The Sphere of Protection: Phase 6

[ecosophia]

By now, I hope those of you who are following along have been practicing the Opening and Closing of the SoP daily for a couple of weeks and the Callings of Air, Fire, Water and Earth for a week. (If you're just joining us now, you can find those here, here, here, here., and here.) Now it's time to add in the fifth of the elemental phases, the Calling of Spirit Below. This comes after the four Callings you've learned already, and before the closing.

This and the next two callings differ from the ones you've done before in that you invoke and don't banish. Spirit integrates and harmonizes; you've invoked the four elements to chase off what you need to chase off, and now you invoke the three forms of spirit to bring everything else into balance. 

If you're using divine names in this practice, you'll need one that's associated with the element of earth. If you're using Judeo-Christian symbolism, the standard divine name to use is אגלא , AGLA; this is a notariqon (basically, an acronym) for the prayer Ateh Gebor Le'olam, Adonai, "Thou art mighty forever, Lord;" pronounce it "ah-geh-la."  In the Druid Revival traditions I work with, this element is associated with Cêd, the earth goddess of Druid Revival lore. If you work in a different theistic tradition, choose a relevant name from your tradition; if you don't, don't worry about it -- you can also invoke the element of spirit below as such. The Calling of Spirit Below is done as described below: 

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First, perform the Opening phase of the Sphere of Protection, and then perform the complete Callings of Air, Fire, Water, and Earth including both the invoking and the banishing aspects. 

Now face the way you did at the opening. Using the first two fingers of your right hand, trace the symbol on the right horizontally, as though you were drawing it on the flat surface of a table or altar in front of you. Imagine that symbol drawn, just as shown here, in a line of orange flame or of blazing orange light. Then imagine it descending a short distance below your feet and moving directly under you.  This is the  symbol of spirit below. 

Point to the center of the symbol and say an appropriate invocation. Here's the one I use when I'm practicing this ritual in a Druid context: "By the orange gate of spirit below and the power of the telluric current, and in the great name CÊD, I invoke Spirit Below, its gods, its spirits, and its powers. May the powers of Spirit Below bless and protect me this day and always, and further my work. May I be empowered by the telluric current." (Yes, you can use this one as written; you can also come up with one of your own. The SoP is flexible that way. The divine name, if you use one, should of course be vibrated; see the explanation in the post on the Calling of Air if you need a reminder of how this is done.)

As you finish the invocation, imagine as intensely as possible the deep places of the Earth and the immense powers that dwell there. Engage all your senses, so that you smell and feel and hear as well as see the imagery. Draw the energies of Spirit Below into yourself. Take a little while at this, and then say, "I thank the powers of Spirit Below for their gifts."

Finally, perform the Closing of the SoP. 

Do this sequence daily for the next week or so. Notice the change in the energetic balance between this phase and the previous ones.   

Comments

This makes me want to read LOTR...

[(Anonymous)]

Wow. I'm getting vertigo just reading that! I also just happen to be reading the geological record chapters of Origin of Species just now, so this imagery is quite heady. Could I ask when the horizontal circle descends from the frontal position where initially drawn, should it also move to stop directly below one's feet?

Thanks again for this series,
Morfran.

Re: This makes me want to read LOTR...

[ecosophia]

Yes, exactly. I'll do an edit to make that clear.

Reading Tolkien is always a good idea. ;-) Just to get you in the right mood, here's Tolkien himself reading the chant of the Ents as they march on Isengard; if that doesn't send a chill down your spine, check to see if you have a pulse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPV63iW6gFM

Re: This makes me want to read LOTR...

[(Anonymous)]

Great thanks. And thanks for the Tolkien - Spine duly chilled. I may use that to hook my daughter into me reading her The Fellowship. She loved The Hobbit when I read it to her, especially the songs and chants :-).

pronunciation of names

[deborah_bender]

JMG, for the benefit of people who don't own a copy of the Druid Magic Handbook and wish to use the Druidic deity names in this practice, perhaps you could give a pronunciation guide for the complete set of recommended names. The Welsh "u", where the stress falls in two syllable names, that the C in Ced is hard, etc. I found this information here and there in the DMH, but I don't recall seeing it here.

If you ever have occasion to publish a revised edition of the DMH, adding pronunciation to the deity appendix would be a convenience. And perhaps a glossary of the other Welsh words in the book.

I'm planning to switch over from a mixed Hellenic/Druidic set to all Welsh, now that I've seen most of the pattern.

