Easter: A Study Of Folklore and Legend For Gnostics, Occultists and Crafters

It may come as no surprise to those familiar with my dual-faith teachings, that I believe Easter to be a a feast that should be acknowledged and celebrated by mystics, Gnostics and occultists regardless of their religious persuasions. While literalist Christians celebrate a “real” resurrection of Christ at this time those of a mystical persuasion must look deep into this mythos and discover the real meanings behind it. In our search let us look first to the date of Easter. Easter is one of the moveable holidays in Christendom. The date is calculated be looking at the date of Passover, due to the fact that the Easter story was supposed to have taken place at this time.  That is to say, Passover as it was believed to fall by early European Christians. Passover begins on the eve of the 15^th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. The Hebrew calendar is a lunar one and each month begins the day that the first sliver of the moon can be seen following a new moon. This typically places Passover just following the full moon of Nissan. Easter falls on the Sunday following this date (or the Sunday during Passover) in some years.  In other years the two can be a nearly a month apart.  To simplify the calculation for those not familiar with lunar calendars, Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox (known in the west today to be the first day of spring.) Easter, therefore, follows closer to early pagan celebrations of Eostre.  Easter, thus can fall on any Sunday as early as March 22^nd and as late as April 25^th. The date of this festival, therefore fell very close to Teutonic spring fertility festivals that had been celebrated at this time of year. As Christianity moved through the Roman Empire it began to encounter these cultures and many of their customs were assimilated. It bears mentioning that Easter was not even originally called such, but rather Pasch or Paschal which it is often called to this day in non English speaking countries.

The Goddess of Light and Life

According to the Venerable Bede the festival derives it's name from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring fertility and light. A late variation of this goddess may be found in Grimm when he writes of the spirit Austra. She may be able to be traced back to the Greek dawn goddess Eos and some have speculated that her origins may be further east in Babylon as the fertility goddess Ishtar! Beyond even this the we can trace her to India and the word usr, meaning dawn. In Anglo-Saxon countries the month that corresponded with what would become the Gregorian April was named for this goddess and called Eostremonat. As with many late Christian feasts, the church adopted both the name and many of the customs associated with the springtime fertility revelries.

When we stop and take a look at what the very word “light” means to the mystic and magical mind, we get a clearer look at who this “Dawn Goddess” might truly be.  Light, of course, is a metaphor for mystical knowledge or gnosis. Thus the light bearing goddess of the spring is also the bearer of knowledge! In this way she is Sophia, the feminine, wisdom bearing principle of the Godhead to the Gnostic, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. Sophia, much as Christ, had both her spiritual principle as well as an earthly one. In her earthly body she is Mother Earth and the cthonic goddess of death and the underworld (a highly initiatory station!) In her transcendent body Sophia becomes the bestower of light (Holy Spirit,) the Star Goddess and Queen of Heaven. In this representation we see the great mother goddess present in the forms of the Virgin Mary, Isis, Ishtar, Astarte and Eos. Also we see her dark side as the cthonic Hel, Holda or Kolyo. In her wisdom we see her reflected as the Tree of Knowledge, which it has been said that Sophia took the form of, and which the first humans ate of.  This leads us to our next revelation of the Easter season.

The Living and Dying God of the Sun

For those on a mystical or occult path it is no new revelation that Jesus, as we are told of him today, is an amalgam of various deities from the ancient solar and agrarian mystery religions. Osiris, Mithras, Dionysus, Baal... the list goes on and all are living and dying gods of ancient mystery cults. Jesus is but the latest of these. The word Christ is derived from the Greek kristos meaning “anointed one” literally “the messiah,” as it were. Anointed being one who has been blessed or initiated by holy oil. Within Gnostic traditions there are those who have associated the Christ with divine fire, and thus gnosis as well. In this way Christ is represented by the sun (appropriate as He is an ancient solar deity) which sheds light upon the Tree of Life. This is telling as to the relationship between the “Son” and “Holy Spirit” in regard to our own gnosis and initiations. Of course, the old mystery traditions were concerned, often, with agrarian symbols, and thus this solar deity becomes important.

In these mysteries the Living and Dying God (or Christ as it were) dies that the people might live by the grain and vine. So it is with the Jesus myth. Jesus dies to save the souls of sinners in the literalist version of the myth. In reality this is an allegory that we can use for our own “salvation.” Man has always striven to be as god. According to the ancient wisdom the soul and spirit are not as one, as we are taught in the modern day.

