Wicca and Witchcraft 101 Lecture 7 High Priestess

Wicca and Witchcraft 101 Lecture 7 High Priestess Tehilah Firewind Introduction to the divine persona

Why Have Patrons? • Familiar, comforting energy helps to make the sacred space of circle feel like home • Helps bring structure and guidance to personal practices • Regular rituals to personal deities brings: – Divinity into one’s everyday life – Stronger and healthier Crown chakra – Peace and prosperity – Acceptance and wisdom

Finding a Patron • Patron deities are those who give support to a person, organization, place, or activity – City-State: Sumeria, Greece, Rome – Clan/House: Celtic regions, Greece, Norse – Activities: Egypt, Greece, Aztec • Not everyone has a patron – Some prefer nameless deities – Some invoke different deities depending on the type and purpose of the ritual

Patrons Across Cultures • Different versions of the same archetypes – Different cultures, different energies – May not be obvious what the difference is – Different linguistics, different modes of thought • Example: Hel versus Hades – Hades is son of Cronus (commander) and Rhea (connectivity), name is of unknown meaning – Hel is daughter of Loki (chaos) and Angrboda (griefbringer), name means “concealed place” – Both are rulers of underworld, and share name of place – Hades connects all people through a united fate and a shared sense of loss, while Hel hides people away at random, bringing sorrow and loss to the masses

Patrons Across Cultures • Example: Gaia and Tiamat – Gaia (earth) is a primordial creator, springing forth amongst Chaos (chasm) and Eros (love) – Tiamat (abyss, deep sea) is also a primordial creator, being born of nothing, and embodying chaos itself – Both mothered their full pantheons – Gaia hated seeing her children die to her spouse, Cronus, plotting the overthrow of the Titans – Tiamat thought her children made too much noise, turning into a sea monster and waging war against them until Marduk, son of Enki (lord of Earth), killed her

Finding a Patron • Usually, your patron finds you • Patrons most commonly appear in: – Dreams – Scrying sessions – Divination readings • Often comes when you least expect it • Patrons can be selected also: – Follow your intuition – Do your research – It shouldn’t feel forced at all

Why Have an Element? • For most, this isn’t actually a choice • Your element dictates your skillset, what comes most naturally to you • Knowing your element helps you understand: – Which skills to foster and develop further – Your Divine Persona and how to best help others – Patrons who’d fit well with you – Which types of people you gravitate towards

Finding an Element • Often witches identify more with one element over others • May have multiple elements • Can be based off of star chart • Do you: – Get excited during storms? – Wave your hands out the window while driving? – Create huge bon fires with relative ease? – Enjoy swimming and being near the ocean? – Walk around bare foot and feel rejuvenated in nature? – Like being dirty and getting hands on experience?

What is a Spirit Animal? • Spirit animals are like inner animals – Almost imaginary in a sense (not physically or even necessarily metaphysically present) – Appear in prophetic visions and dreams – Offer guidance and wisdom about our true selves – May have more than one • Technical Terminology: – Totems are those who select you from before birth and are with you throughout your lifetime • Not guides, but rather archetypes for learning life lessons • Play critical role in spiritual growth and life journey • Usually one of these per lifetime – Spirit guides are those who come to you throughout life in order to help you get through specific challenges

What is a Familiar? • Familiars are spirit guides which take physical form – May be brought into existence through magic – Exist to help the magician on their spiritual journey • Supportive of magic • Always on the look out to ensure good metaphysical health in their companions

What is a True Name? • Also called a Divine Name People are made of… Particles Energy is made of vibrations • Vibrations can be interpreted as sound

How to Choose a True Name • Intuitive approach: – What does your essence feel like? – If you were a sound, what would you sound like? • Concrete approach: 1. Choose a language from your heritage or which you particularly like (perhaps matches patron) 2. Select a concept which encapsulates your essence 3. Find one word which matches that concept, and translate this word into the target language 4. Examples: • • Tehilah – Hebrew meaning “Psalm”, or “song for G-d” Ogonslav – Ancient Russian meaning “fire” and “glorious”

Lecture 7 Homework • Read Living Wicca, chapters 14, 18 -20 by Scott Cunningham • Read Wicca, chapter 10 by Scott Cunningham • Determine your element, decide if patrons are for you, and select a mode of divination to perfect • Select a true name • Choose if initiation is a requirement for your practice – Do you need to initiate with a teacher? – Consider Open Minded Path for initiation – Self initiations? Design a ritual and send it in for feedback if desired, otherwise, just notify HP when complete (for inner court members who want title recognition)