The physical flame we gazed at in the previous exercise can now join with
a metaphysical flame. This helps us shift the actual energy that always runs
through our bodies into energy that is charged with the power of the blue
Feri fire, the power to shift the edge to center, changing space and time.
Take your time acclimating to this exercise. Sometimes even students
who have trouble "sensing" or "seeing" energy will report that their dominant arm is warm after running the blue flame energy through themselves.
Take a breath. Draw energy into your body on your breath and up through the soles if
your feet. Imagine red, iron earth energy with a flickering if blue at its heart. Imagine that
you can breathe into that blue Feri fire, filling it with your own life� force. Let the blue flame
run down your dominant arm, into the hand holding the knife you will use to cast our
sa�rtd sphere.
The snued sphere: cnstin<s with Eeri Eire
2 7
Feel the blue fire as it flows easily from your hand into your knife. Face magnetic North
and begin tracing the pentacle if invocation. Say, "By the earth that is her fertile body." Move
to the East, imagining a trail if blue fire. Drawing an invoking pentacle say, "By the air
that is her vital breath." Blue fire flowing in a clockwise circle, turn South and draw the pentacle. "By the fire if her quickening spirit." Moving, feeling the blue fire constantly replenished by your connection to the earth, turn T#st. '2ry the living waters if her teeming womb."4
And the circle continues, moving back to North, streaming blue fire. The blue fire becomes
more and more misty, ethereal. Cast it up above yourself, drawing the pentacle, and saying,
"By all the Powers Above." Cast it across and down , drawing the pentacle, saying , "By all
the Powers Below." Draw the blue flame back up again , sealing the sacred sphere, a glowing,
misty bubble if blue fire and light. ''And by the Center, which is the circumference if all."
The sphere is cast. You m ay strengthen the seal'by reciting:5
On hallowed earth I walk
Jtlth blade if will
In presence if the Gods
Chaos and still.
Blue shiningflame if beauty,
Marks the sphere.
None cross it but the reverent,
Sacred here.
Into this m agic portal
None shall see,
But those who bear the keys
To Mystery.
By breath and blood and bone,
So m ay it be!
4This cantrip ("By the Earth" through "her teeming womb") was written by Victor and can be found in Thorns if tht Blood Rost (Cora Anderson, 2004 ).
5Thc sphere-closing poem is found in the final chapter of this book.
28
Bvolutionury witchccuft
INVOKING PENTACLE
Those of you familiar with magic or Witchcraft may notice that what
we have done is cast a sphere, rather than the circle traditional to other
branches of the Craft. Rather than just "calling the four quarters;' Feri is
unique in using the Powers Above, Below, and Center.6 We will journey to
all !f>f these places in the course of this book, and meet the Elemental
Guardians of the tradition, those beings who hold the edges of dark space
and of our magic. They expand our universe whenever we cast the sphere
and call upon them.
We do not live in a flat world. The sacred is not only in front and behind or on either side of me. The sacred exists far above me and below me as well as within me. The realms of magic are vast, not limited by the horizon of a circle. Take a risk, and extend your perceptions of what can be.
r'ln line with other Craft traditions, most Feri priests still cast a circle and then, Feri style, seal the
'rhrn· with a porm that mov,·s the energy. I prefer to cast the sphere itsrlf, and just strengthen the
.<�·al at rill' rnd.
The suued sphefe: custin� with Fefi Fife
2'J
CAsTING FROM THE INsiDE OuT
The exercise above was a way to cast the sphere by using energy to create a
form outside of ourselves. Here is another way of casting that is quick and
grows from the inside, from your own physical center. It requires no blade,
no words, nor any other accoutrements and, like grounding and centering,
can be done anytime, anywhere. You can create your own sphere when you
feel afraid or in need of extra protection. I use it when I need a quick
sphere and don't have the time or desire to do the more formal casting.
Take a deep breath. Ground and center yourself. Imagine a sphere cif blue flame as a
tight ball in your belry. As you breathe,jeel it expand, growing within you. Keep breathing
until it snaps into your aura, a sphere extending out about one foot all around you. There
is nothing inside this sphere but you. Breathe again, using your breath to "charge" this sphere
with more energy. Feel it thicken and grow in density. You can push this sphere out until it
is as large as you need it to be, encompassing a whole room, a city, or the earth.
When you no longer feel a need for this sphere, bring your body and attention to stillness. Stand and breathe within your own sphere cif Feri fire. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belry. Bless yourself, saying, "I am sacred." Allow the sphere around you to
shrink to where it is conifortable for you. You mtry feel the need to keep it matched with your
aura for a while. Then you can let it shrink down to the small ball it began as. See it glow
for a moment in your belry and then let it "pop," allowing the energy to dissipate. Take a deep
breath. Open your ryes. Say your name three times.
