In my opinion there are two mains ways to bring an increase of “light” or “energy” into your body. One is to bring it down from a higher source, external of the physical self and the other is to awaken it from within you and raise it up. There is a third way, which I will briefly mention in this introduction and you can look up further later.
The First Method of bringing “down” is what we are going to be working with in this post.
The Second Method of raising up, is used in practices such as Yoga. Where the lower chakra is awaked, the serpent uncoils and winds its way up the remaining six chakras to awaken them all.
The Third is a method from Konstantinos’ Nocturnal Witchcraft, where it uses it as a “Quick Energy Raising” technique. It works quite well, however, without a banishing, in the words of another occultist “you appear as a flash of white light to the dark entities”. This flash of white light is emotional energy which they are said to feed on. A properly consecrated building will keep them out, as these sorts of things can be quite distracting when knocking stuff around or appearing as black shadows rushing about outside your circle.
Drawing Down the Moon
What is “Drawing Down the Moon”?
“If I command the moon, it will come down;” (Guiley, 1989, p. 107). This quote about the Ancient Thessalian Witches[1] goes far to explain the following material, and is the basis of the exercise.
Drawing down the Moon is now commonly known in Gardnerian Tradition and Alexandrian Tradition Wicca covens as a group/coven exercise. Gardnerian Tradition Wicca’s ritual of Drawing down the moon is as follows:
High Priestess stands in front of Altar, assumes Goddess position (arms crossed). Magus, kneeling in front of her, draws pentacle on her body with Phallus-headed Wand, invokes, “I Invoke and beseech Thee, O mighty Mother of all life and fertility. By seed and root, by stem and bud, by leaf and flower and fruit, by Life and Love, do I invoke Thee to descend into the body of thy servant and High Priestess [name].” The Moon having been drawn down, i.e., link established, Magus and other men give Fivefold Kiss:
(kissing feet) “Blessed be thy feet, that have brought thee in these ways”;
(kissing knees) “Blessed be thy knees, that shall kneel at the sacred altar”;
(kissing womb) “Blessed be thy womb, without which we would not be”;
(kissing breasts) “Blessed be thy breasts, formed in beauty and in strength”;
(kissing lips) “Blessed be thy lips, that shall speak the sacred names.”
Women all bow.
If there be an initiation, then at this time the Magus and the High Priestess in Goddess position (Arms Crossed) says the Charge while the Initiate stands outside the circle. (Gardner, 1949, p. 5).
Alexandrian Tradition Wicca’s ritual of Drawing down the moon is similar, and is:
Drawing Down the Moon
Needs:
- Wand, Scourge, Priestess’ Athame
- Priest, Priestess
Follows: Casting Circle, Witches’ Rune
Next: The Charge
HPS stands in God position in N. before altar, holding scourge and athame. Coveners are in S. facing altar. HP kneels before HPS and salutes her with the Fivefold kiss (as he kisses her womb, she opens into blessing position). HP again kneels before HPS who stands in Goddess positon (right foot slightly forward). HP invokes the Goddess, saying:
HP:
I invoke thee and call upon thee,
Mighty Mother of us all, (touch right breast)
bringer of all fruitfulness; (touch left breast)
by seed and root, (touch womb)
by stem and bud, (touch right breast)
by leaf and flower and fruit,
by life and love (touch womb)
do I invoke (raising wand)
thee to descend upon the body
of this thy servant and priestess.
Here, speak with her tongue,
touch with her hands,
kiss with her lips,
that thy servants may be fulfilled.
As he invokes, HP touches HPS gently with wand upon r. breast, l. breast, womb and upon the same three places again. As he finishes the invocation, he spreads his arms in adoration (still kneeling) and says:
HP:
Hail, Aradia ! From the Amalthean Horn
Pour forth thy store of love; I lowly bend
Before thee, I adore thee to the end,
With loving sacrifice thy shrine adorn.
Thy foot is to my lip [kiss], my prayers upborne
Upon the rising incense smoke; then spend
Thine ancient love, O Mighty One, descend
To aid me, who without thee am forlorn.
HP stands and takes a step back. All adore in silence as HPS traces invoking Earth pentagram in air before them with athame, saying:
HPS:
Of the Mother, darksome and divine,
Mine the scourge, and mine the kiss,
The five-point star of love and bliss –
Here I charge you, in this sign.
