Wahya Circle
Thursday Thoughts

Beginning Practicum
Sigil Craft
History of “Circle”

Although the “circle” has been in recorded human history for over 6,000 years, its magickal use has only been heavily utilized in recent western civilization. Prior to it being known as a “circle”, when the Egyptian scribe Ahmes solved the first circle theorem, the “circle” was known as a “hoop” or “ring”. Later in history as Greece came to rise, before Rome, Thales took the first leap into creating depth to Circle Theorem. The Latin word “sigilum” or “seal” began to be used.

Four ancient civilizations, Mesopotamia, Miṣr*, the Indus Valley and Zhong Guo, are the only ones that have provided the basis for continuous cultural and Spiritual developments in the same locations of the world as they are today. They are the ones who held fast to the Divinity of the “circle”. Among these peoples, particularly amongst collective geometry, astrology and astronomy Practitioners, they knew there was a connection to the Cosmos. Many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine" or "perfect" that could be found in circles —just by looking in nature, such as the nautilus.

Walking onward through time with Plato’s letters and through that life into the Dark Middle Ages, we end up in the time of Renaissance. Remember, throughout antiquity and the middle ages, clear through the spiritualist movements of the Victorian and early Industrial Ages, Sigils were largely kept to the same collective of esoteric, often Hermetic, knowledge. They became known as Seals, Signatures, and/or the Symbol for a specific Entity, as they are depicted in the Keys of Solomon with it's 72 Seals.

The sigil was the equivalent of knowing a spirit's true name, and to know a thing's name is to have a measure of control over it, or, so some think. Free Will still exists in many places.

Though some loss in purpose occurred during this time, the Divine Spark of the circle prevailed. The humans were now “awake” again. Continuing to shift and grow exponentially as humans do. This time the flow of Divinity was carried to the Americas.

On this land, the First Nationers already knew of “circle” in the form of “hoop” or “ring” as well. For particular dogmas, the “Great Awakening” was beginning soon. In the early 1700s, the disillusionment and discord between the dogmas of the Colonists and that of the Crown began. Eyes had been opened through the experiences of traversing at great peril over a large body of water. Remember again, Wisdom and Memory are gained through pain and Experience … and there was plenty to go around. This was the time just after The Salem Witch Trials. Earth based ideas again had begun to lose foothold. Regardless, the Circle was safely hidden around the world.

In rapid succession, the Second and Third Awakenings occurred. Dogmas and philosophies were challenged and an attitude of “might makes right” took over as many Indigenous nations, or pagans, became colonized. Fractures occurred globally.

Golden Dawn

As time went on and the waves of perceived progress continued to crash, Golden Dawn, founded around the 1880s, adopted these approaches of the circle to Sigilcraft. Anyone who Practiced this art adopted the keeping of emphasis on using sigils for an external or elemental force, a spirit. An attempt was made at controlling that which was Divine in Nature -- Magickally and often with patriarchal Ego. This was also the first sign of sigil manipulation or creating the sigil and incorporating colors, signatures, designs, and their own Synthesis to utilize the spirit/entity.

Austin Osman Spare

Before the Golden Dawn gravitated towards regular use of the circle, it was during the 1850s, Lindemann, a German mathematician, proved that the circle was transcendental, and a catapult of thought took off worldwide.

In 1886, the Practitioner accredited with sigils modern approach, Austin Osman Spare, was born in London. An artist and occultist, Austin was known also for creating Auto Writing, Auto Drawing, and Sigilization. He was the author of the Zos-Kai Magic Philosophy. The Zos: the physical: the mind and the body, Earth, etc. and Kai: The aether, the Divine, the Cosmos and hidden powers of the metaphysical mind, etcetera.

Spare's approach was to do away with the notion of Angels and Demons, and use sigils as a direct manifestation of one's desired outcome. This was a brilliant take for many Practitioners. Create through intention, focus and charge through gnosis, and subsequently Will the sigil to root in the subconscious was now the WAY to do our Craft. Another Practitioner, a Chaos Magi, Ray Sherwin said, “the magician acknowledges a desire, he lists the appropriate symbols and arranges them into an easily visualized glyph. Using any of the gnostic techniques he reifies the sigil and then, by force of Will, hurls it into his subconscious from where the sigil can begin to work unencumbered by desire."