Re: pronunciation of names

[ecosophia]

That's a good point.

a) The Welsh "u" is like a German u with an umlaut. Shape your mouth as though you're going to say "oooh", and without changing the shape of your lips, say "eee" instead. (Monty Python fans have an advantage here, as the Knights Who Say Ni!" were actually saying the Welsh u as the vowel -- that's why Terry Jones kept saying it "Noo!")

b) Keeping that in mind, the names are pronounced as follows:
Hu --as spelled, with the Welsh u.
Ced -- Kehd
Hesus -- HEH-sus, with the Welsh u.
Sul -- as spelled, with the Welsh u.
Esus -- leave off the first H from Hesus.
Elen -- ELL-enn.
Celi -- KEH-lee.
Awen -- AH-OOO-EN, drawing out all three parts in a chant.

A couple of questions and some comments

[(Anonymous)]

Hey hey JMG,

I've been doing the SoP twice daily for 6 weeks now, but I only added air last week and water today. In the last week I've started to get the shivers/tingling in my spine/goose bumps and I take that as a promising sign.

Thank you for posting this. I feel it has been beneficial for me in small and subtle ways, and recently in less subtle ways.

I started with the nondenominational elements: "by the sky above me, by the earth beneath me, by the spirit within me" and after some thinking, and, open ended prayer, and introspection I settled on the Norse gods. I offered them some ale. (By the way, how does one do that? I said something that I thought was fitting and then poured a glass on the ground. For Jord (Jörð) the earth goddess that seemed appropriate, but for a sky god, less so.) And the following SoP in their names is when I got the first cold shiver.

Also, I started Learning Ritual Magic (LRM) four months ago and I've put in weeks worth of work on it, but not in a row. I kept shooting for 14 days in a row before I read the 2nd chapter, but working on the SoP made me eager to know when I would get to the LBRP and so I read ahead. And I'm glad that I did because the 2nd chapter talks about the Watcher and how it is often a problem.

So, again thank you for the SoP and LRM and everything else and here are the questions.

Should I get all the way through the SoP before continuing with LRM (you've said that unity of focus is important) or should I just switch to the LBRP when I get to it?

Is there a good way to maintain relations with the Norse gods while going through LRM without causing any problems?

How does cumulative practice stack up against days in a row? In other words, when should I move on to the next practice, say the next element in the SoP or the next chapter of LRM, when I have put it enough days, or when I have done enough days in a row?


Thanks,
Tim

Re: A couple of questions and some comments

[(Anonymous)]

Re: offerings, it's standard practice for Heathens to pour them onto their Ve (a chosen tree), a stone-built altar, the earth, or some natural feature like a large stone, regardless of the deity (Hellenics make strict distinctions between the Olympic and Chthonic gods, Heathens not so much). Others, including the ADF, pour them into an offering bowl first, then take that outside to pour onto the Ve or the earth. I was taught this prayer for pouring out the offering: "From the gods to the earth to us, from us to the earth to the gods, a gift for a gift."

Here's my basic template: I ask the god/s to bless the mead or ale and draw a sacred symbol over it (as I'm usually honoring the Tuatha De Danann, I use a triquetra; most Heathens use the Hammer sign). Then I hail the deity in question with a short prayer ("Hail to Thee, Danu, mother of the mighty gods, etc." ending with "Danu, accept this offering!") raise the horn/chalice high, then lower it and pour it into the bowl. I wait in meditation for a while, to see if the deity has accepted the offering or wishes to communicate something, and finish with a prayer of thanks. That's pretty much it; the words can be fancy and poetic or plain and simple, it's the attitude of love and respect that counts most.

Roman pantheon re: Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, I'm trying to pick divine names from the Roman pantheon: is it necessary to have a different earth-related deity for Spirit Below and the Element of Earth, or is it okay to use the same one twice? Thank you for your help.

Re: Roman pantheon re: Sphere of Protection

[ecosophia]

Yes, you need a different deity for each. Have you considered using Jupiter for Spirit Above and Veiovis for Spirit Below? Those two were traditionally paired as opposites, Jove in the sky and Veiovis in the earth.

The Roman deities I'd use for the SoP would be as follows:

East/Air: Mars (i'd use the older spelling, Mavors)
West/Water: Neptune
South/Fire: Vesta
North/Earth: Ceres
Spirit Below: Veiovis
Spirit Above: Jupiter

Re: Roman pantheon re: Sphere of Protection

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you very much.