As the Dead Season approaches, it is time to both honor and
remember the Dead – ancestral, historical and formative – but also, it is the
time to honor Death and its many incarnations. Honoring the God/Goddess/Spirit
of Death within your own pantheon can be very personal, especially to those of
us who are Death’s Attendants – and while I do love to honor them as the
incarnations of Death, I also like to remember death in its faceless reality. And
while Death’s many mysteries command an innate, unprecedented respect it’s
important that we not forget the liberation, humor and fascination it breeds.
Those are the facets this ritual are meant to encompass – the joys that death
may bring.
“Ingredients”
This is simply a list
of possible options and by no means is it comprehensive, I urge you to
repurpose this however you see fit with any ingredients you’re personally drawn
to. This is merely foundation upon which to build and personalize.
Artifacts of Death/Curios – assorted skulls, bones, and fetishes
from the cemetery, snake sheds, assorted dead bugs (flies do the trick well, as
do spiders)
A Table – dressed in a plain black or white cloth
Black Beans, dried
Pemba/Cascarilla/Chalk Dust/Salt
Chile Ristras
Peppered Rum
Unfermented Juices
Bowls of Graveyard Dirt
Earthenware Vessels of your choosing
Instructions
Foremost, the idea behind this is to basically host a party
in Death’s honor – in much an Alice in Wonderland fashion. It is meant to be
light, not this great foreboding thing. Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed
with it, when it is but an inevitable actuality. As such, it’s best to keep on
Death’s good side. Why not throw him/her/it a party?
Dress your table in your chosen cloth – black or white is
preferred, but something painfully festive would also be acceptable – and
decorate it to your liking. Toss the beans and chiles around, draw with chalk or pemba any skulls, bones, etc. to really enhance the mood (hence why black is recommended), pour some libations, put on
some “sweet jams.” The beautiful thing about this “ritual” is that you can
invite as many people (or spirits) as you’d like and ask them to bring their own symbols of
death.
Set the table accordingly, with places set for those in attendance (living or otherwise) and make sure to set a place for your own pantheon’s Death Diet(y/ies) or all the ones with which you work. Depending on your tradition, serve them customarily – for instance, many Death Gods/Spirits receive Cthonic offerings, feel free to serve them things other than food and then leave the in a traditional pit // if your tradition allows food to be shared with the Dead, by all means do so!
When the time is right – and even if you’re alone, no one will judge you
– it is then you begin the danse. Take your
favorite curios and dance about the room (I feel as though I should recommend
some Screamin’ Jay or perhaps some Harry Belafonte for those Beetlejuice fans out there) shamelessly. Ask your guests to do the same.
You dance in time with death now – and as such, Death is
honored. And quite the dancer. Continue until you run out of steam (or drinks).
A particularly good celebration for the Winter Solstice.
Or – perhaps more fittingly – the Witches’ Rites of
Renunciation are meant to sever the religious ties of your own personal past.
This is done (I have found) for two distinct reasons: to shed the preconceptions
forced by organized religion, including both the doctrines and the antithetic
notion of hierarchal power in regards to Enlightenment, and as a symbol of
rebirth. Much like a baptism! Only in this instance, the sin you wash away is
the sin of religious indoctrination, hypocrisy and the very human realities
that accompany the notion of “church.” It is meant to be a freeing exercise –
one that cleanses all the malformed ideologies imbued on you throughout your
earlier life. Of course, that is easier said than done and no one ritual can
truly clear the slate completely, but it serves as a formal boundary between
the past and the future – a future in which you must relearn your understanding
of the world at large. One in which the answers presented are not set in stone,
but fluid – from which you must come to your own conclusions, test your own
theories and tessellate the scattered mythos and ideas into a cohesive faith –
you own faith, reliant wholly on none other than yourself.
That is The Witches’ Baptism, and this is one example of how
it may be performed:
Ideally, the rite should be done at a Crossroad
(of whichever type speaks to you the most) as it is a transformative ritual! Bring
with you whatever you need to light a fire in your preferred method – such as
wood for a classic bonfire, Sacred Fire to light in a bowl/cauldron/vessel, or
alcohol – which can be poured in a circle (note: isopropyl alcohol isn’t fond
of the cold or wind, so either plan according to weather or bring a backup
solution).
On site, when you are emotionally prepared, build your fire.
Depending on your chosen medium, your window of opportunity will differ greatly
(the above are listed from greatest to least burn-time), so factor this in as
well. For those of you who thoroughly enjoy taking your time, I recommend
building a true fire.