This completes Drawing Down the Moon. HPS and HP now face the Coven and deliver the Charge. (Sopia, Unknown, p. 56)
When you read these rituals it gives rise to the questions of “Sex magick” and eroticism in general. And when you look at Ogden’s Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds you begin to see the quote “It is drawn down for the purpose of erotic attraction magic.” (p. 236) in relation to the modern Wiccan rituals. But the symbolism in the ritual is what is important not the aspects which seem sexual.
These rituals in their complete forms are not the same as the exercise which will be covered in this post, but an important aspect still remains; the drawing into oneself, the Goddess in the form of the full moon.
Now, here comes the twist! When I refer to “Drawing down the Moon”, the key word is “Drawing”. Simon Craft in his book Maiden Moon: Advanced Wicca 101 says “Drawing Energy is literally tapping into a source of energy and pulling it to you. Anything that has energy can be drawn from.” (Craft, 2003, p. 118) From the perspective of the student of Wicca we are drawing energy from the Goddess in the form of the full moon. The oddity here, is that we can Draw down the moon, without the presence of the Moon… make sense? Maybe not, however, lets continue and it should all soon.
The Method
- Outside, stand facing the moon. The height in the sky is not important, just insure that if you look up you can still see it without moving from your position. (Do if there is a Full Moon, otherwise stand wherever you wish)
- Standup straight, straight back, hands relaxed at your sides and feet about shoulder width apart (feet placement ensures stability during the exercise).
- Close your eyes, with your back straight so your face is looking forward.
- Breath slow and rhythmically. Deep but comfortably, do not strain during inhales, exhales or holds. Do this for a chosen number of times, however many it takes for you to feel relaxed. Usually after meditating for a while, you can just think of the meditative state and in about 3 or 4, rhythmic breaths are you feeling quite relaxed.
- Open your eyes and gaze at the moon, do these gently and few a few seconds, then close your eyes again. (Do this if using the full moon for inspiration, if not replace it with a glowing bright white light)
- With your eyes closed, visualise the moon as you saw her, but in a position above your head.
- When this visualisation is strong, see her alone in the darken sky and see her light growing stronger. When you have this visualisation construct and easily maintained…
- Slowly raise your arms up toward her. From your side, keeping your elbows straight, as you are making a big circle around you.
- When your arms are in direct line with your shoulders, so you are forming a human cross or little letter “t”. Slowly begin to tilt your head back as your raise your arms to a “V” position, which would be like having one hand at the 11 o’clock position and the other at the 1 o’clock position.
- In the “V” position, turn your palms out, like you are about to catch a giant beach ball.
- When your palms are turned out, visualise the light of the moon beginning to touch them, feel what ever sensations come.
- Breath in, slowly and deeply, and as you do so, Feel the light being to enter your palms at the centre and slowly fill your hands to the wrist with this white light.
- Breath out, slowly and relaxed. See the light intensify, and observe and accept any sensations which you physical feel.
- Turn your palms again, so your fingers are pointing toward each other. As you breath in again, slowly and deeply, bring your hands down inline with your shoulders again, forming the little letter “t”, as you lower your arms also bring your head back to the looking forward, straight back, position. As you lower your arms and are breathing in, see a shaft of light coming down from the source of light which filled your hands, it stays in level with your hands. When it comes into contact with the crown of your head, feel it, see it. As you lowers through your head see your entire head filled with light, as it lowers through you neck, see both your head and neck filled with light. See the light slowly moving down with your arms, filling you, until your arms are in line with the shoulders.
- See the light fill to your chest, them see and feel it rush through your arms to connect with your hands.
- As you breath-out, see this light you have drawn glow brighter, feel its presence. Reaffirm the visualisation. And see the light filling like a bright ball at the crown of your head and in your chest where you sternum is. Connecting the two is the shaft of light, but the light is throughout your body where you have drawn it to. Just be aware they are connected by the light.
- Breath in again, and as you breath in, lower your arms until they are at your sides. Visualise the light moving down through your torso, reaching the base of your spine, filling your abdomen, waist, including your genitals, to the top of your legs. Become aware that the ground below your is also black, like the sky that was around the moon.
- Breath out and see all the previous visualisations. See your body filled with light to the base of your spine, see the spheres of light on the crown of your head, at your heart and now begin to see one at the base of the spine, where the genitals are.
- As you breath in again, visualise the light racing through your legs, rushing to connect to the black earth below. As it does see it fill your legs with the same light.
- Once this is done, focus solely on your body, and how it is filled with light, glowing bright. Do a few rhythmic breaths seeing your body fill and glowing. Now move on to whatever work you were going to do.
