After all of this seeking, I had fallen back upon myself, having found
"perfection" nowhere. I hadn't yet realized that perfection is wholeness,
not the eradication of perceived flaw, but I did listen to the line in Doreen
Valiente's Charge if the Goddess that said: "If that which you seek, you find
not within yourself, you will never find it without:' I took a big breath and
began to look at what I already had. What I had gathered from my meandering course was all rooted in Feri. I knew I needed to engage my core tradition as fully as possible. As a Muslim friend told me, I needed to dig one deep well, not twenty shallow ones. Only then would there be a possibility
of finding clean water.
I began to study with Victor again. He had not transformed into the
unflawed teacher, but by this time, I no longer needed that, and I was mature enough to suspect that such a thing did not exist. In the spirit of Feri diversity, I took all the techniques of awareness and practice I learned with
the Sufi dervishes and from Gurdjieff's teachings, and the compassion
from the radical Catholics, and applied them to Victor's teaching.
My work took on a depth and resonance it had never attained before.
I was connecting to spirit, building a foundation, and my teacher was
within. My teacher was daily practice and self-examination. My teacher
was in my encounters with other humans: on the bus, at work, at home.
My teacher rapidly became all the tools of Feri, applied with diligence.
The Feri Guardians and Gods taught me. Other Feri kin were also my
teachers, the initiates that I began to work, play, and dance with. I was
taught by music and movement, fire and ocean, and the deep, abiding nature of my breath. Five years after my Feri initiation, and after many years of having taught in Reclaiming, I felt ready to begin teaching Feri. I finally
8
Evolutionary witchcraft
had something of substance that I could share. My Feri initiation had
taken root and was flourishing.
This whole process took more than twenty years, and this book is the
result of all of those years and spiritual streams converging, and the inspiration and results from what Victor gave to me through the Feri Tradition.
I have hit deep water, and it is a gift I treasure.
what IS Bvolutionurg witchcfuft?
I say that I teach Evolutionary Witchcraft, or Witchcraft as a path toward
expanded humanity and divinity. But what does it mean to be a Witch?
What does the word mean to men and women in the beginning of the
twenty-first century? Contemporary Witchcraft owes much to ancient
polytheism, medieval alchemy, Freemasonry, and Enlightenment-age scepticism of heavily organized, dogmatic creeds. Yet, unlike many inheritors of the Enlightenment, Witches and other Pagans insist on the sanctity of
the earth in the face of mechanization. Feri Witches use magic to pray, to
shift consciousness, and to connect with the earth.
What is magic? Magic is the art of evolution. It uses intention, breath,
will, and ritual to transform both the individual and her relationship with
the world. Magic shifts the balance of power between the worlds seen and
unseen, and can affect change individually, socially, and politically.
If I believe in magic, why am I not a Magician? A Witch begins with intuition and the Magician with intellect, so though both practice the art and science of magic, the Witch relies more heavily upon the art, and the
Magician upon the science. I believe that the Witch could use a little more
science and the discipline that goes with it, and the Magician a little more art
and spontaneity. My practice in Feri tries to bring the Witch and the Magician a bit closer together.
Though Frri Tradition is an initiatory path, I have a strong belief that
The Roots of Evolutionurv witchcruft
<J
any individual who is willing to do the work of facing herself may make
good use of its practices and teachings and use them to transform her life.
This is why I teach and why I asked Cora for her blessing on this book. If
one is a serious spiritual seeker, one can apply the practices held in these
pages at your job, in your apartment, in the woods, on the beach, alone, or
with others. The work is dangerous, for it transforms us. But if one is willing to work diligently, there is no need to turn away.
Ten chapters follow this one, creating the great magic sphere. I recommend that you read this book through once and then spend one to two months working through the teaching in each chapter, building your own
foundation and exploring your soul. In these chapters, we will uncover the
possibility of our own divinity and will awaken to the sacred elements. We
will journey into ourselves-shadow and light, frailty and strength. We will
reach for the stars, dance with the Gods, and make love to the beauty of
the earth. We will expand our capacity to be human and learn what it
means to be fey magic workers-bringing the edges into the center and
opening up new worlds in the process.
Chapter I will show us how to access the power and paradox of the blue
Feri fire. We will cast our sacred sphere and step into nonordinary con-
scwusness.
Chapter 2 will teach us to access our own divine natures and to align
our sacred, tripartite souls.
In Chapter 3 we will turn toward the East and explore the powers of air:
our breath, our speech, the tool of the magic wand, and the great Eastern
Guardian.