The following part should be personalized to fit your taste,
as how you wish to release the past is up to you. You can do it simply, by
speaking out loud that you rebuke the religion of your youth/past (traditionally,
this is done by rebuking the Holy Spirit of Christianity – the unforgivable
blasphemy – so as to free oneself from its vice-grip, though the renunciation
can extend to any religion [or even no religion]). As an example:
I, [name], child of [father’s name] and [mother’s name], Reared in the faith of [“Our Lord,” “Yahweh,” “Allah,” etc.]
– rebuke these laws; No longer am I bound by tomes or cathedral walls, Nor do I kneel at the altar of man – But I walk the crooked path – proud, For I was born in the Earth – In the Heart of the Tempest; And so I have become; From whence I came – so I return.
A few other options consist of writing these things out – in
as long-winded or concise a manner as you wish (these can even be written days
in advance) – or burning a symbol of the past. The flames are freeing – allow them
to be.
Purge these broken things from the mind and heart, and cast
them symbolically into the consuming fire of creation and destruction. It is
these things that stand as obstacle – let them be cleansed from you. And when
the time has come, when these things have been expressed and used as kindling
(carefully) leap the fire (and try not to wear any hairspray!). Then you are
free.
Upon the other side, you may douse the fire, allow it to
burn out, or use this time to connect with another Spirit or Deity (I said you were free, not that you had to stay free!), Nature at large, or even
with yourself – whichever is most befitting your chosen path. Theoretically,
this could be done by an Abrahamic witch if only to cleanse the effects of church
indoctrination – for those who wish to follow the gospels/tomes in a unique or
personal way.
And for those who wish to follow the Traditional Witch path
(the “origin” of the Witches’ Baptism), this would be the perfect instance to Evoke
the Devil!
photo source //
“Baptism of fire: Girls leap over flames as part of ancient cleansing ceremony held on the birthday of John the Baptist,” DailyMail
To humans born was vice – recounted in the form of sin. In
each there is a darkness, ever-present and lurking at the borderline of our own
“morality” – intrinsic or instilled – and like the head of the hydra, from the
slain virtue come two vices in its stead. The Bible speaks of them – both as
they are customarily known and the antecedents of such – as the cardinal sins.
Lust
Greed
Gluttony
Sloth
Wrath
Envy
Pride
This is the Dark Serpent – coiled about the body and
weighing on the soul, grounding it thusly to the physical world in which we
exist. It is our tether and our anchor so that we might remain bound –
necessary so that we might make our earthy contribution and learn our lessons
tasked. Without it – and these primal instincts – we ascend. Just as without
its compatriot – we would descend into the darkness. To be human is not to cast
of either – but to appease them both. This is the Balance: this is what keeps
us and this is what solidifies the plane – the Middle Ground.
I do not believe in evil – or rather – I believe that evil
is the creation of man; the condemnation of our own primal aspect, which lashes
back with the vehement will of survival. Evil lies in the neglect of man – the denial
of the primal and the healthy exhibition of such. The Black Serpent must be fed
– but only to appease it – so that it might return to its glutted torpor.
This can be done mundanely – through the unabashed expression
of lust, treating yourself to something decadent, superfluous, relaxing and
indulging in nothing but your own will, letting out your aggression and disdain
in constructive (or controlled, destructive) manners. The key is to allow
yourself these things without guilt –
for shame is antithetical – but to do so in moderation. These practices can and
should be easily integrated, even for the most righteous – for they are constructive
to experience, to mortality.
This being said, there is another ways to feed the Serpent –
one that can prove even more freeing.
To Perform
Go to a dark room – this is where the Serpent resides, where
it feels at home – and sit in the darkness. The key is not to simply sit
listlessly in the dark, but to allow yourself to connect to the darkness, feel
its inky touch upon your skin. If you enjoy/prefer visualization – imagine a
caduceus around which are intertwined a black and white snake. Call to the Dark
Serpent and watch as it unravels itself and comes to you. Search then your mind
for those thoughts of anger, lust, rage, envy and feed them one by one to the
Serpent and letting the leave you. Allow the Serpent to twist about your body –
allowing it to devour the negativity as it sees fit, and when you have been
cleansed – command that it return. Watch it slither back from whence it came,
and coil once more about the caduceus. You have been freed, and the Serpent
fed.
This same principle can be applied thusly to the Light
Serpent, as well, feeding it not with negativity, but giving it your great joys
and good memories so that it might keep them safe. It is fed not with Hate, but
Love – and in times of great darkness or sadness, feed the Light Serpent so
that it might lift you from the bowels of grief.
For those who work magic without the aid of deities or
spirits, these Serpents may also be employed to act as servants to your will –
enacting magic. Send the Light Serpent to bring forth a new love or the Dark to
feed on maladies so that they might heal.
The Qedavian Apocrypha 
