by Rev. Michael J Dangler, originally published on his Patreon
There are actually two videos in this update! The first is the video with the historical context, which is all about the examples of healing magic that I considered when working to create the ritual I ended up making, and the second is the ritual itself!
Magic for Priests, Practicum Question 1: Historical
We’re going to work something a little different in this session. Today’s video comes in two parts. The first, which you’re watching now, is concerned with history. The second is a practical ritual you can do at home, and follow along, whenever you need it. The question prompt for this working is:
Provide and explain one example of healing magic from an Indo-European culture, and write an ADF-style healing working based on that example.
What does the question mean?
So today we’re going to do the first part of this question: we’re going to cover three or four different types of healing magic from different cultures, and then I’ll be recording a second video, which you can find a link to in the video description or in the transcript, and you can go watch that to follow along and see how I took the practice from historical example to modern rite.
So, what’s the question asking?
This question is, at its most basic, “How do you translate historical methods into modern magic?” Again, there’s no wrong way to do this. Most ADF members doing this will use some version of the Core Order of Ritual, but some might get more ceremonial or dive into their background for a different way of looking at it. Your magical style is yours, though, so you get to decide how it goes. The trick is to look at the boundaries of the Core Order of Ritual: to make it an “ADF-Style rite” mostly means to craft a ritual that deals with a tripartite cosmos, relies on relationships with the Spirits, and involves some dialog with them, all while avoiding being crafted with features from the list of items ADF rituals do not include.
Strategies for Answering This Question
In most of the questions, we’ve had the opportunity to attack the question in different ways. Here, however, we’re going to have to study up on a healing process, and work from there. All the practicum questions will be like this, so buckle up and find a way to manage it. I’ll outline several different options from different cultures before I settle onto one type of healing ritual to discuss and develop a ritual for.
Healing Magic Technique 1: Anatomical Ex-Voto (Celtic, Greco-Roman, Hellenistic)
One key process that we find throughout Europe, though dying out on the Italian peninsula in the first century B.C.E. and continuing in particular through Gaul and Britain, is the offering of images of body parts, in clay, metal, wax, and wood to certain deities in certain sanctuaries in an effort to heal the affected body part.
This process involves the creation of an image of that body part, either by the person seeking healing or by an enterprising entrepreneur who had set up shop close to the local shrine, and the offering of that image to the deity who can help. Often, these are ailments impacting feet and hands, and they worked by dedicating the afflicted body part to the service of the godden, and requesting healing.
To work from this, you might find a sacred spring and craft an image of a body part from non-toxic, degradable materials. Once you’ve created the body part model, create a prayer of dedication, and ask that it be healed.
Healing Magic Technique 2: Herbal Cures and Concoctions (Pan-Indo-European)
One of the key ways that we see healing magic enter the known corpus of magic is in herbal cures and knowledge. Surely, the spreading of Airmed’s cloak upon the ground to gather up all the healing herbs in Irish myth, or the return of Odysseus’ men to human form from their swine-form is worth a review.
For a great example of turning a Vedic verse from the Atharvaveda into a modern herbal spell, I recommend reviewing Rev. Jan Avende’s work, entitled, “A Teething Charm: Dr. Tally’s Soothing Tooth-Tiger Liniment.” They took a short passage from Hymn 140, and crafted a soothing balm for a teething child. It’s a fabulous application of healing work from an ancient source of herbal knowledge, translated into a modern recipe that can do a lot of good.
Healing Magic Technique 3: Incubatory Healing (Greek)
We spoke of incubation as a common practice in the Asclepeions of the Hellenic world in a previous video, and you could look at the processes followed in the temples to develop your own ritual for healing sleep, inviting the god to come to you in your dreams and either heal you, or show you how to heal yourself.
To work through this, you might seek out either ancient Greek herbs that were known to produce visions or were local to the areas around the Asclepeions, or you could look at modern herbs that might do the same. It would take some experimentation to safely burn an incense of those herbs while you sleep and see which improve the dream state. You could look at the impact of fasting, exercise, and washing that are described, and work them into the ritual you create.
Once you have your process, wrap yourself in a blanket, shut out the sounds around you, and sleep while your darkened room is filled with incense and music, and see if Asclepius brings healing to you.
Healing Magic Technique 4: Transference of Illness
Now we’ll move onto the type of healing that I’ll be creating my ritual from. We’ll look at the transference of illness to a strip of fabric, and tie it to a tree, much as the clooties are tied up to trees in Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.
