A Druid's Handbook to the Spiritual Power of Plants: Spagyrics in Magical and Sexual Rituals - Jon G. Hughes 2014
The Ritual Incorporating The Complex of The Flower
The Sex Magic Ritual: The Group
Workings and Rituals
The group ritual is potentially the most difficult form of sex magic to both organize and facilitate.
One of the more difficult tasks of the priest or priestess is ensuring partner balance at rituals. It is essential that there are adequate males present for those participants who prefer to interact with males and adequate females present for those who prefer to interact with females. Bearing in mind that all sex magic workings and rituals are totally participatory, having surplus males or females either creates a small audience for those involved or puts undue pressure on particular males or females who end up with additional unwanted suitors. Neither is an ideal situation.
Planning this balance can be a very challenging activity, and even the best-laid plans can go astray if someone is taken ill or cannot attend the Gathering.
On a few, very rare occasions, a priestess may appoint herself the Principal Conduit and assemble a small (say two- to six-person) all-male Gathering. In this case all the male participants serve the wishes and desires of the priestess as she progresses through the Projection Cycle. A priest may convene a similar assembly with an all-female cast.
A balanced gender mix ensures a high level of participation at the Gatherings and also offers the most rewarding experience possible for each of the participants. It may well be the case that couples or pairs of individuals will choose to exchange partners or combine into larger groups, but these will always be balanced by the underlying mathematics of the equal gender balance.
Just as in the ritual for the pair, the roles the individuals in the Gathering adopt often reflect their everyday sexual predilections. A sexually dominant individual will undoubtedly be attracted to submissive participants, and in the same way, the submissive participants will be attracted to him or her. The result will be small groups of submissive participants focusing their attention on a dominant male or female.
The Ritual Incorporating The Complex of The Flower
The particular ritual we shall be looking at next is one that is to incorporate the use of a Druidic complex to enhance the power of the Principal Conduit’s internal energy and empower his projection and binding of the spell involved. For the sake of simplicity we will again use the complex of the bird’s-foot trefoil.
For the purpose of this example we will assume that a priestess is facilitating the ritual, the Principal Conduit is male, and the rest of the Gathering are male and female in equal proportion. You can then superimpose your own circumstances upon the workings as appropriate.
For this ritual you will need:
· Your wand(s), used in all your rituals.
· Your stave, to cast your first Circle.
· Your salt canister, to cast your second Circle. It should contain sufficient salt for the purpose.
· Your hand-held candle, to cast your third Circle.
· Your dagger, to seal the Circle, along with the salt and candle above.
· Your cauldron, filled with moon-cleansed water, for the purification activities within the ritual.
· Your chalice and libations goblets, to hold and distribute your libations.
· Your libations—liquid and baked libations for the Gathering.
· Two floor-standing candleholders, to create the portal within your Circle. The flames of these two candles will be at shoulder height.
· Three working stone candles, in candleholders. The center focus of your working stone.
· Your phallus, for stimulation during the ritual. Use a number of phalluses if you have them, together with the necessary condoms needed to ensure hygiene.
· Your binding vessel. Use only if you have created a binding vessel for this particular Gathering and all the participants who contributed donations of earth compounds to the binding vessel are present.
· The two cardinal essences of the bird’s-foot trefoil. These will be combined to create the flower’s complex during the Ritual.
· Incense burner and charcoal or peat as fuel on which to place the flower essences.
· The incense of the Bird’s Foot Trefoil. The incense will energize and balance the flower’s complex as it is crafted.
· Cleansing cloths. As many as you feel are necessary.
The ritual begins with the priestess raising her sensory awareness using the inverted triangular pyramid working. She then casts a triple-cast Circle of a suitable size. As each of the participants enters the Circle, they extend their arms to each side, level with their shoulders, passing each hand quickly through the flames of the two portal candles, a symbolic final purification of the body. Once all are inside the Circle, the priestess seals the Circle with the triple seal. The participants are now enclosed within the protective Circle and are ready to begin the sex magic ritual.
The priestess stands in front of the working stone, facing the Gathering, and says:
“You are welcome among friends. May each welcome the other as we gather here together.”
As this is said, the participants of the Gathering mingle, greeting each other with a handshake, hug, or whatever gesture feels comfortable at the time. The priestess also walks among the Gathering and greets everyone in the same way. She then returns to the working stone.
