New Art!

I am pleased to have returned to working on my art. (Running a store certainly does take one's free-time away...)

For the next five weeks I will be unveiling a new piece in the series, Goddesses of the Primal Elements. This first week: Arida, The Well of the Rising Sun.

Interviewed by Witches of Salem...

For those who are interested, this past Wednesday night I gave an interview about Feri tradition, secrecy in the Craft, and the use and politics of the word 'warlock' to the hilarious Christian Day for his podcast Hex Education. Check it out if you are so inclined.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hexeducation/2011/07/07/feri-tradition-of-witchcraft-with-warlock-storm-faerywolf

New BlueRose F(a)eri(e) Class starts June 18

My upcoming 2 year in-person F(a)eri(e) class has only a couple of spaces left. If you are interested, please send me an application by May 1st, 2011.  More information can be found at www.BlueRoseFeri.com

BlueRose F(a)eri(e) Level One
with Storm Faerywolf
(4 semesters: Roughly 2 Years, monthly sessions)
$200 per semester, pre-paid -or- $40 per month
New Class to begin June 18, 2011.
We will meet on the 3rd Saturday of each month, from 12 noon to 6pm
(September 2011's class moved to the 24th)
Submit an application to be considered
Class held at The Mystic Dream in Walnut Creek, CA

This foundational class deals with the basics of Feri practice. Using discussion, guided trance, energy work, art projects, and ritual, we will experience various aspects of the tradition culminating in the establishment of a Feri tradition spiritual practice. Students who complete this course will receive a certificate of completion. This class does not offer Feri initiation. All Three Levels are required for consideration of initiation into Feri tradition.

Covered topics include:

• History of the Tradition
• Meditation     
• Cleansing/Kala
• Aligning the Three Souls
• The Iron and Pearl Pentacles
• The Black Heart of Innocence
• The Elements of Feri
• Opening the Crossroads
• Spellwork, Sorcery, and the Left Hand Path
• Basic Feri Ritual/Casting the Circle
• Working Tools
• The Guardians
• The Divine Twins
• Basic Sex Magic
• Ancestral Work
• The Infinitum (Gods of the Feri Lemniscate)

Storm Faerywolf is an artist, writer, poet, teacher, and initiate of the F(a)eri(e) tradition of witchcraft. He has been practicing the Craft for over 25 years and teaching for more than 15. He has lead open circles, given lectures, and taught classes in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the U.S. He holds the Black Wand, an honor bestowed by Feri Grandmaster Cora Anderson. He has studied diverse practices from various branches of the tradition which he incorporates into his own line of Feri, BlueRose. He is the author of The Stars Within the Earth, and is the editor of WitchEye: A Journal of Feri Uprising. For more information about his classes or his art visit his website at www.faerywolf.com.

Petals of the BlueRose

The BlueRose line of F(a)eri(e) is happy to be offering a blog on our musings and activities. If you are interested, check it out!

http://blueroseferi.blogspot.com/

We've had a few posts so far and are hoping to add to our regular contributors shortly. You can also find it embedded on our webiste at www.BlueRoseFeri.com.

Rapture of the Star Goddess Ritual: Song, "I Am"

Some asked for the lyrics to the song I wrote for the Rapture of the Star Goddess ritual, performed at Pantheacon this past Sunday, and so I present them below. It was an exhilarating (and terrifying!) experience for me... at one point I entered more deeply into a pre-possesory state than I had intended and trailed off, forgetting my lines. But thankfully I picked them up again and finished. I posted a picture on my Facebook Page of myself in costume from immediately following the rite. You can tell that I am tranced-out of my gourd even then. :)

I Am (the Peacock Lord)
©2011 Storm Faerywolf

I am... the first-born of Her light
Who ushers... forth the day from night
Bear witness to my starry might
And join my grand seduction!
Now hearken you unto my song
Of life within destruction…

I am... the serpent in the well
Who rises... up to conquer hell
Calling heaven down upon the earth
And as the stars do fall…
My precious jewels reside in thee
Rise and hear my call!

I am…

Mine is... the path of sacred love
the serpent... twining with the dove
And as below so is above
All life in your reflection!
For each of you I’m in your heart
Your beauty-flawed perfection!

I am... the lust that rises high
into the... heavens beyond the sky
who dares to stand proud without shame
And as the sun does rise…
A new day dawns in paradise
And met with joyous cry…

I am...

I am beauty, I am pride!
I am the light that never hides!
I am the power without shame!
Holy power, yours to claim!