The soul contained the being as born in a human body, the spirit was just that, a spirit independent of the mortal coil. This spirit would correspond to what most in the modern world would deem to be the guardian angel. When the mortal coil died this guide would move on to guide a new body and fulfill it's fate. Now, the ultimate goal of these spirits is to reunite a Godhead that was shattered at the dawn of existence by overcoming “fate” or “karma” as many understand it today. This can be accomplished by uniting the soul, which exists only while the body lives and is the essence of every person, with the spirit. Here is the secret of all of the tales of wizards attempting rituals to become immortal. It was never meant to mean a physical immortality, but one meant to carry on a repository of knowledge and fate in future lives to aid in the recovery of the True God. This is the truth, as well, of what is called the “sacred marriage.” Within some sects this sacred union is the Cross itself and is represented by the sexual union and man and woman, tying us once again to fertility rites! How, might one ask are these feats achieved and in what secret rituals? It is simple indeed, the rituals meant to unite soul and spirit are hidden in plain sight with the Sacrament of Bread and Wine (body and blood) or Eucharist. This rite is an emulation of the death and resurrection of the Living and Dying God, or Yeshua/Jesus Christ. So we have one of the ancient mysteries revealed! Thus we see that the resurrection story is a mythical guide for the mystic or magician to follow.

Further illumination of this topic is revealed in certain Gnostic ideals in which we see, within The Secret Book of John, the goddess Sophia becoming the Tree of Knowledge itself. In Gnostic thought we see that the Tree of Knowledge and the True Cross are one and the same! This Gnosis and the Crucifixion are the same! The “lost” Gospel of Truth has this to say of the Crucifixion:

“For this reason error was angry with him, so it persecuted him. It was distressed by him, so it made him powerless. He was nailed to a cross. He became a fruit of the knowledge of the Father. He did not, however, destroy them because they ate of it. He rather caused those who ate of it to be joyful because of this discovery.”

Thus we are led to the occult truth of the matter.

Symbols and Customs of Easter

So we come to the seemingly secular items found in our Easter tide, though secular they are not! The first of these that we shall delve into is that of the Easter Bunny, or more appropriately, the Easter Hare. Hares and rabbits were seen, in the old time, as symbols of fertility based upon their rampant reproduction. At one time, we are told, hares were considered to be an animal sacred to Eostre, and so figure prominently in her fertility rites. According to folklore the moon hare was supposed to have laid the great egg from which creation came. This bit survived as a curious piece of lore, for in some regions people believed that hares laid eggs for some time! Thus bringing us to our next Easter symbol.

Eggs may well be the most popular Easter symbol the world over. The origins of the Easter egg custom stem from two sources. The first being the obvious pagan fertility symbol, as one of the hangers on that made it's way into the celebrations after the conversion of the European peoples. This fits in very nicely with the studies that we have already made. The second reason for eggs at Easter (and why we hard boil them) is a bit more obscure. This has to do with the lenten fast. During the middle ages in Europe eggs were forbidden along with meats. So that people would not lose their eggs the would boil them and preserve them in other ways, thus when Easter Sunday arrived, eggs featured prominently into the feasts. Events such as egg rolling and Easter egg hunts date back to this early time period and it's festivities. The painting of eggs has many different sources. The most well know of egg dying traditions (that is, outside of the realm of mass produced egg dying kits in industrialized countries) is that of Pysanky. Pysanky is the method by which the people of Poland and the Ukraine dye their eggs using wax to preserve patterns and coloration.

Yet another custom, often forgotten in the modern world, is that of the Easter Fires. The Easter Fires are one of many customs which most assuredly come from the pagan solar feasts. A fire was lit on Easter Sunday to honor the return of the sun. Later the Church adopted the custom (unable to stop it entirely) and made it to symbolize the resurrection. In some regions of Europe and effigy was burnt representing winter. In other areas the effigy symbolized Judas. In yet other regions this effigy was burnt upon a cross and called the “Easter Man.” Upon Easter Monday the ashes from the fire which had consumed the Easter Man would be strewn about the fields to make them fertile.