Sigil Magick, as it is now known to Chaosticians, all Magick, has but three components:

WILL, FOCUS, and INTENT.
The circle makes them a seal.

ALL Magick is Ritual Magick, really. ALL rituals serve to FOCUS our INTENT and amplify our WILL. It is from this point Practitioners across the world began using the “circle” in their Sigil Magick. The circle, a seal from the Divine, began to encompass all sorts of Medicinal and Magickal Works, Crafts, and Spells.

In closing of our walk with the divinity of “circle”, it is said that it is now known in all classical aptitude. It defines an area. It defines a space. It is a barrier. It is a safety net for the Works at hand. The “circle” is the recticle through which specific Intent is viewed. It is the container in which a Practitioner will focus Will. The circle is there to enclose the desire of outcome in an area. This is what is taken to the Practitioner’s subconscious. The CIRCLE is the period at the end of a magickal sentence, a collection of infinite dots of time …the beginning and end …the Divine.

Written by Reverend Richoz in consultation with Magus, Practitioner D.

Below is a good link for a short tutorial on the Chaos methods of origination. (30 minutes) One of many ways to Craft the Sigil per Chaos Theory.

Link to tutorial: HERE (30 minutes)

Beginning Practicum
Germanic - Norse

Norse was largely connected to nature, and its people were intimately devoted to their Divinities and the traditions, sacred rites and beliefs that came with them. The Norse Theology is full of brutality and human like Deities with flaws in morality, relatable levels of character, and conflicts. Some feel this brutality may have been fueled more by adherence to a moral code as tribesman than the crushing blows driven by the Church. Although the modern stories behind these beliefs may seem bizarre and violent, it can be approached with a perspective to the time and what was taking place around them. Try to grasp the cultural values and devotion of the people to their traditional way of life.

As fierce fighters in war, they made themselves a prime target for the Roman Senate to assimilate.

Here is the “creation story” according to the lore. Inserted throughout it are the tales told from other tribes from around the world, showing the parallels, making the story consistent among ALL PEOPLE.

We begin with The Great Void: Ginnungagap. Ginnungagap (old Norse: [ˈɡinːoŋɡɑˌɡɑp]; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial, magical void mentioned in three poems from the Poetic Edda and the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony.

A massive and empty space in which two realms exist. The first realm: a world of fire and light called Muspellheim. The second: a world of ice and darkness: Niflheim.

(Christian Bible: “In the beginning there was nothing.”)

IIn the center of Niflheim was a great spring, and from this spring, the rivers of Niflheim flowed away from their source towards the void and froze in the cold darkness. As they froze, warm air from the fire world of Muspellheim blew across the void and onto the rivers of ice. When the fire and ice met, a collision exploded into the void between the two worlds, creating chaos.

Droplets of steam from the ice and fire dripped down, and within these droplets, the primordial Giant Ymir was born with the Cow Auðumbla. After Ymir was formed from the elemental drops, so too was Auðumbla, a primeval cow, whose milk Ymir fed from.

Ymir, sweating in his sleep, dripped beads of sweat from his left armpit, creating the Jotnar- The Frost Giants, and they survived from the milk of Auðumbla. Auðumbla also needed sustenance, so she licked the ice to quench her thirst. Beneath her tongue, in the ice, a being appeared over the course of three days: Buri. Beautiful and strong, he created his own son Borr, who fell in love with a Jotunn Giantess Bestla. (Much of this story is reminiscent of the Aboriginal Creation Story, as well as some of the American Indigenous stories. ) LINK HERE

The God Borr and the Giantess Bestla created three sons together: Odin, Vil and Ve. As they grew, these sons rose up and warred against Ymir and his sons and daughters, The Frost Giants, eventually succeeding in killing the primordial being Ymir. As Ymir died, the three brothers placed his body into the void between the worlds of ice and fire, and his blood poured out, creating a huge flood- which drowned the giants Ymir had created except for two: Bergelmir and his unnamed wife. These two Giants built a ship and rode the waves of blood to another land, far away from the wars of Odin, Vil and Ve, but waited in this far away land, to seek their revenge upon the brothers.

