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Halo Quin

~ Author, storyteller, singer-songwriter, witch

Tag Archives: Tools

Iron Pentacle – Self

14 Monday Feb 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Commitment, Determination, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, Intent, Iron Pentacle, Living Life, Magic, Suggestions, Tools

For the past couple of days I have been sharing thoughts about the points of the Iron pentacle, a meditational tool for self transformation used within the Reclaiming Tradition.

I have spoken of the points of Sex and Pride, and now we move from the bottom, right-hand point up into the left hand point of Self.

Self. Is there even such a thing?

An ancient puzzle poses the question: if all the planks on a ship are replaced, one by one, over the years, is it still the same ship?* And, likewise, we can ask, if every part of our body and personality changes, over the years, are we still the same self when we are old as when we were born?

There is a continuity of memories, of personality, of a body that takes up space through time. This continuity, the combination of our memories, beliefs, personality, energies and body, makes up a whole self. Self shifts and changes over time, growing and transforming.

How can we say, then, that Self could be considered a foundation stone of human existence? Something damaged by our culture and in need of reclamation for many of us?

Self is not some kind of ‘essence’ in this context, I’m not talking of spirits or souls. Self, here, is who we are in the world.

Accusations of selfishness are taken seriously, so seriously that we will often go too far the other way and neglect ourselves. This idea of being self-less is spoken of as though it were the ideal, but to neglect our own needs leaves usless able to help others or to make positive change in the world.

Who you are and who you choose to be are both important.

Look at your self.

What do you do that is by choice? Which roles do you choose for yourself, and which are forced upon you? Which do you fall into, unthinking, simply because it is expected of you? And which are expected of you and you do by choice anyway?

How do you take care of yourself? How do you neglect yourself?

What is in the constellation of yourself? Can you look in the mirror and see yourself for yourself? Can you commit to giving yourself what you need, in body, mind and spirit, wherever possible?

Can you look at the roles you have taken on and see which feel like a good fit, and which you would choose to shed, and which you’d like to grow into?

Take a few moments throughout the day to just breathe and ask yourself if what you are doing right now is good for you, or harmful. And allow yourself to wonder how you would feel if you did what fit you, rather than what you think you should do.

Today is Valentine’s day. Can you give yourself the gift of love? Can you love your Self, who you are and who you choose to be?

 

*The Ship of Theseus

Iron pentacle – Pride

12 Saturday Feb 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Determination, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, Iron Pentacle, Living Life, Magic, musings, Pride, Reclaiming, Tools

“We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?” ~ Marianne Williamson

The second point of the Iron pentacle, as we move through the body, from the top point, Sex, to the bottom right, is Pride.

Pride is a cardinal sin for the Christian foundation of our culture.

Pride comes before a fall… the meek shall inherit the earth… and so on…

We are warned against getting big-headed, or too big for our boots. We are chastened against pridefulness, for it leads, we are told, to tripping over our too-big feet.

In our world, today, pride is mistaken for arrogance.

The emphasis on false humility, on self-deprecation, on keeping ourselves small, is all so we do  not rock the boat. If we stand up tall, being as big and as bold and as beautiful as we can be, then we can rock the world! Staying small, denying our ability, denying the ways in which we are great, all this does is deny the world of the best of us.

Pride, right-sized pride, in which we acknowledge what we are and have done and are capable of as a good thing, as something to be proud of, comes alongside right-sized humility. When we recognise our own worth, we can recognise the worth of others.

We are special, we are important, we are unique. And so is everyone and everything else.

We all have our places, we all have things we can do like no-one else.

Be proud of yourself, like you would a child who had acheived something wonderful. Encouragement and self-recognition and acceptance is what will help us to be the best we can be, do the best we can do, and to change the world for the better.

Be proud of yourself, take pride in your work, be proud of the world. In doing this you are not being arrogant, instead you are recognising your worth and what you can do for the world. If you refuse to recognise and act on this then you are denying the world of what you could do for it.

Be proud of yourself, and recognise that others are equally as important to the world. If you place yourself over them, claiming to be more important than they, then this is arrogance. Knowing the ways in which you are better at specific things, and recognising that they have thier own skills and beauties, keeps us balanced. Support each other, praise each other, recognise that we all have value simply by existing.

Notice how you hold yourself in the world, how you value yourself and others. Notice if you are prone to self-deprecation, or to cutting others down. Notice when you belittle what you are proud of, or when you focus on what you feel you have done wrong in order to beat yourself up.

Notice these things and try to shift your language, in just one instance each day.

When someone compliments you, say thank you instead of downplaying it.

When someone does something well, offer praise in a positive way, instead of pointing out the ways in which it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things anyway.

When you do something well, or something hard, don’t hide it away. Put a little comment somewhere on Facebook or Twitter, or say something to a friend about how you feel you did good. Notice where you get good feedback from, and if you get a negative response, consider not sharing the things you are proud of with that person or forum again.

Recognise your own value, and the value of all the beings in the world, and don’t settle for those that try to keep you small because of their own lack of pride.

