Integrating the Reptile Brain

Twenty years ago I crossed the Great Abyss and connected with the photon or spiritual light. I tried to dissolve myself in a type of spiritual suicide but it didn’t work. I was able to move into a new type of consciousness that percieved things in an architypal or self-evident way but reached a point where I could go no higher. No matter how hard I tried to go into the light I would come back down as soon as I quit pushing.

In almost horror I noticed that the gestalt of my awareness, the main core of my personal awareness was slowly moving downward. All those beautiful illuminations were moving down into ordinary mental space. I felt compelled to vomit them out in words. That was how Magister Templi came about. It was simply a way for me to release the terrible pressure of my own thoughts as they moved down ward.

A bit later the core moved into the emotional area and really began to wreak havoc by stirring all kinds of things up that had been lying dormant for years. I began to realize that one by one I was awakening the higher astral bodies and moving downward into the lower astral planes. This has been going on for twenty years now. It is not a fast process at all.

In the creation and integration of these astral bodies and energies I have through the years been in a life or death struggle with an alien serpent like intelligence. It seemed that we were in a struggle over these newly created astral bodies. I would always seem to win just barely. I often wondered just what was going on.

The activation of the etheric double was strange. For the first time one projected double could reach out and feel another one as a solid object. It was soon after that I experienced a very vivid dream in which a large serpent coiled itself around me and was squeezing me. I reached my arms out and touched it. I could feel the scales but the strange thing was I could feel only half the snake. The other half was already inside me. In the dream I moved my body and arms in such a way that I could feel the serpent sliding/slipping upward over my head. Later I realized it was not the serpent but I was shedding an old serpent like skin that I couldn’t integrate. All the rest of the serpent was now integrated and a part of me.

I had literally integrated my reptile brain for the first time! This makes me wonder about the symbolism of the serpent in old mythologies and religions. When we talk about such things are we really talking about our own reptile aspects?

But recently

The Devil’s Bargain

The Devil’s Bargain

I’m finally able to share some insight into this mysterious term based on some recent personal experiences. I’ve mentioned elsewhere that anything below the Great Abyss tends to a “one step forward and one step backward” energy dynamic where very little is really gained. One can have the illusion of making progress but in reality a gain in one area of life is often at the cost of a loss in another area.

After crossing the Great Abyss true unity exists and the resolution of paradox at the highest level. It becomes the work of the Magus to master the powers of duality and make every action a movement toward the desired goal.

This is made more complex by the nature of the astral universe itself. Put simply astral creations are normally applied to a future life time and not to this one. The average person moves along a life thread that was created before they were born and exists as a personal destiny. Trying to add or subtract anything of consequence from this life thread is extremely difficult.

It is this energy dynamic that has led to the religious concept of “suffering in this life” and “reaping the rewards of a good life in heaven”. This is also applied to the concept of karma and how our life experiences have been brought upon us through consequences of our past actions.

This makes normal life a bit tricky. Hard physical effort toward a goal might bring us that goal but as a consequence bring a loss in a different area of life. The energy we generate working for the good things in life applies to things that are always out of reach and resist physical manifestation unless accompanied by some balancing loss.

The Magus creates in the astral a life that he or she wishes to experience. This is created out of the magickal energy that he or she generates and channels. The Magus starts at the highest astral levels and gradually works downward toward the earth. These efforts are met with resistance from other magicians and astral combat is the normal means to resolve differences or antimonies as they are sometimes called.

They are met with resistance because the astral creation of the Magus resists becoming physical reality and blocks the physical manifestations of other magicians by entangling and disrupting astral energy lines within the earth’s energy grid.

There is a master energy pattern, paradigm or egregore that determines how the astral energies must flow and the new Magus is attempting to alter that circuitry. To make a long story short a compromise must be reached between the forces of the old energy pattern and the new Magus or the stalemate will never be broken. It is this compromise that is called “the Devil’s bargain”.

