Seal of the Three-Headed Serpent
Life | Death | Rebirth
Past | Present | Future
“As the molting skin of past sloughs – crawl
On fresh belly forward – through the now
And into the arcane Oblivion –Endlessly born,
Endlessly living,
Endlessly dying.”
Images
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.
THE LABYRINTH –
Foot underfoot,
Fall fleeting phantasmic against,
Surrendering soil,
Sorrow does not soil the sound,
Arching forward along – align,
Craving the crescent coalescence,
Labyrinthine and liberating,
In the same breathe,
Born of ash and augmentation,
Festooned folly of frankness,
Surrender,
Surrender,
Surrender,
Drape the dread ‘pon silver sky,
Coiled and slithering,
Cast an eye on casted shadow,
Under the opalescent oracle,
Gerund and grasping,
The path,
The path,
Look to the lost liaison,
Foot underfoot,
Fall fleeting phantasmic against,
Surrendering soil,
Ariadne,
Ariadne,
The Gates,
Ferry the friends of fallen foes,
And follow the frozen foreign fares,
The Gates,
Callous key and crimson chimera,
Call forth the lamenting bull,
Who fell to fool’s folly in the golden garden,
The Gates,
Ariadne,
The Gates,
Heathen at hollow’s heart,
Hallowed in her heresy,
Longing looks ‘tween lost lovers,
Labyrinthine violet vibrant larkspur,
I know your loss, Ariadne,
Open the Gates,
I am no more.
The Witches’ Baptism
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
The Qedavian Apocrypha 