(c) Gary Dumbauld, 1988
Michael came, walking laboriously, intentionally, to the stone circle unquestionable in the wood. Uncovered of clothes he came, open to the turn round the moon and the stars, a lineage of red amplify his rank linked all over his waist, a black-hilted bash at his not here hip. He tried to still his awareness, venerate his lessons, cane his stance to the back of his awareness, and rectangle feel; the feel of the Position on which he trod, the feel of the turn round on his fit into, the feather-weight unite of the moonlight on his casing. He tried to put himself in class with the opulent design of the Heavens, the peak of the sunset, he willed himself somberly to master his emotions, concentrate and call with sacred notion.
He came, point of view the pantacle near him, balanced sharp on his hands. Old, it was, silver subsequent to the moon, imprinted and etched, lissom, burnished and blackened with signs and symbols. How he had sweated complete it, this ahead see, with make and mold, graver and burin, acids and wax, the tools of the silversmith. A see and a day it had been, as he was judged variety to become a Vicar, and point this commission. His to drag, this silver monitor, but not his to own, farmhouse the rite was complete and he, subsequent to his commencement and mother near him, his aunts and uncles and grandparents for generations, inherited by dangerous and sacred affectedness the High Priesthood of the Cautious.
The High Priestess' athame pressed to his strongbox, her low, firm voice as she asked him the ritual questions, roused him as from a dream, of forest dark, and wood powerful. He answered her with a voice not preferably nervous, but not as unceasing as he would have wished.
"I come to this Encircle seeking knowledge. I am Michael; my surface you well know;
I have been sworn and initiated at home the Third Part, but I would now seek the Priesthood of the Cautious. I come, bringing as my key this sacred Pantacle, complete which I have excruciating for a see and a day; I wish to be instructed in it's true meaning; to this end I style my self, the work of my hands, and two passwords: Perfect Love and Perfect Faith."
"All who bring such words are doubly hold close" the High Priestess replied, "and I tender to you a third password, a kiss", And so saying, kissed him on the chops and whirled him sunwise at home the sacred space. He gazed about himself, his eyes downhill easily complete the usual implements on the altar, the candles and wands, censer, dishes of incense and salt; he looked at the High Priestess optimistically.
The High Priestess pull your leg once more, her voice rich instruct the circle, echoing back from the sacred cable stones; "A hunter comes; this his peak.
The peak of the Wise-to teach! As it has ever been, let it now so be done!
Who shall begin?"
The Vicar in the North stood interfering. "I shall begin. The first part of High Vicar to be, approach to the North."
Michael walked to the North, handed the Vicar his Pantacle, and stood faintly era the Vicar examined it, eager that his work would be judged as fair, eager he had prepared an finish description of all the signs and symbols that he had been exposed, a Year and a day aged.
The Vicar dexterously examined the pantacle, spiraling it about to test the light of the halfway fire, moreover handed it back to the boy.
"It is well done, all is fair. Handle upon the symbol at the top of the pantacle--the correct triangle. This sign is the symbol of fire, the flame straining upwards, and stands for the three-fold make the acquaintance of, by which I now make the acquaintance of you, recognizing the fire within you, the fire of impulse, the impulse to elect, the impulse to deduce. A see ago you knew vigor of the craft of the silversmith, and yet you have skilled yourself to make this pantacle. I say once more, well done!", and so saying, the Vicar touched Michael with his athame on the necessary foothold, the top of his primarily, the not here foothold, and once more on the necessary foothold.
Putting his arm in the region of Michael's foothold, the Vicar brought Michael in the region of sunwards a few ladder, moreover faced him once more.
"The flash symbol on the pantacle is a pentagram. This pentagram stands for the five-fold make the acquaintance of. In the form of a pentagram with one manner up, the five-fold make the acquaintance of symbolizes that which is the best man has to commit, climbing to the Gods, seeing that enriched, delayed and bigger, and ever-present to perk up the life of mankind. As a result, the five clang make the acquaintance of symbolizes the microcosm of man containing the macrocosm of the Heavens." So saying, the Vicar touched Michael with the wand, on the necessary hip, primarily, not here hip, necessary breast, not here breast, and necessary hip.
A priestess stepped interfering, saying, "Now, with your span, I impulse drag on this candidate's teaching." The Vicar curved to her, and returned to his place in the North. The Priestess took Michael by the hand and walked with him remote in the region of the circle, still moving sunwards. She packed up, open his hand, and faced him, spoils up a toss of gentle bedeck. Stepping sooner, she reached out her blue-daubed hand, and prepared the sign of the labrys on his strongbox.
"The flash symbol on the pantacle is that of the Goddess in her aspect as the two moons, monthly waxing and deteriorating. The waxing moon symbolizes that which is complete and sympathetic in mankind, the deteriorating moon that which is deep-seated and in the sticks. The deteriorating moon too reminds us that for every skill offer impulse be failures, that for every gain in our lives offer impulse be setbacks; we are not to snivel and cry versus the Gods, or fate, or karma, but we have got to reception that offer is a relax, and the relax impulse be maintained, whether we impulse it or not. Convenient and damaging, life and death--this is the way the world is made; that which dies paves the way for the flash all over of life."
The Priestess fluky arms with him moreover, and they moved remote sunwards about the circle. She turned to him, and kissed him sharp on the mouth, saying "The flash symbol on the pantacle is the kiss. I kiss you, Michael, in view of the fact that we are human; the Gods have shaped us male and female. I too kiss you in assurance of the appear love and appear desire I have for you, and for the appear love and appear desire you acknowledged for us previously you entered this holy space.
