The Initiate should determinedly exercise a given sense one day per week. For instance, you may decide that monday is for sight, tuesday for hearing, wednesday for touch, thursday for smell and friday for taste, with the weekend reserved as free days.
Then every monday you would concentrate hard on everything you see. Take in every detail and deliberately make a mental note of it. Our brains normally filter out 90% of what our eyes perceive, so you need to retrain your brain that you are interested in everything. Register every last detail, look at everything. Do the same for the other senses on their respective days.
This will benefit you in three ways: it will make you more alert; it will allow you to notice things of interest to you that you would otherwise have missed; most importantly, it will help in establishing better communications between your conscious and subconscious minds.
The Call to the Ancestors
Now that the student has familiarised himself with the runes, both on an intellectual level and by manifesting them in his own body, and now that he has started to familiarise himself with the various worlds and is taking better notice of the messages of his own senses, he needs to make a solid connection with his roots. It is time for another ritual to formalise the current state of the Work.
The Working is intended to form a psychic link between the Initiate and the shades of his ancestors, so that their influence and guidance may assist him as he progresses in the Work, passing their accumulated wisdom on to him. If you are not of Northern genetic stock, this Working will be less direct and more difficult for you, but you should still carry it out, requesting assistance from the shades of the North in general rather than familial terms.
This Working can be carried out either outdoors or indoors. Which you choose will depend upon your circumstances. If you are live in an area where your ancestors are buried, you should ideally opt for the outdoor version. If you live in a large city or have moved far away from home, the indoor version will probably be more appropriate.
First, you need to prepare your place of Working. If you are doing the outdoor rite, travel to the oldest burial place of your ancestors that you can find. At a suitably quiet time of night, when there is little risk of disturbance, find a spot in the graveyard that 'feels right' to you. If you are Working indoors, sit down in a quiet room where you will not be disturbed. Make sure the phone is off the hook. On a table before you, you should arrange mementoes of your ancestors, such as old photographs, letters, a family tree, plus copies or pictures of any historical runic inscriptions or other sacred objects specifically linked with your place of origin.
Next, attune yourself to the rune work you have accomplished so far. Assume each rune posture in correct sequence whilst speaking the name of the rune and reflecting upon its qualities. Feel the runes permeating your own being, the place in which you stand, and the ancestors buried there or represented in the items you have gathered.
Assume the eihwaz posture and try to reach back in time with your mind. Feel the months, years and ages rolling by as you plunge your mind back to its very ancestral roots.
Once you feel you have established a resonance with your ancestors, switch smoothly to the elhaz posture, extending your arms upwards.
Recite the following invocation: “I,
Now shift to the hagalaz posture, crystallising this ancestral bond within your psychic framework.
Once again, adopt the posture of each rune in proper sequence, naming each as you go. This time, imagine each rune streaming back in time and extending forth into the future as you do so, with you at the pivotal point of Now.
Finally, pack away your things, clap your hands or stamp your feet to ground yourself, then depart from the Working area.
Of Elf and Dwarf
There are other beings in Northern mythology who abide close to Midgard and who may be called upon at this stage to assist the Initiate in his Work. These are specifically the elves of Ljossalfheim and the dwarfs of Svartalfheim.
Before proceeding with a Working to call upon these entities, I would recommend a close study of the mythological material concerning them. In general, the elves are wise advisors and the dwarfs are expert craftsmen. Both will prove invaluable in the Work that lies ahead. Invoking the elves will assist you to imprint your mind with the thought patterns of the rune streams. Invoking the dwarfs will assist you to exteriorise those streams with skill as you craft your own staves and artifacts.
Edred Thorsson's books offer well-crafted, traditional rituals suitable for this purpose, although it is permissible to build up to these and start with a simplified Working such as the ancestral one given above. But be aware that a sacrifice should be made to the wights. Traditionally, this is mead or ale. A cup or horn of inspirational ale should be offered at the peak of the rite. Half is drunk by the Initiate; the other half is spilled upon the ground for the wights. (If working indoors, it may be spilled into a bowl and taken outside and poured on the ground after the conclusion of the Working).
Use this period to seek your inspiration in the myths of elves and dwarfs and try to advance your ritual skills till you are practising the fuller rites described in Edred Thorsson's books.
Combat Readiness
It is important that the Initiate should take stock of himself at this stage and assess his general state of physical fitness. It should never be forgotten that we are warriors in an Invisible War, the struggle of consciousness against non-consciousness and we must ensure that we are combat ready at all times.
Although this War is largely a mental and psychic one, it nevertheless makes its demands upon the body. As the Work of this chapter focuses upon the magician in Midgard, it is appropriate that we take steps to improve our physical well-being at this early stage of the Work.
