of sexualities other than my own. With this in mind it can easily be adapted to whatever gender or preference you desire.

A SEXUAL THREE SOULS ALIGNMENT4

Optional Items:
Music with a heavy repeating beat
Your favorite personal lubricant
A towel
Three candles, blue, red, and white

Begin by choosing a place where you will not be disturbed. If you have a permanent altar that can serve for this then all the better. Strip naked and approach your altar. Begin playing your music, if desired. Perform a grounding and centering exercise. Breathe the blue fire.

When you feel sufficiently charged, light the white candle and focus your awareness in your head and chest… in your talker. You may wish to physically touch your chest and head while you do this. Be aware of your thoughts as you focus on your breathing. Notice that at the ends of your breath are brief moments of stillness and silence… notice what these feel like when you reach the end of your exhale, and then the end of your inhale. After a few breaths allow these “moments” to grow larger, so that they eventually meet in the center of your breath… stillness and silence becoming the backdrop upon which your breath is overlaid… the Void being the foundation of all else. Imagine your talker as a pristine sphere of white fire that exists from your head down through your solar plexus. Feel how the Void of stillness and silence frees your talker of distraction, making it clean and pure. Form the intent within your mind to align your Three Souls as one. Notice what this intention feels like.

Now bring your hands down to your lower belly and allow this feeling and your awareness to sink down into your fetch. Light the red candle. Feel your body’s energy in your guts… in your genitals. Imagine a pulsing sphere of red fire that encompasses your legs, your sex, and up through your solar plexus and know it is an energetic anchor for the fetch. Take some time to commune with that primal part of you. Continue to focus on your breathing.

Take a moment and then light the blue candle. Now raise your hands up above your head and imagine a brilliant blue fire sphere of light hovering above you. Feel how your GodSelf is guiding you and taking care of you.

After the span of a few breaths allow the image of the blue sphere to change shape… becoming that of a peacock with its tail closed. See it shining with a liquid pearlescent glow. Maintain the visualization of the peacock for the duration of the exercise.

Return your hands to your belly, and then to your penis, drawing this pearlescent light down within and around you. Begin to gently massage your penis and your testicles while still maintaining a slow, deep rhythm of breath. Do this for a few moments. Now begin to gently massage your perineum while imagining a black serpent, glowing with green fire, coiled within it. Feel how it is a primal storehouse of power waiting to be unleashed.

Now begin to stroke yourself so that you start to become erect. (If you wish to use lubricant you may do so… do whatever feels good.) Notice how that as your stroke, pulses of energy begin to form and build in your testicles. This is the building of life-force energy and you may see it as the blue fire. Notice how “sparks” of this energy pulse through your body with each stroke. Allow yourself to feel the pleasure you are creating as a palpable energy that rushes through and nourishes your body.

As you become more and more aroused, imagine that the coiled snake in your perineum begins to uncoil and slowly stretches upward through your body, your pleasure guiding it on its path. Say,

“The serpent rises from the well!”

Feel that as your pleasure builds the serpent gains in strength and purpose. Make sure to keep your breathing slow, and deep. While it travels slowly upward it remains rooted in your perineum, which now glows with a red fire light. Keep your main focus on the path of the serpent (you may wish to caress your body with your other hand to follow its progression) until it reaches your crown which now burns with an electric blue light. Then, with a deep breath, it stretches even further to reach the luminescent peacock above you. Feel how the peacock is aroused by the serpent’s touch, and see its tail feathers fan open in radiant splendor as the serpent twines around the legs of the bird. Say,

“Lord of the Painted Fan!”

Still focusing on your breath and your pleasure, imagine the peacock begins to turn and move downward, glowing electric blue tinged with liquid pearlescent white. Open your self to the Peacock Lord’s presence and offer your pleasure to Him; to your own GodSelf. Feel the sensual liquid pearl light flow through your body in waves. Feel the peacock fill your body as it merges with the serpent… merges sexually with your fetch… these two now made one… the Blue God filling you entirely with His presence. Every sensation… every flash of pleasure you feel is an offering unto Him. Feel your heart begin to open like a rose, in the center of which is your own Black Heart. Feel the pearlescent light of the GodSelf/Blue God moving through you. Say,

“I invoke the winged serpent!”

If you wish to climax, imagine that as you do your Black Heart radiates in all the colors of the spectrum. Say,

“Behold the Living Rainbow!”

Imagine that your semen is the physical manifestation of the pearlescent light of the GodSelf. It is now a magick elixir, charged with the power of the Blue God, your Three Souls, and the Black Heart of Innocence. If you wish you may use it to consecrate a ritual tool, or use it toward some spell or working. You may wish to consume it with a prayer, drawing the energy back into your body. Or you may utilize it in some other magickal way.

If your intent is to forgo orgasm, then simply stop masturbating and imagine your Black Heart softly radiating with the rainbow light as you chant the above.

When you are finished give thanks by saying,

“Blue God of the silken touches,
dancing circles
dreaming bliss,
alluring, tempting,
love-struck falling,
blessed is he
who tastes your kiss.”

Feeling energized with your Three Souls aligned, extinguish the candles. It is done.

NOTES:

1. Pinkham, Mark Amaru, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: The Redemption of the Peacock Angel, pg. 34. Kempton, IL: Adventures Unlimited Press, 2002.

2. At the time of this writing the line of Vanthi is the only lineage of Feri that I know of that does not specifically recognize the Blue God in their practice. They do, however, work with the concept of a GodSelf, or Aumakua, which is in essence what role the Blue God plays. A rose by any other name…

3. Pinkham, pg. 32.

4. The basis of the exercise is universal, while the specific application in this form focuses on what might be useful to other gay men. This is not meant to exclude others from adapting it to their own needs, but rather as a celebration of my own particular sexual spirit; something that I usually find lacking within the larger Craft community. I’m sure that what changes are needed to make this a useful exercise for straight, lesbian, and bisexual women, will be obvious to members of those groups. Likewise with a little imagination it can be adapted to the needs of a couple or a group.