And so I come to the third and final realm. The faunal realm is dominated by sentient beings. While in the other realms, spirit is not self-aware, the spirit that exists in animals has awareness of self at least at some level depending on the species. Something unique happens within these beings as Unity flows through them, replenishing itself constantly and yet the consciousness of each being appears unique and individual. It as though the spirit has become separated from the rest of Unity, trapped within the flesh of the body it occupies. Of course, this is only an illusion; another product of those natural forces that exist in the energetic realm.

I believe that our physiology animates our spirit, giving rise to our consciousness, our thoughts, behaviour and individuality, creating what we might call our soul. It is this soul that is bound to our flesh, not our spirit. Perhaps most interesting is my belief that this phenomenon doesn't only give consciousness to the spirit that occupies the same space as our bodies. The effect can reach beyond us and animate spirit that occupies nearby spaces. This gives rise to the many spiritual beings that we might meet. It is why I began this post by saying the spirit in the other realms is not self-aware, and yet have spoken previously about conversations I've had with the spiritual beings that occupy those worlds.

Complex human-like gods and the souls of our ancestors exist in this realm, as do those animal spirits that some of us partner with on our paths. We might call the corresponding spirit realm Heaven, or the Summerlands.

This realm is concerned with creativity. While the cycles of death and rebirth continue as an almost passive process in the floral realm, here in the faunal realm, the process is under our conscious control. We, and our animal cousins, get some say in when and where things are born, and to some extent, when they die. However, creation isn't only about reproduction. The beings in our realm can build and create. We make things. Things that we choose to make, even if that choice is simply fuelled by a strong biological impulse as is often the case for animals.

Humans of course, stand out in that we have both the intelligence and the tools to create not only consciously, but on a tremendous scale. Our creations have literally dominated this planet. Some for good, many to the detriment of other life forms. While animals will create things in order to aid their own survival, we humans have the capacity to create things just for their own sake. Because we enjoy the process, or because the existence of our creation brings us pleasure.

The gods have a special respect and interest in us because of this curious ability. They recognise that together our combined powers of creation can be immensely powerful.

The paradox perhaps, is that the very act of creation leads ultimately to destruction. Anything we might make, will one day reach the end of its useful life. Or to quote Philip Carr-Gomm, from his book Druidcraft 'We only die because we were born. And we were only born because our parents made love. By giving birth to us, our parents ensure that we will die.'

Work in this realm is about celebrating the life that I have been given. It is here that I combine my creative forces with the gods and create magic. Trying to the best of my ability, to manifest the life I want to live. I spend time in the cemetery near my home. It is my closest place of power, which I find fitting because the faunal realm is also the realm I most closely reside in. In that cemetery, I am reminded at all times about how closely birth and death are connected. I am reminded of the beauty of human culture, and how so much of that culture is the result of our need to understand and reconcile our own mortality.

The faunal realm is very much a mental realm; the product of our ability to think and to store knowledge. Art, music, language and culture, are all aspects of the faunal realm.


Working Magic

Spellwork, although combining my work in all 3 realms, also takes place within the faunal realm. The power to manifest is one of the greatest gifts that my species has, and joining forces with the gods and exercising this ability to manifest, is to fully embrace my humanity.

Finally then, we have reached the point where I can describe how I work my spells.


Tools

I don't have to use any tools, but if I am to use them, I will have before me a large wok filled with water into which a jar has been stood in the centre. Inside the jar is a tea-lite candle.

The candle can be a different colour depending on what I wish to manifest, or it may just be white. Ideally, the wick should be below water level so that when it is lit, the flame appears to be under water. This is a representation of that 'flame within water' that I spoke about in the first post. The water is also gently heated by the candle, which is how I make water holy in my path. The application of heat to water forms the basis of our cooking, our most basic and yet precious expression of human creativity, and there's a sacredness to be found in that.

Although I haven't had many sabbats since starting with this new system, I have discovered that I can float flowers on the water in the wok to make a beautiful centre piece for the altar for sabbat celebrations. I will try to take a photo of this at some point.


Timing

If I am timing my spells, I may try to time them with the phases of the moon, but this isn't as important to me as aligning my spells with the tides. Incoming tide for manifesting or growth, outgoing tide for banishing or diminishing. The tides are at their highest during the full and new moons, which makes those times especially potent, but it is still the tide itself that is most important in my craft.


Method

If I'm using the wok and candle, I will begin by watching the flame while contemplating my desire. When I'm ready I begin the inner flame visualisation as outlined in part one.

When the visualisation reaches the point where I see myself as nothing but light, instead of just allowing my mind to empty as I do during my daily meditation, I start to contemplate the reality of time. I see myself in the present. There is no past or future, everything that has ever happened or ever will exists right in that moment.

From there I see my desire manifesting from my energy. I understand that in that moment my desire already exists. I see it in my mind, feeling the happiness or excitement that my manifest desire brings. I don't imagine it appearing at some future point because it already exists right now. I've spoken already about how I believe the gods are only aware of us in the moments that we're interacting with them. It's therefore pointless to make a wish and then wait for them to work behind the scenes to bring it to me. I only have that short window in which to work with the gods, so my desire must be fully manifested before the ritual ends.

Notice that I don't cast a circle. I do accept the usefulness of them and I don't imagine my method would be hindered if I were to use one, but due to the importance of seeing myself as merged with Unity, I prefer not to create any kind of boundary around myself.

When the visualisation is complete and I return to the reality where my desire appears not to exist yet, I still try to believe that it already exists. I may not know when it will show up on my timeline, but I know it exists somewhere.

I end my spell by saying;

'my desire has been manifested into reality; that which I seek, is now seeking me.'

Although not necessary, I like to follow my spells with the Mother's Milk ritual that I described in part 2.

So that's it really. I've already started to write all of these ideas in my new BoS. Blogging about my ideas first has been really helpful in organising my thoughts and I'm referring back to my blogs while writing the BoS entries.

It would have been nice to be able to elaborate on the significance of fire and water, explain what the ancestors mean to me, and maybe talk more about the other gods I work with besides Brigantia, but these things will come out during forum discussions over time I'm sure. For now, I think I've covered most important areas, and I thank you all for reading and sharing this little adventure with me. I wish you all the very best on your own unique spiritual journeys!