The participants of the Gathering (including the Principal Conduit) sit on the ground facing the working stone.
The priestess stands before the working stone and brings the first of the candles, the collective energy candle, to the front of the stone. She lights the candle, raises it into the air, and 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, in the center, of the working stone.
The priestess then lights the sun, or male, candle, holds it up, and 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.
She then lights the third and final moon or female candle, holds it up, and 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, forming the candle triangle.
You will see that this third invocation is a personal one. If the ritual is facilitated by the male, then the moon candle is lit before the sun candle, and this same personal invocation is given for the sun candle.
Note also that it is the “flame” of the candle that holds the name and is important, not the candle itself.
With all three candle flames lit, the priestess stands before them at the front and center of the working stone and extends her arms out so that each of her palms is directly above each of the sun and moon flames, close enough to feel the heat of the flames without burning her palms. She then brings both hands together above the central collective energy flame to form a cup shape above the flame, saying:
“I unite all things with the collective energy, as in nature they belong. I offer myself to this union, together with all those present here. Unite us in your common bond.”
This opening part of the ritual, called the “uniting of the flames,” is now complete.
If the Gathering has a previously crafted binding vessel, the priestess now lifts it aloft, saying:
“This binding vessel binds all present to one. I now bind it to the united flames as a symbol of our affinity.”
She passes the binding vessel quickly through each of the three flames, then places it in the center of the candle triangle, at the base of the “flame of the collective energy” candle. As we have seen previously, the center point of a triangle is a power point.
The preparation of the working stone is now complete.
The next step of the ritual is the giving and receiving of the first libation. The first libation is a liquid one, usually a mixture of metheglin and poteen. Some Gatherings use mead or a mixture of mead and poteen; others use wine, cider, ale, or whatever is favored by the participants. The advantage of metheglin is that it can be fermented with whatever herbs, spices, and flowers you feel have the appropriate attributes for your working. Whichever libation is chosen, an amount sufficient for all the participants is placed in the chalice before the ritual starts.
The libation may be served cold or warm. To warm the libation, follow the directions in part 1.
The priestess positions the chalice and a number of libation goblets at the front and center of the working stone. With her hands on either side of the chalice, she says:
“To welcome all here I offer this libation.”
Taking the chalice ladle, she ladles a small amount of the libation into one of the libations goblets. Raising the goblet into the air with both hands, she says:
“What we have taken from the earth, we share with the earth. Whatever we take to ourselves we return threefold.”
Having said this, she pours the contents of the goblet onto the ground in three successive parts.
The priestess then fills sufficient goblets with the libation and they are passed among the participants of the Gathering, each of whom takes his or her fill. There need not be a separate goblet for each participant. If the goblets are of a normal size, one goblet will contain sufficient libation for three participants. If the goblets run dry before all have had their fill, they can be returned to the priestess and refilled.
The priestess retains one goblet for herself and drinks her libation from it.
The goblets are returned to the priestess, who wipes them quickly with a cleansing cloth and returns them to the working stone.
The priestess must now prepare the convocation stone to receive the Principal Conduit.
Picking up her wand in her right hand (or in her left if she is left-handed), the priestess moves to the convocation stone. Extending her wand above the stone, she walks around it three times, saying quietly to herself:
“I invoke only what is good, I intend only what is beneficial, I banish all that is unwelcome.”
The priestess then returns to the working stone, picks up the cauldron with the moon-cleansed water, and returns to the convocation stone. Again she walks three times around the stone, but this time she dips the tip of the wand into the water and sprinkles drops of it on the stone as she walks. She again says:
“I invoke only what is good, I intend only what is beneficial, I banish all that is unwelcome.”
She returns the cauldron to the working stone and stands with her back to it, facing the center of the Circle. She says, in a loud voice:
“Come forward who wishes to lie here.”
The Principal Conduit approaches the priestess and says:
“That is I.”
The priestess says:
“And are you named?”
If the Principal Conduit has already been named, then his name is spoken. We shall use the name “David” for the sake of this example.
The Principal Conduit (David) says:
“Yes, my name is David. I wish to lie here.”
The priestess says:
“Then as I know your name to be David, take your place as it is offered.”
