Aranahk

I know I haven't posted here in some time, my focus has shifted over to sorgae_tarot. But, my High Priestess devised a Directional quiz some time ago and recently fixed it so it functions again. Both Cervus and I took it today.

( Satya (who could die of Not Surprise) )

( Cervus (with thoughts) )

[Click to enlarge]

East God – T’hot’ (teh-ho-teh) - associated with incense and knowledge, the psychopomp and the prophet.  Questions to Him must be distinct, or the answers will be too vague to understand, but He will often aid the questioner in narrowing the focus of his/her query so as to elicit a more helpful answer. He is far older than and became the Egyptian Thoth.

I've found three sources that corroborate our pronunciation, instead of having the THs spoken as in "that" or "with." It's interesting as well to note that this and other spellings resemble the word "thought."

In Egyptian mythology, Thoth is the Scribe, inventor of language (both written and spoken), astronomy, geometry, and medicine. He is the Record Keeper, a librarian of sorts, recording all knowledge and communicating with the other Gods.

In Sorgae, our God T'hot' sits in the East, the place of Knowledge and communication. He can easily communicate with the other Gods of our pantheon without any of Them being present. He has said, basically, that the ancient Egyptians knew Him as their ibis-headed God, but He is older than that civilization.

This is another of the Sorgae Gods with whom I haven't had direct contact yet. As a writer and someone fascinated by etymology, He appeals to me. However I think that asking Him to assist in creative writing is inappropriate, as that deals with inspiration, and so is the domain of Ariadne, the Muse. Though it is another East-West connection, the physical act of writing coupled with the ethereal act of inspiration.

Many Pagan systems divide the year into two halves. Some call it Light and Dark, or Winter and Summer. Some use the story of the Oak and Holly Kings, others say one half is for Goddess and the other for God. Sorgae also divides the year, into the Spiritual and Material.

The first four Sabeot/ds (B/Pelatin, Ardunakh, Lamasu, and Vestraven) make up the Spiritual half. From my understanding, this can be compared to the "planning stage" of a project, from the first inkling of an idea to a fully formed and detailed plan. If I plot them with the Directions, this is what I see:

B/Pelatin - Northeast - potential, anything is possible
Ardunahk - East - pure knowledge, the idea, transition into energy
Lamasu - Southeast - decision, the moment things come together
Vestraven - South - Will, commitment to the plan and path before us

The next four Sabeot/ds (Soven, Salanakh, Vol'ka, and Ostraven), make up the Material side of the year, when the plan is put into effect. So my Directional interpretation continues:

Soven - Southwest - risk, taking that first step, intial action
Salanakh - West - daring to act, making it happen, trasition to physical
Vol'ka - Northwest - quickening, actions breathing life into the idea
Ostraven - North - solidification, manifestation, completion, results

Unlike Wicca and other Pagan paths, the Sorgae year is not centered around a Deity's life journey. Instead it focuses on renewal of the Wasteland*, our term for the state of the spiritual landscape at the turning point of each year. In my mind I compare it to farmland; just after the snow melts, the land seems barren, dead, an expanse of nothingness. But beneath the surface, there are nutrients, bacteria, enzymes, evem insects. There is life. So it is the duty, responsibility, and privilege of the farmer to prepare the land, seed it, tend it, and harvest the crops.

As Sorgae Witches, I feel we share that duty, responsibility, and privilege, but our preparation, seeding, tending, and harvest occurs through our ritual work. Each year, our Coven performs divination to determine our role, our goal, what "crops" we will raise that year, both for the individual members and the Coven as a whole.

[*Note: However, this does still reflect the idea of the Sacred King myth, that the King must die for the sake of the Land, for He IS the Land. In Sorgae, we seem to "cut out the middle man," in a sense, and work with the Land directly, instead of with a surrogate.]

"Most Pagan systems acknowledge the importance of the cardinal directions, North, East, South and West. The Sorgae system adds the midpoints between the directions; Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest."

The above is quoted from a piece my High Priestess wrote about the Directions, and their associated Elements and Powers in Sorgae 'Craft. I plan to include that in next week's post dedicated to the Elements, as it is a very cohesive thing. So instead of editing and abridging the piece, I'm going to talk about "assigned" Directions.

Just as Sorgae Deities are associated with specific Directions, so are Sorgae Witches. Thus far, this has happened in ritual via Channeling. That is, Deity has informed us of our Directional associations.

All Sorgae Witches are automatically associated with the South, as it is the Direction of Will, and we are the vehicles for the Gods' Will on this plane. Each Witch is also associated with the Direction that corresponds to their Western Astrological Sun sign. In my case, that puts me West, since I am a Scorpio, which is a Water sign, and Water is in the West (again, more on the Elements next week).

However, I have also been told that I am "of the West and North," which indicates the arc from West itoi North, and therefore includes Northwest. So, to sum up, I am South, double West, North, and Northwest. Some Witches, however, are only given one Direction from Deity, not three as I was.

So when I say that a God or Goddess is "mine," I mean that They are associated with one of those three Directions (for reference, They are Kur and Ariadne in the West, Goh'len and Hekate in the Northwest, and Ianos and Arduina in the North). Though perhaps it is more accurate to say I am Theirs, as I do feel very much Owned by and Devoted to Them.

Otherwise, I am not entirely clear on what function these "assignments" serve yet. Perhaps it will mean I am most adept at Channeling those Goddesses, and understanding the messages of those Gods. Or that the Powers of those Directions are best made manifest through me.

As a fun sort of joke, my High Priestess recently bought me this shirt, part of the product line for the upcoming movie, "Oz, the Great and Powerful."

( Click the image for full view )

A final thought; I felt a personal pang of disappointment when I was not assigned Southeast, as I felt (and still feel) a deep connection with Atamenoch in that Direction. However, His Priestess (the South Goddess, Salonshai) asked me directly to keep a place for Him in my heart, and I've since realized that my placement in Northwest sets me up to look towards Him across the Circle. And I plan to, with all the love and adoration I can muster.