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

The Separation of The Two Cardinals of The Flower
The Refinement Process: The Complex of the Flower
The Druidic Workshop

The separation of the cardinals is a ritual working, usually carried out by a priest or priestess on his or her own in the workshop. The process has two main elements, the physical crafting of the separation and the spiritual invocation of the four elements and the collective energy to empower the working. Before we can begin this work, however, it is essential that we have a detailed understanding of the structure of the flower itself.

The bright yellow bird’s-foot trefoil flower belongs to the group of pea-type flowers. Its five bright yellow petals sit in the light green calyx/ sepal cup. The first and largest of these petals forms the standard, or broad petal at the rear of the group. The next two petals, the wings, form a loose cup shape, inside which may be found the final two petals. These are jointed to form the keel, the beaklike or phallic-shaped envelope that gives the flower its Druidic name. Inside this envelope is found the flower’s reproductive elements, the pistil and stamen.

In the process of separation we shall be removing all five petals from the flower, leaving the pistil and stamen still attached to the calyx/ sepals. The petals will form the male cardinal; the remaining parts of the flower, the flower head, will form the female cardinal.

The bird’s-foot trefoil is not the easiest of flowers to work with; in fact, all of the pea-type group are equally difficult because of the formation of their petals. The simpler, rosette-type flowers are much more straightforward. Having said that, the bird’s-foot trefoil and its relatives comprise one of the largest groups of flowers used in the Druidic tradition, so it is worthwhile mastering the more difficult technique of separating the male and female cardinals of the pea-type group from the outset.

Separation: The Ritual Working

Like the harvesting of the flower, the separation is a ritual working, meaning it includes a spiritual/magical element within the practical work. The separation is the moment in which the two cardinals of the flower are divided. The male and the female essences will then remain separate until they are united at the amalgamation during the final ritual for which they are being crafted. This, then, is an extremely significant part of the refinement process, a moment when the flower temporarily loses its unity and natural balance, which will later be restored.

For this reason we ensure that the separated cardinals maintain their energies and potency by invoking the power of the four elemental essences (earth, fire, air, and water) and the fifth elemental essence, or quintessence (the collective energy), to aid our efforts.

For this ritual working we will need:

· The candle triangle.

· A vessel of moon-cleansed water.

· An incense burner, with a suitable incense. The stave and dagger, to cast and seal the protective Circle. If you are using a permanent working stone within your workshop, you may well have cast the Circle previously, in which case you will need just the dagger to seal its entrance.

· Two small bowls. One will contain the separated petals; the other will hold the separated flower heads.

· The vessel containing the harvested flowers. Before beginning the ritual working, remove the flowers from their container and make sure that all the stalks have been removed from the base of the flower: if not, nip them off so that only the flower remains. Replace the flowers in their container in readiness for the ritual working.

The working stone should be laid out as shown below in preparation for the ritual working:

Working stone layout for the separation ritual working

The working stone is now ready to begin the ritual working, so we must look to the preparation of our body, mind, and spirit before we undertake our work.

The process of personal preparation, by which we mean the cleansing of the body, the purification of the internal energy, the mental preparation, and the raising of awareness, is necessary before every ritual or ritual working. Because of this, the processes are described in detail in part 4, along with the other basic procedures such as casting and sealing the protective Circle and crafting moon-cleansed water.

Having completed our personal preparation, we are ready to proceed with the ritual working.

If you are working outside your workshop, the first step is to cast the protective Circle using the stave as described in part 4. If you are within your workshop, you may have already done this for previous activities. With the Circle cast around the working area, the entrance is sealed with the dagger. Again this procedure is explained in part 4.

The ritual working begins during the Circle-sealing process, when the dagger tip is dipped into the vessel of moon-cleansed water and the following words are spoken:

“And so it begins.”

As this is the defining point of the beginning of the ritual working, some priests and priestesses also choose to mark the moment by ringing a small bell, beating a small gong, or in some cases blowing a traditional Druidic horn. The charcoal in the incense burner is now lit in preparation for the ritual working.

The next step is the lighting of the candles. We have seen that the arrangement of the candles and the order in which they are lit depend on whether a priest or a priestess is facilitating the ritual. For the sake of this example we shall assume that a priestess is facilitating. (If this needs to be translated for the male facilitator, the sequence of lighting and positioning the flame of the sun candle and the flame of the moon candle should be reversed.)

You will also note that the wording of the invocations provides for more than one person being present at the ritual working. This is because this is often a time when a newly initiated Druidic priest or priestess would be present to learn the ritual working technique.