Odin, Vil and Ve took Ymir’s body and shaped it into a world: a flat ring placed in the void between the worlds of ice and fire. Out of a universe of warring opposites: Heat and Cold, Fire and Ice, Gods and Giants: a new world was born, made by the Gods from the body of their enemy. The sons of a Giantess pursuing and killing all of her own kind. Ymir’s blood became the world’s lakes and seas, his flesh and bones the land and mountains, his teeth made the rocks, and his skull became the arch of the sky above the world.

From the maggots that ate at Ymir’s body, the Gods created a race similar to man, and filled them with wisdom, naming them Dwarves (Dark Elves)- who held up the sky at the 4 points of Ymir’s skull: North, South, East and West. The brothers took fire from the sparks of Muspellheim, and threw them into the sky to create the stars and give light to the world, and time began.

The blood of Ymir created an infinite circular sea that marked the outer boundary of this new world, encircled with a great serpent Jormungand, the son of Loki and Angrboda, destined to be Thor’s eternal enemy. Beyond lay a wasteland inhabited by the two surviving giants and their children, as they waited for their chance to avenge Ymir’s death. This land was called Jotunheim (Home of the Giants). To protect themselves, the Gods created a defensive wall from Ymir’s eyebrows in the middle of this new world, to keep the Giants at bay from revolt. This land was called Mittgard -the middle world- soon to be the world of Men. Finally, they took Ymir’s brain, and threw it into the sky- creating the clouds.

(In some Ojibwe oral traditions, the story of Turtle Island begins with a flooded Earth. The Creator had cleansed the world of feuding peoples in order to begin life anew. ... Nanabush took the soil and put it on a willing turtle's back. This became known as Turtle Island, the centre of creation.)

Rest, peace and order resided in Mittgard, with warmth, green plants, and life. Craving more life, Odin and his brothers took two trees, and shaped them into the image of the Gods. Odin gave the beings breath and life, Vil giving them intelligence and feeling, and Ve giving them speech, hearing, and sight. With these gifts of inspiration into their souls, the Gods created Man: Ask (Ash) and Embla (Elm). The first two people were given a home in the visible world of Mittgard, to live out their lives in a world of men, and worship the Gods.

Odin, needing a home for the Gods, created Asgard, a beautiful city where Odin ruled. He took Frigg as his wife, and she bore all the children that would come to inhabit Asgard- thus Odin became known as the All Father. Father of both Gods and Mankind. In order to connect the worlds, the Gods built a rainbow bridge, Bifrost, between each of the worlds. To protect this bridge, a God named Heimdall, keeps watch on the bridge, prepared to blow his horn Gjallarhon in warning, should the bridges be crossed unannounced.

Does any of this sound familiar? Can you parallel it?

In Jotunheim, a giant had the daughter of Night who had a daughter named Day. Odin took Night and Day and had them ride a chariot around the worlds in the heavens. On Earth, a boy Mani (Moon) and a girl named Sol (Sun), were taken to pilot the chariots. The siblings made across the heavens in haste each day, as they are pursued by the wolves Skoll and Hati, who were eternally in pursuit to devour them.

In all, nine worlds were created to hold all the beings of the universe:

Asgard- Home of the Gods.

Mittgard- Home of Men.

Alfheim- Home of Light Elves.

Nidhavilla- Home of Dwarves (Dark Elves).

Jotunheim- Home of Giants.

Vanaheim- Home of Wise Fertility Gods.

Niflheim- The Dark and Cold original Realm.

Muspellheim- The Realm of Fire and Light.

Hel- The Afterlife for those who die dishonorably.

(These are not all correct, nor direct, German translations of the words but this is what is contained in most Norse writings.)

All of these worlds are held up and connected by the great ash tree Yggdrasil, with three great roots:
The Well of Fate: where the Gods meet every day with the Norns, three maiden guardians, who decide the course of life and death for each being.

The Well of Wisdom: where knowledge and power reside.

Hevegelmir-the primordial rivers from Niflheim.

Odin is a wanderer by most accounts. He is also credited as a seeker of knowledge, justice, war, and fairness. He has traveled far and wide, away from Asgard, to seek wisdom and honor. On his quest, Odin went to the Well of Wisdom, and to prove himself, sacrificed his own eye and dropped it into the well, and thus was given wisdom. The Norns, who carved runes into the tree of Yggdrasil to seal destiny, were skeptical of Odin. To dedicate himself, Odin hung himself from a tree and impaled himself on his own spear, going without food or water for 9 days and nights. He suffered until the Runes appeared to him. And with his ability to read the runes, he could heal and shield his allies, and destroy his enemies.