In some parishes the fires would be lit on Easter Eve instead of the Easter Morn. In these services all fires are extinguished within the parish. A candle known as the Paschal candle is lit from a great fire and used to relight all of the candles and lights within the church. The congregation bring sticks of beech, walnut or oak which they char in the fire. This is then used as an amulet to guard the congregant's home from lightning strikes and fires. The stick would be kept through the year and be burnt in the following year's Easter fire.

The Rite of Eostre

Armed with the preceding information a group of properly trained occultists or witches might be able to perform the following rite in honor of Easter tide.

Ritual Preparation: All lights should be put out, save for those that are absolutely necessary to get about and, if needed, read. A fire should be built, but not lit, in the east or center. Sticks may be brought by each member of the coven/congregation if desired, for charring as protective charms. Following the ritual an egg should be buried on any members land whom will grow produce in the coming year.

The Compass is Drawn as normal

Invocation of the Master

Magister steps forward and rings the bell to the north:

Prince of the air,

You who baptize by holy fire,

Son of I Am,

Golden born Horn Child

That dies and descends into Hell,

To rise again, and remember

King of Hell and Lord of Light,

Oh Great He on the Tree,

I call to you with sorcerous words,

I call to you of many names;

Hesus, Osiris, Mithras, Jesus, Dionysus, Attis,

Adonis, Woden, Indra, Baal, Quirinus, Thulis,

Sakia, Quetzacotl, Ascended Pythagoras, Prometheus

I beseech you risen Devil, King of Faerie,

Come let us adore you,

That we might learn your ways,

And our spirits become as your own!

Invocation of Eostre

Eostre,

Dawn Maiden,

Herald of the coming season

Nurturer of all that grows,

Wake now from winter’s slumber,

I call to you with sorcerous words

Dawn Maid, Hare Queen I call:

Eos, Eos Ostara; Eos Eos Eostre!

I beseech you Queen of Hares,

Come Let us adore you,

That we might bask in the glow of summer’s rays,

And our spirits fly to the Sabbath Grave!

The Arrival of Eostre

The Magister steps toward the fire and speaks:

Long and cold has the winter been. Long have we awaited the warmth of the spring. Now we gather to celebrate the dawn upon the green Earth and the waking of the world. Now is the coming of Eostre, the Dawn Maiden. We celebrate as she wakens the sleeping Earth from winter’s waste. Behold, Spring is come!

The Maid gestures toward the fire and says:

Behold Dawn is come! Spring is come! Eostre has returned to the children of the green Earth!

All draw three crosses before the fire. Candles are lit from the fire to illuminate the Compass. All who wish then proceed to the Eostre fire with their sticks in hand. The sticks are put into the fire briefly to be charred. The charred sticks are then taken and kept in the home for the next year as charms against fire and lightning.

All may then chant, or if chanting is not desired the Summoner or Magister may read:

Greet we now our Lady,

Returning with the Spring.

Bringing back the greening,

Swift and Swallows Wing,

Blessed now the hilltop,

Blessed now the stream.

Oak, ash and elder wood,

Wake from winter’s dream.

Wake ye mystic rowan,

Enchanted hazel, HO!

Slumber not old willow

Nor dread mistletoe.

A Mill is here tread while chanting:

Eos, Eos, Ostara

Eggs are here blessed by the Magister and an offering given to the fire.

The Sacrament of Bread and wine is here performed.

Ending Declaration:

The Rites of Eostre are over,

Go now with the blessing of the Spring

And bound to the Risen Horned Master.

The Earth wakens in the dawn!

She shall feed Her children!

The Compass is swept away and implements retrieved.

Following the Rite the Magister may "anoint" the foreheads of the each attendee with ash from the fire to give Eostre’s Blessings

The Mother Nights Spiral: A Rite To Be Performed In Winter While the Sun Stands Still

A Compass Round or Ring of Art is not necessary to perform this rite. A spiral of evergreen boughs is created and should be connected, in some way, to the Underworld. At the center of this stands the Maid or Magister with a candle from which all other candles shall be lit. It can be adapted for personal use by simply lighting a candle in the center.

Invocation of the Master:

Magister steps forward and rings the bell to the north:
Master
Lord of the World Below, I invoke you
I call you to bear witness to the Art,
Come to bear witness to the praise of you merry band,
It is the Sabbath!
Now is the time of the primal Misrule!
I call you to rise here, great Devil,
I call to you as a witch,
I call to you as a sorcerer calls,
Bound by oath and blood and mark to you.
Come hither, I call in your name!

