Liber ab Mentis (The Book of Mind)^257
into mother and father without the destruction of self, that which is the nature of a
person’s being cannot be separated into masculine and feminine. Where Wiccan ritu-
als mark life by noting the union of the feminine and the masculine, that speaks only to
the union itself. The product of that union, the magickal child, is neither wholly male
nor wholly female. Instead, it is a union of the masculine and feminine that can not be
undone without destroying that which is created.
This is the Egyptian ‘ba’ (soul) and ‘ka’ (human life force). The ‘ba’ is present in
both humans and animals, but the ‘ka’ is unique to humanity and the gods themselves.
Seen in many facets of the Hindu traditions, it is the Water (soul/feminine) which is
controlled by the fountainhead (mind/masculine). Neither male nor female should feel
insulted by this, as we are not discussing that which is male or that which is female.
Every man and every woman is a composite of that that which is soul (feminine) and
that which is mind (masculine). Every man and woman is equal in that they are a com-
posite of what the Chinese called the Yin (feminine, Earth, soul) and the Yang (mas-
culine, sky, mind).Culture Feminine Masculine
Egyptian Ba Ka
Chinese Yin Yang
Japanese In Yo
Hindu Fountain Fountainhead
Wicca Chalice AthameThe Conception of Spirit
This is one of the many reasons the Wiccan religion is applicable not only to het-
erosexual couples, but also to solitaries and the many gay and lesbian members of our
community, as well. Some see the Great Rite as a symbolic act of heterosexual union,
but it is not. Even the physical act of sex is nothing more than a symbolic Great Rite.
While this is not to say that sexual unions are not sacred in and of themselves, that
which is termed the Great Rite is greater than any physical act. It is the mingling not
only of the soul, not only of two separate beings, but the mingling of the ba and ka
within the individual. At its essence, the Great Rite is the symbolic conception of Spirit
as the place in which soul and mind meet.
The symbolic Great Rite, as the athame of Fire into the chalice of Water or as
penis into vagina is not only an affirmation of Life, the union of masculine and femi-
nine. It is a promise. It is the acceptance of the responsibility given to humanity upon its
first ascension. It is the affirmation that we have indeed accepted that fruit, and now we
will revel in the rewards of empathy as seen in the great joys of one of the symbolic
Great Rites, and we will also live up to our promise to temper that soul—joy, sex,x WB Chap 15.p65 257 7/11/2003, 6:03 PM