Drùidheachd-iosal
©Robert
Reeder
It must be stated, first, that in Sean Ciall as I learned it Low Magick was, ultimately, any magick other than the “special” form of elemental sorcery we call drùidheachd-ard. The line had, over the years, adopted many practices from a wide variety of magickal traditions, ranging from Rosicrucian and Masonic teachings to Voudun and Cherokee ones. All of these were co-opted and relegated to the “Low Magick” portion of the Sean Ciall corpus. Whether this terminology was always in use, or simply a product of some antipathy between my own teacher and the local Golden Dawn group (quite likely, actually), it remains a pretty good means of separating out the “high” magick and keeping it relatively uncontaminated from outside sources, while allowing the use of those outside sources wherever they may be applicable. So, before I launch into specifics of low magick as it applies to Sean Ciall, I want to clarify that those who choose to focus on the “spell” portion of Sean Ciall not only may, but should, incorporate any outside magickal practices which appeal to them into their Sean Ciall regimen.
So, that being said, for the purpose of this text my focus will be the smaller sorceries of the outside world, those “lesser” magicks of the forest, the sea or whatever one’s surroundings might be. We’ll leave aside, for now, discussions of “urban Paganism” and whether or not mildew and cockroaches count as flora and fauna; the magicks discussed here are the magicks of the wild areas, even if these are only public parks or lawns.
A general note, stuck here because I didn’t know where else to stick it—study natural science. An armful of 100-level textbooks on biology, meteorology, astronomy, geology, physics and whatever else will save you decades of reinventing the wheel. The least magick is the best magick, science is our best tool for accomplishing this. And remember that it requires less effort to move a boulder from the top of a hill to the bottom than from the bottom of a hill to the top of it. In misunderstanding this, many magicians fail.
It is useful, when possible, to have a specific place in which to do one’s magick. For the Drùidheachd-iosal of Sean Ciall, even moreso than the SC high magicks, this should be some place out of doors. My personal preference, here in Seattle, is to use one of the numerous shoreline parks which have a fairly ideal combination of woodlands and beach, with both running creeks and sea-water at one’s disposal. However, a small sanctuary garden or even a patio garden or window box may suffice if necessity dictates. For all of the years I spent aboard submarines, I had a small pouch with a few pebbles and twigs in it; this was hardly ideal but one makes do with what one must. Trees, to me, are terribly important for these magicks, and one’s temple space should have access to at least one. If one is forced to rely on a very small, urban garden, I think that even a small potted tree, such as a Ficus or a Norfolk, is better than none at all, although a potted native tree is probably better than one from another place.
One tends to not require too very many tools for these magicks, and those which may seem necessary tend to be readily available on-site. A few things which may prove useful but which are not likely to be found as flotsam or windfall are a small candle-lantern for night-time work, a water flask of some sort, and a knife; if for whatever reason it seems especially unlikely that you would find a piece of string wherever your temple is, then a small length of cord for knot magick might also prove its worth. Otherwise, there really isn’t much virtue in bringing a “portable altar”, and frankly most of the ones I’ve seen have looked pretty absurd; Irish linen tablecloths and silver candelabras tend to clash badly with the décor. Ritual work should be skyclad if privacy permits; this is usually not a problem in Seattle public parks as long as you’re not stupid about it, but I wouldn’t recommend it on a front lawn unless it’s a heckuva lot more secluded than my own. Weather should not be a significant consideration for this; Seattle has a very clement maritime climate and in the more than twelve years I’ve lived here I can remember maybe one week in which it was actually too cold to safely work skyclad outside. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t occasionally get cold enough to be uncomfortable! As always, common sense is applicable; if you think you are in danger of hypothermia, wear a coat or at the very least have a working partner with you to keep an eye on you. And don’t get your silly naked butt arrested, I sure as hell won’t be bailing you out.
