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The Gods of Witchcraft, by Christopher Penczak

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When I got involved in Wicca, I found that most of my teachers emphasized the Goddess. Many people have been raised with traditions that emphasized the male aspect of divinity. These same people often come to nature-based religions with a desire to reconnect their spirit to the divine feminine, the Mother principle. I know I did. I came from a strict Catholic background, so I found the idea of the Goddess both intriguing and comforting. I always liked the Virgin Mary, and found the multifaceted images of the Goddess quite a wonderful challenge. It was hard to look at the feminine as not only virgin mother, but also sexual mother, warrior, crone, witch, healer, and reaper. Though it was a challenge, I found a building a relationship with the God to be an altogether a different experience.

Though many people think Wicca and Witchcraft are only about the Goddess, the God plays a pivotal role in most traditions. Most groups celebrate the union of Goddess and God. And while many emphasize the Goddess, and some exclude the God all together, most will look to both the Goddess and God of Witchcraft. Wicca and Witchcraft are traditions of balance, of both masculine and feminine energies. Practitioners are encouraged to recognize and develop both.

I had always had the image of God being a bearded man in the sky—distant and remote, ready to punish us at anytime. I read a lot of the Old Testament in Catholic School. Intellectually, I understood that God as a creative force, but this image was what I had for a personification. When I learned about the Witch's God, I got some very different images. Sometimes they were frightening, other times fatherly. Some were remote sky figures, others were earthly and sexual.

The God can be seen with three faces, much like the Goddess, but he has two dominant aspects. In fact, the God, is often strictly described as a dual god—a god of light and of darkness. The light god rules the waxing half of the year from Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice. The light god is sometimes called the Oak King. The dark god rules the waning half of the year from Summer to Winter Solstice. In Celtic traditions, the dark god is the Holly King. The Oak King and Holly King are said to fight at each solstice for control of the year. The Green and Red Knight legends, in which one battles the other, can be seen as a variation on this myth.

Light Gods

• Sun King: The Sun king starts as a small child at the Winter Solstice, but is associated with a mature man by Summer Solstice. Most Pagan traditions look to the Sun as male while the Moon is female, and associate the growing light with waxing God.
• Green Man: During spring, the God takes on an emerald hue, as the light of the Sun is photosynthesized in the green of the land. This God is one of vegetation, of the forest and the plants. Many believe the Green Man faces depicted in European churches were part of an effort by Pagan craftsman to keep Pagan traditions alive while the Church was in control.
• Sacrificed God: The Green God or Solar God is brought to a peak of power and then sacrificed on or after the solstice. This God is associated with the harvest of either grains or fruits such as grapes. When the harvest is cut, the waxing god is done and yields his power to the dark half. The sacrificed god is the light god with the darkest aspects because he represents the transition from one side to the next.
• Sky Father: The Sky Father image is one of either the benevolent father, or the distant patriarch. The figure of Zeus is probably the most well-known Sky Father from Pagan mythology. The Sky Father doesn’t partake in the light/dark cycle in the same way as the gods described above, but rather is the father figure who gives birth to the Sun God/Sacrificed God.

Dark Gods

• Horned God: The Horned God, from the Greek Pan to the Celtic Cernunnos, is the most beloved and misunderstood image of the Witch's God. He is the animal lord—a fertility god and the guardian of the gates between life and death. The Horned God was long ago corrupted into a fearsome image, but gods of horn were well loved throughout the world before the advent of Christianity.
• Underworld King: The Underworld King or Lord of the Dead is found in many mythologies, ruling over the unseen kingdom of the ancestors. Some, like Pluto, are also gods who rule over the riches of the underworld, making them patrons of wealth as well.
• Sea King: Many traditions look to the ocean as the underworld, or one gateway to it. The Sea King is not necessarily a dark figure. But, esoterically, water deals with the emotional realm. So does the underworld. This creates the link between these two kingly archetypes. In Roman mythology, Pluto and Neptune, Gods of the Seas, are brothers.
• War God: The Warrior Gods are not necessarily dark or underworld gods, but they are associated with some of the darker emotions we feel—including fear and anger. The true warrior path is one of discipline and courage, and some of these gods can teach the skills necessary to become a spiritual warrior.

Many gods don’t fit either the light or dark aspect. They are neither waxing nor waning forces. These gods are the male archetypal beings of the places in between. They are the bridge between the light and the dark. They are connective force. In myths, they often act as either guides to the gods, or instigators of their problems. They are the gods who are magicians and tricksters. Figures such as Hermes, Mercury, Thoth, Anubis, Odin, Loki, Gwydion, and Merlin would find their home in the places in between.

Meditation on the God
Get comfortable and set the mood for this meditation. Light some candles and incense. Sit in a comfortable position. Think of your intention to connect with the energy of the God, in whatever form he takes. Take a moment and ask for guidance and aid from your spirit guides and higher self. If feel connected to a particular form of the God, ask that aspect of the God to be present with you.

Close your eyes and count backwards from twelve to one. Twelve is a solar number, and associated with the god force. Imagine yourself before a tall hill or small mountain. See, feel, sense, and know that the hill is there. It's OK if you can't visualize things clearly. Just imagine it and go with your impressions. Sense that the hill of the Gods is there, and it will be.

