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Feri Practices

Claiming the Blue Cord:
A Feri Self-Dedication Rite
By Chas Bogan and Storm Faerywolf

Feri can be described as a modern mystery tradition of witchcraft. Among its varied practices is a rite of initiation in which certain mysteries are passed, along with what is often described as ‘a current of magical energy’ that distinguishes our particular craft. Because of the emphasis on initiation, it has sometimes been expressed that those individuals who have not undergone such a rite are not Feri and have no right to call themselves such. At one time this position was the majority one; when the tradition was quite small and largely self-involved. Feri, however, is changing, becoming a path not solely trod by initiates, but by increasing numbers of dedicated practitioners who identify with the Feri faith but have not sought or had access to a traditional initiation rite. The community currently struggles with this change, seeking to be inclusive of every individual who has a spiritual relationship to Feri, while continuing to honor the sacred rite of initiation and those who have undergone it. Among uninitiated practitioners responses vary; some are secure in their recognition of their path and proudly claim the name ‘Feri.’ Others are conflicted, feeling that their relationship to Feri is incomplete, or even invalid, without undergoing an initiation. With the rite presented in this article we hope to provide a means for individuals to dedicate themselves to our tradition and to claim in name and in spirit their identity as Feri practitioners.

Feri teaches us to cultivate our own divine authority, thus conflict arises when individuals feel that they cannot rightly associate themselves with being Feri even though they know it to be their path. To help reconcile these issues we propose magic. The rite which we will present is a way to impress upon your fetch that you have passed a necessary threshold; it is a means to formally state that you dwell in the realm of Feri and that Feri dwells in you. By performing this ritual you are casting a spell upon yourself; you are aligning your inner energies with those of the symbols and powers of the Feri Craft, and opening yourself to the guidance of the Feri Power and the various beings that associate with it. Among the symbols we will engage is the blue cord. In traditional craft rites of passage are often marked by the passing of particular cords. For this rite we have chosen a blue cord to represent the blue fire that so many Feri utilize to fuel their magic.

Before undertaking this ritual it is extremely important that you have first been consistently practicing some form of the Feri tradition and are comfortable with all of the_exercises_referenced_in_this text. If you have not been consistently working with all of this material for at least a full cycle of the moon then this rite is not intended for you.

You will also need to construct a personal sigil, based on your name, magical or mundane, whichever you prefer.

Self-Dedication Rite

Materials needed:
3 candles: black, white, and red
A glass or cup of water
A small bowl of water
Some sea salt
Anointing oil
A cup of whole milk
Honey
A piece of parchment paper
Dragon’s blood ink
A quill or pen
Incense
A ritual knife or blade
An apple
A simple robe
A length of blue cord
Your personal sigil
A small shovel
A small ash pot
A plate

Begin by gathering your materials and then aligning your Three Souls. Perform the Water Cleansing (Kala rite).

Light the incense and “smudge” the parchment with the smoke, feeling that you are cleansing and charging it with the magical purpose of the rite. Take your time with this as you meditate on what you are about to enter into. Take your pen & ink and write out the following statement. It may be in your own words, if you prefer.

“By the aligned will of my three souls, I (Your Name) dedicate myself to the Feri craft. As the path toward my Black Heart is lit by the stars of Iron and Pearl, I swear to embrace my own power and my own godhood. By the flower above me I will allow nothing to hinder the work of this god, and by these statements and signs and in the presence of the Star God/dess, the elements, powers, and spirits here assembled do I declare myself a Feri witch/warlock! As I will, so must it be! IO Evohe!”

Put the parchment aside and prepare a ritual bath. Take a small handful of sea salt and pray over it, feeling how it brings purity and healing. Breathe blue fire into it and see it glow with ethereal light. Throw this into the water and know that it has become a healing bath. Stir some honey and several drops of your anointing oil into the cup of milk and then pour this mixture into the bath. As you bathe, meditate on the rite you are about to perform and the statement that you have written.

At midnight during a full moon go to some place where you can see it unobstructed and where you will be undisturbed.  Build an altar facing North. Upon it place your candles, red on the left, white on the right, and black in the middle. Before the black candle place the parchment. To the left (west) of the paper place the bowl of water. Place your knife on the southernmost part of the altar, while the plate is placed at the far north. Upon the plate place the apple. Place the pen and ink to the right (east) of the paper.

Perform another Three Souls Alignment. Ground and center, orienting yourself to each of the directions and their associated elemental powers. Take some time to charge yourself by breathing the Blue Fire. When you feel powerful, breathe some of this fire into the blue cord and then lay it out in a circle around you. Feel it crackling and vibrating with power.

After a moment, breathe even more of your power outward and into the black candle as you light it, saying:

“Holy Mother,
You we live, move, and have our being.
From You all things emerge...
And unto You all things return.
By your power do I call:
Sugma’ad! Quakoralina! Dryghtyn!
Mari! Nimüe! Ana! Lilith!
Starry Mother on your Throne,
Shine your silver light upon my path
And lead me to the secret door
That leads beyond the middle world.”

