Marian Green - A Witch Alone - Thirteen Moons To Master Natural Magic

The stars may be used for guidance, not only in marine navigation; they may be ‘wished upon’, they personify the goal on which many aspiring actors and actresses set their hearts. Having ‘stars in your eyes’ may be a sign of love, or of ecstasy or joy. These common sayings may seem to bring us a long way from the entry of divine and starry wisdom into the Earth plane, but they retain the inner

implications of a very great matter.

Even in our humblest little rites we use light, for it is most common to light a candle before an indoor meditation, or perhaps a nightlight in a jar for safety’s sake, out of doors. A tiny point of living flame forms a sphere of illumination and it is the unconsidered symbolism of this which helps direct, protect and enhance our magics. The great lights in the sky often appear to modern people as useful rather than magical; the sun brings daylight and the moon, if we notice her at all, changes shape and position through the month.

We can become aware that each of these heavenly bodies gives out forces which, on the one hand, are easily detected and on the other show more mysterious energies, which magicians and witches through the long ages have made use of in their workings. We know the sun gives out heat; we bask, conditions permitting, in the warmth, and seek out sunlight as part of most holidays.

We know about the light of the sun for it illumines our world, and through its action everything takes on bright colours. We know about the power of the sun being used in solar heating, yet we may forget that every living thing draws on the sun for life. Green plants exist and grow because sunlight assists their internal chemistry to transmute water and minerals into greenery, flowers and fruit.

The moon, reflecting the light of the sun from her pale surface, draws up the tides by her monthly gravitational pull. She rises far more erratically, sometimes seeming at the sky’s zenith, sometimes low on the horizon. We don’t usually notice such strange behaviour, finding it sufficient to cope with the phases of waxing, full and waning, which even modern witches take into consideration in their Goddess-based rites. Because the human body contains about 65% water we too are drawn by the lunar tides, but in a different way.

Often, towards the full or the dark of the moon (as people differ), our dreams become more vivid or contain stronger images, more lasting impressions than at other times. Those who keep dream diaries will soon discover such a pattern emerging, and this nocturnal awareness can be enhanced to make use of our innate predictive abilities so that we can teach ourselves, over many months, to dream true and gain glimpses of the future.

The moon’s powers have nearly always been associated with psychic matters, and though old pagan meetings usually took place at the full moon, this was a purely practical matter. In the days before street lighting or the use of calendars, most people calculated time by the phases of the moon, and if gatherings were to be held, the light from the moon would not only fix the date but guide the travellers to their secret destination, assuming that the sky was clear or that it wasn’t raining!

The real magical work was, and still is, normally done in the days leading up to both the full and new moons. If you want to increase your personal psychic powers, try experiments in the days before the new moon, when she is dark, for then her magical forces work on our inner levels. See how much more structured and controlled your meditations are then, how much easier it is to concentrate on occult work. This applies to divination with the Tarot, and the psychic aspects of healing.

Just before the full moon, work outgoing magic, so that her astral light can shine upon your healing

spell, your vegetable patch or herb garden. Try to get out of doors at night and sense the power in the air and the earth under your feet. Talk to your tree and see how the moon blesses the growing things with a muted light yet an inner tidal power of growth. Learn to plant flowering plants, herbs and vegetables which are picked above the ground when the moon is waxing, and root vegetables, tubers and bulbs when she is waning, as the Wise Ones of old used to do.

You can try blessing things with moon power, by taking a glass goblet or bowl of spring water and a shiny glass mirror out during a clear night of a waxing moon. When the moon is fairly low on the horizon, newly risen or just setting, catch her light in the water, so that you can see her reflection in it. This moon-blessed water can be used to scry in, placed in a clear vessel on a dark background, perhaps contained within the circle of candle light just as the old witches used to scry in their seething cauldrons.

Focus your inner sight on the depths of the water when it has become still, and then relax with your eyes closed. Ask the moon to bless your vision, and gently open your eyes, gazing steadily but without strain into the water. See what you notice, but do it in a calm way, allowing any changes to occur without breaking your detached mode of thought.

Nothing may happen the first time you try, but if you persist you will begin to see a milkiness in the water, vague patterns of colour, points of light, and over a few sessions, these will grow clearer and eventually become pictures, symbols, numbers, words, figures, or simply voices in your head, telling you things. Keep the water in a dark glass bottle, keep it clean and you may drink a sip as a token of kinship with the powers of the moon, or sprinkle it over your head. It can be used to bless the room, lunar talismans and so on.

Because both the sun and the moon dictate the cycles of our lives, giving us days and nights, months, times of inwardness and bright periods of outer growth, so these forces can be invoked to help with rituals. Again, this is an exercise which needs to be practised slowly, step by step, becoming familiar with every part, and then you will discover that you can perform the whole thing, mentally, quickly and effectively.

Sit quietly in your favourite place, best of all out of doors under a great tree, and on the first occasion bring a notebook. In this you will need to write a list of concepts and instructions, and as you go through the ritual, if you are doing it right, you will be given a set of short poems, invocations, sayings, call them what you will, to make your very own personal space-blessing ceremony.

This simple exercise is known as ‘Calling the Light’ and is a very ancient way of building a magical sphere about you, to enhance your magic, bring you peace of mind or as a protection from the scurrying vibes of the everyday world. It should only be seen as a temporary measure, to cope with a brief problem, not a suit of incorruptible armour to be worn all the time.

Begin by looking to the East. Think of the sun at sunrise. See the sky is already light, but over the dark rim of the horizon a point, then a bar of brilliant light is appearing, until the great circle of the golden sun can be seen rolling upwards into the sky. See this clearly and acknowledge the dawn with a small poem or saying. Next look to the South and see banks of bright red, orange and yellow flowers

vibrant with sunlight, warmth and energy. Visualise it until you can feel the heat, smell the flowers, hear the bees busy in the blossoms.

Write another poem or invocation to the sun at noon. Perceive everything flooded with light. Next look to the West, and the setting sun in the apricot and azure sky of evening. Feel the power sinking into the Earth or the Western ocean. Sense the coolness descending, and awaken peace and contentment and satisfaction within your heart. Write words of farewell to the light, and welcome to the enfolding darkness. To complete this circle, look to the North and see a rocky landscape at night under a sky studded with millions of bright and multicoloured stars.