(This story is reminiscent of Xango, the African diasporic God, who hung himself as well from the World Tree, died, and rose again after the third day.)

It was prophesized that one day the Norns would decree Ragnarok- the cataclysmic destruction of the cosmos that will drown the world and destroy many of the great Gods. It will start with a Great Winter, with darkness and unprecedented cold that will last three years. Mankind will be desperate for food and life, and the morals of man will fall away, leaving nothing but war, death, and chaos. The wolves Skoll and Hati will succeed in hunting down the Sun and the Moon, taking all the light from the world. Yggdrasil will tremble and fall, and the great wolf Fenrir, son of the trickster Loki and Giantess Angrboda, will run free. He will open his jaws and run across the world with his lower jaw on the ground and his upper jaw in the sky, devouring everything in his path. His brother, the Great Serpent Jormungand, will leave the waters surrounding Mittgard and is fated to destroy Thor and himself in the process.

From this battle, the world will resurface anew to be repopulated from two humans and the surviving Gods. Odin was determined to live through Ragnarok and used all his power and might to prepare himself for the imminent war. Odin sent Valkyries, to every human battle to decide who will be victorious, and who will die. They then select the most heroic of the slain and take them to Valhalla- the Great Hall in Asgard.

This part of the story is different for those Traditional Norse who try to keep the balance in belief. It is said that ALL go to Hel. Freya then has first choice of those who have passed or fallen and it is She who actually weighs the heart and chooses who stays with her in Folkvang and who goes to Valhalla with Odin.

Regardless, Odin sits in the hall with his Ravens-Thought and Memory, who fly off into the world every day at sunrise to gather information, and return for the feast each day with the heroes of the dead, whispering their secrets into Odin’s ear. The heroes in Valhalla will spend their eternal days in friendly fighting matches, staying strong, drinking, and eating together in order to prepare for the final days of Ragnarok.

Those considered to be “Vikings” are rumored to have raided for riches but came from a poor and harsh life in Scandinavia themselves. Many of their treasures were buried in the ground with the death of significant figures. People sacrificed their own lives in order to be buried with the dead, to protect and serve them in the afterlife. Slaves. Children. Family. Life, treasures, and riches were valuable, of course in society, but even more so for the land beyond the living. The seeming lack of fear in death, assurance of prosperity in the afterlife should you prove worthy, and knowledge of the Gods shaped the Viking culture into its historic and infamous reputation we still speak of.

World Studies 101
Teutonic Order

It is well known that the Teutonic Order was formed to assist the Church in its “pilgrimages”. The tribes were shown favor by the Church for their assistance in the overtaking and assimilation of other Indigenous, as well as both Celtic and Slavic tribes throughout Europe. The Norse Path clearly had its stories assimilated and adulterated to both further the Roman control and entice the Teutonic (Germanic) to continue assisting, giving them a sense of “familiarity”. Although many had taken an “oath of poverty” as a tribe, they were given spoils from those they overtook regularly. This is where some of the stories of their infamous “raids” and unfavorable treatment of others comes from.

Its members have commonly been known as the “Teutonic Knights”, having a small voluntary and mercenary military membership, serving as a crusading military order for the protection of Christians in the Holy Land and the Baltics during the Middle Ages. This carried on for hundreds of years. THIS is what Vlad Țepeș had to fight as the Teutonic were given land in Hungary, Transylvania, from the Church so they were free from the taxes that Rome collected on the Indigenous.

Without going too much further into the history of this people, here are a few items to be knowledgeable of in a conversation amongst the community of Norse Pagan.


TEUTONIC HISTORY 101
Before the ultimate conversion of many of the Teutonic, they were an Nature Based Religion, just like all of the other Indigenous of the world. Although their beliefs are very similar to that of several tribes of Africa as we learned about Shango (Xango) and Olodumare, it became very convoluted with the mixing of Christianity. Many Practitioners are hoping that through modern archaeological digs, some truth may be unearthed.

Thursday W72

General - Journal - Book of Shadows

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