Feel how the light of the candle is the same light of divinity that burns within you, as well as all around you in the blue cord circle.

Facing North, begin to cast a circle clockwise by connecting to the power in the cord circle and willing it to rise upward and downward simultaneously. “See” it as a smoke or vapor that swirls and moves and you invoke, seeing it finally completely envelope you in a sphere or “egg” of swirling power as your finish creating your ritual space.

“By the Earth, Her fertile body,
By the Air, Her vital breath,
By the Fire, Her quickening spirit,
By the Water, Her abyssal womb,
By the Heavens, Her starry mind,
By the Core, Her beating heart,
And by the Center, the circumference of All,
Is the circle made.”

Feel how the energy of your ritual space is being constantly “charged” by the light of the full moon.

If you work with the various Guardian spirits of our tradition, then feel free to invoke them now in whichever method you are most comfortable with. If you have not been introduced to them, and have no formal working relationship with them, then omit this step.

Strip off your robe so that you are skyclad. Open yourself up to the presence of the moon. Feel its light not only charging your circle-space, but permeating your skin and flowing through you. Imagine that you are breathing in the lunar light with every breath. Ask the Goddess of the Bright Heavens to guide you... to illuminate the path that you are to follow. Take some time (probably at least several minutes) to commune with this power.

Now focus on the darkness around you. Feel it as a conscious force and know that it is a part of the natural order. Ask the God of the Dark Earth to guide you, so that you become comfortable with the unknown secrets that lie within. Again, take some time to feel this power.

Light the red candle, feeling how its color calls forth the properties of the iron in your blood. With the candle, trace in the air before you a five pointed star, feeling each of the points come alive as you call them out in turn: Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion.

Now, stand with your arms and legs outstretched so that your physical body resembles the five-pointed star. Open yourself up to it. Feel each point on the pentacle before you glowing strong and clear, and feel how the power flows easily and unobstructed between each point as you call out their names. Feel how the Iron Pentacle purifies and strengthens your personal power. Say,

“I invoke the Iron!”

Feel its power continue to grow. When you feel that the power of the pentacle has reached its peak, light the white candle from the red and then trace another five-pointed star in the air before you, calling out the names in turn: Love, Law, Knowledge, Power (or Liberty), and Wisdom.

Feel how the energy of the Iron Pentacle is still there, but is now expressed outward becoming the Pearl Pentacle. Allow the energies to continue moving between each point as you call out their names. Feel how the Pearl Pentacle purifies and strengthens your relationships with others; your connection to the outside world. Say:

“I invoke the Pearl!”

Feel its power continue to grow. When you feel that it has reached its peak, see both the Iron and the Pearl as one pentacle, shining brightly in the space before you. Say:

“By Sex and Love,
By Pride and Law,
By Self and Knowledge,
By Power and Power (or Liberty),
By Passion and Wisdom,
By the Iron and by the Pearl,
I claim my being,
I claim my world.”

Take three deep breaths of power and absorb the pentacle into your body and your three souls.

Feeling charged, take out your parchment. Meditate on this pact you are entering into, and know that it is not to be taken lightly. This spell you perform on yourself will propel you further down the path, meaning more inner work, and likely more difficult as well. If you choose not to enter at this time, simply burn the paper from your black candle allowing the power to be released from its forms while you reabsorb it into your fetch. If you decide to enter into this pact, speak aloud that which is written upon the parchment as a definitive statement of the direction for your spiritual life. Feel how you are making a pact with the Gods, and most importantly, with your daemon.

When you are finished, take your pen & ink and sign the paper with your name and your sigil, feeling the act of putting them on this paper is sealing the power therein.

Meditate on your sigil. Imagine it glowing with power. Feel those powers around you... the darkness of the night... and the brightness of the moon... feel how they shift their genders...they are lovers... and they arouse you. Sexually stimulate yourself, feeling all those powers rushing through you... imagine that you can mediate all these powers into your sigil on the parchment. Feel how your sexual arousal is flowing like a current of electricity and into that sigil, and how your energy field is becoming larger with every breath. Visualize the sigil being drawn in your talker and then send it down into your fetch. Feed the sigil here until you reach a point of climax (or are satisfied) at which point you send the sigil up from fetch and up into your daemon in a rush of power and pleasure. See your sigil explode with crystalline light that cascades down all around you, soaking into your skin, charging you with power.

In this open state reach out with your awareness and call out silently to the Star Goddess; God Herself, and ask Hir for Hir name that you may use to call on Hir in a deeper way. After a time, if you received a name, chant it softly until it becomes a long low drone. Intone the name and feel it aligning you with Hir presence. If you receive no name, simply intone the AUM with the same intent. Feel the power fill you like a light and anoint first your third eye and then the paper with some of your body’s fluid (sexual fluid, saliva, etc.) allowing your inner eye to be opened while some of the light is transferred to the paper. Take some time to commune with the presence of the God/dess, and ask that S/he guide you on your path leading you to those lessons that you need to learn. Feel Hir presence flow into you through the medium of your own daemon. Take some time with this.