Breathe. Every day you live through is a gift, and mistakes are worth noting and learning from, but it is not worth letting them define you.

Breathe and draw yourself up to your full height. Be proud.

“Your playing small does not serve the world.”

~ Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

Iron pentacle – Sex

10 Thursday Feb 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Healing, Iron Pentacle, life, Living Life, Magic, Sex, Suggestions, Tools

As I posted yesterday, I will be blogging on each of the points of the Iron Pentacle. As areas which need healing for almost all individuals, these concepts can be triggery, can be upsetting, and can bring up issues and objections for people. For that reason alone I’ve put this post under a cut.

If you are worried and still want to read: I do not, in this post, talk directly about specific experiences, or outline anything that is unsafe for work, as it were. If you do not want to read, please pass on by…

Continue reading →

The Iron Pentacle

09 Wednesday Feb 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Magic, Pentacles

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Iron Pentacle, life, Magic, Philosophy, Reclaiming, Tools

I’ve been involved in the Reclaiming tradition for about 7 years now, and one of the tools which is taught as a ‘core class’ in Reclaiming is the Iron Pentacle. Paired with the Pearl Pentacle, this meditational tool came from Feri and has evolved within Reclaiming into something slightly different, and just as useful. I shan’t be talking about the history, or much about the differences, here, but I would like to share some thoughts about these pentacles over the next few weeks.

The Iron pentacle rewards repeated work. It has as its points topics which hold a great deal of power for people in our culture, and which our society has denigrated and damaged and made taboo. The words themselves have power, and were chosen for this reason; if we can reclaim them in a healthy way, we can heal the divisions within ourselves that denying parts of our birthright has caused.

The points of the Iron Pentacle are:

Sex

Pride

Self

Power

Passion

Why Iron? Well, the earth has a core of iron, and we are of the earth, made of starstuff which has settled into a planet and lives. Our blood contains iron, iron strengthens us, keeps us alive. Iron is also an irritant; it scratches and stimulates and brings things to the surface. When red hot iron energy flows through us it burns away blocks, releasing energy which we have bound up in those places, which has not been allowed to flow.

We start with Iron to cleanse and strengthen our foundations as human beings. As human we are alive and sensual, we all have something we can be proud of, we have selves which are worthy of care and love, we hold the power in ourselves to act in the world and shape our lives, and we have passions and feel. Our culture has denigrated all these things. We are alive, we are blessed to walk this earth, and we have a right to delight in being alive, in community with other embodied beings. I intend to write a series of posts exploring each of these points from the perspective of the Reclaiming tradition.

At its heart, the Iron Pentacle is about healing ourselves and becoming strong in ourselves, in order to heal our community, our culture, the world. As everything is connected, healing one part heals part of the whole, and this ripples out…

 

Further Reading:

Reclaiming’s Principles of Unity

Starhawk, Spiral Dance

T. Thorn Coyle, Evolutionary Witchcraft

 

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss 9 – Keys

28 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by Haloquin in All Posts, Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

creativity, Faery, Feyhearted path, Heart, inspirations, Keys, Living Life, Magic, Tools

This is the ninth in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.

Inspired by Cat Valente’s Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making this kiss is about keys.

 

Keys are important. With keys we lock secrets away in private journals, we open doors, we mark a rite of passage in which we receive the ability to choose when we enter and leave our own homes. Locking and unlocking, closing and opening, protecting and revealing… keys mean so much.

Keys are symbolic, and real.

Continue reading →

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss #6 – Yourself

07 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Faery

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Tags

challenge, choice, Commitment, Faery, Feyhearted path, Heart, Honesty, Imperfection, inspirations, Journalling, life, Living Life, Suggestions, Tools

This is the sixth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.

Who are you?

Who do you dream of being?

To be enchanted without becoming lost it is key to know your own heart, the centre of your self, the home of your soul. So now we turn from the space around us, and the beings that are our allies, and the enchantment already in the world, to face our own selves.

Continue reading →

FeyHearted – Pixie Kiss #5 – Allies

01 Saturday Jan 2011

Posted by Haloquin in Faery

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Tags

Faery, Feyhearted path, Intent, Magic, Tools

Originally posted on my Feyhearted blog…

This is the Fifth post in a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.

Every journey is better with company, and this path is no different. Of course, the option of company from at least two realms is less familiar to our culture, but I’m sure we’ll manage!

Who better than to guide our efforts in bringing together the faery and human realms than a Fae who is doing this themselves? Today I present a simple exercise to reach out to one who would help. The philosophy of faery, my ideas behind what they are and what their relationship is to us I will leave for another day, it is enough, for now, to be aware that there is more to this world than meets the eye. And, well, hooking up with someone who can guide you through the parts of their world and magic while you help them with ours can only help with bringing the realms closer.

Continue reading →

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss #3 – Understanding

16 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by Haloquin in Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Faery, Feyhearted path, Honesty, Intent, Journalling, Magic, Pixie Kisses, Tools

This is the third of a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here.
We started by making some space. Space for enchantment, space for the Fae. For our second step, we began collecting enchantment, in the form of stories.

