of the tripartite soul, the idea surfaces in many cultures. The parallels are
not exact, changing slightly from culture to culture, yet the similarities are
striking.
In his Republic, Plato wrote about the tripartite nature of the human being: the appetitive self, the spirited self, and the thinking self. For him, these also correspond to the right structuring of society. The Triple Soul
is very important in the Hawaiian religion of Huna. It appears in Sufi and
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Bvolutiono.n; witchcco.ft
Norse thought as well and in the Celtic "Three Cauldrons:'4The concept
emerges strongly in Jewish Kabbalistic writings based on the great mystical
text, the Zohar.5 It later filtered into the studies of the medieval alchemists.
From there, the three parts of the soul entered the practices of the
Golden Dawn, which was founded in late Victorian Britain by Rosicrucian
Masons and was home to such luminaries as Maud Gonne and William
Butler Yeats. The Golden Dawn usage of the tripartite division of the soul
continues to be practiced by magicians today.
In Feri, the first division of the soul is Sticky One, the energy body that
most closely follows the physical body. Energy "sticks" to it, is drawn in
and stored as in a battery. Sticky One carries our animal and child nature,
our instinct, and the immediacy of our connections to sex, food, sleep, and
exerctse.
Then comes Shining Body, which includes your energetic aura, an egg
shape around you. This is the seat of communication and intellect, of giving and receiving information rationally, energetically, and psychically.
Last comes the Sacred Dove. Physically, this is a sphere that reaches
above your physical head, like a halo, intersecting all parts of you. This is
our own divinity, or God Soul, and connects with all the other realms, including the ancestors and Gods. 6
The Triple Soul in Feri is accessed on the human plane and shows us
that the physical is woven inextricably with the spiritual. As a Feri practi-
4In Tbe Spiral Dance (HarperSanFrancisco, I 999), Star hawk uses a more psychological model, calling them the Three Selves. These concepts can also be found in ancient Egyptian, Kundalini yoga, and Rudolf Steiner's work. St. Augustine relates the Christian Trinity to the human being. See The
Cauldron of Poesy for the Irish source, www.seanet.com/ -inisglas/ cop l.html.
5Some post-Zohar Jewish Kabbalah posits five divisions of the soul, the top two being "within the
grasp of only of a few chosen individuals." Gershom Scholem Kabbalah (Meridian, 1978).
6Victor Anderson gave me these names, with the exception of Sacred Dove, which he called ParaciNe. Some students have trouble calling it Dove, thinking that to be Christian imagery, but Victor called Triple Soul alignment "t!-eding the Dove." One may also call it the Sacred Falcon, using l �)(ypti:m ima)(<'ry if that is more C!Hllf<Jrtahlr !("· you, or God Soul.
r nvoca.tion: Reco<snizin<s the Divine within
4 7
tioner, I find this most helpfUl, for I am not so interested in a disembodied spirit or an "afterlife:' I want to live fUlly and well in the here and now, on this physical plane, in my sacred body in a sacred world.
In the Feri Tradition, all three parts of the soul can change, grow,
strengthen, and come into alignment. You can begin this work by observing yourself and noting which parts are most developed. You might be out of balance in one way or another. For example, while it is unwise to be
wholly controlled by our animal nature, the Sticky One, it is equally unhealthy to ignore its instinctive wisdom and exist solely on an intellectual plane, in Shining Body. The Witch's way is not to leave her body behind
and strive for a purely spiritual existence. Sacred Dove, our own God Soul,
is embodied. Our very spirituality is embodied. All three souls are one,
rooted in our body in this lifetime.
When unaligned-out of touch with the various parts of ourselveswe are more prone to being controlled by random events and emotions or stray thoughts. Disconnection from ourselves, particularly from our Sacred Dove, can lead us into disconnection from our society and the earth and, in extreme situations, can lead to totalitarian governments, serial
killers, slavery, and human-caused environmental disaster. In less extreme
cases, soul disconnection can simply make our lives much more difficult
and painful than they need be, keeping us stuck in old patterns and unhealthy work or love situations.
Lack of alignment is a splintering of pieces of ourselves from one another. Culturally, we isolate reason from emotion, body from intuition, and male from female, creating duality where none really exists. 7 This
causes serious rifts that have long-reaching psychic, psychological, and
physical repercussions, causing all sorts of illness and dis-ease, including
war. Humans long to be whole.
7See Dr. Candace Pert, Moltcules of Emotion (Simon & Schuster, I 999), for a scientific counterpoint
to strict dualism.
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·
Soul alignment is a central spiritual practice, it reknits our spirits and
can, in the long term, help us to refashion the ways in which we live with
one another. The tools in this book begin this process by mending the un-,
necessary split between the psychic and the physical. The following exercises, ending with the most important tool in this book, the Prayer for Alignment, will help you to become whole, balanced, strong, happy. and
open to the abundance of the world. For the remainder of this chapter, we
will explore the nature of our Triple Soul, beginning with Sticky One and
working our way through all the parts until we are familiar with them.