As we sing the universe
In concert with us now affirms
This sacred light within our hearts
Never dies, never departs

So we sing together now
to call that love and power down
within our blood, within our bones
the song that’s calling us… home…

I am...

My Response

My apologies to those who are overloaded with Feri drama. If this is you, please feel free to skip this link. I find myself needing to post a rebuttal to some serious allegations that were made against me. Please follow the link if you’d like to know my side of the story.

http://www.faerywolf.com/statement.html

Petals of the BlueRose

For those who may not have seen the news elsewhere, please check out my new website devoted to the BlueRose lineage of the F(a)eri(e) tradition: www.BlueRoseFeri.com

Part of the website is a new blog. I just posted a piece there that I wrote for the Wild Hunt Blog concerning the "split" in F(a)eri(e) tradition.

I will likely post my specifically F(a)eri(e) related stuff over there, but may from time to time still do the same here. My LJ will continue to be stuff about me and my work, including updates to my schedule.

Witch Eye returns...

I posted this elsewhere, but then realized I hadn't done it here, so...

We are happy to announce that Witch Eye has returned as an annual publication!



We have expanded from 48 to 84 pages, full of art, articles, rituals, and lore about the various practices from different lines of the Feri tradition of witchcraft.

Retail price is $15 plus shipping, but if you buy it from the website then you get 20% off. Check out our NEW website at www.witcheye.com to purchase or for more info!

Take four!

Well... if you haven't read the accusations against me then you wont be able to here. The rebuttal post that I just posted was suspended for violation of copyrights in that I reposted the public posts that the user Elorie posted in accusing me of various absurdities. So... you will all just have to read my response without the benefit of reading her ranting posts unless you want to go to her journal directly and read them yourself. They are still public at the time of this writing.

So here is my rebuttal, stripped of quotes and obvious snark (while funny and good-feeling in the moment had lost it's charm and I just want to be done with it). Let's see how long this post can stay up.

Feri is...

A couple of new websites have sprung up espousing the face of non-public Feri. While I do not agree with everything that they have said, I support the right of everyone to speak from their heart about what Feri is for them. I have put links to these sites on the links page at FeriTradition.com.

I do, however, wish to comment on one part of the statement posted at FaeryTradition.org:

"We dissociate and emphatically disconnect ourselves from the practice of those who seek to define the name “Feri” exclusively to themselves and from the public face they have created."

I want to make it clear that I do not seek to define Feri for anyone other than myself. I never have... while what I practice and teach is traditional for me, I recognize that other lines feel differently. This was actually one of the things that drew me to Feri in the first place; wild diversity and ecstatic practice. While some have sought to define what I do as being "not Feri", "disrespectful", "whorish", or worse, these are really just tools of the ego designed to drive further wedges in our extended family.

The division of public vs. mystery tradition is a false one. While I offer Feri training to the public this should not be assumed to mean that I do not honor the Mystery; even my long distance students enter into an intimate relationship with me in which we work with the exercises, lore, and the Gods & spirits in order to cultivate a deep relationship with them. This is not simply "reading a handout" or having a light chat... this is deep, personal work that is --first and foremost-- a way to help the individual cultivate their own divine authority and to evolve spiritually... and secondly as a means to see if they are even candidates for our priesthood. Those who have reported that I will never initiate those who take my long distance courses are sadly mistaken; while the training itself does not lead there, once the training is done all bets are off and if the person is a candidate --long distances or not-- we will find a way to make it happen. This might be a local initiate taking the role of initiator... this might mean the student coming out to visit me... or me visiting them.. who knows? I can't know from the beginning that everyone is going to go on to initiation... part of my classes are about finding that out along the way, but only PART. The main thrust of my classes is THE WORK, which is why I say that they do not lead to initiation. Let's just focus on the work and see where it takes you, shall we? Anything less invites a sort of "cookie cutter" approach to the work that I think is not helpful.

It's sad that some feel threatened by others who practice Feri differently than they do. For the record, I do not require nor expect (or even want!) others to practice Feri as I see it; Feri is a wild and tough thing and will survive the current nastiness and false divisions. These "splits" have occurred before and --wouldn't you know it?-- eventually they become meaningless. People who were once banished or reviled are invited to the parties... distinctions that once seemed integral are seen in a new light... Feri goes on, and will continue to do so as long as our hearts are in the right place.

"Feri is the power that rises from the earth and fills our bodies with wonder and magick. Feri has infused every single magical religion on the planet throughout time. It predates human consciousness and will exist after we are all gone. If every initiate were to die tomorrow, Feri would endure. Not through books or revealed practices.. but through the wind in the trees... the marrow in our bones... our life, our sex, our breath, our death. Feri is. Feri was. Feri will be. What that means for each of us is what we are here to find out. Certainly our experiences of Feri will differ. Some will do so radically. That's the beauty of it. That's what keeps it alive." --Storm Faerywolf, 2005.