The shift of consciousness you were just asked to make is a doorway to
your own expansion. It shows that you have the ability to create and hold
energy and to push your edges outward.
Casting the sacred sphere opens us to possibility, to magic, to a world
that looks somehow different than we may have expected. By entering the
sacred sphere, I am making a commitment to my spiritual path. I am com-
30
�::volutionufv witchuuft
mitting to this new world, committing to possibility and to my own freedom and to the freedom of others.
nevelop in<s pfuctice,
committin<s to Cfuft
Experience shows us that much is possible, even sometimes the impossible, but
the work of craft is too hard for casual interest. Better stay away and have an easier life. - RoBERT FRIPP7
When we remember that our aim is spiritual progress, we return to striving to be
our best selves. This is how happiness is won. -EPICTETus8
Witchcraft is a Craft for a reason. It is not a religion of beliefs, but an art
and science. The continued unfolding of the magical world inside and
outside of you requires a relationship with that world. Anyone who has
been in a relationship knows that it requires work, honesty, passion, and
patience. As you grow spiritually, your strength, facility, and understanding will grow, too, and your relationship with the sacred world will deepen.
All of this is based in continual practice.
Making a commitment to practice is making a commitment to my spiritual life, my well being, and mysel£ Feri practices have helped me immeasurably. When I was a teenager, I had tapes of abuse from my childhood running through my head constantly. Some of the tools in this book were
instrumental in freeing me from those tapes. The power those ol
d voices
had over me was broken as I discovered the power within mysel£
A commitment to daily practice gives us the flexibility and strength we
need in order to evolve. I'll let you in on an occult secret now: everyone
7From "Guitar Craft," www.guitarcraft.com/introduction.htm
HFrom A Manual for l.iving (HarprrSanFrancisco, I 994 ).
The sucred sphere: custin'5 with Eeri Eire
J l
struggles to do the work. There may always be a fight within you to maintain a regular spiritual practice, especially when it may not feel very good.
Work can be hard, and it can also be very fulfilling. Most of us feel a desire to work and a sometimes equal desire to lie back down and ignore what is most helpful to us. The push and pull between these two impulses
causes the friction that we need for our growth.
One cannot turn lead into gold without the lead itself, a container for
the process, and some heat. You are the lead, inert. Your spiritual practice,
your work, is the container. The heat created by the "yes" bumping against
the "no" is the source of your alchemical change. For example, the "yes"
of getting up at 5:30 A.M. to do energy work, prayers, and sitting meditation bumps quickly up against the "no" of wanting to stay in bed and sleep until 8. When I get up, something new has the opportunity to awaken.
As you work through this book, I recommend that you choose one exercise to form the basis of your daily practice for one month's time. You can rotate through the exercises, gaining familiarity with each in time. You will
eventually find a mixture of practices that works best for you and serves
your spiritual life well.
I change my daily practice about every six months. This keeps me from
getting bored and keeps my practice from becoming mindless. However,
there are two prac�es that I do without fail, every day, regardless of how
my practice changes. These are aligning my Triple Soul (see Chapter 2)
and sitting in silence. These form a foundation for all of my other work
on sel£
After studying the Craft for more than twenty years I am still learning
what these techniques mean, how they change me, and how important it is
that I continue to use them. When I've gone through phases where my
practice has slackened, I have felt less alive and been more susceptible to
the influence of advertising, insecurity, and fear. The more I work these
practices, the stronger I become, and the clearer my purpose and intent
grows. This in turn makes recommitting easier and easier.
32
Evolutionufv witchcraft
Commitment also helps us grow into responsibility. Accepting responsibility can be hard, because it denies us the option to be small. It is saying, "Yes, I have power" in a world where it might be easier to abdicate power. That "yes" is strong magic. Acceptance says, "There is work in the
world for us all. We can all be big, we can all be beautiful, and we can all
be strong and talented."
ENGAGING THE SACRED BoDY
People either feel they can fly or fear they will stumble. Rarely do we sense our
ability to walk firm on earth. - JEAN TooMER9
A commitment to Craft includes a commitment to embodiment. Feri spirituality does not teach us to transcend the body. Our bodies are sacred, they are our tools, they must be cared for and kept in good working order.
In popular culture, the word Pagan is often synonymous with debauchery.
Nonsense. While Witches enjoy our bodies and the physical things of
life-good food, dancing, consensual sex, beauty-going too far into
gluttony or greed does not help us. Rather, physical excess actually denies
the needs of our bodies and senses, and can lead to a frenzy of emotions
or addictions. Try to listen to what really helps your body by way of food
and drink, rest and exercise.
One way to fully enter your body is through your posture. As skeleton
and muscles are foundational, I like to begin magical work with an awareness of what they are doing and how I can better work with them.
