Aranahk

I had a bit of an epiphany about Deities and Sabeot/ds and such.

Some background, every year at B/Pelatin, my Coven performs a Tarot reading to determine our purpose and goal for the coming year. After laying a card for each of the eight Sabeot/ds, we discuss how they fit together as a whole, like a story, and then determine which Deities we feel need to be Called and/or honored at each point. This seems to change every year.

It caused me some anxiety, in relation to making the Sorgae system in general more public; if the Deities shuffle about every year, how could we possibly standardize rituals (whether the formal, elaborate sort, or the Tarot ritual I devised)? Because other Pagan paths always honor, say, Brigid at Imbolc, or Lugh at Lammas, the Holly and Oak Kings at the Solstices, or the Horned God at Samhain.

Then it hit me. Sorgae is not like this. Sorgae is an organic, living system. Why should the Deities remain static if the year's purpose doesn't? And why should the purpose for our Coven be the same for everyone else who may practice Sorgae? The answers are, they shouldn't. If Sorgae is going to keep its organic, living qualities, then everyone who follows it needs to discover for themselves what the Gods want of them each year, and when They need to be honored in relation to the Sorg or Sorga's progression through the year. Each Sorg/a and Sorgae Coven should find out how they, individually, contribute to the renewal of the Wasteland. Because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

So my thinking now is that, with the sorgae_tarot deck, we need to include the (very simple) instructions for the yearly Wasteland Renewal reading, so that those who buy the deck and begin to work with this system and its pantheon, can add their energy, their Gobah, to the whole of the Sorgae collaborative effort.

Orano ze zoma (ore-AH-no zeh ZOH-mah) is Vaska for "dance the blood." From my High Priestess:

This is a specific rite in which a specific mixture of herbs is steeped in wine and blood, then drunk in ritual. The participants then literally dance and chant, containing the energy they are raising within their bodies until one of them falls and/or begins to channel. Then ALL the power that has been raised is transferred immediately to the fallen/channeling Witch. It is exhausting for all, and the few times we did it, VERY powerful.
 
The rite is done to raise power for the use of magick, usually on a very important nature. We were told [via Channeling] that a form of Dancing the Blood was what the Witches in England did during World War ll to keep the Nazi forces from crossing the English Channel* – that version required a death, so that the dead Witch could carry the power directly to the Gods.  However, Dancing the Blood doesn’t always require a death. We have used it to summon the Keriosak for a specific task, and Arduina always wanted us to do it at sabeodts. The term comes from the idea of activating the Witches’ Blood in our bodies, using herbs, wine, blood and the dance to consciously open a link to the Divine.

[*Note: for a fictionalized account of these events, read Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz.]

This is another aspect of Sorgae 'Craft that I haven't experienced, and to be honest, I'm not sure how much I'd look forward to it, given how much it takes out of the participants. Also, I know myself and my reactions to energy; I can get nauseated and dizzy, which I do recognize signals entrance into an altered state, but it can also be distracting and unpleasant. However, since Divine contact is a goal, and I also am a natural Medium, I doubt that aspect would prove too challenging. Overall, I think I'd have to be sufficiently prepared for it, make sure my physical and emotional well-being are at comfortable places.

This is also something that, like aspects of other Pagan paths, is not to be tried for fun or without instruction and peer supervision. Altered states this dramatic and intense are risky to attempt alone, especially if one has only read about it, and never been witness to it first hand, nor known anyone personally who has had proper instruction.

One of the most well known stereotypes about Witches is that they fly through the air on broomsticks. There are historical reasons for this and, as with all good propaganda, grains of truth in it. What's more important to address here though, is the real destination Witches have in mind when they "fly."

It has been called in various cultures such names as Benevento, Venusburg, or Blockula. It is a place and is not one. It is, in simplest terms available, the astral realm where Witches commune with the Gods and do what Witches do. It is the home of the Gods, where we are our Divine selves. There is more to be said on this here, at my Coven's website, and I will add that in Sorgae, the Black Man is our guide to Benevento.

But none of this is the true focus of my post this week. What I most ponder about this is, could this related to Soulbonding and modern myth Familiars? My Familiar-Consort, Cervus, first brought this idea to me.

Some Soulbonders have a headspace that is not the canon world for any of their 'Bonds. It acts as a meeting grounds for all concerned, and while not physical/corporeal by this reality's definition, 'Bonders and 'Bonds perceive a certain level of physicality there regardless. Neither side of the party lines physically travels anywhere, exactly. Yet they can all come together in that space and be recognized and interact.

This in some ways sounds a bit like Benevento. A place that is not any other. An astral/spirit location. And surely when in Benevento Witches perceive physicality of themselves, their Familiars, and the Gods. We have established parallels between Soulbonding and Familiars already, could this be another?

One argument against the idea is simply that, no, headspace and Benevento are different astral places, end of story. But if they are all places that are not in fact places, how can we know if they are the same or different?

And what of, then, the rituals Cervus and I perform together? They will occur predominantly in headspace with little to no physical-to-me aspects. The one we have performed, we were able to perceive and interact with Erian without Channeling Her. Did we touch on Benevento, or end up "next door," as it were? If the Gods are immanent, where, truly, is Their home? So did we reach Hers, did She visit ours, did we meet in the middle (a place that is not a place, then, perhaps)? And in the grand scheme, is there a difference?

(Though I would be remiss if I didn't mention that part of that ritual was acknowledging the Black Man , so I concede that perhaps His influence played a role, when in another ritual, it may not.)

I don't have these answers yet, if I ever will. But as we are still discovering and learning this path, no questions are ignored or dismissed. These are yet more pieces to explore and consider. Especially on this post, I welcome thoughts and comments.