Acknowledgment of Fate

Maid says:
I come in the name of She that is All!
I stand between worlds!
I stand within the Castle the turns without motion,
Beyond the great River,
Beyond the Hedge,
In the Land of the Pale Folk!
I stand before Her throne!
I come before Holda,
She that rides upon the Goose,
And spreads snow across the Earth,
And know that I am but a strand of She.



Acknowledgment of Misrule


Summoner:
Now is the time of Misrule! Now is the end of the year! The time that reminds us, we are at in the wee hours of dawn, a time of primordial Misrule, before the birth of a new aeon! Now is the time of Chaos, a time between times, when the Sun stands still! No we are reminded of the time before times, when Chaos reigned, before the gods struck against the chaotic forces, oft called giants. Now is the time when the Lord of Misrule reigns, and know that in the past it was so! In the times before, when the Sun stood still, Misrule and Chaos ruled in the cities of men, and all was reversed, for the gates of life and death stand open at this time. The Wild Hunt rides the night skies, and spirits walk the earth! So do we honor Misrule, for we are between times, and He reminds us of the times that came before, and gives we of the shunned ways hope for the new aeon!

Treading the Spiral

Magister stands before the entrance of the Spiral:
In this time of Misrule, as the Sun stands still, we must guide those of spirit home to us, and show them the way back to the Underworld. So we gather here, before this crooked road, a Spiral which descends down and around and within, to the very depths of Hel! Within we shall find the Castle, and within, the Lady. Each shall bring forth the Need Fire from the Underworld to light the way home, for both Sun and spirit! Come forth, you who would call yourselves witch, come and bring light to the spirits that walk the cold dead Earth!

All congregants gather at the entrance to the Spiral. The Magister admits them, a few at a time to tread widdershins inward until they have reached the center. Each, in turn, will then light a candle given to them by the Mother in the center. She lights each candle and as the congregants tread outward, deosil, the will pick a spot at the edge of the Spiral to set the light down. While the Spiral is being tread, congregants on the outside may sing songs appropriate for such a rite. When all are finished the Magister enters and he followed by the Mother exit the Spiral in the same way , leaving their own candles.


The Magister Speaks:
It is done! Behold the Spiral is alight! The road home is clearly shown! Let the Sun return, and the dead with it! The time of Misrule will come to pass, and all will be as it should be.

The Maid Speaks:
Come now, and feast with us, in honor of those who have gone before, and those who now ride in the Wild Hunt, across the clear night sky!

A sacrament of wine and bread can here be performed in honor of those who ride the night skies, if it is so desire, or a plate can be set for them during a group feast, so long as the are acknowledged and given proper tribute.

The Occult Significance of the Crossing Rite

    
    The Sign of the Cross, the Hammer Sign, the Qabalistic Cross; enigmatic and essential rites within the mystical systems that they originate from.  Often such rites are used to begin a greater rite or petition.  Other times the crossing of the self has been used for protective purposes.  Yet at other times the sign is used as a blessing or to seal power.  While often thought of as a Christian rite, the sign of the cross goes far beyond the overly simplified version that so many are accustomed to: “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen,” so often used by these faiths to begin and end prayer.   According to Catholicism the sign of the cross is a blessing and joining of sorts.  The “joining” means the binding of the mystery Holy Trinity with the mystery of the Redemption.  This then encompasses the entire essence of life, through to the end when a soul is joined in eternal life with Christ.  The rite breaks such boundaries in it’s occult usage, as we shall observe in the following analysis.

The Qabalistic Cross
                                           
    Perhaps the most common of the occult usages of the Sign of the Cross is that of the Qabalistic Cross, initially used by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.  This variation of the crossing rite is often tied to the Lesser, Greater or Supreme Banishing of the Pentagram Rituals.  In this variation of the crossing rite the practitioner will stand, often facing east, though it is my opinion that this direction may be altered depending upon the rite that it accompanies, if any.  Facing the chosen direction the practitioner will proceed through the following steps:

1. A brilliant light is visualized above the practitioner’s head.  The practitioner reaches up and touches this light with the index finger or the tip of a ritual dagger.  The light is then dragged down to the forehead

2. Touches the forehead and intones “Atah” (Ah-tah, meaning “thou art.”) The hand is then brought down to the center of the breast
       
3. Touches breast, in the center but near the heart while intoning “Malkuth” (Mahl-kooth, meaning “the kingdom.”) The light is visualized as descending down from the forehead to the feet.  The hand is then moved to the right shoulder.