When working with the natural magicks it is always appropriate to acknowledge the elements one is working with, however, whether you are working in your preferred temple or in some other place they should be acknowledged as they occur in that space, rather than as some archetypal attribute of direction. If “water” for your working is a little pond just to the east of you, then acknowledge water in that direction, regardless of where you would do this in other magicks. It is partly for this reason that in Drùidheachd-iosal we use the cleft-pentacle rather than the compass rose as our symbol. Other reasons will be discussed later in this.
If you are using a public space for your working temple, especially a public park, please be aware that you are probably not the only person using it as such. Clean up any messes you make (physical or energic) and don’t be shocked or dismayed to find traces of other people’s magicks in your work-space. On the night of the full moon, in the park I use for my own work there is darned-near a witch under every tree. Which is lovely, but it does require that those of us who tend to use higher amperage magicks need to be a little considerate of our gentler cousins.
It is traditional in Sean Ciall that plant material of an especially sacred nature be consumed by fire at the energic climax of a spell or ritual, specifically (in order of preference) mistletoe, holly and oak. I suspect that this is a throwback to some Victorian notion of Druidism, but in any case all three were readily available in the upland forests of North Carolina. Such is not the case in the Pacific Northwest, and most frequently when we do find them here they are not native. If you are inclined to follow this practice (I’m fairly luke-warm on it, at present) my recommendation would be to use Oregon Grape, which is a native holly whose berries may be used to make ink or dye for magickal purposes (but will stain the hell out of your clothes in any event). My preference would be to gather it by the light of the full moon, but by whatever means, gather it yourself (the Romans described the Druids of Gaul gathering mistletoe with a golden sickle, but I’ve found that a shotgun works better). Once burnt, the ash should be used to annoint either one’s self if working solitary or one’s working partner if working tandem, in the pattern of the SC cycle of energy (regardless of whether one is working high or low magick at the time) establishing a magickal link between the three realms of body, mind and spirit as they relate to that specific working.
The cleft pentacle is the traditional symbol of the low magick of Sean Ciall, and perhaps, originally, of Sean Ciall as a whole. By inscribing it by whatever means on the ground where you are working, you define the space as being dedicated to the low magicks of Sean Ciall, whatever the actual origin of the ritual or spell you are performing. So, for example, if you were working with Golden Dawn material as a subset of your Sean Ciall work, it would be appropriate for you perform the G\D\ritual within the cleft pentacle. It would never however be appropriate to perform it within the compass rose. The direction the pentacle is aligned is dictated by the space it is in, but almost always the “bottom” point is to the south or the west, aligning “up” to the north or the east. However, if in a specific space another alignment feels more correct, follow your instincts.
Perhaps obviously or perhaps not, the cleft pentacle is a sexual symbol. The compass rose is as well, as are all symbols of crosses within circles, but on a rather different level. Meditation upon each of these glyphs, for they are such, is a worthy pursuit in its own right, and I will not endeavor to describe either of these symbols further here. But it would be imprudent not to address one of the more basic truths implied by both of them, namely that sex and magick are inseparable. Whether the magick is “high” or “low”, “black” or “white”, “left-hand” or “right-hand”, doesn’t matter. There is no greater force which may be harnessed by mortals than that force which creates life. Every act of magick is sexual and every act of sex is magickal, and it is through sex and magick alone that mortals may attain a true knowledge of God before “shedding this mortal coil”.
A discussion of the practical application of this could fill books, and in fact has; most of them, especially those written by Tantrics, are frankly pretty useless. The simplest, crudest, and for the most part most effective technique of what is commonly called “sex-magick” is simply this—attain orgasm (by whatever means; alone, with a working partner, or twelve of your closest friends) while focusing entirely on the intent of the spell or ritual you are working. That’s it. Yes, there is more, but if you start here I suspect you’ll figure out the rest all by yourself.
Do nothing which impacts the Will of another being without their explicit consent, other than for self-preservation or the preservation of another. Precede every deliberate magickal working with a divination.
Allow your conscience to guide you, for there is no greater Law than this.
Enough preaching. Go make some magick.
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