In my case the OAK egregore took years to build and develop one astral layer at a time against sometimes violent opposition. It has only been this last Winter Solstice that the astral current began flowing heavily through the OAK circuitry. I could sense the massive energy surge as it hit the astral cords and traveled through them at full strength. For years I have struggled to manifest some physical results and a lighter burden in life. Financial weakness and poverty has dogged me my entire life and I wanted something better! Not that much really, a job that I loved, a nice home, nice car and a good marriage relationship. Every single gain has been against tremendous opposition as if every stone was turned against me. Little by little as my power advanced my abilities grew stronger and the resistance began to grudgingly give way.

The old energy pattern that I have struggled with is the Kaballah and its representatives or masters are the International banking community. To say this another way I struggled to create a financially secure life for myself in the astral and it stubbornly resisted physical manifestation. As I injected more and more energy into the astral the stresses became more severe and the energies locked together in a stalemate.

Essentially the Initiates of the old system/eon were demanding that I play their game and comply with their rules. I was magickally stating that there was a new game in town called OAK and they needed to comply with my rules. We were blocked in a severe no win situation that dragged on and on for years. This is something that happens to every new Magus.

I kept pumping energy into the astral and filling it up as much as I could. After almost twenty years of pumping energy into the astral a critical point was reached where a compromise could be made. Metaphorically it was as if I was living in California and needed to go to New York but my way was blocked so I went west instead by way of Japan crossing both oceans until I arrived in New York by going the long way around. Symbolically that is what happened I went the long way around and gained entrance to the old egregore by “right of might” and not by “right of initiation”.

The OAK egregore demands that only those willing to generate effort are authorized results. The old egregore demands tight financial control on a personal basis. By going around the “wrong way” I was able to make the “Devil’s Bargain”. I agreed to comply with modern financial restrictions such as living by a budget and paying massive gasoline prices if they agreed to physically generate as much personal energy on a daily basis as I did. This was a “Devil’s Bargain” because I was agreeing to submit to their monetary authority and I was also committing my life to a constant need of generating as much energy as I have been. If I continue to work as hard as I have been I will magickally draw money to me.

Because I made this “bargain” by “right of might” I was also committing them to the need to generate as much physical energy on a daily basis as I do. The contract was made to function only at a high energy level. If they failed to physically generate the needed energy they would lose money because the merger of the old and new OAK system required hard personal effort. Every new Magus must at some point reach their own “Devil’s Bargain” if they wish to achieve the physical manifestation of their astral creations.

The new merged egregore demands both conformance to International Banking restraints and controls and hard personal effort that is more demanding than the old eon. Still it is more fair and just because hard work does deserve reward and small effort does not. Each new Magus will modify this system with their own additions and demands as they in turn create their own “Devil’s Bargain”.

A New Look at Magick

It’s time to throw out conventional thinking about magick and metaphysics and get on the boat. The New Age is here and magick will never be the same.

In a nut shell the old eon hard wired individuals in a dualistic way that caused a net zero sum gain in life. What I mean is that a gain in a desired direction brought an equal and opposite loss in an unprotected and vulnerable area of life. The casting of magick circles was supposed to prevent this but the reality was that dual energy flow is a fact of our dynamic universe.

Crowley wrote about this and stated to the effect that only above the abyss did non-duality exist. That is why he was so insistent about the importance of crossing the abyss. He described the work of the Magus to be the Master of duality.

The Magus is to learn how to overcome this one step forward and one step backward dynamic of the universe. When the Magus was successful he or she was able to move forward with each step using controlled aspects of both the light and dark forces. This is magickal tradition in a nutshell.

The dual energy of the New Age is activating the shadow side of humanity and creating its own two way flow within each of us. This is a quantum leap for the portion of humanity that is able to work with this dual energy flow.

