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

The Two Cardinals of The Flower
The Flower
Assessing the Natural Resources

We have seen that the flower yields two cardinal essences—one derived from the flower’s petals and the other from the remaining flower head—one male and the other female. Both cardinal essences are released through the complex of the flower method, which we shall look at in detail later (see here).

This process involves each of these cardinal essences in two forms of refinement. The physical refinement, through a series of operations, produces a liquid containing the physical (chemical) attributes of the plant. The spiritual refinement, accomplished through a series of magic rituals and ritual workings, imbues this liquid with the energies and magical attributes of the plant. In this way, each of the cardinal essences contains the greatest possible measure of the energies and attributes of the plant.

Following the refinement of both cardinal essences, the remaining, almost exhausted plant matter is itself physically refined and magically energized to form the incense containing the final potential of the plant. These three components of the flower—the male (petal) and female (flower head) cardinal essences and the refined and energized incense—are then stored in separate containers until it is time for their use.

I was taught to store these elements together in a closed box. The box is placed away from direct sunlight, in a cool, dry place. You will see later that when working with plants in our workshop, we always keep a detailed account of the dates and times that the various steps in our refinement processes take place, and we also precisely label each flask and bottle we use. In this way we can refer to our records to determine how and when each item was crafted, and every vessel and container we use will be accurately labeled.

The three separate components are eventually taken from storage to play their part in the ritual for which they were created. It is during this ritual that the two cardinal essences of the flower are reunited in the act of amalgamation. It is only when the two cardinal essences are brought together to form the complex that the full potential of the flower and all your hard work become manifest.

Before the complex is used, a small amount is poured onto the ground in the symbolic act of returning part of what has been given. In most cases, the remainder of the complex is mixed with moon-cleansed water to form a libation. In this way we acknowledge the authority of the elements of earth and water. This is the part of the ritual that invokes the influence of the moon upon our ritual Gathering.

The incense is then placed on a charcoal brazier. As it has been thoroughly dried as one step in its refinement process, part of the incense matter ignites in flame, but the whole quickly subdues and releases the remaining potential of the flower into the air. This acknowledges the authority of the remaining two elements, fire and air. This part of the ritual invokes the influence of the sun on the work of our Gathering.

In some cases the flower’s incense is used in the crafting of a ritual “cake,” which is placed onto the charcoal brazier in the same way as the incense. This practice is an old one, which I always use if possible. It harkens back to the making of cakes and breads to use as offerings during special seasonal celebrations. These cakes were usually made from cereals, grain, and local produce, and after a little had been scattered on the ground as an offering, the remainder would have been eaten by the participants as a celebratory feast.

In the Druidic tradition, however, the cakes were made primarily of plant material and flour and called teisen iâr, or “hen’s cake” in English, probably because those cakes that weren’t heated on the brazier in the ritual would have been fed to the hens afterward (very little was wasted in the mainly subsistence existence of the Celtic nations). The teisen iâr are formed into a small disk shape, about three inches (7.5 cm) in diameter, and marked with a circle containing a cross with arms of equal length (as shown below).

This circle with a cross is the ancient pagan symbol for the earth and may be seen on a number of standing stones throughout the Celtic regions and on some of the Ogham stones in Ireland, including one close to my home in County Kerry.

It has been argued that these teisen iâr, with their circle and cross symbols, were mainly eaten by the ancient Celts at their springtime ceremonies and that this tradition was subsumed by the later Christians in the form of today’s hot cross buns, eaten throughout Europe at Easter, as a symbol of the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. In fact, many of the cross and circle combinations seen in Christian churches and graveyards today, including the Celtic cross, are most likely relics of the pagan/Christian symbolism used by the early Christian church as a means of easing the introduction of their new doctrine.

The circle and cross marking of the teisen iâr

Part of a standing Ogham stone showing the circle and cross of the Celtic pagan earth symbol

Hot cross buns

Returning to the use of our cardinal essences and incense, we can see that following the point in the ritual where the incense is placed on the charcoal brazier, we have invoked the influences of both the sun and the moon and acknowledged the authority of all four elements. Having done this, and having simultaneously converged the influence of the two celestial bodies with the four elements, we are brought into contact with the fifth element or essence (the quintessence), the collective energy of the Druidic tradition. It is from this point in the ritual onward that we may connect to and channel the supreme potential of the collective energy itself.

This, then, is how the influences of the sun, moon, and elements affect the potency of the ritual. We can see from this that the two cardinal essences of the flower represent the associated influences of the sun and the moon. What effect, though, do these influences have on the complex that we produce, and how do they affect the eventual use?