Chapter 4 will turn us South to the potency of fire and will, blade and
action, of making choices and standing firm as we greet the Southern
Guardian. Here we will activate the Iron Pentacle and reclaim sex, pride,
self, power, and passion.
We will swim the depths of emotion and open our hearts as we turn to
the West in Chapter 5, holding the sacred chalice as we greet the Western
zo
Evolutionunl witchcraft
Guardian and evoke the Pearl Pentacle, chanting love, law, kncwledge, liberty, and wisdom.
Facing North brings us to the strength of our bodies, of stillness and
silence, the structure of the green cube and the movement of the pentacle.
Here, in Chapter 6, in the presence of the Northern Guardian, we birth
ourselves and our relationship to all the things of the world.
Chapter 7 finds us reaching up to the Powers Above, as we call upon
our dreams, our desires, and our ability to expand beyond ourselves. We
will work with the Guardian Above, the black mirror of space, the Peacock
God, and the Star Goddess.
Facing the Powers Below, in Chapter 8, we call up our core fires and
reach to the center of the earth. The cauldron bubbles and steams here,
burning away fear, tempering our purpose, and showing us things that
were heretofore hidden from us. The strength of the warrior and the
Guardian Below helps us in this work.
Chapter 9: standing tall, we invoke Center, the circumference of all.
Here lies the beating Black Heart of Innocence, our wild, honest natures.
Calling upon ourselves, we will open the center gates and dance with our
Shadow Lovers.
Finally, in Chapter IO, we will prepare to close the great sphere and
walk into our lives, carrying our true names, and ready to live our true
work in the world.
As mentioned in the chapter descri
ptions, Victor provided teachings
not found in any other Craft tradition: the Iron and Pearl Pentacles; the
alignment of our Triple Soul; finding our Black Heart of Innocence; blue
Feri fire; the warrior ethic; the knowledge that we do not need to look outside of ourselves for polarity and balance, that all is found within. He and Cora taught us that we can have direct contact with Nature and that the
Gods can speak through us. We have divinity and the possibility to become
cwn more divine. We arc human, and fey, and beloved by Goddess, whom
Virlor and Cora call God Herself. We share in her immanent love and
The Roots of Bvolutionury witchccuft
11
transcendent possibility. She beats in our blood and every act of creation
we engage in carries the spark of her love and the sanctity of life force.
Though some written sources exist, Feri has largely been an oral tradition, passed from the teacher's mouth to the student's heart. Each teacher uses her own methods, and flavors the work with her own flashes of poetry
and insight. Thus does the tradition ever change, with no inviolate "book
of shadows" to determine authenticity. We are always engaged and always
creating. The authenticity is passed in the "Feri current;' which is the
power of wild magic, the current of connection to the Gods. It is passed
in the distinctive exercises and tools of Feri. It is passed in the language of
the trees, into our skin, our breath, and our fey hearts.
The main Feri current is passed in formal initiation after many years of
intensive study with a trained priest or priestess of the tradition. However,
I feel that the Feri tools provide such powerful help that even those who
never receive initiation can benefit from the work of this tradition. This is
why I have compiled my own method of teaching, Evolutionary Witchcraft, in which one can study and grow, in a group or on one's own, whether or not initiation is part of one's path. Should one desire further
work, a teacher will appear.
This being an inspired tradition, Victor passed different information
to each of his students, depending on their needs and the time at which
they studied with him (for you see, his own work evolved over time).
Those students have then gone on to form the work in their own ways.
This book is my way. It is not the be-ali and end-all of Feri Tradition.
Rather, it gives insight into what I find important, which is primarily using work on self as a way to evolve further into our own Godhood. If we do this, we will treat each other and the earth better and enter into right
relationship with all beings, seen and unseen. We will evolve.
The Oracle of Delphi enjoined each seeker to "Know thyself' This
dictum is also embedded in the Feri tenets. Some teachers transmit theory
or lore, while I transmit practice, because practice changes my molecules
12
Bvolutionurv witchuuft
and helps my relationships and work. Some of the exercises and concepts
I present here do not come directly from Feri, or Victor, but I use them as
a way to work more deeply within the tradition and, more importantly, to
become more self-aware and better able to handle the influx of power and
energy that Feri work brings. We can expand to hold that enormous power
with grace and compassion.
Feri has largely been an elusive tradition, secretive and small. Yet people
have assiduously sought it out since its inception and there has been an
explosion of interest in recent years. Feri fills a real need in the spiritual
landscape: the need to uncover the divinity of our own souls and to walk
connected with the natural world and the realms seen and unseen. Feri
Tradition encourages us to embrace the whole of ourselves and see what
emerges, new, from that crucible of contradictions.
