The Maternals

From the Spirit he produced Air, and formed in it twenty-two sounds, the letters. Three are mothers, seven are double, and twelve are simple, but the Spirit is first and above these.

The FOOL is Air. ALl the other Tarot cards are implicit in this Transitional Air, they all arise from Air.

From the Air, He formed the Waters and from the formless and void made mire and clay, and designed surfaces upon them, and hewed recesses in them, and formed the strong material foundation.

The HANGED MAN is Water. It is the basis of matter, and is a part of Microprsopus on the Tree of Life, at the side of the Pllar of Severity. Alchemists call Water the 'root of all minerals.'

From the Water he formed Fire and made for himself a Throne of Glory with Auphanim, Seraphim, and Kerubim, as his ministering angels, and with those three he completed his dwelling...

JUDGMENT is Fire. The final maternal connects Microprosopus with its bride, Malkuth, again in the side of the Pillar of Severity.

As the Path of the Flaming Sword which is the Path of Emanation of the Sephiroth, crosses the Abyss from Binah to Chesed where no Path exists, so there is the possibility of passge across the Abyss from Chokmah to Geburah [although this is not a viable possibility for the developing spirit]. Were this done, it would be possible to move up and down the Tree of life using only three Paths, those of the Maternals. From Kether the Path of THE FOOL leads to Chokmah. From Chokmah it is a leap across the terrible abyss to Geburah. From Geburah is the Path of THE HANGED MAN into Hod. Finally, the Path of JUDGMENT leads into the material compleption of Malkuth.

There is a quality of 'mind games' to working with the Sepher Yetziran in this way, but this method is esential to understanding the ways in which the Tarot embodies high Qabalistic principle.

Qabalistic Tarot
~Robert Wang~
pgs 125-128

Sigil for Agrimus-the 'Curled One'-Dragon of the EARTH

Agrimus-the 'Curled One': First Born of Lilith & Adam

From my Research...I feel strongly that AGRIMUS, the first born of Lilith and Adam IS the Dragon...the 'Curled One'...the 'Dragon' that rules over the world [matter]...representing the Cosmic Axis-the Axis Mundi...the Stang representative of the Horned One???

Shani Oates-the Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain states:

"Cain or Qayin is Our tutelary deity, Tubal Cain, is described by RB as the ‘Hairy One’ [the unknown spirit of Pan] with each wayfarer a ‘fool’ and child of the Hairy One. He also describes him as the holder of the mysteries, the gatekeeper, indicating that He, like Qayin is also in service to some higher principle beyond themselves. Compelled to explore further His attributes for myself, I was gifted one image that encapsulates the profound moment Qayin received both mark and exile. Above his brow, three curling flame-like strands suggest the fire-brand of shin, the triple fire and triple horns of this eponymous and eternal wanderer (in the sense of eternal seeker). I perceived ‘Pashupâti, Lord of the Animals’ poised and crowned with magnificent (lunar) bulls horns, stag antlers (stellar) and goat or rams (solar) horns in composite effulgence as the glorious ‘Trimurti’"

but I have to wonder...is it Cain/Qayin...who wears the crown above his brow of three curling flame-like strands-the fire-brand of shin...the triple fire and triple horns-or is it AGRIMUS-the 'Curled One'?

The Gematric total of the Daemon AGRIMUS, first born of Liltih and Adam...equals 341...

341 is the Sum of the 3 Mother letters in Hebrew...

Aleph, Mem, and Shin...

AIR, WATER, and FIRE...

the 3 letters making up God's name (yud, he, and vav),

In its relation to the construction of the cosmos, matter consists of the three primordial elements, which, however, are not chemically connected with one another, but modify one another only physically. Power (δύναμις) emanates from the seven and the twelve heavenly bodies, or, in other words, from the planets and the signs of the zodiac. The "dragon" rules over the world (matter and the heavenly bodies); the sphere rules time; and the heart rules over the human body. The author sums up this explanation in a single sentence: "The dragon is like to a king on his throne, the sphere like a king traveling in his country, and the heart like a king at war."