4. Touches the right shoulder and intones “ve-Geburah” (v’ ge-boo-rah, meaning “the power.”) A point of light is visualized at this spot.   The hand is then moved across to the left shoulder

5. Touches the left shoulder and intones “ve-Gedulah” (v’ ge-doo-lah meaning “the glory.”)  The light is seen as moving from the right shoulder to the left.  It bears mentioning that ve-Gedulah is sometimes interpreted as Chesed or mercy, as opposed to glory.

6.  The hands are then brought together, as if praying, on the breast and the practitioner intones “Le-Olahm, Amen” (Le-oh-lahm, ah-men meaning “forever, unto the ages.”) 

    This technique has it’s roots with the Qabalistic tree of life.  Indeed, each point of this cross has it’s origin within one of the sephirah of the tree of life.  In addition each of these points is directly connected to one of the four classical elements so often invoked in Ceremonial Magick.  The first point Atah or “thou art” is connected to the sephirah Kether or “I am,” and also to the element of air.  It also refers, in this instance, to the spirit or higher genius of man.  The sphere of Malkuth or “the kingdom” is linked to the element of earth.  This point is in reference to the physical body. Ve-Gedulah or “the power” is related to the element of fire.  Ve-Geburah or “glory” (it is important to remember that it may also be “mercy”) is related to the element of water.  These two points are also in reference to the polarities of man’s ego, as well as the light and dark pillars of Solomon’s temple.  We can begin to see all of the polarities apparent in this rite.  All of these polarities become balanced when the hands are brought together upon the breast.

    So, though we may see a similar method to the Christian Sign of the Cross, we begin to see a far deeper ritual.  One great difference to be noted here is the reversal of which shoulder is touched first between the Christian cross and the occult crosses.  This is because the goal of the occultist and witch is to make a connection with “god” thus we might look upon “god.”  This is contrary to the Christian view that God cannot be viewed from the front, and thus our crosses are reversed so that the occultist approaches their “god” from the front while the Christian and non-initiate approaches God from the rear, so as not to look upon the face of God.  This entire philosophy goes far deeper than this involving the Tree of Life as God’s front or backside, but that could be an entire entry in itself, and I do not wish to weigh down this work on the crossing rites with such things.

    This last bit of information should have given away that a great part of the crossing rites is meant to connect one with “god.”  More on this will be revealed soon, but first there is another aspect of this crossing rite that is shared with the Christians.  This may be something that is ready to burst from the mouth of any Catholic or ex-Catholic at this very moment!  You may have noticed that the spheres reflect the occasional last lines of the so-called “Lord’s Prayer.”  “For the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory art Yours, now and forever, Amen,” or in the instance of our study “Thou Art the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory (mercy?) forever until the end of time.”  What does all of this mean?  It is a simple invocation and communion to what the magician/witch is reaching up towards in the beginning of the rite, but I shall reveal more on this later.  As for now, there are other such rites to be examined.

The Hammer Sign on the Body

    This is a crossing rite used in certain branches of modern reconstructionist Germanic Heathenry and Asatru.  It is a rite that is  meant to be used as a daily empowerment and blessing, as I had learned it.  It may also be used by the practitioner at the beginning of any ritual.  The core form that I shall display here utilizes a standard theological pattern.  The rite is performed thusly:

1.  Envision a bright ball of light floating about two feet above the head.  The hand is reached up and the light is grasped and pulled toward the forehead.  Touch the forehead and say “Tiw.”  The hand is then brought down to the top of the sternum (or occasionally the mouth)

2. Touch the top of the sternum (mouth) and say “Woden.”  The light is then drawn further down the solar plexus

3. Touch the solar plexus and say “Thunor.”  The light is then drawn to the left shoulder

4. Touch the left shoulder and say “Frey.”  The light is then drawn across to the right shoulder

5. Touch the right shoulder and say “Freya.” 

    The same pattern and, to a degree, the same desired effect can clearly be seen in these two rights.  The obvious difference (outside of the use of Germanic deities in place of the spheres) being that in the Hammer Signing we have the center invoked as the second step in the process, as opposed to being the final step.  The balance occurring in this rite at the crossing point in the end when Frey and Freya, “Lord” and “Lady,” are invoked on the opposite shoulders.  It is simple to see this brother and sister invocation as a the balancing portion of the rite.  A second difference in this rite is that the power drawn from it is meant to be drawn from the deities invoked in the process.  Thirdly, it will be noted that the shoulders are touched in the opposite order in this rite.  But what do the similarities in the rites mean, what is the luminous source envisioned above the practitioner and just what is the true intent of the crossing rite?  These are the questions that I set about to answer and so I shall answer them, in due time.  First let us observe the crossing rite of certain witches.
                   