"From Essmlials: JtaH Toomtr, edited by Rudolph P. Byrd (Hill Strerl Prrss, 1 999).
The suued sphere: custin� with Eeri Eire
1 1
LEARNING TO STAND TALL
Cultivating an aligned, proper posture helps all of our work. It enables us
to begin to breathe naturally and with less tension and lets our physical
and psychic energy run freely, unimpeded by trapped emotions and the actual physical blocks of sternum collapsed on belly or our heads tipping forward and down, crimping the link to our spinal cords.
It takes time to develop good posture. One tendency is to resort to stiff
"military bearing:' This is not proper posture either. Good posture means
that your shoulders hang comfortably as if on a coat hanger, your knees
are loose, and your skull is aligned to rest on top of your spinal column. 10
Studying dance, martial arts, yoga, or Pilates can help with this practice, and in turn, help all of your inner and magical workings. Fully accessed life force is strong. The more you open up clear channels in your body, the less the energy will become distorted within you. Energy follows
breath. If I am able to breathe fully and without impediment, blood flows
emotions become clearer.
FoLLOWING THE ENERGY FLow
This exercise positions you firmly in your sacred body, and will help you
begin noticing your body, your posture, your breath, and how energy flow
connects to these.
Any of the exercises in this book can be altered to suit your physical
needs. Don't injure yourself, but remember that if you have had poor pos-
10'fo see how the different parts of your body work together and to get a picture of proper alignment see Wynn Kapit and Lawrence Elson, Tht Anatomy Coloring Book (Benjamin/Cummings, 2001 ).
34
Evolutionucv witchccuft
,
ture for many years, proper posture might hurt a bit at first, until the muscles reacclimate, stretching and strengthening in ways that aid rather than impede breath and energy flow. I I For this exercise all you need is a straight
chair or a tall cushion or simply yourself, standing.
Sit in a chair whm you can straighten your spine, or stand with your feet slightly
spread. Begin to notia your skeleton. How does your head sit? Does it tilt forward or down
or does it rest comfortably, tucked back on top if your spine? Next begin to notice your
shoulders. Are thry slumped forward,jorced back, or hangmg easily, out from your collarbone? Is your chest caved in, does your sternum collapse on top if your diaphragm? Moving further down, is your back swayed or does your pelvis tilt slightly forward, straightening
your spine? Are your knees locked or comfortable? Begin to m ake subtle corrections to your
posture to try to bring yourself more closely into alignment.
Next, notice your breathing and see where it "catches" in your body. These are generally
places where you hold tension. Once you notice this, you can check in periodically throughout the day and send a breath to those tense spots. Eventually thry will loosen and grow used to having a proper flow if air moving through. These channels will also open up to the energy if m agic and the natural pathways if blood flow, firing syn apses, and cell movement.
You may find your health improves by doing this practice.
For now, just remember where breath flows, energy follows. This is the flow if all living things. The more o
pen you are to your breath, the more open you are to life, health, and m agic.
Once you have begun to pay attention to your posture, expand the practice to include
noticing how you walk, how you sit at your desk, how you kneel to weed your garden, and
how you stand when you are engaged in conversation. People who work at computers all day
are especially prone to what I call "turtle head," with the neck jutting forward and down,
shoulders slumped or drawn up around the ears. None if this is helpful in getting oxygen to
1 1 If your muscles and tendons have contracted, holding the improper posture, you may want to
vi�il ;1 hody worker, chiropractor, or movement instructor and ask for hdp with coming into proper
����nrnrnl.
The succed sphece: custin� with Feci Fice
3 5
the brain or helping one stay connected to the body. The less connected we are, the less present
we are. The less present we are, the less 1fective we are.
OPENING TO FEY AwARENEss
Once we are fully engaged with our physical bodies, we can open up our
senses to other realms and to a broader range of our own magical possibilities. If we do this in reverse order, physical illness or mental instablity can ensue. In other words, it is helpful to set my own house in order before
I invite in guests.
In Feri Tradition, we work with Guardians, the Gods an� the beings of
Faery. Victor named this tradition the Feri for two reasons: being small
and magical himself, he felt an affinity with the small peoples all over the
world who he felt retained some of the-magical teachings of old.12 He had
resonance with the Picts and Aboriginals and drew from their wisdom as
well as the wisdom of beings from realms outside our own, such as the
Hawaiian Menehune or Celtic Faeries. Victor also had a sense of the old,
European meaning of fey, someone uncanny or otherworldly-someone
who had obvious talents with the unseen and could walk the in-between
places. He also was attuned to spirits, the Fey, and other noncorporeal
beings.
Remember that Feri Tradition works with the in-between-we have already begun to cultivate that sense with our blue fire practice. In the old sense, a fey person was one who was psychic, or a magic worker, but more