David then takes his place on the convocation stone, with his head at the center point of the Circle and his feet facing the working stone. This means that he is lying in the south/north orientation, so the energies will flow through him from his head to his feet, aiding the projection of generated energy from his body.
The priestess now stands between the two stones, facing the center of the Circle, and says:
“I welcome all those who wish us well. We are gathered with the intention of creating change. Change that offers benefit and goodwill. Our spell is crafted and I offer it to you.”
She then speaks the spell for the first time. The Gathering already knows the spell and will have committed it to memory. In this case the spell is focused on the male subject, David, whose sexual energies we are intending to rebalance.
A typical spell for these circumstances would be as follows:
“We call upon the collective energy and the four elemental energies to assist us in our work. David seeks a balance in his internal order, one that reflects the balance present in nature. Restore to him what was once his, restore the harmony of his being and the natural potency of his internal energy.”
For the sake of simplicity we shall just call it “the spell.”
The priestess says:
“The spell.”
The Principal Conduit repeats the spell three times.
“The spell; the spell; the spell.”
The priestess, picking up her wand and cauldron, walks to the convocation stone where the Principal Conduit is now lying and says:
“Our Principal Conduit is David. Through him we shall together cast this spell and bind it to him.”
She then sprinkles the Principal Conduit with the moon-cleansed water using her wand to do so. As she does this, she says:
“I anoint you David and commit my efforts to your internal energy.”
The cauldron and the wand are placed back upon the working stone, and the crafting of the complex and the second libation begins.
The complex is crafted by uniting the flower’s two cardinal essences in the same method as described in the previous section entitled “The Amalgamation of the Cardinal Essences to Form the Complex of the Flower” (see here). This ritual working must be carried out in its entirety, including the initial purification processes, in order for the complex to be properly empowered. Sufficient amount of the empowered complex to create a mixture of 1 part complex to 5 parts moon-cleansed water is then placed into a suitable ritual vessel.
The vessel containing the flower’s complex is now placed at the front and center of the working stone, and the chalice containing the moon-cleansed water for the libation is placed next to it.
The priestess lifts the vessel containing the complex in both hands and as she pours the complex into the chalice of moon-cleansed water she says:
“I craft this libation with the complex of the flower, whose energies and attributes I imbue upon all who partake of it.”
Having mixed the complex and moon-cleansed water she partially fills a goblet with the mixture using the ladle.
The priestess turns to face the Gathering and pours the contents of the Goblet onto the ground in three successive pourings. As she does this, she says:
“I return what has been given threefold and in good faith, may it always be so.”
She then replaces the goblet on the working stone, lifts both hands high into the air, and says:
“We share the gift, we take its complex within us and about us. We begin the work of empowerment.”
The libation in the chalice is then ladled into the waiting goblets and distributed to the participants in the Gathering, who drink their fill.
The priestess retains one goblet, then drinks a small amount of the libation before passing the goblet to the Principal Conduit David, who drinks the remainder.
As the seven successions of the Projection Cycle have been explained in detail in the previous section of this book, we will concentrate here on the aspects of the ritual involving the use of the flower’s complex in its various carriers.
As the Gathering progresses through the first three successions of the Awakening, Augmentation, and Intensification, a variety of techniques may be employed to arouse and stimulate the Principal Conduit, the priestess, and the other participants in the Gathering.
What follows is just an example of a typical progression and is only to be considered as a guide. There is no set format to this part of the ritual, and it is for the priestess to judge the most appropriate and effective methods. Each priestess will develop her own repertoire of techniques and actions together with a sensibility in relation to what is or is not acceptable.
Before the Awakening begins, a small, pre-arranged group of participants will join the Priestess and congregate around the Principal Conduit on the convocation stone. The purpose of this small group is to help the priestess in her work and assist in stimulating the Principal Conduit, the priestess, and each other.
The Awakening usually involves a gentle and sensuous awakening of the sexual senses. It may involve the entire Gathering moving from one person to another, caressing them, gently stimulating each other, and arousing other members of the Gathering in whatever way they feel is mutually appropriate.
The pre-prepared unguent is applied to the bodies and genitals of both the Principal Conduit and the priestess. This may be applied by hand and/or exchanged bodily massage. It can also involve gentle oral stimulation of the sensitive areas and genitalia. The other participants of the Gathering will also be stimulating each other, though they will not be using the unguent as this is intended for the Principal Conduit and priestess only.