The priestess stands before the working stone and brings the first of the candles, the flame of the collective energy candle, to the front of the stone. The candle is lit and raised into the air, and the priestess says:

“As this flame burns, so we converge with the collective energy. Our energies mingle, our potential becomes one.”

The flame of the collective energy candle is placed at the back and center of the working stone.

The next candle to be lit is the sun, or male, candle (as the ritual is being conducted by a priestess, the moon or female candle is lit last). The sun candle is then held aloft as the priestess says:

“As this flame burns, it binds us with the sun. We invoke the sun’s influence upon our workings.”

The flame of the sun candle is placed to the left and slightly forward of the flame of the collective energy candle.

The final moon or female candle is then lit and held aloft as the priestess says:

“As this flame burns, I bind myself with the moon. I invoke the moon’s influence upon all I do.”

The flame of the moon candle is placed to the right and slightly in front of the flame of the collective energy candle to form the candle triangle.

You will see that this second invocation is a personal one. If the ritual is facilitated by the male, then this same personal invocation relates to the flame of the sun candle, which, in this case, is lit last.

With all three candle flames lit, the priestess stands before them at the front and center of the working stone and extends her arms so that each of her palms is directly above each of the sun and moon flames—close enough to feel the heat of the flame without burning her palms. She then brings both hands together above the central collective energy flame to form a cup shape above the flame. As she does this, she says:

“I unite all things with the collective energy, as in nature they belong. I offer myself to this union, together with any others present here. Unite us in your common bond.”

This opening part of the ritual, called the uniting of the flames, is now complete.

The next stage of the ritual working is the invocation of the collective energy’s influence in maintaining the energies and potency of the flowers whose cardinals are about to be separated.

The priestess stands before the working stone and lifts the vessel containing the harvested flowers into the air. In doing so, she says:

“I offer these flowers, taken from our earth for the good of humankind. I call upon the four elemental essences to empower their cardinals and maintain them until they are again united.”

The vessel of flowers is then placed at the front and center of the working stone. The priestess forms her two hands into an inverted cup shape and places them above the vessel. As she does so, she says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental essence of the earth that yielded up these flowers, to protect their energies and maintain their potency until they are again united as one.”

Then, dipping her fingers into the vessel of moon-cleansed water, the priestess sprinkles some water on the harvested flowers in the vessel and says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental energies of the water that nourished these flowers, to protect their energies and maintain their potency until they are again united as one.”

The priestess now sprinkles a little incense on the smoldering charcoal in the incense burner. As the smoke of the incense rises, she lifts the vessel of flowers and holds it in the smoke. As she does so, she says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental energies of the air that gave life to these flowers, to protect their energies and maintain their potency until they are again united as one.”

The priestess now holds the vessel of flowers above the flames of the candle triangle (about twelve inches above the flames), and as she moves the vessel in a clockwise circle around all three flames, she says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental energies of the fire (the sun) whose heat and light have given strength to these flowers, to protect their energies and maintain their potency until they are again united as one.”

Finally, while holding the vessel above the flame of the collective energy candle, the priestess says:

“I now call upon the one, the collective energy that animates all things, to guide my work and to protect the energies of these flowers and maintain their potency until they are again united as one.”

The vessel of flowers is now replaced at the front and center of the working stone, the priestess sits in front of the working stone, and the work of separating the flower’s cardinals begins.

Assuming the priestess to be right-handed, she holds the base of the flower by the light green calyx/sepal cup, gripping it firmly between the tips of her finger and thumb. Then, one at a time, the two wing petals are pulled from the flower and placed in the container waiting to receive them.

Next the broad standard petal is removed and placed aside with the others. This now leaves the two jointed keel petals sitting in the sepal cup. The keel petals must be removed very carefully, by gripping only the tip of the “beak” formation, and set aside with the others. Removing the keel petals reveals the reproductive pistil and stamen, which remain attached to the sepal cup.

This is the female flower head, and it is placed in the other container and set on the working stone to receive it. This process of separating the petals from the flower heads continues until all the harvested flowers have been divided.

The container that held the harvested flowers may now be discarded and the two vessels holding the flower’s cardinals (as the separated parts of the flower are now called) are placed next to one another at the front and center of the working stone.

The two cardinals of the flower are now ready for the next stage of the refinement process, maceration. Maceration, however, is not a ritual working; it is, in fact, one of the many “practical” undertakings of the refinement process, and therefore it need not be done inside the protective Circle. The ritual working, then, must be brought to a close.

To do this the priestess stands before the working stone and with both hands raised into the air she says:

“And so it ends, as it began.”

The protective Circle is now unsealed and erased as described in part 4 of this book.