A Witches Crossing Rite

    The crossing rites that I have come across as used by witches are a different than these others variants in that they are more simplistic in their nature.  In fact the simplicity of the rites often borders that of the modern ley Christian variant that I had listed above.  Indeed, I have often seen these rites, as used by witches, claiming only to offer protection, not a far cry from the Christian symbolism at all.  These often go something like this:

1. Touch the brow and say: “In the name of the Lord”

2. Touch the navel and say: “And of the Lady”

3. Touch the right shoulder “The Darkness”

4. Touch the left shoulder “and Bright”

5. Says: “Wisdom and Power of Fate’s Hand.”

    One can see basic differences in that this crossing has no internal visualizations. This might mean that there is less contact with anything outside of the internal self and that which is specifically invoked in the crossing.  This would, to a degree, defeat the higher working of the crossing rite, as I shall reveal as we progress.  The following sample is one that I utilize in workings of witchcraft and have incorporated into group workings as well. 

1.  A luminescence is envisioned floating above the practitioner’s head.  The practitioner reaches up, preferably with the left hand, to touch this.  The hand is brought down, drawing with it the light, and touches the forehead.  The practitioner says: “In the name of the Master.”  The light is then drawn down to the navel.

2. Touches the navel and says: “and the Dame.”  The pillar of light is envisioned as descending down through the body and into the ground.  The light is then drawn to the left shoulder.

3. Touches the right shoulder and says: “and the Shadow.”  The light is drawn across to the right shoulder.

4. Touches the left shoulder and says: “and Light.” 

5. Says: “Holiness of the Wane and the True.”

    We can see that this variant is much closer to the first two that we have studied.  The rite also tends to serve the same purposes as far as balancing goes.  This rite is most often used at the beginning of, or in prelude to, the drawing of the compass or ring of art.  All of this explanation and we are yet again left to wonder at the basic mystery of this rite.  Yet before answering these questions, I would like to cover a bit on the “lower” uses of the sign of the cross to bless, protect and bind.

A Basic Miscellany of Crossing Gestures and Their Intent
                                           
        Let us begin with the now familiar “Hammer Sign.”  The sign of the hammer is used not only in the above right, but is drawn in the air as a sign of invocation.  It is also used as a blessing and protective gesture, in much the same way that a Christian might use the sign of to cross for the same reasons.  This variant often has a shorter “foot” extending from the bottom of the “hammer” than that of the variation which crosses the body.  The cross might be used in a similar manner by practitioners of other occult arts and does have a wide range of uses in the folk tradition.

    Let us take, firstly, the old Irish example of crossing the mouth when yawning as a precaution against evil spirits from entering the mouth and taking possession of the body.

     There is an old Anglo-Saxon charm from the 10th century which was intended to protect a horse from harm (especially that which was brought about by elves) and called for the physical scarring of the sign of the cross upon the body of the animal.  A knife with a yellow horn handle taken from an ox, and inscribed with the words “Blessed Be all the works of the Lord of Lords.”  The horn is shod with three nails and knife taken before the animal in question.  The sign of the cross is then inscribed (cut) into the forehead, spine and as many limbs as can be reached.  The left ear is then pierced.  The horse is then hit upon the back with a “wand.”  All ills, and especially those caused by elves, will be cured and the horse will be protected. 

    According to Bald’s Leechbook mugwort should be picked before sunrise, accompanied by a magical incantation and blessed with the sign of the cross as it is picked.  The plant is self being said to have the magical properties to drive away and protect from evil spirits.

    According to the Anglo-Saxon Land Ceremonies Charm the sign of the cross can be used to hallow, protect and sustain the land that it is drawn over during the rite.  I, myself, continue the practice of this charm, including the use of crossing during it.  I have substituted a triple crossing in place of the single crossings originally found in the rite.  The triple crossing technique is one used by modern witches and, I have found, is typically used to hallow or seal power within an object, place, etc.  Now that I have shared these simple spells, I will explain the greater mystery that I have been putting off in the whole of this analysis. 