There is a bit of symbolism in this little ritual:
- The first is that of the Full Moon.Rather than seeing the Full Moon as purely Feminine, it is seen by some to be the Union of the God and Goddess. The Suns light on the maximum possible of the Moons surface: the total unity of the God and Goddess. So you are drawing in a balance of both powers. We have used this as a preparation for a few exercises which require the construction of the body of light and with assuming the roles of Goddesses and Gods in rituals. By seeing it as drawing both powers, we have a preparation the minds of the individuals that one can assume both a Goddess and God form regardless of Gender. A male can be the Warrior Goddess Athena, just as a female can be the Egyptian God of the Underworld Anubis.
- The raising of the arms to a “V” position. The V has three forms of symbolism in regards to the Goddess. One is the “V” shape of the arms is a the Cup and the body is the stem. The cup of which holds the element of Water, which is feminine and also attributed to the Moon. The letter “V” also represents “Virgo the Virgin” which draws back to the previous symbolism of the Full Moon being a unity of the God and Goddess, the unity of a lovers embrace. Going from the, what is referred to as the Maiden phase (waxing moon) of the Virgin, to the Mother phase (Full Moon). The “V” finally represents the female reproductive organs. If one were to create a downward pointing triangle with both their hands and place the thumbs on the “pubic line” (as I shall call it, and you can also do this if your male), this is the area where the female reproductive organs all fit when not pregnant. Recoiling the thumbs we form the letter “V”. The Earth is considered the Womb of our Great Mother. The Earth is a feminine element and is also attributed to the Goddess. The “V” in this sense symbolises our bringing of the light down to the Earth, through us.
- By turning your palms as if you were catching a beach ball, you are symbolising openness. As if one were to embrace or hug another. You are opening yourself to the Goddess and to the receiving of her gift.
- The symbolism of the Cross or little letter “t” is the symbol of humanity. It is us, in a similar gesture to the previously mentioned… open and embracing. It also symbolises in this ritual a direct connection with the divine. On one side, if imagined is severity (cruelty) and the other mercy (weakness), balanced in between stands ourselves. A direct path from Earth up to the divine is straight. This represents our desire to be balanced, to not be cruel, but to not be weak, to be neither but rather both in their strengths and positive forms. I guess, to not burn other religions at the stake for not following us, but at the same time not allowing others to oppress us, if that helps illustrate it.
- The spheres are significant as focal points. Though in Yoga you will be familiar with seven, in this exercise we only use three. The Crown is used as the entry point, our connection with this divine source. Our heart centre is used as this is our connection with our arms, as well as the centre of the previously mentioned cross. The base of the spine sphere is used as our connection to the legs, which is our direct connection to the Earth. All three of these correspond to three of the seven chakras used in Yoga, so it is not too far of a “stretch” for those who practice it.
- The rushing of the light to meet the Earth. Opposites attract, is one of the symbolic purposes. The Earth being Dark, being a “earth” if we think in electrical terms. Light and Dark are opposites so they attract, however in this sense both are forms of the Goddess. The Moon controlling the tides: Water and the Earth, well, being the Earth. “Like attracts Like” it is the Goddess unifying with herself. The other symbolic use of this rushing to unite with the Earth is to remind us that this “light” is borrowed, we are filling our bodies while it rushes from the Goddess in one form to the Goddess in another, we have merely acted as a channel while taking our commission for making the connection. Don’t worry about the literal sense of taking a “commission”, it is believed that all the energy returns to its source (part of the point of magick).
References:
- Guiley, R. (1989). The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. New York, United State of America: Facts On File, Inc.
- Ogden, D. (2002). Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook. New York, United States of America: Oxford University Press.
- Gardner, G. (1949). The Gardnerian Book of Shadows. Unknown
- Sopia, S. (Unknown). THE PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSION OF The Alexandrian Book of Shadows. Unknown
[1] For more information on the Thessalian Witches in regards to “Drawing Down the Moon” (Ogden, 2002, p. 236). Refer to reference list.
Imagination: You visualise the pentagram. This gives use a outline, a template, a point of focus. Our mental creation. Will: We give this creation purpose, direction, intent. Force. The purpose of “Banishing”. Energy: Whether directing energy, vibrating, etc. Energy gives it form. While penetrable on our physical plane, noticeable only by those sensitive enough, the energy gives it form on other planes. Two principles formed from these three actions are: Force and Form. Visualisation is our Imagination. The working with the intent of banishing is our Will. And the vibration or raising and releasing of energy into the visualised image is our Energy.
Wiccan Witchcraft 