The "dragon" (תלי tli, perhaps meaning "curled one" as a coiled serpent) which plays such an important part in the astrology of the book, is probably an ancient Semitic figure; at all events its name is not Arabic, as scholars have hitherto assumed, but either Aramaic or possibly a Babylonian loan-word. The "dragon" is often understood as the starry constellation Draco and by extension it represents the cosmic axis (equivalent to the north/south pole) because this constellation coils around the North Star and thus around the celestial axis, as it intersects the northernmost part of the celestial sphere.

the theory of contrasts in nature, or of the syzygies ("pairs"), as they are called by the Gnostics, occupies a prominent place in the Sefer Yetzirah. This doctrine is based on the assumption that the physical as well as the moral world consists of a series of contrasts mutually at war, yet pacified and equalized by the unity, God. Thus in the three prototypes of creation the contrasting elements fire and water are equalized by air; corresponding to this are the three "mothers" among the letters, the mute מ contrasting with the hissing ש, and both being equalized by א.

Seven pairs of contrasts are enumerated in the life of man:

Life and death
Peace and strife
Wisdom and folly
Wealth and poverty
Beauty and ugliness
Fertility and sterility
Lordship and servitude (iv. 3)
From these premises the Sefer Yezirah draws the important conclusion that "good and evil" have no real existence, for since everything in nature can exist only by means of its contrast, a thing may be called good or evil according to its influence over man by the natural course of the contrast.

I think it also entails the Angelick/Daemon balance of each of the 72 names...

First there are three mother letters, or Immoth: Aleph, Mem and Shin. They form the prime trinity that came from the Divine. They represent the three dimensions of space. They act as a prism which transforms the divine light into seven more letters which are the double letters or Kaphouloth: Beth, Gimmel, Daleth, Kaph, Phe, Resh and Tau. They are called double letters because they have two ways of pronunciation.

Traditionally, the three mother letters are associated with the first three Sephiroth, but they are also representative of the three pillars of the Tree of Life. The seven double letters are associated with the next seven Sephiroth.

Aleph, Mem and Shin, the three mother letters are also strongly defined.

Aleph as first letter is attributed to Kether, the origin of the Tree of Life.

Mem , the thirteenth letter, has water as symbolic value, and is attributed to Binah, the Sephirah which has for symbols the primal waters and mother archetype. The letter Mem also stands for the mother, fertility, the earth, the sea. Shin, the twenty-first, letter is attributed to Binah, the Sephirah of the father archetype and has male, fiery characteristics. The shape of the letter Mem has an enclosing form, reflecting the female enclosing, harboring, nurturing values.

The letter Shin is the dynamic movement of the element Fire, the active, expansive and vivifying forces in the universe. It is also the symbol of the vivifying spirit. It shape reflects three raised flames in the shape of three Vaus's.

Hymn to Holle

Hymn to Holle Holla, Mistress of the Storms Weaver of the Web of Time Yours is the Gate of Birth and Death The dark funnel leading downwards Into your realms-and back to the world In the exhaustible opulence of your garden In the richness of the Ancestors The Dead, the Children The Whispering voices in the Nightly Wind In the time before time Haunts your wild band Throughout the land Leaving Fear and Hope Holla, Mistress of the Fertile Waters Take lives and give lives right back At the right place, at the right time. 

 Hymne an die Holle

Holla, Herrin der Stürme

Dein ist das Tor von Geburt und Tod

Die dunklen Trichter nach unten führenden

In Ihrem Reiche und zurück in die Welt

In der regenerativen Opulenz in Ihrem Garten

In den Reichtum der Vorfahren

Die Toten, die Kinder

Das Flüstern Stimmen in der Nacht Luft.

In der Zeit vor der Zeit Haunts Ihre wilde Band

Im ganzen Landschaft

Angst und Hoffnung verlassen Holla,

Herrin des Fruchtbaren Gewässer

Nehmen Sie das Leben und geben das Leben gleich wieder

Am richtigen Ort, zur richtigen Zeit

Ghost Roads ritual

Ghost Roads Ritual

Establishing the Geisterwege or Ghost Roads for the Working Circle or the Compass Magickal

Go to the nearest natural body of water, and draw forth enough water to pour a direct line of water from the original water source to the Circle or Compass.