The Mysteries of the Crossing Rite
                       
    Now we shall investigate into the meaning behind the crossing rites that we have studied.  We know one of the mysteries already, that of the balancing act of polarized powers within the self, yet there is another balance occurring here as well.  This second balance is four fold.  You will remember when learning about the Qabalistic Cross that each point corresponded to one of the classical elements.  Each element philosophically corresponds to one of the elements of the periodic table.  They can be seen this way:

Air = Oxygen
Water = Hydrogen
Fire = Nitrogen
Earth = Carbon

    Here we see the balance made on a physical level, dealing with our carbon bodies.  From this we begin to understand that we are bringing about three fold balance in the self.  The two-fold balance of the ego/mind/soul  and the four fold elemental balance of the physical body.  You may be saying to yourself, “What is the third balance?” though it may already be clear to you. 

    The third is the balance of spirit.  This of course is not the spirit in the sense that most of the uninitiated would speak of, but rather the higher spirit that all mystics strive for communion with.  I am, of course, speaking of the fetch, holy guardian angel, personal god or higher self, as it has variously been called.  This is the entity whose fate is the reason that you live, though the philosophy of this is best left to a separate work.  The fetch, as I shall refer to it from here on, is the guiding entity that the mystic must connect with to truly begin to understand Fate and the universe.  It is through communion with this entity which all of us are governed by that we might attain inner peace and enlightenment.  It is also through this communion that we might gain true inspiration from the personal Muse. 

    The Master of the Feri tradition of witchcraft, Victor H. Anderson put forth the idea that this entity, which he termed the “personal god” and “overself,” lie in an area floating above the head.  He also stated that through this entity we could get a glimpse of the “cosmic mind” (Fate to the witch.)  This is the entity that watches over and guides us through life.  So, now things begin to become a bit clearer!  The true goal of crossing rites is the balance of mind, body and spirit.  Beyond this balance there is the greater goal of communion with the fetch.  Many magicians seek to find ways to hold communion with this entity, yet the truth is that they are already experiencing a brief communion with it each and every time that they perform their variant of the crossing rite.

    Now that this mystery has been revealed, the reader is armed with an arsenal of crossing rites to aid in the communion with the fetch.  Using the crossing rite in this way can be very effective when combined with a communal (symbolic) feast such as the sacrament of bread and wine if it is offered up directly for communion with the fetch.  In this way I find the Qabalistic Cross technique to be the most effective, as the proper symbolism is already inherent in the words that are intoned.  Do not worry about other symbols in the Qabala, it is only important, for our purposes, that the practitioner understand the words being used within this rite, and understand there depth in relation to the communal variation of the rite.  Once the communion has been made and a working relationship with the fetch is established one can call upon this spirit when performing the crossing rite to extend into the otherworlds and into the universe to retrieve other mysteries and to make contact with other spirit entities.  In conclusion, we can see that the crossing rite, in it’s many forms, is invaluable to the witch, magician and occultist.  And that, as they say, is that.

   
Bibliography

Victor H. Anderson - Etheric Anatomy - Acorn Guild Press

Rev. Maurus Fitzgerald, O.F.M. (Ed.) - Catholic Book of Prayers - Catholic Book Publishing Corp.
   
Dom Robert Le Gall, Abbot of Kergonan (author,) Ian Monk (translator) - Symbols of Catholicism - Barnes & Noble Inc.

Bill Griffiths - Aspects of Anglo-Saxon Magic - Anglo-Saxon Books

Paul Huson - Mastering Witchcraft - G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Nigel Jackson - Call of the Horned Piper - Capall Bann Publishing
                   
Nigel G. Pearson - Treading the Mill - Capall Bann Publishing

Stephen Pollington - Leechcraft, Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing - Anglo-Saxon Books

Israel Regardie (author,) Chic Cicero and Tabitha Sandra Cicero (authors/editors) - The Middle Pillar
third edition - Llewellyn Publications

Edred Thorsson - A Book of Troth - Llewellyn Publications

Edred Thorsson - The Nine Doors of Midgard - Llewellyn Publications

Lady Wilde - Irish Cures, Mystic Charms & Superstitions - Sterling Publishing Co.