In essence one portion of humanity will become like the Magus having the ability to move two steps forward using both energies in a controlled way. The other portion of humanity will need to wait and remain psychologically and emotionally healthier but stuck in the one step forward and one step backward energy dynamic. These separate halves of the human race have always swapped roles at the beginning of new eons. It is how the human race evolves and moves forward.

With the knowledge and understanding that we now have of the soul development process and of mental and emotional health a new race of humans is developing. Each member of this new race will have a fully developed astral or soul body and be a Magus with the ability to master the inner dual forces.

The complete development of the soul results in a resilient and powerful person with the ability to withstand tremendous stress and shocks that lesser mortals can’t. They are more resourceful and energetic. This allows them to simply out compete all other competitors.

The earth’s energy grid is now operating at new frequencies that are creating tremendous shocks and stress throughout our world. This new breed of person will flourish under these harsh conditions and through the mastery of duality will be able to attain personal goals and dreams. The person unable to do this will experience the need to work twice as hard in life just to stay at the same level!

LIfe is going to get much harder and a stronger and more virile race is emerging to take the helm. This will be happening across the world at all levels of society. Self empowerment is now about personal effort and not about old eon values.

Russian Kettlebells, Magick and Earth’s Energy Grid

 

Connecting to the energies of the Earth has been called many things including the magickal path and the path of the martial arts. The true abilities of this path are connection to the powerful earth forces and the ability to physically manifest things in life. This is also the path of materialism.

The earth energies are absolute and manifest as a magnetic energy grid that covers the globe like a net. Each strand of this net is vibrating at a set frequency that will not change. When a person makes contact with this energy they change until their energy matches the energy of the earth. Until that energy phase links with the earth energy the person will feel his or her personal energy to be supported or attacked. If supported it will speed up until if matches the earth’s energy. We experience this as a rush of supporting energy and a magickal blessing of good fortune.

If attacked we will feel as if every stone of the earth is turned against us and everything will be a struggle trying to drag us down to a lower rate of vibration.

Since the earth’s energy grid consists of the dual exchange of spiritual and material forces acting in combination as a unified current both spiritual and material paths will experience this effect.

When your personal energy phase locks in harmony with the earth’s energy grid you will be able to manifest things physically on the material plane. It doesn’t matter if you are following a spiritual path or a material path. It doesn’t matter if you are a materialist or a magician. In both cases you are connected to the earth’s energy grid and locked into it in an harmonious and supportive way. Inability to manifest things on the physical plane is simply a lack of earth connection. You are working against the energy instead of with it.

Connection to the earth energy is extremely simple and extremely difficult at the same time. It takes the physical generation of lots and lots of energy on a daily basis over a period of many years. There are no exceptions and if the energy is generated the development is mechanical and cumulative in nature. You will get results.

Those that pump iron or work with Russian Kettlebells will feel that “pumped up” feeling that a hard work out generates. It is that “pumped up” energy that will accumulate and gradually develop into a connection to the earth’s energy grid. Other athletes will experience the “second wind”.

Magickal work typically deals with sexual energy and operates the same way. Sexual arousal and tension is prolonged until the sexual energy floods the entire body in waves. Orgasm is avoided. This flooding of the physical body with sensation gives a similar effect and will gradually lead to a connection to the earth energy.

Whether you work with Russian Kettlebells or work with sex energy the result will be much the same. Once a day is not enough on a daily basis to get results. There needs to be two inputs of energy on a daily basis to create noticeable results and they will be noticeable! Two workouts at the gym or two sex magick sessions will generate intense dream activity and rapid soul development. One gym workout with Russian Kettlebells and one sex magick session on the same day will work as well. One injection of energy per day is simply not enough to get good results. That is why this is so difficult. The earth’s energy grid will resist your feeble efforts with it’s own elastic ability. Three or four injections of energy in one day will have profound effects in breaking through into new areas of energy work.