The F(a)eri(e) Tradition Nonunion Tour (Now in it's 40th year!)

I am again hearing about a split in the Feri tradition. "Public" vs. "Mystery Tradition" Feri. Since I am one of those at the forefront of Feri in the public eye I can just imagine that this has at least a little to do with the work that I have been doing, namely in providing Feri tools to a wider audience.

This is nothing new. When I first came into Feri there was a "split": "Old Feri" vs. "New Feri". Later there was another, what I call "Red vs. Blue" (or, "those who initiate sexually vs. those who don't"). And there were others: those who charge money for classes vs. those who don't... those who initiate and then offer training vs. those who do it the other way round... those who use angelic names for the Guardians vs. those who use animal totems... those who teach the Iron Pentacle first and then the Pearl ("Oh, no! You must teach them together!", "No! It's Pearl first!")... those who teach Liberty on the Pearl Pentacle rather than "Power" (I actually heard a then-student bemoan the fact that Thorn taught "Liberty", adding that he "tolerated" her doing so). Really? Really? And the list goes on and on, and on, and on, and on... it never ends. It's kind of like Cher's consistent farewell tours only far more predictable and far less exciting. It seems that practically from the beginnings of the Feri tradition there have been those who are predicting, perpetuating, or bemoaning this "split" in the tradition. We seem to be pretty good at amputating ourselves and giving away our power.

An old argument that has been brought up again recently is in regards to those of us who offer training over long distances. I can assume that this is the thought behind a recent website (called "FaeryRoads"... you can find it on the links page at FeriTradition.com). Regardless of the thinking behind this particular website, it is being stated that it is impossible to train someone without physical proximity. Nevermind that Victor Anderson sometimes offered this type of training (he offered to teach me this way). And when it is begrudgingly accepted as possible it is quickly dismissed as being less potent than in-person training. Again with the ego. ("My way is just so much better than your way...")

What's kind of funny to me is that the people who are stating that you simply cannot teach Feri over long distances are really just showing their own lack of imagination. I can't exactly blame them; at first I was in that camp; thinking (as I was told to) that the Feri tradition needed to be taught hand to hand, eye to eye, heart to heart. It wasn't until I attended a "phone tele-conference ritual" (which, I admit, I agreed to participate in only as a lark!) that I realized that there was a lot more going on than was previously reported. Contrary to what many may have held as belief, I learned that this was all real. Witchcraft... magic... all of it. Absolutely real. If I could feel the energy over a freaking phone call then there was something extra potent going on. I learned that energy did not require physical proximity in order to cause the changes necessary for a ritual to be effective... it just took concentration, determination, and a little imagination. Ahh... imagination. A resource apparently in short supply in the current Feri community.

Those who have consistently reported that it is impossible to transmit Feri over long distances have absolutely no idea what I am doing in those sessions. And not a single one of them has bothered to ask me... they just assume that because they lack the insight necessary to pull it off then it can't be done. (At one time I made it public that I would speak to any Feri initiate and take the time to explain in detail exactly how I am teaching these classes... now I require that you be nice to me. And a few of you can just suck it.)

So to those of you who feel that Feri tools and training shared publicly are anathema to our tradition: I get that perhaps you think that you are "defending the tradition"... but I think you are doing the very thing that is causing it to be dumbed down. Feri is alive. It is authentic. It invites change, and adaptation, and evolution. By doing what I am doing I am defending the tradition too; Feri as a tradition of bardic diversity and cultivating one's divine authority. We are all Gods; shimmering reflections of God Herself.

I am God. And in realizing this fact I must accept that you are too. I just wish you'd learn that same lesson and get off your high horse long enough to realize it's been dead for years. (And really, the stench is overpowering.) Wouldn't you all rather get back to the business of communing with the Gods? Or is it really better to try and beat each other down with dividing lines and false accusations?

So go ahead and talk of your little "split". It wont last long. It never does. You'll find something else to bemoan. Perhaps you'd like to start talking about the Wand system again and how it goes against everything you think Feri to be (I got mine from Cora Anderson, mind you)... or how Feri doesn't have a Grandmaster (I've met her... she's nice)... or any of the other topics that you use in order to drive further wedges in between people who really should be working together to help transform the world into a better place. But then, that would require imagination. Better yet to get back to your previously scheduled egos and proclaim yourselves the one right and true way of Feri (TM). But I don't have much time for it... I have real work to do.

