(^36) A Wiccan Bible
Ve—Male—Northern Europe
After Odin created Ask and Embla (the first of humanity), it was Ve who gave them speech.
Waramurungundi—Female—Australia
The Creator Mother of the Gunwinggu people. She is said to have created the lan-
guages of Australia and given those languages to the many tribes.
Raising Energy and Releasing Intent:
The Second Half of the Body of the Ritual
Chances are you have heard the term ‘Raising the Cone of Power.’ While it might
sound rather spooky, it is nothing more than creative visualization on a group level.
The idea is that if one mind can focus on a specific thought and send that thought into
the universe with the hopes that it will manifest, than a group mind will be able to
accomplish such a task with even more effectiveness. The principle is the core of Wiccan
spellcraft—not that all the candles, incense, oils, and chants are themselves magick, but
that human consciousness is magick, that human consciousness has the ability to mani-
fest change outside of itself. Generally speaking, the props of spellcraft are there to
stimulate the mind into a thought. This is why specific colors, scents, words, and other
props are used in ritual—not because those colors, scents, words, and other props are
magick in and of themselves, but because they stimulate the human mind. They set the
tone or mood in which the human mind is most likely to be focused on the intention.
If the intent of the rite is the exploration of mysteries, there might not be a need for
raising energy. This might be the case in rituals such as the Rite of Persephone (dis-
cussed later). However, where a rite has an intent other than to expose one to the rite
itself, it is often helpful to raise energy for that purpose and then to release that energy
to the universe. In keeping with the principle that Wicca is a fertility religion, this prac-
tice is thought to be the conception, gestation, and birth, or release, of the magickal
child. This is calling on that beat or rhythm of life to swell up in the participants and
then be released into the universe.
In a structured Circle, participants should be well versed on the construction of the
cone of power, and everyone must work in synchronicity. The idea is that the same
thought, the same intent, will be focused upon by all who are in the Circle. Even with a
clearly stated intent and the guest worked up by the stating of the intent, the chant used
for the raising of the cone of power should be clear and bring about further concentra-
tion on the intent. The following would be appropriate in raising energy against the
unethical treatment of animals, maybe against needlessly barbaric killing practices.
Earth, Air, Fire, Water
Give us strength
To end this slaughter
The safest but least effective method for accomplishing such a raising of energy is
to have all participants sit in a circle around the host and hostess who guide the chant.
g WB Chap 0.p65 36 7/11/2003, 5:47 PM
barré
(Barré)
#1