That is the good news. The bad news is that if you do this type of work and are not prepared to handle the energy you might go mad at the eruption of repressed and negative emotions. At the very least the OAK Energy Ball Meditation must be done before trying this type of development work.

An important complication of working with earth energies before working with spiritual energies is the dualistic tendency we have to work against ourselves. We can become our own worst enemy!

The Electric Universe

 

There are some things that need to be clarified before we can even begin to talk about the process of soul development and the ability to manifest things materially. There is so much disinformation and confusion of terms because of the highly subjective nature of individual personal experience. Fortunately there is enough information available to make sense of things for the first time.

Our universe is electrical in nature and driven by the thousands of volts potential between the two polarity extremes. On the positive side at the high end of the universe we have the spiritual force that manifests as expansive light or the photon. What I mean is that there is a high voltage terminal that is beyond light but its first physical manifestation is light or the photon.

At the extreme negative and low end of the universe we have the material force that manifests as electricity and matter. There is a tremendous force of attraction between these two poles that drives everything in our universe.

There is a symbolic way of describing this with the colors of the rainbow. If we consider the colors red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue and purple we perceive an entire octave of colors. Let’s take any three colors, yellow, green and light blue. As an analogy we might say that our universe is created entirely out of the color green. In this case we would consider yellow as the positive pole of the universe and light blue the negative pole. Everything that exists within our green universe would be a mixture of these two colors, yellow and light blue.

In our limited perception we would perceive the color yellow as absolute white and the color light blue as absolute black. We would have no knowledge of the color yellow and no knowledge of the color light blue because they would not exist in our known universe.

Like the yin-yang symbol our universe would be perfectly balanced with equal measures of both colors and extended from the highest to the lowest levels of existence like the black and white squares on a chess board. Male forces would move the energy one way and female forces would move the energy in the return direction.

Religion has depicted the electrical forces of light/yellow and dark/light blue to be intelligent and called them many names including God and Goddess, good and evil, God and the Devil. In all cases they symbolize the expansive/love forces of light and the embracing/contractive forces of dark.

The dynamic interplay of these two polar opposites manifests as vibrational energy and forms of alternating current throughout our theoretical green light universe. Our green light universe would be separated from the colors yellow and light blue and exist separately as an individual packet tightly sealed in its own quantum energy. Like Einstein said energy and matter are interchangeable and everything is ultimately green light in our theoretical universe.

In our theoretical universe connecting with the color yellow would connect us to the the cosmic spiritual forces of nature. This has been called the mystical path and such connection to the Cosmic is called “Illumination”. Connecting with the color light blue would connect us to the the vast energies of the earth and materialism. This has been called the magickal path and the path of the martial arts as well. Connecting to both these cosmic polarities would cause thousands of volts of raw energy to flow through us in both directions.

This connection to the dual forces of the universe is the great union of religions and of the martial arts and results in magickal abilities and great personal empowerment. It is when we connect to both poles of this cosmic battery that we truly become empowered. This is and always has been the greatest personal goal possible.

In conclusion we might add that there may well exist a red universe, an orange universe, a yellow universe and an infinite number of universes that we have no awareness of. Each would have its own life forms and physical reality. What I’ve described is a symbolic universe created out of vibrating light energy and driven by the “colors” on either side of it in the energy spectrum.

We might also consider our universe to be a gigantic computer that is powered by an alternating power source. In each case the dual power source can be tapped into and energy channeled but not directly known. The computer has no awareness of the electricity that turns it on and allows it to function but it would not function if it was not turned on.

 

 

 

Light and Dark Power Sources

The two primary magickal power sources used in the OAK tradition are the “Light” and the “Dark”. These two power sources are tapped and used as a giant battery to provide unlimited energy for magickal work. One must remember that magick involves the creation of a “cone of power”. The cone of power is a south pole magnetic energy vortex or a north pole magnetic energy vortex. The “Cone of Power” has the ability to magnetically attract or repell what is desired. The strength of the “Cone of Power” is related to the amount of “Current” that flows through it. The more current or energy that flows through it, the greater it’s ability to attract or repell a specific outcome.