A poem

Opening the Way

Sun that shines within my chest
illuminates the moon below
that calls with lust unto the heavens
To seduce the stars
and so in rapturous love they fall.

Holy star above my head
shining down upon my path
where grows the tree of tombs and starlight
where cross the roads of worldly form.

A breath! All is One!

The liquid diamond
Rises like fire
A whirlwind of force.

A breath! All is One!

The heart that now blazes
that knows joy and sorrow
and steers a clear course.

A breath… 

Eyes of starlight.
Crown of diamond.
Aligned in power.
The Sight awakened.

A light…

From the darkness
The universe born.

A song…

from you all things emerge
to you all things return.

A form…

By the earth, Her fertile body
By the air, Her vital breath
By the fire, Her quickening spirit
By the water, Her teeming womb
By stars above,
By stones below,
And heart within
This place prepared.

Blue Fire Reiki

I am now able to offer attunements into Blue Fire Reiki in addition to the traditional (Usui) lineage. For more information, click here.

Poem: The Story of Melek Ta'us

The Story of Melek Ta'us
7/22/2010

Born of beauty and of pride
Melek Ta'us, the Peacock Angel
Gleaming jewel amongst the stars
Created from the smokeless fire.

Chieftain of the angels seven
By God so ordered not to bow
before another, before another
Adam's birth disturbs this now

As other angels turn and bow,
The Peacock Lord faces the sun
Righteous pride prevents his bowing
And so free-will has now begun

Confusion in the ranks of heaven
Conflict born from unity
A fall from grace, to fall in love
with precious jeweled humanity.

The world knows not his sacrifice
and condemns his act of will as evil
and though he strives to save our souls
still is he cast as the devil.

Even though they know him not
The Peacock Lord maintains his place
The King of Earth, a light from Heaven
The guiding star of the human race.

Seven jars have been thus been filled
with his tears to save the world,
to quench the fires of hell and loathing
to douse the flames; to wash them clean.

Melek Ta'us, the Peacock Angel
Spread your painted fan and make
the seven heavens with thunder tremble
and help us rise, so to awake.  

 

A Witch by any other name...

My article, Crafting the Warlock, is live on the Witches Voice. Check it out and tell a friend! (No, really... I want it to have lots of "hits".)  ;)

The F(a)eri(e) "Community" (and why I am against it)

It happens every so often; an issue rises to the attention of some Feri initiates that ruffles their feathers and soon people are grabbing torches and pitchforks. It's a pattern. It's predictable. You can practically set your watch by it.

This latest incarnation of ego-driven fundamentalism deals with an essay written by a Feri student. One of my students. Entitled "The Beast and the Bride: The Divine Marriage, Fetchwork, and the Feri Tradition" it is an exploration of "hedgeriding" of traditional witchcraft and how the heirogamos intersects with the Feri world view of the Three Souls and recently published in "To Fly By Night" by Pendraig Publishing. (Available from Amazon by following the link.) It is a thought-provoking piece that serves to draw comparison between myth, magic, and the practices of pre-Gardnerian witchcraft, of which Feri is most definitely a part. I read the article soon after he submitted it for the collection and, finding it to be both accurate and insightful, I gave my approval (though I let him know that my approval was not required for him to speak his truth).

Months pass. Maybe a year. Now that the book has been published it draws the attention from some Feri initiates who express outrage that a non-initiate would be speaking about the Feri tradition publicly. As a footnote, I myself spoke and wrote publicly about Feri tradition for years before I was an initiate --(See Witch Eye #1, "What is the F(a)eri(e) Tradition?") and no one ever said "boo" to me. This, in turn, spawns a discussion about secrecy in the tradition and that those of us who are moved to be more public should, "out of respect", curtail our drive toward openness and adopt a more restrictive view. It's an argument that has been around for years, and will never go away. I used to participate in the discussion, but after having been attacked and slandered several times have learned that this particular online initiates "community" is anything but. With 130+ members (and now dropping) only about half of the known Feri initiates are there anyway, and yet discussions there tend to be seen as representing the tradition as a whole, especially when accentuated with insults, lies, and rhetoric.

Often, when the issue of how the different lines of Feri should approach the issues of what is secret and what is not, the following story is invoked: In February of 2002 a meeting of Feri initiates occurred in which many things were discussed, mainly the issue of secrecy, since the various lineages each hold different material to be secret. During this meeting, one initiate (whom I love and respect) spoke from her heart about how certain liturgy was sacred to her line and only used at the initiate level but that she had encountered it outside of Feri and that it had caused her distress. In response to this another initiate stood and proclaimed that since it caused her sister distress that she now would hold this as secret as well, out of respect for her sister. Much rejoicing was made.