Fold the paper into thirds so that the writing is concealed inside and so that the top and bottom of the paper overlap in the middle. Taking the white and red candles both, and recalling the powers they hold/represent, pour some of the melted wax upon the parchment on the left and right, so as to seal the folded paper closed, and keeping the center free of wax. Feel the Iron and Pearl Pentacles sealing your pact and giving it power. Now take the black candle and do the same, allowing the wax to seal the center of the paper. Feel how the God/dess is sealing your pact, giving you a blessing.

Hold up the apple. Know that it is a traditional food of the Mighty Dead and feeds the ancestors. With it in your hands, call out to you own ancestors, both physical and spiritual and ask for their blessing. Say:

“From your waiting houses, come,
Through the dread gate of the west,
Old Ones! Mothers and Fathers of the Craft!
Keepers of the secrets of the Fey!
I am your child! Come to me!
And celebrate with me my chosen path
This mad road in between .”

Feel them coming from a space from the west and imagine a doorway opening in your circle that allows them through. Call them by name if you desire. When you feel their presence slice open the apple horizontally through its middle, revealing the pentacle of seeds within. Choose the half that shows the pentacle best and then offer the other half to the ancestors by placing it upon the plate on the altar, feeling how it nourishes their spirits, giving them vitality. Begin eating your half in complete silence, eating around the seed pentacle. Savor the flavor... the texture. Feel how it is becoming a part of you, nourishing you. You may receive messages from loved ones who have passed as you do this... just notice how you feel as you continue in silence.

When you are finished you will have a pentacle charm that has been formed from apple seeds. Place this upon the altar on top of your knife.

If you are performing this rite outdoors then use your shovel and dig a small hole in your circle, big enough to completely bury the remaining half of the apple and the parchment. If you are indoors then take your shovel, the bowl of water, the remaining apple, the parchment, and the cord, and go outdoors where you can bury the apple and paper, spreading the cord around you once more in the circle, feeling how you have brought its power with you intact. As you bury the items, feel how it is like a seed that will grow as you nurture it with your studies and devotion. Take a sip from the bowl of water and then pour some over the spot where you buried them while intoning the name that you received (again using the AUM if you did not receive one.) Trace a pentacle over the spot with your fingers and make a silent prayer to God Hirself. Take the cord and tie it around your waist, feeling how it is sealing the power within you, and bringing you spiritually and energetically into the fold of the Feri tradition. Say:

“I declare myself a witch/warlock and claim Feri as my path.
Let all the powers between the worlds rise up and assist me in my growth.
As I do will, so must it be!”

Give thanks to all the powers present. Extinguish the white and then the red candles. Take three deep breaths of power and reabsorb all the power that you lent to lighting the black candle, and then extinguish it. Breathe three deep breaths in silence. It is done.

©2007 Chas Bogan and Storm Faerywolf
www.FeriTradition.org

To properly utilize this rite you should be proficient in the following core Feri exercises:

  • Aligning the Three Souls
  • Blue Fire (breathing and directing)
  • Water Cleansing (the Kala Rite)
  • The Iron Pentacle
  • The Pearl Pentacle

In addition, you should be skilled in basic exercises such as relaxation, grounding, and creating a ritual space (casting a circle). 

This can be done with whatever method you wish. One of my favorites is to take the letters in the name or I am starting from and then omitting every repeated letter, so that I am left with only unique letters. Then I arrange and combine them in any way that I wish, often concealing the letters in a stylized glyph that speaks now to the fetch as a piece of art, rather than to the talker as a bunch of letters. For an example, see http://faerywolf.com/art_MelekTaus.htm which contains a sigil for the god Melek Ta’us, which was created using stylized letters of that name.


 
     
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HOME


Contact us
See Feri Tradition's Twitter Feed
Friend us on Facebook
Faery Tradition on Google Plus
Connect with Feri Tradition on Tumblr
Read our Faery Tradition Blogger Blog
Read our Faery Tradition blog on Live Journal
Subscribe to our Faery Tradition blog on Wordpress
Subscribe to ourFaery Tradition  RSS feed

Visit our Faery Pinterest boards

About This Site

 

Visit Witch Eye: A Journal of Feri Uprising

 

Visit Modern Conjure

 

Visit The Mystic Dream

 

Visit Storm Faerywolf's website

 

Visit Blue Lotus Reiki

 

Visit Carnivalia

 

Visit Blue Rose Feri

 

HOME


Contact us
See Feri Tradition's Twitter Feed
Friend us on Facebook
Faery Tradition on Google Plus
Connect with Feri Tradition on Tumblr
Read our Faery Tradition Blogger Blog
Read our Faery Tradition blog on Live Journal
Subscribe to our Faery Tradition blog on Wordpress
Subscribe to ourFaery Tradition  RSS feed

Visit our Faery Pinterest boards

About This Site

 

Visit Witch Eye: A Journal of Feri Uprising

 

Visit Modern Conjure

 

Visit The Mystic Dream

 

Visit Storm Faerywolf's website

 

Visit Blue Lotus Reiki

 

Visit Carnivalia

 

Visit Blue Rose Feri

 

HOME


 

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