For the solitary practicioner tapping into these two primal sources will allow the greatest magickal power possible. He or she will still be limited to the amount of energy that can be channeled through the physical body. Most magick follows the scientific laws of simple electronics. Two or Three 3rd degree initiates that have each tapped into the “Light” and the “Dark” function as three batteries connected in parallel and greatly increase the current or energy that flows through the magickal working. This greatly increases the ability of the “Cone of Power” to attract or repell. This is the main reason to seek out true physical initiation, it will greatly increase the energy flow and the magickal ability to attract or repell through magickal means. Even in working by themselves such initiates still posess the combined power of all that are linked together
since they are linked for life.

With the attainment of the “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel” one is essentially linked to the power of “Light”. Connecting with the power of “Dark” requires a purging of all repressed emotional energies and an opening of prana lines and pathways within the body and the soul. This is done through the completion of the Energy Ball Meditation by plunging it down into the center of the earth and establishing a permanent connection with the earth. Completion of this meditation creates a powerline between the “Light” and the “Dark”. One more powerline is needed for the dual current to flow unhindered. This can only be created by crossing the Great Abyss in full consciousness. This process will be described in another essay. In crossing the great abyss one is also plunged downward to connect with the “Shadow” and a permanent connection with the power of “Dark”.

The completion of this first powerline will allow you to transmute toxic emotional energy into harmless energy and allow mastery of mental projection. It is also a time of much inner work and is intensely satisfying and healing.

Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel

To gain the “Knowledge and Conversation of One’s Holy Guardian Angel” is an important part of gaining magickal power. Each tradition has it’s own methods of achieving this. Most of them seem very difficult. In the OAK tradition it is very easy to attain

The first step is to read the three duality essays Duality Part One,Duality Part Two,Duality Part Three and try to associate personal memories with each stage discussed. The effect of these three essays is to arrange our memories to fit into the structure suggested by the essays themselves. These essays begin the process of balancing our brains and organizing our memories in a very specific way. First we recall specific types of memories and then we recall the opposite type of experience and lastly we link each experience with it’s opposite in a meaningful way. This prepares us for working with our own “Shadow”. It allows us to see that we contain opposites within us and that there is meaning to this.

The second step is to begin the Energy Ball Meditation. In the first step of this meditation we create an energy ball above our heads and invite our “Higher Self” into it. When this ball of energy is stable we create a second ball of energy in the center of our heads around the pineal gland. These steps are well described in the meditation essay. The next step is the forcing of the two balls of energy together to form a larger energy ball. When this happens the first time one will experience an intense form of energy and a “baptism” of “Spiritual Light”. When the two energy ball merge together you have achieved the “Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel”. You have linked your “Higher Self” with your lower self. After two or three times the effect is a permanent connection with the “Higher Self” or “HGA”. This technique is very simple and very powerful. It is also a mechanical process that is easily done.

 

Contact With the Divine

What is meant by contact with the Divine? Can we actually contact God or Goddess? Do they really exist? In truth the Divine is infinite and beyond human comprehension. We can not know or experience something that is beyond our ability to understand.

We can know that the first cause is the photon or “light”. Light, energy and matter are all interchangable. Light and it’s reciprocal electricity are the building blocks of our entire existance. Life was first created as a divine spark of light and gradually evolved into the life forms that we encounter today. We were all at one time simple photons or sparks of light with the life spans and awareness of photons all vibrating at select frequencies.

The closest we can come to knowing Divinity is knowing “Light” and knowing “Darkness”. In crossing the great abyss we connect with this “Light” or “Source”. There is a similar abyss that we must cross to encounter “Darkness” or our “Shadow”. In crossing these we find a new type of awareness and consciousness created within us. What we find is that personal awareness continues but we can go no further toward the Light or toward the Darkness. In both directions we are turned back gently and with love.