It was a wonderful gesture and many people felt empowered by it. But now I find that this wonderful gesture has been corrupted into a tool of manipulation and control. Let me explain...

Now, when the issue of secrecy arises this particular event is cited as being THE ONLY ONE TRUE AND RIGHT WAY that those of us trained and initiated into more open styles of worship can adopt in order to remain "respectful" of those who do not share our open view. When those of us are more open with what we share we are told that we are "going against tradition"... never mind that this IS traditional for us as this was how we were taught! We are "asked" to remain quiet and to take down liturgy, exercises, and other materials without regard to our personal drives, inspiration, or gnosis. It's a demand veiled as a request. It's bullshit, plain and simple.

The argument has been made that since some hold certain pieces of the tradition to be secret (such as the Goddesses of the Elements that were published in The Spiral Dance more than 30 years ago) then if, for example, I was to write about them publicly then it is automatically a disrespect to those who hold it as secret. I think that is quite a leap.

I have heard a lot from the side of secrecy. My general attitude has been to let people do what their true Will dictates, without judgment. This is not a value that some others seem to share. So to this I want to be very clear about my view: I think that the mindset that would encourage individuals within our tradition to demand that others adopt their world view is actually a harmful one, and because of this I wholeheartedly and proudly stand against it.

I mean no disrespect to anyone in the tradition. I love the Feri tradition and it is precisely because of this love that I teach publicly and share the tools with whomever will take the time to listen and do the Work.

I often warn my new students about "the Feri community", letting them know that there are a lot of really dysfunctional people operating within it. I'd like to think that if only they would practice the tools and philosophies that they give lip-service to then things would be better... but perhaps that's wrong. "The Feri community" is really no different than, say, "the academic community"; there is quite a large spectrum of ideas and opinions within and it would be foolish to think that there ever could be consensus.

If we think of "community" as a group of people with shared interests who also look out for each other, then Feri is a tradition that encompasses several different communities. There are major differences that go beyond even just the issue of what is secret and what is not... some lines of Feri administer Oaths upon initiation (while others do not) and yet there are those amongst those of us who did take Oaths who regularly demand that it is "the" Oath that binds us together and even use their Oath as an excuse to manipulate, berate, and intimidate those who do not share their view. (In one creepy case at least one initiate has proclaimed that they would "kill" in order to protect fellow initiates. No, I am not kidding.)

When Feri is seen as a singular community then inevitably there are those who feel that whatever anyone else in the cult is doing is "their business" regardless of whether or not it affects them personally. But we are not a singular community. In a post elsewhere Feri Priestess Valerie Walker (aka "Veedub") used the phrase "co-religionists" to describe our ilk. I think that this describes us much better without the creepy family metaphor that is often used to excuse bad behavior. 

So where is the mutual respect that is supposed to be at the heart of our "brothers and sisters of the Craft"? I've tried respectfully expressing my personal views... and listening to theirs... but the end result is always the same: "Storm, if you really respected us and the tradition then you would become secretive, too."

I do respect the tradition. Enough to transmit it just as I was taught it: as a relatively open system of tools and practices that leads (for some) into a mystery priesthood. I submit that there are many paths to respect, but denying my personal gnosis in order to make those whom I strongly disagree with more comfortable in their fundamentalism is not an option for me. If you want to be secretive... be secretive. If you want to be open... be open. If you want to be a radical, or a follower, or a leader, or a fundamentalist.. then, hell.. do what calls to you. But DO NOT expect that I will adopt your views just because you are loud and think you have numbers on your side. Even if I was the only one who felt that way that I do I would still do it all the same way. Why? Because THAT'S Feri to me. Do what thou wilt. All else is simply a distraction from the Work.

This idea that the entirety of Feri has always been secret until recently is quite frankly, revisionist history. When speaking to Cora Anderson in the years before she passed she was quite clear that there were very few secrets in Feri; that if people were more secretive in the past it was mainly due to practical concerns: back in the 50's and 60's if people knew you practiced witchcraft then there was a very real concern of you being targeted with violence. Thankfully, in the bubble that I live in (the Bay Area of California) we no longer live in that world and as a result have the ability to be more open about who we are and what we do.

As I bring this to a close let me state once again that I love the Feri tradition. It provides a system of tools and practices for cultivating one's Divine Authority, which in the end is all that really matters. Agree, disagree, try to shout me down... it doesn't matter. I return to my work and continue to do my True Will. And whether or not you agree with me I will stand up for your right to cultivate your own Divine Authority as it manifests for you.