Now we can open to an understanding of enchantment and look towards how it can ripple into our lives…

Continue reading →

Feyhearted – Pixie Kiss #2 – Stories

09 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by Haloquin in Faery

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

beauty, Commitment, Devotional, Faery, Feyhearted path, inspirations, Magic, process, Suggestions, Tools

This is the second of a series of suggestions for re-enchanting your life, one pixie kiss at a time. The introduction is here, and you can watch the path unfold here. This post was originally posted here.

We started by making some space. Space for enchantment, space for the Fae.

Now we can continue this process, making more space in our lives and our minds, and charming ourselves with what we choose to attract.

Following the principle of magic that like attracts like, fill your life with the kinds of wonder and stories of the magic you choose to tap into.

Continue reading →

Faery light

06 Wednesday May 2009

Posted by Haloquin in Faery, Storytelling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Heart, Philosophy, questions, Stories, Suggestions, Tools

Standing on the land as the sun rises, beneath your feet you feel a ripple, a gentle pulsing of warmth, growing stronger.

You listen, feeling the vibrations, watching the world become lighter.

You find yourself reminded of a giant heartbeat…

A distant heart in the heart of the world…

Can you feel it?

***********************************************************************

A few days ago I was with a beautiful group of people and, on the last day we were together, we walked across the land before breakfast for one last ritual. Our intention was to connect with the light of Faeryland, and to learn a way in which we could carry this light into the world. Inspired by R. J. Stewart‘s Exercise, The Rising Light Below, I led us all in a trance together as the light of the land rose within us.

Before I share the vision, first, a little theory:

I’ve come across theories on Faeryland, I’ve heard it called the place where nothing changes, the place where every rose is the essence of a rose, rather than a rose itself. R. J. Stewart describes it as though it were a blueprint for our world, and one which we have ignored in the execution of our lives. Instead of working in harmony with the world, we have separated ourselves off and isolated our selves.

I, then, propose that Faeryland and our human world were once the same, whole, together, connected. Over time, we humans learnt ways of manipulating the world around us, ways which got us great power very quickly, and before we realised the damage this would do, we had taken our toys and run off with them, leading to a separation between the land of the Fey, the magical, primal energies of the land, and the world we inhabit wherein we see each thing as an individual, as separate, to be used.

Our world became soulless, because we stopped seeing its heart.

The Faery world drifted away, because we could no longer see life as an interconnected web of beauty in the way we once did. This ‘once upon a time’ may, possibly, have been merely mythological, but given that I know from experience that we are capable of seeing the world as ensouled, and that life is so much better, for me at least, when I do, I figure it matters little whether this was a mythological once upon a time, or a literal one.

Faeryland, then, is the archetype of the world, its heart.

We are disconnected from the heart of the world, and so we see the world as merely something to be used up.

Using up the world, as we are becoming increasingly more aware, leads to pain, suffering, illness, death. Certainly we have had many short term gains, but our livestyles are unsustainable.

Perhaps, I feel, if we are able to remember the heart of the world, to heal the separation between the human world and the Faery world, to reunite body and soul, we may see how to live our lives in a way which does not destroy our beautiful planet, or our spirits.

And yes, I am aware that I have Western privilages, including internet access, and the like. This is one reason I know I need to learn this too.

And so, to the vision…

*********************************************

Go outside.

Feel your feet upon the land.

Feel the heart of the earth, beating.

Feel your heart, beating in time with the earth’s heart.

Feel the heart beat glow, warm and bright, deep within the land.

Feel the light begin to rise, come closer, grow bright.

Feel it flow up and up, the light of Faery within the land, coming close to our world.

Closer and closer.

Until they kiss.

And in the kiss the light flows up into your body and around you, up through your feet, legs, torso, and into your head.

Hold it here, feel it fill you, feel yourself becoming more attuned to the light of Faery.

And then, let it flow gently back down into the earth, leaving a shard of light in your heart.

Just a piece of light, however much or little you can hold easily.

Now let this light grow and feel it throughout your body.

This light in your heart is connected with the light in the land.

Listen, sense, feel.

What do the Fey have to tell you?

What small job do they have for you to do to help heal the separation between the worlds?

Wait until you know, something concrete, simple, doable, practical, precise.

Wait, holding the feeling of the light within you until there is something you can agree to, commit to.

And send an answer to the Fey, the Faery Queen, tell them that you agree to the task they have set you.

Accept, and bid them farewell.

Now let the light dim down to a level you are able to hold comfortably today.

Each morning you can check this light and see if it is at the right level for you, in that day.

If it is too bright, let it dim, and if too dim, let a little light flow from the earth up into your heart to strengthen it.

If ever it feels like you should not be carrying the light at all, or if it is too much to keep it, then let it all flow back into the earth.

Remember your commitment.

Move out into the world carrying the light with you.

Bring the world of Faery and the human world back together.

And remember, you are not alone, all around the world, others are working to heal the separation between the worlds also.

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(c) Halo Quin ~ author, storyteller, witch

Re-enchanting the world, one story, one song, one spell, at a time.

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