Then we will learn how to balance and align the tripartite soul, making it
straight within us.
Sacred Dove
THE TRIPLE SOUL
mvocution: necocsnizincs the nivine with in
49
The stickv one
I want to play. I want to experience the world as it is, unclouded by analyzing, cataloguing terms. I am your innocence and your wisdom. I come to you with wide eyes, and a body supple and free, able to bend
over to touch the grass, able to reach the leaves on trees and smell spice
and flower. I feel the softness and the rough. I sense the sun on my skin.
I know all things, and can show them to you, but I cannot tell you their
names. Take me back to when I was happy in a wading pool, or playing
with finger paints. I do not color inside the lines. I am free. I am new. I
am full of life force. Vital. Alive. I am animal, I growl, I run, I glory in
my body and the world.
Think of a child in summer, hands covered in blackberry juice, sticky,
sweaty, and full of life. Sticky One, being instinctual and preverbal, loves
the physicality of symbols, rituals, music, color, dancing, and playing with
the water hose in the heat. It delights in the silly and in pranks. It likes to
play and enjoys the things of Nature best, as opposed to human-made
things of formed metals or plastics. It also knows what it needs, whether
food, sleep, sex, or quiet. Learn to listen to Sticky One. If you are running
out of energy, having slept too little, eaten only junk food, or really need
to be touched, Sticky One will let you know, and grow louder and louder,
the longer these needs are ignored. If you ignore Sticky One too long, you
will likely become ill or accident-prone.
Sticky One
communicates directly with Sacred Dove, with our God
Soul. This is why religious ritual is so important and effective. Candle
lighting, singing chants, working physical spells, all of these practices engage Sticky One. Sticky One, the deeper consciousness, can then communicate through these symbols to our own divinity. In this, Feri Tradition differs from the Kabbalistic tradition. The Jewish mystical text, the Zohar,
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teaches that the nifesh (Sticky One), the foundational soul, comes first;
while ruach (Shining Body) is built upon it through work, and crowned by
neshamah (Sacred Dove) only when one has achieved a certain spiritual level.
In this system then, nifesh communicates with ruach, not with neshamah. For
those of you interested in fUrther research, this may be where mystic
philosopher Gurdjieff--who has had a significant influence on contemporary ceremonial magicians-got his concept that we are not born with a soul, but must develop it.8
Sticky One is the primary entry point to magic and our engagement
with the world, with Nature, home, and survival. As an energy form, Sticky
One is commonly called the etheric body. Most people experience this
energetic body as residing one to two inches from the skin, following
the curve of the physical body. Some people call Sticky One the Fetch, a
name that harkens to old folk tales where the Witch sent a spirit companion out in the night to do her bidding. These tales may be pointing to a deeper truth: the shaman or Witch had the ability to detach her Sticky
One from her physical body to such an extent that a physical part of her
spirit roamed the land. This shows up strongly in Norse and Siberian
traditions.9
Sticky One is a battery, storing life force until the physical, emotional,
or psychic bodies or our God Soul need it. Known as mana in Hawaiian
and awen in Welsh, this life force is carried on the breath. It is living essence
connected to divine inspiration. Each breath takes in the life force that exists all around us. As it is connected to all earthly things, Sticky One can also draw this energy up through our feet as they touch the earth. Victor
told me that if we die unprepared or with our soul unaligned, Sticky One
8Thc information in this paragraph comes from Gershom Scholem, Rabbi David Cooper, lvo
Domigucz, Jr., and my own research. I also thank lvo Dominguez, Jr., for conversations on Fetch.
' Sec Diana Paxson's essays on the soul at www.hrafnar.org. The correspondences differ from Fcri,
yc� 1his is a rich source for students. Siberian f(,]k ralrs also hold some intcresling inf{>rmarion.
mvocution: Reco�nizin� the nivine within
5 1
may stay behind, becoming a "noisy ghost;' or haunting people. This concept also appears in the Jewish Kabbalistic tradition.
STICKY ONE D EVOTIONAL DANCE
I have developed movements to better acquaint you with the energies of
the Triple Soul. These movements will help strengthen and align your tripartite nature and are part of a larger set of movements in this book that I call Devotional Dance. They are designed for dancer and nondancer alike
as ways to raise energy, clear energy, and help you better engage in trance
work or meditation. My students often notice a profound difference in
their energy bodies following the movements. Engaging the psychic facilities through the body gives many people a different sort of information than guided meditations or trance work and helps nonvisual people better
connect to their experiences.