Hoodoo and the Roots of Feri Tradition

Here's an article that I wrote a few months back that some have found interesting. Hopefully you will too. :)

Hoodoo and the Roots of Feri Tradition
by Storm Faerywolf

I am often telling my students that if they are really interested in the Feri tradition, then they need to expand their magical studies to include hoodoo. When I first came to Feri it was often described by initiates as being a "Left Hand Path". I understand this to mean that it is a path that is primarily concerned with one's material existence. Practitioners of this particular strain of magical work routinely perform magic in order to improve one's "mundane" life in a practical way, such as working for increasing one's wealth, health, love life, etc. To this we can add the obviously more disturbing (and popular) connotation of the LHP designation: it being a path of necromancy, and demonology, as well as  of manipulation --such as controlling and compelling—binding, and even the more sinister art of hexes, jinxes, and curses. A "Right Hand Path", comparatively, is one that focuses exclusively on the spiritual development/evolution of the practitioner, and usually shies away from magics concerned with the material, which it views as a distraction or even a detriment to one's "higher" spiritual nature.

My personal experience has taught me that neither path is opposed to the other. Instead of having to choose one over the other it is perfectly possible (and I would argue, even more desirable) to practice both together in order to deepen one’s spiritual practice. Practical concerns are no less important or “spiritual” than any other, even of those other concerns are wholly of divine service. That one can scarcely enjoy the privilege of a spiritual practice were it not for the money necessary for food and shelter should be argument enough for those who would otherwise insist on demonizing money in a way most befitting their inevitably Christian upbringing. Were that not reason enough to advocate the use of spells there is another: the repeated use of spells and magic will increase your spiritual power and bring you closer to your own divinity. Where an extreme devotion to the Right Hand path can at times align one’s life so that mundane concerns seem to be taken care of, devotion to the Left likewise brings you into a more balanced space between them. Like Thomas the Rhymer of the old faery lore we find ourselves where many roads meet: From that which leads from the world of men we see the road that leads to Heaven and the road that leads to Hell… and the road that leads to Faery, fittingly, in between them.

While much of what has been published and publicly talked about the Feri tradition over the past decade has been centered around its movement toward the right (which I believe has been a necessary evolution of Feri tradition work and practice) one would be remiss to ignore the more practical side to our tradition. And if for no other reason than simply holism, one would be remiss not to include hoodoo along with their other magical studies.

But a well-rounded magical education is only one of the reasons that a Feri practitioner might be advised to study hoodoo. In fact it is a significant part of our magical and spiritual heritage.

While it is generally understood that our tradition has many roots, extending back into many different cultures, some of them tend to get forgotten when the histories are retold. While much emphasis has been placed on certain European and Celtic influences of our tradition (much of which centers around the Welsh/Irish/Scots stories and their customs and beliefs surrounding the faery beings and races) our spiritual and magical lineage follows a split and parallel path. The late Victor Anderson (1917-2001) often taught that the origins of Feri go back to Africa and from there branched out into various cultures and traditions worldwide. While both of these paths originate from Africa and culminate in the United States (one directly to North America, and another indirectly via Irish immigrants) it is where these two paths reunite that is of particular interest to us here. In the hotbed of oppression that was the American south during times of the slave trade, African slaves, Native American peoples, and Irish immigrants found themselves thrust together, each practicing their own cultural style of folk magic to ease their suffering and maintain a relationship with the “supernatural”. What emerged from this cultural sharing was a unique and powerful form of syncretic magic that in the early 19th century came to be known as ‘conjure’ or ‘hoodoo’.

It should not surprise us that the Celtic folk customs and beliefs surrounding the magical use of herbs and charms were and remain to be remarkably similar to their African counterparts. After all, many of these practices originated in Africa, as that continent is known to be the cradle of civilization. From this cultural origin point a journey began that spanned the globe, leading through Europe and beyond, informing the spiritual traditions of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, to name a few, this last a major area of interest for Feri as it is often taught that the tradition comes to us via the low lands of Scotland. From there it immigrated to the United States where it eventually travelled through the south and to the west coast. Victor claimed that he was initiated as a child by a “small dark woman” from the Congo. Later he worked with the Harpy coven in southern Oregon who practiced a syncretic form of witchcraft that involved devotional practices and altered states of awareness. It is from the convergence of these streams of lore and power that our tradition comes to us, authentic and very much alive.

As if this weren’t enough reason to familiarize oneself with hoodoo as a practice, there is one more reason that I stress the importance of the practice to my Feri students: it works.