This surge of interest coupled with the tangible changes in my life and
the lives of my students as a result of our work with Evolutionary Witchcraft compelled me to begin teaching ever more widely and convinced me to write this book. The earth requires our evolution, and many are stepping forth to help fill that need.
I am confident that ways will be found to spread evolutionary spirituality and to help us through these times that are desperate for vision, practice, and true change. I hope that those who are deeply interested in this work will seek out further teaching. This book is an entry into your deeper
self: may your senses open, your hearts fill, your spines straighten, and your
work take on luster and joy.
I offer this book as a tool to those who want more than the basics, to
those who are looking for deeper training, and those who don't want just
another book of spells. Cast yourself. You are the spell.
Holy Mother, in whom we live, move, and have our being, from you
all things emerge and unto you all things return . . .
Open our hearts this blessed day. Touch our bodies and our minds.
Walk with us through the gates of power, in shadow and starlight, in fire
meeting earth, in wind on the ocean and the sweet kiss of life.
Blessed be our journey.
I
The sucred sphere:
custin� with .feri Fire
openin� the Teuchin�s
D o not become that which you resist. -VIcToR ANDERSON
The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. -AuoRE LoRoE1
he Audre Lord quote above is graffito in the Kopi Cafe in Chicago,
me to ask what I am teaching in this city far from home, and why I am
writing this book today. I am teaching and writing because the tools I've
been given through the Feri Tradition continue to change my life. These
are not tools of dominance that enslave people, instead, Feri Tradition
tools are tools of liberation. If we all achieve mastery, none will be master
over another.
These are tools to slay demons and release your heart. They are tools
1Scc Audrc Lorde, Sister Outsider (Crossing Press, 1984).
16
Evolutionary witchcraft
of revolution and, more importantly to me, tools of evolution. My work
is to challenge myself to become more human: to struggle against dehumanizing beliefs and inhumane practices. I want to cease being at war and instead become a peacefUl warrior, an activist of heart and body.
The question becomes, How can we not merely survive, but thrive? The
tools in this book are part of the answer. These, along with compassion
and courage, may just save us. At least, that is my prayer. I also believe these
tools can do even more-they can help us awaken our divine natures. To
use these tools well, we need preparation, and that is what we will do in
this chapter-take the steps necessary to prepare for the work of unfolding our souls.
usincs the Tools
Anything worthwhile is dangerous. -VIcToR ANDERSON
The tools and concepts in this book are our birthrights, yet have often
been twisted beyond recognition in our culture. Reclaiming them is both
difficult and dangerous because using them goes against cultural precepts
and because these tools can change us in significant ways. In turn, this
changes all of our relationships, how we work, our ethical systems, how we
treat ourselves and others, and how we let others treat us.
Changing cultural precepts
is a revolutionary undertaking and the most
powerfUl place to start a revolution is within ourselves. Wiccan author
Doreen Valiente said, "Evolution, like charity, begins at home:' External
activity cannot be divorced from what is happening inside and inner work
must be balanced by concern for the world outside.
The concepts in this book are potent and can cause earthquakes both
inside and out. They uncover taboos and buried fears, opening up energies
tl)at cannot easily be shoved back into a jar. The Feri tools give us greater
The sucred sphere: custin<s with Feri Fire
1 7
access to life force, to pure power. Power is a good thing, hut once this energy is raised, if we ignore the tools that raised it, power can twist back upon us, or we can blast others with untrained energy. Fallen into disuse,
these techniques can create people who no longer have the disciplined control that is needed to wield their power well. This can cause great difficulties in covens and larger communities, leading to the spread of malicious gossip, high-handedness, or grandiosity. Malice is not inevitable if we learn
to do our work, fully engaged, and to treat each other with respect. To do
this, we must engage in occult activity. Occult study plumbs that which is
mysterious and secret. We can apply this definition to the process of looking at our hidden selves.
Fucin'5 the Mirror
When you begin to engage these tools, please make a concerted effort to
be kind to yourself and those around you. When you start running Feri
energy it might feel slightly uncomfortable because it is so powerful. Feri energy is the energy of pure life force, which can feel overwhelming until we become skilled at handling it. We typically create physical and emotional
blockages to keep our life force in check and to keep it from running freely
and fully through us. You can listen to your posture and the tensions in
your body that twist or strangle the energy and gently begin to loosen that
which binds you.
Running life force in a new way may cause you to be irritable with those
close to you, or may make you wish to blurt out things that you would
otherwise keep silent. Honesty is a good thing, but needn't burn everything
in its wake. Also, the changes you feel within may make you uncomfortable