The Sacred Land's Green Mantle

Vayeshev

וַיְהִי, כַּאֲשֶׁר-בָּא יוֹסֵף אֶל-אֶחָיו; וַיַּפְשִׁיטוּ אֶת-יוֹסֵף אֶת-כֻּתָּנְתּוֹ, אֶת-כְּתֹנֶת הַפַּסִּים אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colours that was on him ... Bereshit 37:23

Joseph's father gave him a mantle of many colors. Joseph was stripped naked of this mantle by his brothers.

Excerpt from the Ballad of Tam Lin -

"And then I'll be your ain true-love,
I'll turn a naked knight,
Then cover me wi your green mantle,
And hide me out o sight."

As I wrote in Seven Measures and the Magical Eight, in Celtic Traditional Witchcraft, the sacred number seven represents the standard metaphysical Otherworld measure marking the transformation period from one state into another, from death to regeneration, and from dwelling in the Underworld Faery Land to re-emergence and mystical merging with the Mystery of the Sacred Land Itself. Seven encodes the Otherworld mystery of total Regeneration.

After spending "seven measures" in the Underworld Faery Land, one is said to re-emerge "coated or dressed in green," like Tam Lin re-emerged wearing a Lady's green mantle in the mythic Ballad of Tam Lin and as Queen Esther (of the Biblical book of Esther) was said to have had green skin in Hebrew mythology (as recorded in Midrash).

While patriarchy may give a man a mantle of many colors, it must be stripped from him, leaving him a naked knight to be covered by the green mantle of his true wife. This is a Mystery of the Sacred Land.

Lilith

Vayishlach

וַיִּוָּתֵר יַעֲקֹב, לְבַדּוֹ; וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ, עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day ... Bereshit 22:25

Like Jacob who wrestled with his darkness, so too is Lilith one who embraces Her Darkness.

The epitome of feminine power and enduring strength, possessor par excellence of sacred female wisdom, LILITH is the legendary first wife of Adam who refused to take second place to him in the scheme of manifest reality as did Eve (who was later created from Adam's side to be a helper to him). Like Adam and unlike Eve, LILITH's body was formed directly from the Sacred Land, from dust of the Earth. LILITH, with Wisdom understands the necessity of balancing dark magic and light magic to integrate and create a third reality greater than either darkness or light alone. Eve, cleaving only to white magic, couldn't understand this.



Handcrafted with premium certified kosher soy wax and pure cotton wick, this exquisite boldly red LILITH ritual altar spell candle is dedicated toward helping you to draw out wisdom and understanding, achieve holistic balance, integrate your darkness and light, actualize the full extent of your Sacred Feminine power and perform Sacred Land magic blessed with energy of the Goddess who Herself sprang from the Earth equal to the Divine Masculine Power. LILITH is generously scented with Vetiver and adorned with a red rhinestone jewel and an antiqued bronze Wisdom Owl charm hung on black satiny ribbon.

Measures 2" x 3".

Ancestral Ladder

Vayetzei

וַיַּחֲלֹם, וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה, וְרֹאשׁוֹ, מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה; וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים, עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of the Divine ascending and descending on it ... Bereshit 28:12

In Jewish tradition, angels correspond to Divine communication and stones correspond to the matrilineal bond between the generations. The Hebrew word for stone, namely even (אבן) is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase meaning 'mothers and children' (אמת ובנים) where the magical Hebrew 'connecting' letter 'vav' (ו) joining the generations together corresponds to the mystical ladder into which the stones (mothers and children) are woven together in time and timelessness.

The ladder is an ancestral weaving of Goddess enabling communication throughout the generations clear back to our Source in Her. The witch's altar ladder is a physical tool magically aligned to this reality.



This beautiful witch's ladder may be purchased at WITCHCRAFTS by Liorah Lleucu.

The Red Meal

Toldot

וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, הַלְעִיטֵנִי נָא מִן-הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה
And Esau said to Jacob: 'Let me swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red pottage ... Bereshit 25:30

The Red Meal is a traditional rite of Witchcraft. Simple yet powerful, it unites the Seen world with the Unseen world.

In this Torah passage, Jacob is conducting a rite of the Craft, namely the Red Meal, and Esau is asking to participate in it.

The Thin Veil

Chayyei Sarah

וַתִּקַּח הַצָּעִיף
and she took her veil ... Bereshit 24:65

This shabbat we are introduced to Rivkah's veil, a magical attribute with which she hides direct knowledge of herself from Yitzchak. Will he be able to perceive the reality of who she is beyond the veil?

Tomorrow is the sabbat of Samhain, the time of the year when the veil between worlds (her world and his world) is the thinnest and the possibility for perception beyond the veil and occupying an overlapping shared world is enhanced.

So, she took her veil ...

Upright and Just

Vayeira

לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט
that they may perform uprightly and justly ... Bereshit 18:19

What is not upright?

Bullying. For example, as one witch is trying to do to me, when a witch tries to intimidate and threatens legal action against other witches in the attempt to stop other witches from selling black drippy candles because she wants to monopolize the market and all business for herself - this is not upright.

What is not justice?

If such a witchy bully is allowed to get away with it - this is not justice. I refuse to acquiesce to her bullying threats or to let her get away with it.

Experiencing Another Being

Lech-Lecha

שָׂרַי אִשְׁתְּךָ, לֹא-תִקְרָא אֶת-שְׁמָהּ שָׂרָי
As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai ... Bereshit 17:15

Robin Artisson writes in The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill -

Truth or Naming refers to creating words that have a mystical value, in the sense that they bring the person who hears the words into a sort of state where the inner nature of the thing referred to is experienced, normally in a wordless, direct manner ...

Whatever the essence of the woman - the man's wife - the name Sarai tells us only of his experience of this woman, a nameless Being of many names whose essence extends beyond this particular moment in time, as time pivots around the Thread of Fate which She Is.

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