I am certainly not going to suggest that everyone needs to be an athlete. We all love our little indulgences, but it is imperative to note Anton LaVey's advice that these should not become compulsions. If you get too overweight, cut down on your eating. Don't bother with faddy diets, simply eat less. Take regular exercise. You don't need to jog or lift weights or anything like that. Regular, brisk walks will do. Make sure that you get enough sleep. Simple things like these will ensure that you can rely on your body when you need to push it to its limits.
This is as much a matter of Will as any other magical operation and if you can't manage this control of your own self, how do you expect to influence the rest of the world?
Alcohol as a Sacrament
Whether you drink alcohol or not, there is no shred of doubt that our forefathers did and with good style. Alcohol was not merely a thirst-quencher or a social catalyst, however, (although it certainly served a very important role in social occasions, bonding warrior-bands together at feasts). It was also a religious sacrament.
Alcohol (traditionally ale or mead) serves two functions in Northern spirituality. It removes the brain's usual inhibitory blinkers sufficiently to allow divine inspiration to flow through the Initiate from the Gods. In return, half the measure is poured upon the bare earth as a sacrificial offering. So the drink serves as a two-way exchange between Man and his Gods. This principle is expressed in theALUALU Formula, which is described fully in Edred Thorsson's Futhark.
It may seem unwise to recommend the use of alcohol in a time when most medical practitioners and government bodies are taking the moral high ground against it. Personally, I feel that's one of the biggest r
easons for its use: if politicians don't want you to have something, seize it with both hands. Regardless of all of this, I have no patience for political correctness. I also have no patience for drunken louts, but I firmly believe in LaVey's principle of responsibility to the responsible. If you can't handle your drink, that's your own problem as are the consequences.
I really can't recommend the substitution of a non-alcoholic sacrifice in Northern rites. It misses the point of the inspirational effect and the link with past tradition. If you insist upon being teetotal in this sacred matter, make sure you examine your own motives carefully and determine why this may be. The indoctrination of centuries of Christianity lingers with us all, even those of us who profess otherwise. Drink to your Gods with pride!
There does remain a cautionary note to make, of course. Even given my above insistence, it's nobody's business but your own if you choose to be teetotal in mundane life. I acknowledge that not everyone is as fond of a good single malt as I am. Similarly, if you choose to drink to excess during mundane life, that's none of my business either. Although I must remark that I still hold to that principle of 'responsibility to the responsible'. As far as I'm concerned, violence or criminal damage committed under the influence of alcohol is evidence of the weakness and lack of self-control of the perpetrator. In such a case, alcohol is not a mitigating factor in my eyes, but an aggravating one.
Alcohol is a magical tool and it's in this respect that I'm pushing it. Its use or abuse in any other context is entirely your own concern and entirely your own fault.
When used in ritual, you will soon come to recognise that precise point of balance when you have drunk enough to feel your mind beginning to flame with inspiration as your inhibitions fall away. Any more at this point will simply tip you over into drunkeness, which is worse than useless.
If alcohol seems a risky and dangerous tool to recommend in our current nanny state, that's tough. Magic is a risky and dangerous business and it gets a lot dodgier than this. Take it or leave it, always at your own risk.
Of course, if you are a recovering alcoholic, I certainly can't recommend the above course to you and you should substitute a different liquid accordingly. In your case, your Will and determination are best exercised in overcoming your addiction. My words above are directed at the inhibited and the vacillating, who still echo Christian abstention and guilt.
Sex as a Sacrament
Whilst we're on the subject of bodycentric magical techniques, we can't ignore the huge topic of sex magic. Sex and magic have always been linked, and often equated. In Peter Grey's The Red Goddess, we read, 'Sex is magick, magick is sex.' I wouldn't go so far as to identify them with each other myself, but I would certainly amend the quotation slightly to read, 'Sex is magical, magic is sexual.' That much at the very least is true.
We need to consider whether sexual practices were traditionally a part of Northern magic and whether they can or should be so today. We also need to consider sex in the field of Draconian magic in particular.
It is quite apparent from the accounts we have in the sagas and mythology, both explicit and inferred, that the practice of rune magic – galdor – is a function of sound, shape and number, with no overt sexual element in its working. The runes are chanted, or carved, they are not cast in a framework involving any sex act.
It is equally apparent that the more trance-oriented seith magic, that style of magic which was taught by Freyja, could incorporate sexual elements. Sexual activity is certainly one effective way of entering a trance state. This kind of activity was often viewed as shameful for males to indulge in as it could include role reversal, cross dressing and submissive sexual relations. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that Odin learned this art from Freyja in order to complete His own magical arsenal.
However, I must point out one major misconception with sex magic at this point since anyone who investigates the subject is bound to stumble across this error, which is reported as factual in so many places.