It is possible to connect with the Light and the Dark and experience true divinity through the use of the energy ball meditation. This will be explained later. In the meantime we will consider other life forms and intelligences. Many life forms and intelligences exist beyond the great abyss of Light and of Dark. Our higher self exists above the abyss and our Shadow exists across the lower abyss. In connecting with our higher self and with our Shadow we are connecting with our own divinity. In becoming our Higher Self and in becoming our Shadow we become divine. The Marriage of the Higher Self and the Shadow is known in antiquity as the “alchemical marriage”. They can only be joined through our “ordinary” ego. Except when this happens our ego is no longer “ordinary”. It becomes “divine”.

Also Divine are the God and Goddess. These entities are the guiding spirits of the human race and embrace all of humanity at it’s worst and at it’s best. At some levels the human race is a single organism and each one of us is a cell in the body of humanity. The God and Goddess know what we should be doing to ensure the survival of the human race into the future. It is appropriate that we contact them and ask for guidance and assistance in doing that which we are meant to do in life.

Each form of life has it’s guiding spirits or God and Goddess. They can be our allies since humanity has evolved through many of those life forms and we retain an inner connection to them. It is against evolution for a human to regress into the animal and to worship the animal atavisms. We must not let them have control over us.

Lastly, since all things started out as light, we are all the same, everyone of us. In fact, we are all a part of each other and a part of everything that exists. When I look into the eyes of a dog or horse, I look into my own eyes. How can it be otherwise? I can not hurt someone else without hurting myself. When we truely wish we can connect with the “Divine” in everything.

Casting a Circle

Casting a Circle

General opening for an OAK circle:

Needed: Set up altar area and light candles.
Chalice of water or wine
Bowl of water
Bowl of sea salt
Athame
Incense burner
Dish of cakes
Have supply of incense and matches handy and take phone off the hook.

High Priest and High Priestess stand before altar.

High Priestess places bowl of water on pantacle and puts tip of athame into it.

“I exorcize you O spirit of water, casting out all impurities and illusions which may lie within you. May you be charged with the power, strength, and love of the God and Goddess. Blessed Be”

She then holds bowl in both hands.

High Priest puts bowl of sea salt on pentacle and puts tip of athame into it.

“I exorcize you O spirit of salt, casting out all impurities and illusions which may lie within you. May you be charged with the power, strength and love of the God and Goddess. Blessed Be”

He pours salt into water bowl and both bowls are replaced on the altar.

(The solitary must perform all functions by themselves…)

Casting Circle

One leaves and the other draws the circle leaving a gateway by raising athame at entrance area. Circle is scribed three times.

“I conjure thee O circle of power, be a meeting place of love and joy and truth; a shield against all wickedness and evil; a boundary between the world of man and the mighty ones; a rampart and protection that shall preserve and contain the power that we shall raise within thee. For this purpose I bless thee and consecrate thee in the name of the God and Goddess”.

Admit members with a hug spinning deosil or clockwise. Male admits female and female admits male. The circle has now been established in the earth element and is now to be strengthened in the other elements.

A member takes the bowl of water and sprinkles North to North (or from altar to altar) going around the perimeter sprinkling water three times at each quarter.
A member takes the incense and moves around the perimeter moving the censor three times at each quarter.

A member takes candle around perimeter moving candle three times at each quarter.

Calling the Quarters

A member goes to the East and draws the invoking pentagram of Air;

“Guardians of the Watch Towers of the East, Powers of Air, I call upon thee. Thou who art the breezes, winds, and zephyrs…and who are also mind, intellect, and imagination… grace our circle with your presence this night. I summon, stir and call thee up”!

Goes to the South and draws invoking pentagram of fire;

“Guardians of the Watch Towers of the South, Powers of Fire, I call upon thee. Thou who art the fiery rays of the sun, the dancing flames of the hearth fire, and the deep heat within the earth’s molten core… and who art also energy, will, and passion…grace our circle with your presence this night. I summon, stir and call thee up”!

