VII.

Blood & Fire

Ordeal

288-344

p.

#

purpose

293

1.

"Bringing the mind to a deep trance state where the soul can separate from it and do work. ... This ... has been around for millennia; it's easier and safer {less risk of being arrested?} than taking {psychedelic} plants into your system ... . An example of this might be a seer ... to move through a block and force their mind ..., in order to get better clarity on an important question."

2.

"Assisting in moving through shaman sickness. ... It is true that some would-be shamans have ... to ...

294

mimic the effects of shaman sickness in order to get the attention of the Spirits and be chosen by them, but once the Spirits have noticed them, it is assumed that they [the Spirits] will trigger the actual shaman sickness".

3.

"Removing psychic impurities ...; deep cleansing. ... . ... we often come in contact with astral substances that most people don't ever touch, especially when we are cleaning them out of the bodies of clients. If the "infection" spreads to the spirit-worker, it needs to be removed".

4.

"Aftercare; bringing the soul and consciousness back into the body. Spirit-workers who find trance easy and living in the body much more difficult may find it hard to come back ... after journey-work."

5.

"Raising a fund of energy to work with. This is similar to some of the techniques used for the Path of the Flesh ... .

295

The difference ... is that ... the energy used with the Path of the Flesh is orgasm".

6.

"Making an offering to a God or wight. ... An extreme example of this is Fenris, who is fed by being summoned into the body of a bound volunteer ..., and the Great Wolf feeds on it."

7.

"A hunt for power. This is ... a rite of finding strength and courage. Even spirit-workers ... may need to remember their own strength and power through enduring trials or facing their fears."

p. 297

"Kavadi ... is an offertory rite. In Kavadi you wear a frame that carries spears that press into your flesh. ...

Kavadi opens your crown chakra. The first time that I did Kavadi , ... My point of view had shifted to a place about four inches above the top of my head, and that was where I was seeing everything from. I couldn't stop it, and it lasted about two days".

p. 301

"We know that the Jo[,]tunfolk do violent sex[ual activities] -- at least, those of us who work with them know that. ... When I wrote the love song to Fenrir, I wrote about the fact that

sometimes you have to do this to ensure that the world is enlivened. ...

{"The purpose of the World Renewal ceremony was ... the stability of the world" (NWCI, p. 33).}

p. 302

BDSM, for example, is just a sexually-charged way to go through ordeals ... . ... That's where the power is."

"There's a great book on this by Anita Phillips called A Defense of Masochism, and she argues that you deal with the overwhelmingness of the Universe by actively inviting a part of it to come and ravish and invade you, just puncture your boundaries and overwhelm you, and that's how you deal with the largeness of it all."

{It is the purpose of the Universe, when a planet is become adequately evolved in its human societies, to eliminate capitalism by inducing it to be supplanted by communism. If one be uncompraehending of this divine plan, then as a demonstration to one's self, one may have to be invaded and overhelmed, in order to be shewn how capitalism must be invaded and overwhelmed in order to be eliminated. [written June 27 2014]}

"spirit-workers have been called to do nine ordeals, working their way up or down ... .

Generally, if they work for one of the Aesir or Vanir, they start at the bottom and work their way up (Helheim, Niflheim, ... Asgard),

while if they serve Ro,kkr gods they do it in the other direction, working downwards from the top."

p. 311

"the Ordeal-Giver for Hel[-]heim is, or course, Hela {Hel}. ...

For Nifl[-]heim, the Ordeal-Giver is usually Nidhogg {Nid-ho,ggr} the great dragon ... . ...

p. 312

For Svart[-]a[`]lf[-]heim, the Ordeal-Givers are ... their Queens ... . ...

In Mu[`]spell[-]heim, the Ordeal-Giver is Surt ... . ...

p. 313

In Jo[,]tun[-]heim, ... Angrboda {Angr-bo`da}, the Hag of the Iron Wood ... specializes in the "hunting for power" type of ordeals ... . Angrboda {Angr-bo`da} ... trials are "hazing"-style ... rites ... . ...

In Vana[-]heim, ... the Ordeal-Giver is Nerthus

the ... Mother of the Vanir, whose face is always veiled ... . ...

{cf. the "Veil of Isis"}

If the focus is the ocean, then the Ordeal-Givers are Ra[`]n and her nine daughters ... . ... Their ordeals may vary depending on which undine-goddess shows us, but generally it must take place in the ocean. ...

p. 314

In Ljossalfheim {Ljo`s-a`lf-heim}, the Ordeal- ... person to approach is Gerda {Gerd}, Frey's giantess wife ... . ... Part of this type of rite might be taking away their name, or their identity ... . ...

The most serious ordeal ... is ... madness for a time ... . ... This ... is ... an ordeal that can be inflicted for a few hours by ... use [of] the Sacred Plants {psychedlics} ... . ...

