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

The Amalgamation of The Three Solid Cardinals of The Tree
The Refinement Process: The Complex of the Tree
The Druidic Workshop

Because this is the reuniting of the tree’s three solid cardinals to create its incense, the amalgamation is undertaken as a ritual working. There is a need for the spiritual/magical bonding of the three solid cardinals along with their physical unification. We must therefore return to our working stone and prepare it and ourselves for the ritual working ahead.

Amalgamation: The Ritual Working

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.

· A small bowl, in which we will reunite the solid cardinals of the tree.

· The jars containing the three solid cardinals of the flower.

· A (250 ml) storage jar, to store the flower’s incense.

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

The working stone is now ready to begin the ritual working, so we must once again look to the preparation of our body, mind, and spirit before we undertake our work. The process of personal preparation has been discussed earlier and is explained in detail in part 4.

Working stone layout for the ritual working of unification

Having completed our personal preparation, we are ready to proceed with the ritual working of amalgamation. For the purpose of this example, we will again assume that a priestess is facilitating 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. This procedure is explained in part 4. The charcoal in the incense burner is now lit in preparation for the ritual working.

The next step is the lighting of the candles. This part of the ritual has been described earlier (see here). Having lit all three candles in the required manner, the priestess then facilitates the uniting of the flames. This too is described in detail earlier (see here).

The next stage of the ritual working is the invocation of the collective energy’s influence in the reuniting of the energies and potency of the flower’s cardinals. The priestess stands before the working stone with both hands high in the air. She says:

“I invoke the power of the collective energy and call upon it to guide my work. I call upon the four elemental essences to empower these cardinals and maintain them as they are again united.”

The three jars containing the plant’s solid cardinals are 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 two jars. As she does so, she says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental essence of the earth that yielded up this tree and its branch, to protect its energies and maintain its potency as it is again united as one.”

Then, dipping her fingers into the vessel of moon-cleansed water, the priestess sprinkles a little of the water on each of the three jars and says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental energies of the water that nourished this tree and its branch, to protect its energies and maintain its potency as it is again united as one.”

The priestess now sprinkles a little incense on the smoldering charcoal in the incense burner. As the smoke rises, she lifts each of the three jars in turn and holds them in the smoke. As she does so, she says:

“I invoke the power of the elemental energies of the air that gave life to this tree and its branch, to protect its energies and maintain its potency as it is again united as one.” (Repeat for each of the three jars.)

The priestess now holds each of the three jars in turn above the flames of the candle triangle (about twelve inches [30 cm] above the flames), and as she moves each 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 this tree and its branch, to protect its energies and maintain its potency as it is again united as one.” (Repeat for each of the three jars.)

Finally, while holding each of the three jars in turn 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 this cardinal and maintain its potency as it is again united as one.” (Repeat for each of the three jars.)

The three jars are now replaced in their original positions on the working stone and their screw caps are removed. The priestess stands in front of the working stone ready to begin the actual amalgamation. Bringing the small bowl to the front and center of the working stone, she picks up the jar of the solid cardinal of the leaves and, holding it in both hands, she lifts it high in the air and says:

“Conceived as one, grown as one. I reunite the solid cardinals of this tree and create the incense, the energy of fire and air.”

Having said that, she pours the contents of the jar into the bowl and sets the jar aside. She then repeats this for the two other solid cardinals until the contents of all three jars are in the bowl. Then, lifting the bowl with her left hand, she gently stirs the contents with the fingers of her right hand to amalgamate all three cardinals. As she does this, she says:

“By my work and with the will of the collective energy, I have created the incense of this flower, bringing together the elemental energies of fire and air.”

She then places the bowl at the base of the candle of the flame of the collective energy, and this completes the ritual working of amalgamation of the three solid cardinals of the tree.

The incense (as the combined solid cardinals are now called) is poured into a clean powder jar and sealed.

As the ritual working is now accomplished, the protective Circle is unsealed and erased. The incense jar is labeled and then stored in a cool, dark place, next to the three cardinal essences of the same harvested branch, until they are needed.

In order to present an overview and to aid the reader’s understanding of this complicated sequence, the entire refinement process may be seen in a schematic form in the diagram.

Generally, newly crafted cardinal essences and incense are not used immediately, but rather are left to mature for at least one month. This period of rest allows the newly combined energies and attributes of the flower to mingle and increase in potency. Often the color and perfume of the essences will change as a result of the maturation, so try not to disturb this process, as it is a vital part of the empowerment of the potions.

It is best to store together the bottles and jar containing all four components, as they jointly contain the entire energies and the physical and spiritual/magical attributes of the harvested tree branch.

When using these cardinal essences and incense, remember that it is essential that all the components are from the same plant harvest, as the physical and spiritual/magical workings of their crafting speak of the division and reuniting of the plant’s latent energies and attributes. Do not be tempted to mix essences or incenses even if they are from the same genus and species.