Goes to the West and draws invoking pentagram of Water;

“Guardians of the Watch Towers of the West, Powers of Water, I call upon thee. Thou who art the mountain streamlets, the mighty rivers, and the vast oceans…and who art also feeling, emotion, and intuition…grace our circle with your presence this night. I summon, stir and call thee up”!

Goes to the North and draws invoking pentagram of Earth;

“Guardians of the Watch Towers of the Earth, Powers of Earth, I call upon thee. Thou who art the towering mountains, the fertile plains, and the enduring bedrock…and who art also our bodies and all things material…grace our circle with your presence this night. I summon, stir, and call thee up”!

Energizes self as in the essay Your Altar

Drawing Down the Moon and Sun

High Priestess stands with back to the altar.

High Priest stands and points with right fore finger at right breast, left breast, womb and returning finally back at right breast forming triangle.

“I invoke and call upon the eternal Goddess that is deep within you and has always been within you from the birth of your physical body and also from the birth of your eternal soul. Come forth in peace and love into our circle and deliver your blessing to us. Help us in our magickal work and in our physical lives”.

High Priest stands back and waits

High Priestess acknowledges by saying “Let there be Love”.

They trade places moving deosil or clockwise until he stands with back to altar.

High Priestess points with right fore finger to forehead, left shoulder, right shoulder and repeats ending with forehead forming a triangle.

“I invoke and call upon the eternal God that is deep within you and has always been within you from the birth of your physical body and also from the birth of your eternal soul. Come forth in energy and light into our circle and deliver your blessing to us. Help us in our magickal work and in our physical lives”.

High Priestess stands back and waits.

High Priest acknowledges by saying “Let there be Light”.

The Charge

“Listen to the words of the God and Goddess. Whenever you need anything, once a month and better when the moon is full, assemble in a secret place and call on us, the guiding spirits of the human race, male and female. We shall answer your deepest questions and help your magicks. You are meant to be free, to dance, sing, feast and make love with our blessings. For the blessings of physical life and the blessings of spiritual life are meant to be as one within the human heart. Keep your highest dreams and strive to make them real. Let nothing stop you or turn you aside. Accept our blessings and help because life is meant to be a joy of the heart. we believe in peace and freedom and reunion with those that have gone before us into the spirit worlds. We, male and female can be found within the dust of the earth and the light of the stars, and our awareness encircles the universe and binds it to our wills.

In our union is the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars, the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man. We call upon your soul to arise and join us in the creation of nature and the expansion of life into the universe.

From the union of male and female all things must come and all things must return. Rejoice therefore in the duality of life and let your worship be acts of love and pleasure, beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence.

Know also that we are within you, male and female and if you can not find our union within yourself you will never find it within another person. We were within you before you were formed and will be within you at your death. Rejoice”!

Closing

“Thank you eternal God who is deep within the heart of each of us. We do thank you for being here with us in this rite of magick. As you depart, we ask you to leave some small part of thy strength and joy within each of us here. Blessed Be”!

All:”Blessed Be”!

“Thank you eternal Goddess who is deep within the heart of each of us. We do thank you for being here with us in this rite of magick. As you depart, we ask you to leave some small part of thy magick and wisdom within each of us here. Blessed Be”!

All:”Blessed Be”!

“Ye Lords of the Watch Towers of the East, ye Lords of Air; we do thank you for attending our rites; and before you depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and farewell…”

All:”Hail and farewell”!

Traces banishing pentagram

“Ye Lords of the Watch Towers of the South, ye Lords of Fire; we do thank you for attending our rites; and before you depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and farewell….”

All:”Hail and farewell”!

Traces banishing pentagram

“Ye Lords of the Watch Towers of the West, ye Lords of Water; we do thank you for attending our rites; and before you depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and farewell….”