This movement is designed to get us in touch with a playfUl animal nature and to raise and store a large amount of energy very quickly.
Start upright, arms crossed over your chest, bands resting against each shoulder. Inhale.
Pat your hands against your shoulders twice as you exhale. Take a big, noisy inhalation as
you swing your bands out and down, simultaneously bringing your legs apart, knees bent,
spine curved over, bending enough to pat your thighs above your knees. Pat your thighs twice
as you exhale. Now make a motion as though you were scooping up earth and patting it up
on your shoulders. You can be slightly more upright for this part, but needn't return all the
way upright, unless it is too bard on your knees or thighs to move around in a bent position. Your breathing should be big and noisy. This breath, coupled with the movement, gathers and stores energy quickly.
You can leap about while doing this, stomping your feet, shouting, or making animal
noises if it feels good to you. Sometimes I let my breath pant or "whoosh!" or I end up laughing or growling. All if this raises more energy and brings attention to the Sticky One. Do
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Bvolutionury witchcruft
stickv one oeuotionnl onnce
mvocution: Reco<snizin<s the Divine within
53
this until your legs are tired, or you feel so full of energy you might burst. Then let yourself
slow down into stillness, finally standing upright again, one hand on your heart, one on
your belly. Feel the energy coursing through you.
If you can't leap about, sit in a chair, or move from an upright position,
substituting a marching motion for the bending and stomping. Taking big
inhalations, pant out twice as you pat your body. This will serve well to
raise energy and get you charged up with life.
STICKY ONE PLAY DATE
The following gets you in touch with Sticky One and recharges your batteries in a simple, natural, and pleasurable way.
Take yourself out for a walk on the beach, in the woods or a park, or in a cornfield.
What delights in these things? Find what gives that part that is deep within you pleasure.
THE WIS H BIRD AS FETCH
This exercise strengthens your ability to manifest your will in the world. 10
In it, you will use the power of Sticky One to store energy and to connect
with the world around it. What do you want or need in your life right now?
I f your life's force and intent are truly connected with the world around
1111 first learned this exercise from the late Raven Moonshadow and Akasha Madrone, both from
l{c·daiming, though I only connected it to Triple Soul and the Fetch many years later.
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Bvolutionun; witchuuft
you, if Sticky One is connected, you can bring your will into alignment
with the world.
Before you begin, hold a desire or intention clearly in your mind. You may
want to write it down first, to make certain you really know what it is you are
asking for, but leave room for God Herself to work. If you want a new job,
think of the sort of environment you want to work in, the type of skills you
wish to use, and friendly people or anything else you want. Wish clearly, but
don't pin down the multiverse, as you do not necessarily have all the information at hand. For example, if you ask for a specjfi£ job in a specjfi£ company, the supervisor there may actually be a tyrant who forces you to work ninety
hours a week under stressful conditions. Remain open to the gifts God
Herself can bring when you use your Sticky One to manifest your will.
Once you have clarifzed your wish, ground and center yourself and begin slow, even
breathing. Let your breathing com
e easily. You are breathing life force in and out, calling
upon the power if Sticky One to charge this energy. Cup your hands in front if you, leaving space between them, enough for a small bird, the size if a small sparrow or wren, to rest in. Intention still clear in your mind, begin to breathe gently into the space between your two
thumbs. You are breathing your wish,jull if your intention and the life force held in your
breath. Imagine a bird forming in your hand, made by your breath and intention, growing
more solid and strong the longer you blow. Once you feel the bird alive and ready in your
hands throw your hands up and open, and watch it fly away. Notice what direction it goes
in, as this might be important iriformation. You may want to light a candle in the color that
represents that direction to strengthen the bird's flight.
This technique sends the energy stored by your Sticky One out into the
world to do your bidding. In this way, your wish bird is your Fetch, formed
by life force coupled with will and intention. It will literally go out and
"fetch" what you want. I I For example, I have used this exercise successfully
1 1,Do I his only for p�rsonal things. Do not att�mpt to f{·rch world peacr.
mvocution: Reco<snizin<s the oivine within
5 5
to find a place to live. I sent the bird off with a wish for a place big enough
and affordable enough for my partner and mysel£ The next day I saw a
sign advertising a house for rent. The bird had flown in that very direction.
Despite the fact that four other couples saw the house the same hour we
were there, the landlord rented it to us and we lived there happily.
Once you have worked through this whole chapter, you can begin incorporating the Prayer for Alignment (see "Aligning the Triple Soul") at the beginning of the wish bird exercise to bring you into alignment within
yourself, with your intention, and with the universe. This will strengthen
the ability of your wish to fly true.
The shinin<s sodv
I am intellect and aura. I reach out and take in information, comparing
it to information I have already stored. I am first contact with another. I
speak to you. I formulate. I am clever and have knowledge. I am of great