This is a process possibly related to the first technique we discussed, that of leaving a molded or carved body part at a sacred site, and requesting that the actual body part be healed. In this case, dating back to pre-Christian practices, folks would dip a strip of cloth into a holy well, speak a prayer of supplication, and tie the cloth onto a tree, usually a hawthorn. For those seeking healing, there may also be a step of washing the afflicted area with the cloth during the prayer, and allowing the sickness to be taken off by the cloth, and then left behind on the tree. The disintegration of the rag in the elements then also disintegrates the sickness.
Crafting the Ritual
In order to create the ritual, I have to decide what the purpose is. In this case, it’s not hard: the assignment is to take a healing practice and create a healing rite from that ancient practice. So, that bit is done.
Next, I want to think about my audience: how will people connect with this ritual? Well, we’re in the middle of a pandemic as I record this, so let’s assume that people will do the work at their home altars. What this means is that I have no way of knowing what sorts of physical space they have, or where they’re located. It makes it difficult for me to suggest that the folks following along at home go find a sacred well, or a particular type of tree.
So, thinking about what people have access to, I’ll have to create a short list of items needed, and craft a ritual that meets my ritual participants where they are. Then, I’ll need to provide instruction, and a petitioning prayer, and guide them through it in the video I’ll be creating.
I want the prayer to be simple, and straightforward, something that a person can remember. To that end, I’m looking for something about four lines long, with some gentle rhythm, and maybe some rhyme for good measure. Something like this:
These Waters, sacred by my word,
Shine with the light of healing.
That which ails me is washed away,
And knotted here, be leaving.
With a prayer written, I can consider the physical actions: I want to soak the cloth in Waters which are made holy, wash away the illness, and knot it to the tree. To do this sort of work, they’ll need a vessel of water, a strip of cloth, and a place to leave it, preferably permanently. And, because we’ll engage a specific spirit, an offering of a coin or other symbol.
Because people will be doing this remotely, the charm is designed to be spoken more than once, and to have a slightly different meaning each time. If you can’t tie it to a tree right now, or onto something outdoors and permanent, you can say this short prayer again when you get to a place where you can.
Now, I want to wrap this up into a working that is unmistakable as an ADF-style working. To do this, I’ll want to provide some additional structure. Because this is a healing, and I want it to be applicable and useful to the largest number of people possible, I don’t think it should be too structured, and it should invite people to lean on their personal relationships with the Spirits, rather than try and box them into working with someone they either don’t know, or aren’t comfortable with.
So, to that end, I’ll ask folks to visualize a Spirit, known to them or unknown, who can connect with their needs and offer them a path toward healing. And then once the rite is done, we’ll offer to the Spirit, and thank them.
Conclusion
So, that’s the basics of my ritual, and I hope that you’ll find something to inspire you in this work as well. Pop over to the working video, and see how it all came together. And, of course, maybe get some healing yourself, while you’re at it.
Thanks!
Magic for Priests, Practicum Question 1: Practicum
Welcome to a part of my study guide for the Ár nDraíocht Féin Clergy Training Program’s “Magic for Priests” course. Today’s video comes in two parts. The first, which I’ve prepared initially for folks who are subscribed to my Patreon, is concerned with how I wrote this. The second, which you’re watching now, is a practical ritual you can do at home, and follow along with, whenever you need it, to find healing and comfort. The question prompt for this working is:
Provide and explain one example of healing magic from an Indo-European culture, and write an ADF-style healing working based on that example.
What does the question mean?
So I spent a whole video going over various kinds of healing magics from the Indo-European world, and I settled on a working based on one of them to work from. In that video, I dove into figural magic, herbal magic, and incubation-dreaming before I came to the pan-Celtic practice of hanging clooties, which we still see reflexes of in modern Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. I touched on each one on a high level, and then went over the process of creating this rite around the practice of hanging clooties.
So, onto the ritual, and the important disclaimer
What I’m going to do is guide you through a ritual designed to offer healing for whatever it is that ails you. Of course, this sort of healing work is best done with traditional medical care, just as our ancient forebears would have done. No one relies on magic alone, and whatever you’re suffering, I hope and pray that you have the ability to obtain the care that you need to go along with this work.
What supplies do I need?
This rite will require some items. You’ll need:
- A candle and some matches.
- A strip of cloth or a ribbon made of natural material like cotton. You can cut this from an old shirt if you can’t get out to find one in a store, and old cloth is better anyway for this, if you have it.
- An offering or something of value. Usually, this is a coin or stone that has some meaning or value to you.
- A vessel of water large enough to dunk the cloth or ribbon into (and wring it out without overflowing it onto your carpet).
- You may also want a dry towel, since you’ll be washing a part of your body with that wet cloth.