This is always a slow buildup of sexual awareness, a gentle introduction to the pleasures to come, and should result only in a simple arousal. It is the opportunity to get to know your own body and that of the others participating in the ritual. The emphasis is on slow, sensual movement, gentle physical contact, incorporating the use of the fingertips, tongue, nipples, lips, and so on. It can be enhanced by the use of perfumed oils, incense, and sensual music.
As the ritual progresses to the Augmentation succession, the form of stimulation may change. The slow sensuality may become more physical. At this stage the Principal Conduit and the priestess will be masturbating themselves and/or each other, as will the other participants, who by now will have formed smaller active groups. This is also the time when individuals may part company in order to provide their partner(s) with more visual stimuli. This can range from watching each other masturbate and stimulate themselves, to using a phallus on and in themselves, to erotic dance and other forms of exhibitionism.
Physical behavior may also form an important stimulus. This is where the actions of the priestess play a role. This is also where body decoration and body adornment become important to some. Fetish adornment and accessories may work in a suitable Gathering or, alternatively, submissive, innocent behavior and body language may also stimulate some individuals. On some occasions I have even seen independent, professional erotic dancers employed to provide stimulation during the Augmentation succession.
As the priestess takes the Gathering past the threshold into the Intensification succession, the stimulation, both visual and physical, becomes more intimate, involving more close physical contact, more intense physical arousal, and even greater heights of pleasure requiring even greater self-control.
The contact becomes much more physical, the passion becoming much more intense. This is the time for close physical interaction. Both the priestess and Principal Conduit may lay on the convocation stone together as they intensify each other’s sexual stimulation and the surrounding participants assist. This is the stage where the unguent is used to greatest effect upon the Principal Conduit.
As the Principal Conduit is in this case male, the priestess may position herself between the male’s legs and, bending over the convocation stone, take his penis in her mouth, while using her hands to massage his testicles, stomach, and nipples using the unguent. One of the priestess’s hands may also be used to insert a phallus into the male’s anus and reciprocate it, again using the unguent as a lubricant. Alternatively the priestess may gently bite the nipples of the male as she masturbates his penis using the unguent as a sensual lubricant.
Another alternative is for the priestess to sit over the male in the opposite direction, with her vagina just above the male’s face, while she bends over and takes his penis in her mouth. This is a particularly good position for her to stimulate his anus with her fingers or a phallus, using the unguent as a lubricant. At the same time the male may stimulate the priestess’s vagina with mouth, fingers and phallus.
Various methods of penetration are also utilized at this stage, vaginal, anal, and oral, by both priestess and Principal Conduit. Multiple penetration of the priestess is an option using the penis and phallus in any combination. In all these situations the unguent may again be used as a lubricant.
These ideas are just put forward to illustrate the level of intensity of the contact between the priestess and the male. Many other positions are possible, and there are a great variety of source materials from which these imaginative positions may be drawn. The point is that both individuals should be doing their utmost to ensure the maximum stimulation of the other.
There will be innumerable approaches to the threshold of the Quickening and the same amount of retreats, until eventually the priestess, and only the priestess, will decide to commit to the Quickening. Commitment to the Quickening is irreversible, and only the priestess may decide to progress to the next succession of the Projection Cycle.
It is worth remembering here that in this case we are focusing only on the physical and sensual elements of the ritual. You must not however forget the duality of the approaching orgasm and the need to recall and invoke your spell. The principle of duality in this context is explained in detail in my previous publication Sexual Practices of the Druids. Duality is, in simple terms, the practiced ability to focus in a balanced way on two functions simultaneously. They may be functions of the body, mind, or spirit, or any combination of the same. In this case the two functions are the physical progression toward the desired orgasm along with the mental/spiritual endeavor of projecting the spell or intention. An example of a physical duality would be the two hands of a pianist, each playing different notes in different formations independent of each other, yet combining to produce a single tune. To the nonplayer, this seems difficult if not impossible, but to the practiced pianist, it becomes second nature. As with the pianist, practice enables the sex magic practitioner to achieve this duality and establish it as second nature.