That is why you were greeted by the High Priestess with a kiss."
Michael stood, blushing. He might still mouthful the palatability of her mouth, and his fit into required to riposte to her as man to woman--it was well he was joy the pantacle in front line of him; moreover he got himself under self-control, realizing the point of this lesson; the ritual kiss would regularly be expert than a handshake between colleagues, but never preferably a sexual overture; an declaration, not a apply for. He sighed, balanced himself, and looked at the flash sign on the pantacle.
A stern-looking Vicar came towards Michael, his surface set in grim defiance, joy whatever thing Michael might not preferably make out. The man faced Michael, moreover walked behind him, joy what might now be clearly seen as a cat o'nine tails. Michael flinched in foresight of seeing that struck; confident the Vicar was not leave-taking to stir him? Ouch! Yes he was!
"Michael," the Vicar said, between strokes, "the flash sign on the pantacle is the rampant. The rampant of call back. Stand huge, now, and be still, it impulse slighted bring down if you try to lose it."
Now he had packed up celebrated Michael with the rampant. The welts on his back stung and burned, but Michael tried to money off the pain and be present at on the Priest's voice as he continued.
"Michael, you told us at your First Part initiation that you were equipped to brook to learn. This rampant impulse not be sensible to your back once more in a physical road, but I consider you to learn to call back upon your life; and beat power from the comatose absurd belongings you have done. The mistakes, the trifling jealousies, the slight hurts you've inflicted on your friends, your parents, the territory in the region of you. Recall, Michael, and as you venerate, allow yourself to feel sad, to feel the pain and mess you've caused. Test it, beat the power from it, moreover let it go! Go into view, beat prosperity from your ahead, don't stay on it, but don't practical joke the ahead never happened."
The Vicar once more stepped behind Michael, this time joy a pot of whatever thing in his hand. Michael flinched once more as whatever thing touched his back, but this was cool and calming, draw squiggles out the pain. The Vicar waited a few moments, farmhouse he saw that the Cooling comfort had done its work, moreover took Michael gently by the hand and drew him gulp down, ever sunwards, to illustrate the flash symbol.
"The flash symbol on the pantacle is the sign of the God, the horned circle. The horned circle represents, among other belongings, the Cretan bull, annually sacrificed by our family. The bull symbolizes the unwise magic of the God, the intuitional magic, the magic that springs from the operate. The Cretan priests sacrificed the bull, for this reason mobile the euphoria of dialect and intellect complete operate and impact. We, until now are not Cretans, and we do not immolate the bull of impact on the altar of dialect. Structure and dialect are fine in their place, but never mistreat the way you feel; never skip that the life is a montage, a combination, a melding of the material and the unreal, operate and logic. Now I must leave, your teaching impulse be made by the High
Priestess."
The High priestess approached Michael, walking laboriously, unashamedly, each settle down located with peak, her correct deliverance reminding him of her confidence, head of state among colleagues, High Priestess of the Coven, the Encircle of the Cautious.
She stepped sooner. "Michael," she said, "the survive symbol on the rim of the pantacle is the reversed triangle, the alchemical symbol of water; in favor of the numeral three, the numeral of life. It is a means of access, a threshold of life, a threshold of time, for time is ahead, style, and future; life is fit into, awareness, spirit. I am about to grant upon you, the three-fold kiss, to bring your fit into, your ahead, your awareness, the style, your spirit, and the future to persist on this end."
So saying, she bowed and kissed him, head of state on the necessary foothold, moreover the left;
kneeling she kissed him rectangle improved the phallus, and moreover on his necessary foothold once more.
"Michael, you have now conceded in the region of the rim of the pantacle, let us now move to the money, and I impulse target you in the meaning of the halfway pentagram.
The pentagram in the money of the pantacle is the sign of mankind. If I stand for this reason, with feet tangent, hands sticky to the winds, primarily manufacture, the pentagram impulse fix my fit into. We thus can custom that the pentagram in the money of the pantacle represents mankind in the money of the life, surrounded by Goddess and God; blessings and reminders; ahead, style and future; good recollections and bad; light and life, love and law. The halfway pentagram thus can utility as a remark to us, that the Heavens was NOT prepared for man, man was prepared for the Heavens."
She knelt at his feet, heartening, and kissed him, head of state on the not here settle down, moreover the necessary, saying, "I bless your feet, Michael, that have brought you in these ways, reminding you to be ever solid to go on settle down, to help, protect, and fend for the brothers and sisters of the Cautious."
She kissed his section, saying, "I bless your section, reminding you to ever go on bowed section in reserve previously supplicating the Deities, that one who knows his own value impulse gladly prostrate yourself before in order to learn."
She kissed his phallus, and said, "I bless and bestow the portion of generation, that in time you may know that love is the heavy lecturer of equality; love is the prime model of man and woman as equals; two beings, make equal in all ways, complement in all ways, but from tip to toe different; one incomplete not good enough the other; evermore stake, but evermore pleased. Accidental sex impulse gain you vigor, Michael, for although sex is magic, love is the magician."
She kissed his necessary and not here breast, saying "I bless your breast, and remembrance you to deem within the advantage railroad station of the breast, the secrets of the Cautious, as if under lock and key."
As well as she kissed him on the mouth, and said, "I bless your mouth, Michael;
after this, as a High Vicar, you impulse be a lecturer, and the words of your mouth, based in knowledge, leavened with impact and operate, spoken with magical impulse, shall come about in the call back of the Cautious. Go interfering, make your attempt, High Vicar and Magus!