Arrange your altar and space simply: the vessel with water before you, the offering and the cloth within easy reach, and the candle near to the water.
What will we do in this rite?
The focus of this rite is healing, and so we’re going to be calling out to a Spirit and asking for some help. I’m intentionally recording this rite in a way that will allow you to return to the rite whenever you need healing, and go through the process again and again, aiming for positive result each time.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a personal relationship with a Spirit: we’ll be seeking out, specifically, a spirit who is interested in helping you, and in healing you. Even if you’ve never sought a connection to or built a successful relationship with a Spirit before, you can do this work. It doesn’t matter what culture your connections come from: those connections might surface here. And that’s awesome. We’ll be calling out in a way that is both generic and specific: to a spirit whose title we will call as, “The Spirit Who Helps Me.” It sounds general, because it could be any spirit. And it is. But to the Spirit who knows that they will help you, it is the most descriptive name you could use, short of their actual name.
We’ll begin by establishing our space as sacred, sanctifying the water in your vessel, and calling out to the Spirit who will aid you in this work. Then, we’ll speak an incantation and wash the afflicted area, or areas, and then knot the cloth and either tie it to something right then, or set it aside to be tied later. Then we’ll thank the Spirit who appeared to help you.
All you need to do is follow along at your own hearth shrine. Let’s get started, shall we?
The Healing Rite
Begin by taking a moment to find your center. Seek it within you, wherever you typically find it. You may want to watch your breath for a moment: in, and out. In, and out.
Setting the Cosmos
Here at our center, we kindle our flame. [Lights candles.] Here at our center, we brighten the Waters. [Passes hand over the vessel.] Here at our center, holding ourselves between land, sea, and sky, we open ourselves to the cosmos about us, as we seek healing.
Calling to the Spirit
Take a moment now to reflect on your connections to the cosmos: think about how you are a part of the larger world, and how connections have come to you in the past. And if it helps, take a moment to close your eyes and breath once again.
Now, let us call out to the Spirit who will work with us.
Spirit Who Helps Me, I call to you. You who have come from the mists to be here for me, who have opened the paths to healing: I see you now and I hear your call.
Step into the Center with me, O Spirit: parting the mists of magic that flow, welcomed by the light of my fire to the edge of these healing waters.
Touch these Waters, Spirit. Make them bright. Spirit Who Helps Me, stand beside me as I work.
I invite you now to place the cloth in the waters, and begin to wash whatever part of you needs healed, and then knot the cloth at one end, as we speak the charm.
Charm of Transference
These Waters, sacred by my word,
Shine with the light of healing.
That which ails me is washed away,
And knotted here, be leaving.
Listening for the Spirits
And here, having knotted the cloth, take a moment to listen to all that is around you. Listen to yourself as well. Feel the cool water that has touched you, and hear the voice of the flame in the candle wick.
The Offering
As is right and proper, for the work we have done today, and the aid of the Spirit Who Helps Me, I make this offering. I place it in these blessed waters, to return to the earth when I am able. [coin placed in the waters]
Thanking
Spirit Who Helps Me, I call out to you: For standing beside me, for making the space safe, and for brightening the waters with the healing light, I thank you. I know that you will be there, should I call again, to deepen this relationship over time.
Now, in your mind’s eye, see once again this Spirit: standing here in your space, preparing to take their leave of you. As they turn to go, see their smile, and watch them slip once more into the mists of magic around you.
Closing
And here at my center, with waters blessed, a bright flame kindled, and healing intention knotted into place, I seek now to return this space to what it was before. As I extinguish this flame, may the mists roll back, and all be as it was before, save the blessing, and the healing I have received.
And with this work done well, this rite is ended. So be it.
After the Ritual
Clooties are, of course, normally tied directly to a tree, but not everyone has access to a ritual space where they can do that. So, I’ve written this charm so that you can speak it again when you come to an outdoor place that you would like to tie it to. Until you are able to tie it outside, the knot will hold your intent and start the process of the spellwork.
When you find an appropriate place to tie the knot, whether that’s a hawthorn tree, a fence post in a field, or your fire escape railing, tie it there, and once more speak the prayer:
These Waters, sacred by my word,
Shine with the light of healing.
That which ails me is washed away,
And knotted here, be leaving.
Conclusion
So, that’s my example of an ADF-Style healing ritual, and I hope that you’ll find something to inspire you in this work as well. And, of course, I look forward to the next question, which is a ritual about warding work. If you want to be the first person to catch that rite, consider subscribing to my Patreon. I’m really excited to make that ritual work even better than this one did, because the source material is just so, so vibrant!
Thanks!