As the priestess identifies that the Quickening is approaching she begins to massage the Principal Conduit’s penis, scrotum, and anus with the Evaporation. This is done by pouring a little of the evaporation liquid into her cupped hand and applying it to the entire genital region. As the evaporation is applied it evaporates (as the name implies) and the cooling, stimulating effect of the evaporation stimulates the Principal Conduit even more. The complex, however, does not evaporate, but becomes absorbed by the skin, allowing its energies and attributes to be assimilated into the Principal Conduit’s own internal energy. This final stage of stimulation is usually more than enough to ensure that the Principal Conduit is brought to the point of no return and is committed to the orgasm.
The priestess and the Principal Conduit have now committed to the Quickening. This is the point where the approaching orgasm in inevitable and very imminent. Hopefully, their impending orgasm has been synchronized with each other and the other participants in the Gathering by the cycle of repeatedly approaching and retreating from the threshold of the Quickening.
As all the parties commit to the Quickening, the priestess says:
“The Quickening is here!”
As soon as she has said this all the parties begin to chant the spell repeatedly, increasing in speed and volume as the orgasm approaches.
If any pairs are coupled when the priestess acknowledges the Quickening, the pair separate and lie together to reach orgasm. Individuals, including the priestess, Principal Conduit, and the priestess’s assistants, may augment each other’s stimulation by continued contact but no one must ever reach orgasm while coupled.
It is possible for all of the parties to synchronize their orgasm by synchronizing their chanting of the spell, their rhythm increasing in speed and volume as the orgasm arrives.
The arrival of the orgasm and the projection of the generated energy are marked by the shouting of the spell by the entire Gathering as the energy is projected. The vocalization of the spell at high volume assists and magnifies the power of the projection and the potency of the spell.
Once the projection is complete and the orgasm subsides, it is the role of the priestess and her assistants to maintain and fuel the generated energy’s journey by further, sympathetic stimulation of the male Principal Conduit.
In the circumstances described here, that is, the priestess and the male Principal Conduit, the favored position for this continued stimulation is as mentioned above, with the priestess standing between the male’s legs, stimulating his penis in her mouth and the testes and anus with her fingers. This is the time when she returns to the use of the unguent to lubricate and gently stimulate the Principal Conduit. This is done gently and sympathetically so as not to distract the male during his visualized journey.
The other participants in the Gathering are at this point also gently stimulating each other in order to prolong their state of sexual pleasure.
Once the Principal Conduit has “returned” from his journey, all parties separate.
Following the period of relaxation the Principal Conduit and the other participants return to their original place, seated on the ground facing the working stone, and the priestess stands in front of the working stone facing the center of the Circle.
The priestess now begins the group congress. This is where the spell is reinforced by the communal invocation of the entire Gathering. She chants the spell and the Gathering repeats it. This is done three times, then the priestess says:
“The spell is cast. The spell is bound. Let it run its course and let no one interfere!”
This is the final part of the Projection Cycle and the confirmation of the spell.
The priestess and her assistants then distribute the final libation, which usually consists of a liquid libation (as with the opening libation, the drink does not include the complex), together with a baked libation.
Once the libation is assembled and before it is distributed, the priestess stands before the Gathering, lifts her arm into the air, and says:
“Take of food, drink, and hospitality; nature rewards those who help her in her work.”
The libation is then distributed. This is a social activity and the priestess and Principal Conduit circulate around the Gathering, discussing the events that have just taken place, or any other appropriate topic.
If there are no other matters to be attended to within the protective Circle, the ritual may then come to an end. To do this the priestess again stands before the working stone, facing the assembled Gathering. She lifts her arms into the air and says:
“The task is complete; our work has ended. And so we scatter.”
The working stone candles are extinguished and the Circle is unsealed and erased.
The ritual site is dismantled and the gift left for nature as the participants depart the site.
This then completes the sex magic ritual for a group or Gathering.
By using the complex of the bird’s-foot trefoil flower throughout this ritual we have, by our work, enhanced and reinforced all the activities that we have undertaken. By using different complexes it is possible to emphasize any aspect of the nature of the work of the ritual or the spell that we choose.
You may have recognized that, as with all sex magic rituals, there are many opportunities for you to personalize the facilitation, make it your own unique activity, and use your own individual phrases. The only governing factors have been emphasized both here and in the previous section. Outside of these imperatives, you are free to interpret the ritual in your own special way.