All:”Hail and farewell”!

Traces banishing pentagram

“Ye Lords of the Watch Towers of the North, ye Lords of Earth; we do thank you for attending our rites; and before you depart to your pleasant and lovely realms, we bid you hail and farewell…”

All:”Hail and farewell”!

Traces banishing pentagram

Elements of the above ritual were inspired by or taken from the following sources and adapted to fit the modern and

non denominational style of the OAK tradition:

“Magical Rites from the Crystal Well” by Ed Fitch
“A Witches Bible Compleat” by Janet and Stewart Farrar
“A Grimoire of Shadows” by Ed Fitch
“Coven Craft” by Amber K

Your Altar

In a very real way my physical body is an altar and a temple. This is aluded to in the Wiccan religion although the tendency is to think of the female body as an altar. In the OAK tradition we embrace the male and the female that is within each one of us. Within our bodies flows the “vital life force” that is responsible for our very awareness. The altar is an opening or gateway that taps into the “vital life force” of the earth itself. It is a place of sacred power and a place where we can attune with our own guides, Gods, and Goddesses. It is also a place where we can perform magick using the “vital life force” energy of the earth instead of using our own energy. This gateway or opening is created by “activating” the altar. Without activation an altar is simply a shrine or sacred space hosting a collection of sacred objects.

The activation of the altar begins with a purification of the area. I use a basic banishing ritual, LBRP, for this. The idea is a simple purification of the space and of the items belonging to the altar itself. Then I continue with a basic circle casting.

Following this is a self energizing technique: I mental reach up into the “highest spiritual light” that I can reach and draw a handful of it down through me and down through my spine, through my feet and into the center of the earth. This creates a “powerline” from the “light” to the “dark”. Next I mentally reach down and draw a handful of “dark Earth” energy and raise it up through my feet, up my spine and out the crown chakra up into the “highest spiritual light” as an offering. This creates the second “powerline” and causes the “vital life force” energy to course through my physcial and astral bodies.

The “highest spiritual light” might well be symbolized by the dot within a circle or the symbol of the “sun”. This is also the symbol in electronics for the “positive” pole of a battery. In like manner the “dark earth energy” might well be symbolized by the cross within a circle or the symbol of the “Earth”. This is also the symbol in electronics for the “negative” pole in a battery.

The “light” and the “dark” are seen as the positive and negative poles that we connect to. They are the terminals of a cosmic “battery” or power source. This connection allows the “vital life force” to flow more strongly than ever within us. These are the “primal” forces that OAK taps into and uses for magickal power.

Then I call the God and Goddess and my patron Marie to assist me in the activation of my altar. I feel their presence around me and their good will and blessings. If I don’t I do not continue further. Next I mentally reach up into the “light” above my altar and bring a handful of it down through the altar itself and into the center of the Earth creating a powerline as before. Then completeing the circuit I mentally take a handful of “Earth” energy and raise it up through the altar into the “light” and create the second powerline. With the second powerline created I can sense the power and energy eminating from the altar itself. The altar is now active.

An altar should be permanent and never closed. Once activated it will always remain open and a source of power when you need it during the day. It should be approached with reverence and the candles never blown out but snuffed out. Further banishings and circle castings are not needed after the initial activation unless the altar is taken down after use.

A person’s altar is a personal thing and will grow with time. An item should never be simply placed upon an altar. You should ask permission to the altar, God and Goddess and/or your patron to determine if the item really belongs on your altar.

My altar is quite simple. I have a large black candle (in a jar) in the central position. Behind it is a statue of the Virgin Mary and on either side behind it a black and a white Goddess image. Together they form a triangle. The white is on the left and the black on the right. Above the altar on the left is a picture of Marie as Empress and on the right a picture of Marie as High Priestess. Scattered on the altar are magickal tools of the four elements, Fire, Water, Air and Earth.