Take an offering to the Water Spirits, and to the Spirits of Place. Give these offerings before taking the Water…

Announce as you bring the Water into the Sacred Space/Circle/Compass Round:
"I have gone to the Source of ALL Waters.
Here is water, blessed by the Old Ones,
A fertile river of life,
A medium of ghosts,
A water that is bridge of passage for every Spirit,
A water of Mastery,
Over ALL-Much Power.
Much vision.
And from the heights to the depths,
The road of the Spells of the Boundary.
Keeper and the Boundary-Crosser."

Pour the remainder of the water in a sacred vessel, inside the circle/compass. Lift high the container [WATER]

Invoke the WATER:
"Water from the bosom of the Earth,
From which comes all Life,
Be blessed and enlivened in the Name of Dame Owl,
The Old Serpent,
The Undying Queen Below."

add 3 sprinkles of salt into the water.

Invoke the SALT:
"God in the Salt, I call you to wakefulness with my words,
And give you life in the name of the Horned-One-
Be consecrated and Forceful, and Fierce red with Might,
You salt that sustains Life."

From the WATER and the SALT, anoint your forehead.

"I anoint Thee in Devotion to the White King of Elfhame."

Walking counterclockwise, pour Water around your Compass in an area made by the sacred sword or by the Stang.

This is symbolic of the River Styx, that separates this world from the next.
As you come to the Cardinal points, a 'Ghost Road' has to be made. Make a straight line of Water extending out a few inches toward that direction. When you have finished you will have surrounded the area totally with Water from the Source, and made 4 Water- 'Ghost Roads'.

Now cast pinches of EARTH taken from a Family Cemetery/Ancestral Place at each Cardinal Points.
Invoke the EARTH:
"I cast Earth here in the Name of the Old Ones and the Ancestors,
To mark this Space as Sacred."

Go to the NORTH:
"Now you come, My Mother's Ancestors
With the North Wind,
I summon you here.
You listen to my call.
You respond to my voice.
On the North Wind I summon you now
With my Praying Breath."

Go to the EAST:
"Now you come, My Father's Ancestors
On the East Wind,
I summon you here.
You run with the red tempests,
Stir up the gray dust,
You hear my voice calling,
Upon my Praying Breath."

Go to the SOUTH:
"Now you come,
My dearest animal ancestors,
I call upon you on the South Winds.
Bird-formed Spirit, Shaman Woman,
I welcome you here
With my Praying Breath."

Go to the WEST:
"Now I call on All the Departed.
The West Wind's wings will bring you here
You make the Moon rise,
Gently ruffle the seven seas,
Be Here in your Breath!
Be Here and listen to me!"

Go to the Stang planted in the North…and cutting yourself, Blood the Horns atop the Stang calling:
"By Blood and Bone
You are Her Champion.
Protector of the Mysteries.
Guard and Guide
Our Hearts and Hands
To work the Will of the Lady."

Now move the center of the Circle/Compass and draw a equal armed cross in the center of the Circle of Arte with the Hexen Blood & Bone mixture.

"Four roads meet and four roads part
All the centre of All
I have come to commune
With the Silent Ones
By this Cross I summon
The Legacy of my Blood
This is the True Cross
The Cross of the Journeyman
That know his Station and Sojourn
Allow me to dwell again
In the arms of my kin
Great Old Gods, undead and eternal
Hear me as I awaken you from you
Slumber and Silence!
From Height to Depth,
From dextral to sinister
I call upon thee to meet me
At this Crossroads of Power!"

Stand with your arms out-stretched, held high above your head and call…turning from North to East, to South, to West, and back to North.

"Ancestral Powers of this Our Blood.
We are your People, Guard us well.
By Earth and Air, by Fire and Flood,
By Magick mime, and Spoken Spell.

Kinship to Kinship, Blood to Blood
By dark night wind and starry sky
By Water running wild and free
To this our Circle now draw nigh.

Our Craft's own Goddess I invoke
And Ancient Ones of Hill and Mound
These Ghost Roads cross
and meet in the Circle Round."

Gather in the Center of the Circle/Compass and grasp hands.
"In a Circle-Hand in hand
We call the Old Ones to our Land.
All who are of Me and Mine
Come to Dance and spend some time.
We are all but a thin Red Line."