You will read that a practitioner of sexual magic must dissociate himself from any sense of enjoyment in the experience and that the feelings of pleasure are but a distraction. This is complete and total bullshit, a puerile whitewashing devised by minds steeped in guilt, cowering from the reality of that which they profess. I read and heeded this nonsense for ages, but couldn't reconcile the idea in my head. Sex is supposed to be enjoyable! That's the whole point of it!
Let's get this absolutely straight: sex is an exercise in the fulfilment of Desire. Sex is all about pleasure and the exchange of delights. Whatever power, symbolic or actual, it may afford the magician, is derived from these very qualities. By the time you reach the stage in a Working where it is actually time to engage in love play and passion, your statement of intent should have already been made, your sigils drawn, your invocations chanted. Now is the time to let your conscious focus fade away in the heat of your passion and ecstasy. The greater the pleasure, the more powerful the rite. And that, despite all pious protestations to the contrary, is the be all and end all of sex magic. Snarl, stroke, kiss, bite, writhe and rut until you're exhausted, lost in ecstasy and delight. All of this will feed into the magical framework you have already established beforehand.
Bearing the above in mind, feel free to explore the theory and practice of sex magic at this stage, but do bear in mind that there is little room for it as a technique in the practice of rune galdor. You may be able to apply it in some of the practices described later in the curriculum, however, which are more akin to seith. In these more visionary Workings, where the intuition of impressions rather than the sending of a direct charge is the issue, sex can be used as a technique for inducing a suitable trance state, though it is certainly not the only means. The act of sex is not essential to this current plan of Work, I personally prefer a more cold-blooded and spartan method of working, although Desire is certainly an absolute necessity.
The Tools of Runework
During the Work of this initial chapter, when we are focusing upon the basis of magical practice in the physical world, you will want to take time to find or make your tools for the more complex ritual Work which will follow in later chapters. You may possess some of these items already; others you will need to make or purchase.
You will need a table or a work surface. When you are first starting out, you can make do with a coffee table or a workbench in your garage or shed. It is better to proceed with makeshift tools initially than to put off the Work until everything is perfect. Doing the Work – in spite of whatever circumstances you may find yourself in – is the only real Key to success. But as soon as you are able, you should invest in a table or work surface that will be used for your runecraft alone. By dedicating it to the Work and using it solely for that purpose, its very substance will become imbued with your purpose. Over time this will add an extra boost of cumulative force to everything you do upon it. You might wish to find an intricately carved old table in an antique shop; you might set aside an ordinary coffee table for use; you might use your woodworking skills to make your own. Do whatever best suits your skill and circumstances, what feels right to you. In all cases you should dedicate the table to its purpose with a simple ritual of your own devising. You may wish to cover it with a cloth (black, white or red according to your aesthetic) when not in use.
You will need a lamp or candle to signify the Flame of individual consciousness, the Gift of Odin. The lighting of this Flame in a ritual asserts your identity as a free and unique being acting by your own Will. In Draconian Magic, this lamp / candle should be either black or red.
You will need a cup, chalice or drinking horn to hold the ale or mead used in ritual Workings. Anyone reading this book will necessarily have access to the internet and if you have access to the internet, you'll be able to source a perfectly suitable drinking vessel. Most occult suppliers sell horns or chalices in their online stores and there are many fine examples, featuring serpent or dragon motifs that are suitable for Draconian Work.
You will also obviously need the liquid with which to fill it.
You will need a knife. The traditional dagger or athame of most occult traditions will not do in this case. I am not speaking of a ceremonial symbol, but of a practical tool, a blade with which runes can be carved into wood. The best solution is a simple, good quality craft knife, available from most tool stores. Function is more important than form in this instance.
You will then need your set of personally carved runes, used for divinatory purposes. We will discuss the creation of these in the next section. It is permissible to use a commercially produced rune set until your own are ready, but the sooner you can begin working with runes carved and charged by your own hand, enlivened by your own essence, the better.
If you plan to seriously Work within the Draconian field, you should have a representation of the Seal of the Order of Apep to hand (illustrated overleaf). This can be a representation of the Seal hanging upon the wall or positioned upon your work surface, or you may prefer to wear it as a pendant, pin or ring (preferably silver if used as jewellery).
Those are the basic tools that will be needed in all cases. Others may be added to suit personal aesthetic tastes. Some like to wear special robes or ritual clothing; some like to have all manner of useful or artistically appealing paraphernalia about their working area. But these things are up to you; the essentials are described above.
Carving Your Rune Set
During the course of this chapter's Work, whilst you are seeking to physically ground yourself in the runic current, you will want to carve your own set of twenty four runes for use in the divinatory and meditational Work which will come later.
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