Witchcraft as a magical practice has long been about getting results. Whether the goal is to put food on the table or to achieve a higher level of consciousness, witchcraft offers some time honored and effective means to obtain ones’ desires. While some neo-pagan practitioners might be put off by the Christian overtones that often surround hoodoo, it is entirely possible to have a full and rich hoodoo practice without so much as cracking open a Bible. (With this in mind, however, I am reminded that Victor himself thought that more Pagans should study the Bible in order to learn more about their own magic.) Hoodoo itself is not a religion, but can draw upon the spiritual currents of the various religious or spiritual practices of its practitioners to the end of charging the magic with power. Hoodoo draws just as easily from the spiritual currents of Christianity for a follower of Christ, as it does for followers of Voodoo, Judiasm, or witchcraft. The spiritual connection is the required component for the conjurer to be able to cast a spell or “work a trick”, but a specific religion (or even religion itself) is not required.

Modern witchcraft (even outside of Feri) owes much to the development and practices of hoodoo, though much of it is often ignored or miscatagorized. For example, the common practice of dressing and burning candles of various colors for magical purposes is directly from hoodoo, having entered into the magical toolkit of European practitioners only after the cultural syncretism that took place in the American south.

So… we can see that hoodoo played a role in the development of Feri craft and that it offers some unique practices and lore to which we are heir. Where do we go from here? What follows is a brief list of specific areas in hoodoo tradition that the Feri practitioner should familiarize themselves in order to deepen their Feri practice.

1.      Rootwork, Spells and Conjure. The use of roots, herbs and other natural objects in magic stems back hundreds of thousands of years. By entering into energetic communion with a particular plant spirit we can better direct those energies into our spell so as to maximize our chances of obtaining the desired result. Usually there are two major schools of thought on this. In Western Occultism it is usually thought that the power resides in the practitioner and that the herbs or objects used in a spell are mere symbolic triggers to allow us deeper access to our own magical and divine potential. In hoodoo I was taught that the power resides in the plant or object itself and that the practitioner must be someone who has the gift of bringing out the spiritual properties of the objects in question. My opinion is that there is truth in both approaches. While true that in the tradition of conjure it is usually taught that the practitioner must be born with the gift, it is my experience that it is possible for this gift to be bestowed later in life, or learned by way of another magical or energetic practice such as ritual magic, shamanism, Chi Gong, or even Reiki. The practitioner, skilled at the cultivation and direction of life-force in its many forms, may then use this skill to enter into spiritual communion with the herbs, roots, or objects in question, and thus be able to direct their power in the ways necessary to bring the magic spell to fruition.

2.      Necromancy, or working with spirits. Hoodoo has a long and rich tradition of working with the spirits of the dead in order to cause change in the world of the living. Reverence for ones ancestors plays a central role in both Celtic and African cultural and magic. Both cultures developed an extensive technology for consulting the dead and obtaining their assistance to both bless and to curse alike.

3.       Crossroads magic and the power of liminal spaces. In hoodoo much is written about the infamous crossroads rite, in addition to stressing the importance of these places as being prime locations for prayer and magical work. In addition to the crossroads, other spaces of liminality (where two worlds meet and intersect) include seashores, bridges, and graveyards, as well as certain times, such as dawn, dusk, and true midnight.

4.      Sex magic. Both Feri and hoodoo recognize the primal power of sex and its use in magic. Where hoodoo teaches how to increase and harness one’s sexual power or “nature”, Feri explores how to better direct that power, as both communion and celebration of the divine presence within corporeal pleasure.

5.      Divination. Cards, stones, candles, bones… in witchcraft as well as conjure the art of reading signs, omens, and symbols is an integral part of magical practice. In most cases readings are done prior to any magical working to ensure the best course of action. While individual disciplines offer much in the ways of preparing a student for their particular method of divinatory skill, hoodoo, being open to any and all forms divination and psychicism offers some unique perspectives on the process. Everything is read in hoodoo; cards, tea leaves, the drippings of a candle… conjurework, like witchcraft, encourages the cultivation of a “magical awareness”, a state of mind in which the current of events, energies, and possibilities can be partially glimpsed so as to better inform the individual.

6.      Attitude (Binding, Reversing, Hexing, Jinxing, and Cursing). Both hoodoo and Feri tend toward the amoral, leaving the development of personal ethics to the persons involved. That said, both make no qualms about doing whatever is necessary for self defense. Sometimes your best defense is a good offense, and you may need to kick some ass in order to protect you and yours. Whatever your personal take on the practice, the art of cursing is something that every witch and warlock should be familiar, if for nothing else than to be prepared in the event we find ourselves on the receiving end of one. The simple and straightforward approach to hexing found in hoodoo is amongst the most potent and reliable if put into practice.

