A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014

An Introduction to The Refinement Process
The Principles of Arriving at the Complex and the Incense
Alchemy: Its Relationship to the Druidic Tradition

The ancient Druids used the variety of plants and trees available to them in a unique way, employing not only the physical benefits that the plants may provide, in the same way as many other herbal traditions, but also the spiritual attributes held within the plant. This was, and still is, achieved by two principal and inseparable techniques: first, the gentle extraction and refinement of the plant’s physical benefits in the form of “complexes,” and second, the spiritual energizing of these complexes in order to release and focus the natural spiritual attributes of the plant. These arcane techniques are, by definition, quite detailed but by no means beyond the capabilities of the average reader. We shall then begin our exploration of these techniques by looking at the refinement process, the first stage of preparing our complex.

An Introduction to The Refinement Process

The objective of our work will be to craft the cardinal essences, which, during the course of our ritual, will be combined to produce the specific complex that we require for our needs. Part of this process will also produce the incenses that will, in conjunction with our complex, enhance and energize our ritual. For the purpose of our exploration, we shall be looking at some of the specific complexes and incenses used in the working of sex magic rituals (see here).

To begin our understanding of the materials and processes involved, we need to define exactly what each of these various components is and the part each plays in our ritual, but perhaps first I should explain exactly what the ritual is.

I am often asked to explain the difference between the ritual, the working, and the ritual working, and the only really accurate answer to this question is that it depends entirely on the context in which the words are used and on the individual using them. Some practitioners and adepts speak of ritual workings, others of working rituals, yet more of workings in the preparation of rituals. For my part, I can only explain the way in which I was trained to use these words and therefore how they will be used throughout this book.

The ritual is the enactment of a predetermined sequence of events in a stylized fashion, with the intention and expectation of producing an accurately defined outcome. Therefore, if I and a number of my Gathering decide that we wish to undertake a particular ritual in order to project and bind a particular spell, we come together and enact a predetermined sequence of events designed to achieve that particular spell’s projection and binding.

The next time we wish to achieve the same results, we will repeat the same sequence of events, and in this way—by repeated enactment—the sequence of events establishes itself as the ritual.

The ritual may, and often does, seem quite theatrical in its enactment, and this is deliberate on behalf of the priest or priestess facilitating it. The purpose of ritual in this context is to coordinate the activities and progress of the members of the Gathering, which happens quite naturally as the participants eventually become familiar with the sequence of the ritual. In the same way that the ritual facilitates the physical progress of the Gathering’s activities, it also synchronizes the Gathering’s spiritual and emotional progress. In the case of the sex magic rituals we’ll be looking at later, it also synchronizes the progress of sexual arousal and works toward the desired collective orgasm.

The theatrical-like presentation or facilitation also plays a role in the collective understanding of the ritual, allowing the priest or priestess to communicate not only by verbal means, but also through the nonverbal communication or body language of the facilitation. This again is extremely important in sex magic rituals, where switches in focus between the sensual and the spiritual elements need to be clearly emphasized and communicated at the appropriate times to the Gathering as a whole.

The working is a more commonplace activity that is frequently very unceremonious indeed. It refers primarily to the activities undertaken in the workshop in preparation for the ritual or in the manufacture of compounds, potions, complexes, ritual tools, and so on that may be stored for future use. There is, by definition, no direct element of magic or of the spiritual in these activities. Most workings are conducted by the Druidic priest or priestess, adept, or practitioner in the isolation of his or her workshop or the seclusion of a forest grove. On such occasions the priest or priestess may be accompanied by his or her assistant, apprentice, or student—workings provide ideal opportunities for the aspiring practitioner to learn the craft.

The fermentation of essences, the grinding of compounds, the filtering of liquids, all these “manufacturing” processes may be called workings. Only when there is the requirement of some form of magical or spiritual element in these workings do they become ritual workings—that is, a working that includes a ritual as a part of its process.

A typical example of this is the cleansing of ritual tools and equipment. There is, of course, the physical cleansing of the items involved, but to complete the cleansing the item must also be spiritually cleansed. This is done through a brief spiritual cleansing followed by a further spiritual energizing, yet another spiritual element.

So this cleansing activity when viewed as a whole consists of both the physical working and the cleansing ritual. It may therefore be called a ritual working.

The Gathering, in its form as a collective noun, is a group of practitioners assembled for the purpose of enacting a ritual. It is also the name given to the period at the beginning of an assembly when the participants come together, or gather, for the ritual.

Having covered the definitions of these more general terms, it is now worth returning to our original objective as outlined in the introduction (see here) in order to define some of the less familiar terms it contains.

As we will discover later, each individual species within the plant kingdom yields two or three cardinal essences. Each of these unique essences contains some part of the energy and attributes inherent in the species. The processes involved in the extraction of these cardinal essences and how these essences are subsequently used are explained in greater detail in part 3.

At the appropriate point in the ritual, the cardinal essences produced from each plant are brought together to form the complex. It is this complex, in its newly reunited and highly energized condition, that becomes the first of the prime elements at the core of the ritual.

These cardinal essences are extracted in the form of liquids and, once combined in the form of the complex, are used mainly as libations, or potions, or applied to the skin. In order to use all of the potential energies and attributes contained in the specific plant, we must also release the potential contained within the solid material remaining following the extraction of the liquids.

These plant solids are dried, reunited, and heated on charcoal as incense during the ritual. The heating of the incense frees the potential of the solid plant material, and it is this releasing of the plant’s energies and attributes that forms the second of the prime elements at the core of the ritual.

The concept of extracting and using the potential curative properties and beneficial attributes of species within the plant kingdom is by no means unique to the Druidic tradition. Similarities may be drawn to many areas of ancient and modern herbalism, the more modern practice of homeopathy, along with the ancient practices of the alchemists as detailed earlier. There are, however, as we have seen, fundamental differences that make the Druidic tradition stand apart from the other practices mentioned.

Having already looked at the more ancient forms of herbalism and alchemy, we now will look at some of their more modern counterparts. A number of modern alternative or complementary medical practices speak of harnessing the curative properties and beneficial attributes of plants. The most common and widespread of these is without question homeopathy.