Releasing hands, lift your arms high above your head and SHOUT:
"Kinship to Kinship-
Blood to Blood!"

Call to the WitchMother

Lilith,
I call you, I adore you, I long for you.
Lilith,
Goddess of darkness, illuminate my temple in black light.
Lilith,
ignite in me the feelings of the flesh under the rule of the mind.
Lilith,
Great Mother, sister, lover, give me the cup of knowledge.
Lilith,
I am drunk from your breast, I take hold of your majesty.
Lilith,
timeless abyss, you destroy my fears revealing the mysterious.
Lilith,
send your legions against my enemies.
Lilith,
My lady, induct me in the mysterious magic under the edge of your black cape.
Lilith,
consume me with your fullness, in the whirling starry horizon.

Consecration of the Stang-The Rite of taking Flight into the Realm of the Nightshade

"For Spirit flight to the Master's Sabbat, [the following] is recommended:

take one teaspoon of Mandrake root,
three leaves of Datura Stramonium or Metel, and one flower of the same plant,
a tablespoon of Belladonna berries [ripe],
a tablespoon of liguorish root,
a tablespoon of Hyssop.

Place this in cognac sufficient for it to cover the herbs for a week and mix this with 1.5 litres of red wine. Let this rest for 24 hours and it is ready. SHOW CAUTION, even with recipes like this, whose intent is to counteract the deadly toxins.

Cut you stang wood wehn the Moon is growing and in Taurus, Cancer, or Libra, alternatively in a good aspect of Mercury. You can also do this on a Wednesday [Mercury's Day] in his first hour of the night. Leave an offering of ground coffee, milk, wine, honey, and three coins in gratitude to the spirit of the tree.

Take the Staff, red wine and milk to a river in the hour when Venus is rising. Pray to the Fairies and declare this your Staff/Stang is the ladder to the Sabbath. Prick yourself and anoint the to and bottom of the stang with your blood.

The next day, when Venus rises in the sky take a cord of leather the height of your body. Tie nine knots on the cord, one knot for each of the three fates and their threefold placement in time and space. Tie the cord around your stang.

On the third night bring the stang and your knife to the same place. Carve in the lower end of the ladder/stang the rune Hagel and while carving chant the words of otherness:

Hel-Hagal-Hela.

Carve the Witch's Foot on the top, and chant, in the language of the birds:

Algiz-Holda-Algiz.

In the centre you will carve Laug and chant with the voice of fertile water:

Laguz-Freya-Laugar,

Anoint the staff with oil and breath. Let it rest in a dark cloth in a dark place until the Full Moon. Avoid exposing it to the Sun.

On the appointed night, when Venus rises, take your stang and your Vinum or Unguent Sabbati and position yourself to the north and wait until the Moon rises. Make a petition to the Moon to take you on her wings to the Hidden Convent where you will anoint yourself.

Take the Ladder/Stang and plant it in the ground repeatedly shouting:

Sator, Falcifer, the witches of the land
The Moon is full and fertile and I bid ye mighty dead to rise
From grave and alcove, from pound and woodhouse
Rise from your slumber and come to the Ladder's steps.

Then feed the wine and almonds to the Earth. Place your left hand to the ladder/stang and see in your mind's eye the skull faced legions rise from the ground.

then Say:

Of masters fo the skull and wine, blade and cross
By your blood I call upon he who rideth out in the wild hunt
Hooded master of grove and pyre
Dark one at the door and crossroads
I beseech you to open the witch way to the Sabbath
by the Fates so fair, and the Sisters Wyrd
Throw the Silver Thread across Ladder and Mount.
Ninefold Mother, Hel, Herodia, Holda
Queen of Elphame, Queen of Venus' mount
Take me to the Hidden Convent!

Recite the Journey runes and focus on the Witch's Foot and ascend throught the well of thorns to the sacerd place behind the Moon. Let the witches of the Land, Faunus himself or your familiar take you through the ladder and into the Sabbath circle.

To return again grip the ladder/stang and shout:

Sator Rentum Tormentum
In Nome Patri
Filii et Spiritus Sancti,
by the Skull of wisdom
and in the Master's name!

Upon return leave an offering of fig, apple and water to the genii loci and fair folk of that particular place.