Whether for academic curiosity, cultural exploration, or personal development, I hope this brief examination may serve as a means to inspire others to seek out the rich, beautiful, and potent magical practices espoused in hoodoo and the traditions of conjure and be able to draw further inspiration from the supportive resonances these seemingly different paths share. For more information about hoodoo and the practices of conjure I heartily recommend you explore the resources of Lucky Mojo http://www.luckymojo.com where you will find the writings of cat yronewode. Her correspondence course in rootwork and hoodoo magic is unparalleled and if nothing else will serve as a means to strengthen whatever sorcery work you may be practicing. For more information about Feri tradition, please visit http://www.FeriTradition.com.

©2010 Storm Faerywolf
www.faerywolf.com 

Classes at The Sacred Well

I am happy to announce that this fall I will be teaching classes in Oakland at The Sacred Well.

Join me in September for :

Introduction to the F(a)eri(e) Tradition
Thursday Sept 9
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
$25

The F(a)eri(e) tradition is a mystical path of spiritual development unlike any other.

An initiatory mystery tradition of modern witchcraft passed down by Victor and Cora Anderson and those who have been initiated in a lineage tracing back to them, hallmarks of Feri include shamanic practices, as well as specific symbolic, meditational and inner exercises. A highly personal path, it has old and strange roots that include influences or similarities such as Huna, Afro-centered spirituality, Celtic symbolism, sexual mysticism, esoteric Christianity, Middle-Eastern mysticism, ecstatic practice, and others.

In this class we will learn how Feri differs from other paths of the Craft, and explore some of the core tools of self-development as well as sorcerous exploration.

Foundations of F(a)eri(e): The Iron Pentacle
Thursdays Sept 23 to Oct 28
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
$200 for 6-part class

The Iron Pentacle is one of the most important tools of self-transformation that the Feri tradition has to offer. In this six-part class we will delve each week into the five points of Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion, to see how they play out in our lives and where we might be holding resistance or losing our power.

Using chanting, energy-work, and ritual we will invoke this powerful symbol and cleanse our relationship to these powerful points of consciousness. The final class will be a ritual of connection, release, and self-possession.


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And then in November I will be offering Reiki I and II there as well:

Reiki I
Monday, Nov. 1
5-9pm
$100

Reiki is an initiatory form of traditional Japanese energy practice used for both healing and spiritual development. A Reiki practitioner has been energetically attuned to channel a spiritually guided form of universal life-energy which facilitates the healing process and quickens spiritual evolution. In this introductory class you will learn some of the history and practices of Reiki as well as receive a Reiki Level One attunement, complete with certification (Mailed to you after the class is complete).

Reiki II
Monday, Nov. 29
6-8:30pm
$200

Reiki is an initiatory form of traditional Japanese energy practice used for both healing and spiritual development. A Reiki practitioner has been energetically attuned to channel a spiritually guided form of universal life-energy which facilitates the healing process and quickens spiritual evolution.

A Reiki Level Two practitioner has had traditional symbols ritually placed into their energy-body, thus widening their channel for the Reiki life-force energy, and giving them special tools for working with the Reiki energy in deeper ways such as working specifically with mental and emotional issues as well as performing sessions via long distance. You will learn the three traditional symbols of Reiki 2, along with some practices for working with Reiki in new ways. Class will culminate in a Reiki Level Two attunement, complete with certification. (Mailed to you after class is complete.)

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I hope to see some of you there!

UPDATE

I have released a "preview version" of my latest article for Witch Eye, "Crafting the Warlock". You can see it here.

The print version will contain artwork and a ritual. Stay tuned for details!

UPDATE

I have updated my class schedule for the summer.

This summer I will be offering the following classes at The Mystic Dream:

• Reiki I
• Reiki II
• Making Mojo: Spell Pouches for Practical Magic
• Holy Writes: Written Spells and Sigil Magic
• Candle Magic: An Introduction to an Ancient Practice
• Advanced Candle Magic
• Journey Into Faery
• Soul Alignment
• Spiritual Cleansing & Protection

Check the links above for more information.

Also, as of today (7/6/10) I have just 1 space left for my in-person, 2 year, once-monthly F(a)eri(e) Tradition, Level One class to begin THIS SATURDAY at 12 noon at The Mystic Dream. If you are interested, get in touch with me ASAP. Cost is $200 per semester, or $40 per month. Download, print, and send in (or drop by) an application to the store.