In Asgard {A`s-gard}, the Ordeal-Giver is ... Odin {O`dinn}."

p. 315

"To start planning for a Midgard rite, ... it's best to have friends who know you well tell you ... . As they tell you these things, watch for a particular feeling. ...

p. 316

Working with spirits, and doing heavy magic, can change people. It can set them apart from other people ... . As discussed elsewhere in this series, ... this alienation is part of the package, part of the power."

"Pain ... is a great truthbringer. Yes ... : breaking, madness ... . ... But between the pain and the breaking there is the joy of discovering worlds and how to make them".

{Worlds are not essentially "made", but are prae-existent abodes of the aeternal deities. Not to recognize this actuality resulteth in a breaking down of the mind into madness and, if that be inadequate to convince, then into physical and mental anguish.}

"Odin's wolves Freki and Geri appeared to lead them ... .

When they arrived, they were greeted by ... Odin's ravens Hugin and Munin".

"The Priest/ess embraces the initiate, and says, "From this moment on, you are a wanderer on the road. You have no home. You must go from place to place

and work for your food, and a place on the floor to sleep.

{The bhiks.u in Bharata, and likewise the aequivalent (friar etc.) in mediaeval Europe, and the S.ufi mendicant (qalandar etc.) in mediaeval Levant, never worked, but begged. Working by the religious started with the outlawing of the mendicant orders by the Protestant Reformation -- one of the evils entailed by incipient capitalism.}

You must ask each family who grants you this hospitality

to tell you of their dead ... .

{so that the souls of their dead can be prayed out of Purgatory}

Write this down ... ." S/he hands the initiate a small blank book and a pen".

p. 330

"their clothing is stripped from them and clothing of the sex opposite ... is given to them to wear. ... .

p. 331

... they will work for that spirit-worker as whatever gender they have been assigned to, doing taks traditional to that gender. During this time, they are referred to as some derogatory name or title that reflects their greatest difficulty with this ordeal."

p. 332

"the initiate is picked up by the Priest/ess and taken to a pond or other body of water. If possible,

a waterproof light should be shining under the surface,

{an allusion to the logion, "if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."}

anchored just far enough out so that one must wade waist-deep to get to it. The Priest/ess says the following invocation to the initiate :

Behold the Well of Mi[`]mir! ...

And here{unto} great Odin {O`dinn} ...

Came to seek out Mi[`]mir's wisdom.

... and he asked Mi[`]mir to tell him ...

The secrets ... Beneath the surface thoughts of men ... .

And Mi[`]mir ... asked what price

Great Odin {O`dinn} would pay for this knowledge. ...

And Odin {O`dinn} agreed, and gave one of his eyes

To Mi[`]mir's in exchange for wisdom."

p. 333

"The initiate must wade in the water ... to the light, and meditate on what they {he or she} must give up ... in order to come to this wisdom.

{This wading in the water toward the single eye is alluded to in Eu-angelion kata Loukas 11:31-34 :- "The Queen of the South shall rise up [11:31] ... : therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light [11:34]". The Queen of Te^man ('South') is (11:31 "PC") the Queen of S^ba> : praeparing for wading "in the water, she lifted up her skirt" (JE"ShQ").}

When they come out of the water, they declare their intention to the Priest/ess".

p. 333

"The Priest/ess speaks to them the following invocation :

Great Odin {O`dinn} ... came before the Norns {Nornir} ...,

... Urd {Urd} the elder ... Pulling the threads of life from her long white hair ...,

p. 334

Verdandi {Verdandi} the weaver ... On her loom of many colors,

And Skuld the dark maiden in armor ... .

And Odin {O`dinn} said to them, Give me magic ... . ...

The Norns said unto him, What price

Shall you pay for this knowledge ...? ...

And so the Norns took Odin's body ... . ...

p. 335

And the hail pelted him ... . ...

All the runes, their magic ... he seized ..., crying out,

And fell ... Back onto Midgard ...,

So Odin {O`dinn} rose to his weary feet".

{an allusion to how JTM was "very weary" (Coffin Texts 80 -- "ThE")}

"Then the initiate is hoisted up and bound with ropes to the tree, and there he stays ... so that he might watch the sun coming up."

p. 336

"Woden indicates that He wishes someone to undergo such a rite. ...

p. 337

The primary facilitator should be a Woden's woman, however. ...

Prior to the ritual, the Valkyrie should do appropriate divination to determine what Woden wants ... . ...

p. 338

Ideally, either the Valkyrie or Odin's man will become ridden by Odin {O`dinn} during the rite ... . ... The ideal place is in the middle of the woods at a crossroads ... . ... Begin with a faining ... . ... Hallow the space in whatever manner is appropriate to your practice. The Valkyrie should ... offer the following prayer :

p. 339

... Hail to the Whisperer of Secrets. ... Hail, Woden.

p. 340

The Valkyrie should continue praying and singing praise songs ..., until there is the palpable sense of His {Woden's} presence . ...

p. 341

The blessings will vary : the Valkyrie should galdr ... whatever Woden is telling her to galdr ... . If the man is a shapeshifter, galdr can shake his hame out of human form."