Its height is a challenge, but not insurmountable. There is a pathway that guides you up, winding around the hill. Follow the pathway up. Climb higher and higher, taking notice of any rocks, plants, or animals that you encounter on your way. Each can be a sign for your journey. Certain stones can act as future talismans for you to work with this god. Plants may be in harmony with his energy, and help you reconnect. Animals can act as a guide or totem for you to return, and symbolize your connection to the God.

When you get to the top, you might find the God waiting for you on the summit. If you are meeting with a light god, or even an in-between god, he will usually meet you on the top of the hill and have a conversation with you, or guide you on a journey. Use your intuition and have confidence in your first impressions. Trust yourself, and trust your experience with the God. Let his words and pictures enter your consciousness effortlessly.

Or you might find a barrow, an opening that leads inside the hill, as if the hill was secretly a cavern, with a winding tunnel leading to its heart. There waiting for you in the center will be the dark god, in one of his many forms. He will speak with you and share his inner-world mysteries. Again, use your intuition and follow your first impressions. Open your heart to feel his message, in addition to processing it mentally. The dark god teaches on many levels.

When done, thank the God for whatever the experience was. Sometimes it is loving and gentle. Other times, it might force us to see things that we don't wish to, but need to witness for our own growth. (I know the God has been both for me.)

Return down the path and come back the way you entered. Retrace your footsteps. Do you see any of the same stones, plants, or animals? Take note of the ones that feature prominently in your perception. When you reach your starting point, count up from one to twelve and ground yourself. Open our eyes, stretch, and eat a little something if you need to. Write down your experience in a journal.

Many think the Goddess is always loving and gentle while the God is a stern taskmaster. But many times I've found the reverse is true. Simply let go of your expectations and know that the God is equally available to you in your path of spiritual development. He is simply waiting to be asked into your life.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2005. All rights reserved.

I keep having recurring dreams of a boy who was in my middle school class 18 years ago. When we were classmates, I had a crush on him. I saw him a few times before I left home, and ever since then, I've had recurring dreams of him. In my dreams we are a couple. Recently, I was deployed to Iraq, and I happened to bump in to him! I thought I was dreaming! I got back from Iraq a month ago, and I haven't had any dreams about him since. What does this all mean?

Astrea:

First I'll offer the most reasonable explanation for you two running into each other in Iraq: Since you grew up in the same place and have the same backgrounds, you're very similar, so it would make sense that you might both decide to serve your country via the military.

Something in your early experiences planted that seed for both of you, and coming from the same generation gives you similar views on things. Your choice of career was no doubt directly and powerfully influenced by experiences you both had growing up.

In my view, the metaphysical explanation makes just as much sense as the rational one; in fact, I feel the reason for all of this is more spiritual than mundane.

The two of you have known each other many times in many different lives and situations. Long ago, you were soldiers together in some far off places. You certainly share a bond that goes way beyond this lifetime.

Since you've done this together before, it was natural for you to choose to do it again this time around. Even without knowing that this person was part of your Ka-Tet or Karmic family, you found each other again.

An event like this happens to reinforce your own beliefs about reincarnation and other spiritual truths. You can use this gift to better tune in to the others around you. For reasons known only to the Universe and your guides, your Karmic family is working very hard to reunite.

Soon there will be other people coming into your life. Some you know from this incarnation and others from past lives. Some people will be all new to you, and some you'll recognize on a soul level as familiar in some way.

While I know it seems highly unlikely that you would meet someone you knew so long ago halfway around the world, it does happen, for the Universe has a way of putting people into our paths when and where we least expect to see them.

Your own experience illustrates that it doesn't matter how far away your Karmic family strays, you are still going to be naturally brought together from time to time no matter where you are and what you are doing. Learn from this great experience and allow it to reinforce your awareness of the enduring nature of Karmic relationships.

*****

Susyn:

It's fascinating when certain people from our childhood reappear in our lives over and over, and in some of the most unlikely places. Usually these kinds of events are fairly random, but they can serve as reminders that there are special people in our lives to whom we will always be connected on some level.

Since you've known this man since middle school, your dreams and interactions with him could be taking you back to a time when your life was simpler. This in and of itself can influence how you feel about him and your life in general.

It's possible that you shared a past life with this person as well. Your crush on him as a young girl, the dreams you've had, and running into him halfway across the world suggest a past life in which you were a couple or perhaps a lifetime when the two of you fought in battle together.

It's interesting to note that most people reincarnate in the same groups, so they are surrounded by people with whom they have shared many lifetimes. This is one of the reasons we tend to be attracted to certain people and repelled by others for no apparent reason.

There is a good possibility that you two will cross paths again when the time is right, as it appears that the connection between the two of you is very karmic. Sometime in the near future, you may start having dreams about him again, hear news about him through a friend, or accidentally cross paths with him in some out of the way place.

If this is a soul mate connection and the two of you are destined to be together, it will happen naturally when the time is right, with no effort on your part. Many couples cross paths for years before they finally make a lasting connection.

To discover more, the first place to start would be with a past life reading. If you'd like to explore this connection with me in depth via a private reading, you can email or watch for me on line at here at Kajama.

Once we've reviewed your past life connection, we can take a look at what might lay ahead for you romantically, and whether this man will play an important role in your future. In the mean time, give thanks that you have such a wonderful, mysterious, fascinating connection to this man.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.