Praise for Jane Meredith & Gede Parma’s Magic of the Iron Pentacle An illustrative, informative, and applicable resource for understanding and applying the Iron Pentacle as an integrative paradigm and practice for clearing, accessing, refining, and directing the potency of sex, pride, self, power, and passion. It is a must-have for any magic worker involved in unearthing the witch-flame within and becoming an ironsmith for integrity! —Orion Foxwood Traditional Witch and Faery Seer A beautiful and intelligent exploration of one of the most powerful and transformative conceptual tools of the Witch. Exploring its origins and evolution through the Faery and Reclaiming traditions, authors Jane Meredith and Gede Parma succeed in bringing the power and presence of the Iron Pentacle to a new audience of witches who are hungry for more than simply casting circles or casting spells, and are ready for the deep self-work that is the road to the true power of the Craft. —Storm Faerywolf Warlock, Teacher, and Feri Initiate
Everyone wants to know more about their sexuality, their self, their passion, power, and pride. Place these ideas on the body and the dynamic magic begins. Jane Meredith’s books unfailingly take us deeply into a journey to discover our own truths, and Magic of the Iron Pentacle, co-authored with Gede Parma, is no exception. We emerge shaken, stirred, stronger, and sexier. Blame the ancestors, teachers, bosses, or traffic jams, but really your life is your greatest treasure; the Iron Pentacle reveals, heals, shows you how, holds you, and lets you thrive. —Geraldine Beskin The Atlantis Bookshop What beauty! What poetry! And what a joy to read! This is a book for the mystic who wishes to dive into their own sensuality, test their intellect, develop raw power, and embrace self-adoration. It is a rare and radical magickal text that offers five keys to sovereignty—and it does so in a searingly honest set of revelations, memories, and lessonaries, necessary as bread, potent as wine. Hail, wild ones! —Lucy Cavendish Witch, Wild Mystic, and Author I absolutely love this amazing book, and I have dreams of people working with it in magical book clubs. Jane Meredith and Gede Parma present the gifts and challenges of the Iron Pentacle, taking us on a deep journey of self-exploration and offering many new ideas and exercises. The personal stories by the authors move this work from the esoteric to the intimate and personal. Magic of the Iron Pentacle has my sincere and enthusiastic recommendation! —Gwydion Logan Reclaiming and Feri Priest and Teacher
An excellent workbook for students of the Craft who would like to be able to study the Feri tool of the Iron Pentacle on their own, this book is beautifully crafted, giving its readers a clear theoretical foundation in the points of the Pentacle—Sex, Self, Passion, Pride, Power—from the points of view of two gifted teachers and practitioners of the tradition. It’s easy to work with, it’s an enjoyable read, it’s got exercises that make sense and are quite doable. Highly recommended, both for newer students and for long-time practitioners who like to keep a full and wellrounded resource library. —Pandora O’Mallory Reclaiming and Feri Teacher and Liturgist An excellent union of well-researched magical technique, personal story, and practical exercises, Magic of the Iron Pentacle is a great addition to any modern witch’s library. Although I have been a dedicated Pagan witch for over two decades, I was unfamiliar with the theory and practice of the Iron Pentacle. Even without a background in this technique, I found the teachings in Magic of the Iron Pentacle very rewarding, providing an excellent tool for deeper selfexploration, balance, and evolution on my spiritual path. With Jane and Gede’s beautifully written book as a guide, I will certainly now be adding the process of Running the Iron to my magical toolbox. —Wendy Rule Visionary Songstress, Priestess, and Magical Life Coach
magic of the
iron pe n ta c l e
Photo © Luke Brohman
Photo © David Brazil
Jane Meredith
Gede Parma
An author and ritualist who lives in Australia and presents workshops worldwide, Jane’s passions include mythology, magic, and ritual. Her other books are:
Aphrodite’s Magic: Celebrate and Heal Your Sexuality
A witch, priest, and award-winning author, Gede is a Reclaiming witch and an initiate of the WildWood and Anderean Threads. A hereditary healer and seer with BalineseCeltic ancestry, his other books include:
Journey to the Dark Goddess: How to Return to Your Soul
Spirited: Taking Paganism Beyond the Circle
Rituals of Celebration: Honoring the Seasons of Life Through the Wheel of the Year
By Land, Sky & Sea: Three Realms of Shamanic Witchcraft
Circle of Eight: Creating Magic for Your Place on Earth
Ecstatic Witchcraft: Magick, Philosophy & Trance in the Shamanic Craft
For more information, visit Jane online:
For more information, visit Gede online:
www.janemeredith.com
www.gedeparma.com
JANE MEREDITH & GEDE PARMA
magic of the
iron pe n ta c l e
Reclaiming Sex, Pride, Self, Power & Passion
Llewellyn Publications Woodbury, Minnesota
Magic of the Iron Pentacle: Reclaiming Sex, Pride, Self, Power & Passion © 2016 by Jane Meredith & Gede Parma. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Edition First Printing, 2016 Book design by Rebecca Zins Cover design by Kevin R. Brown Cover image: Shutterstock/110625311/©Nik Merkulov; iStockphoto.com/37945150/©STILLFX Interior illustrations by Llewellyn Art Department; textured triangle background from Flowers Vector Designs (Dover Publications, 2010) Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Meredith, Jane, 1964– | Parma, Gede, 1988– Title: Magic of the iron pentacle : reclaiming sex, pride, self, power & passion / Jane Meredith & Gede Parma. Description: Woodbury : Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015037457 | ISBN 9780738746746 Subjects: LCSH: Magic. | Witchcraft. | Self-actualization (Psychology)—Miscellanea. Classification: LCC BF1611 .M47 2016 | DDC 133.4/3—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037457 Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources. Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989 www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America
We’re setting out on a journey, an adventure. We don’t know very much, we don’t have much with us, but we’re willing. We’re even excited about what we might discover. We know we’re taking a risk. But isn’t that what life’s about? We’re standing outside the castle gates with half a loaf of rye bread and three feathers. We’re stepping onto a boat from a foreign land. We’re not quite sure what season it is or whether it’s the sun or the moon that will rise above the horizon. This is a Fool’s journey. Welcome to Gede and Jane’s mystical traveling circus, otherwise known as Magic of the Iron Pentacle. Perhaps, because it’s us, we’ll take dark chocolate as well as bread. Perhaps you’ll come with us. We hope so.
We acknowledge and respect the origins and inheritance of the Iron Pentacle. The Iron Pentacle was first received and taught by Victor and Cora Anderson, Grandmasters of the Feri tradition, also known as Faery. It is also celebrated and worked in Reclaiming magic. This book is about our adventures with the Iron Pentacle. Between us we have had experience in both Reclaiming and Anderson Feri, and we have worked with the Iron Pentacle together and individually. We began teaching it together at the first Australian Reclaiming WitchCamp in 2011. We are Reclaiming teachers and students and feel our anarchistic approach is representative of Reclaiming. We wish to acknowledge all teachers and practitioners of the Iron Pentacle and all those, known and unknown, who dare to embark on this adventure. Gede Parma (Fio) & Jane Meredith Ubud, Bali, February 2014
Contents
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle 1 Iron Pentacle Illustration, 4
Origins of the Iron Pentacle • 7 Our History with the Iron Pentacle • 10 How to Use This Book • 11
Sex 15 Memoir: Coming Home—Gede • 19 Sex: Aligning with the Living Cosmos • 24 Process: Healing Sexual Wounding • 35 Ritual: House of Pleasure • 38 Memoir: Giving Birth—Jane • 41 Exercise: Fertility Walk • 46 Process: Opening to Rapture • 48
xii Contents
Pride 51 Memoir: Finding My Truth—Jane • 55 Pride: Will You Be Seen in Your Truth? • 60 Process: Acknowledging Shame • 70 Ritual: Honoring a Proud Part • 74 Memoir: The Spiral Dance—Gede • 76 Spell: Growing Edges • 80 Spell: Taking Pride into the World • 83
Self 87 Memoir: Meeting the Goddess—Jane • 91 Self: Who Are You? • 95 Meditation: Self in the Seven Directions • 104 Exercise: Self Naming • 106 Memoir: My Mystery, My Self—Gede • 109 Process: Essence of Self • 114 Trance: Shadow Cauldron Journey • 116
Power 121 Memoir: The Wild Ones—Gede • 125 Power: Will You Act? • 131 Exercise: Raising and Releasing Power • 141 Process: Where Am I Putting My Power? • 144 Memoir: The Center of Everything—Jane • 146 Exercise: Family Dynamics • 151 Ritual: Sacred Intention and Invocation • 154
Contents xiii
Passion 159 Memoir: Writing and Magic—Jane • 163 Passion: What Are You Born to Do? • 167 Process: Passionate Self • 177 Ritual: Time Traveling with Passion • 180 Memoir: The Stream That Speaks to Me—Gede • 184 Process: Awareness Project—What Will You Stand For? • 189 Ritual: Making a Vow to Passion • 192
Iron Pentacle Tools 195 Ritual Basics • 197 Grounding and Centering, 197 Creating Ritual Space, 200 Meditation and Trance, 204
How to Run Iron • 206 Running Iron in the Body, 207 Running Iron Energetically, 209 Running Iron Spatially, 212 A Note on Directional Circles, 214
The Triple Soul • 215 Aligning the Three Souls, 217
Deeper Iron 219 The Rusted and Gilded Pentacles • 221 The Rusted Pentacle: Deflation, 222 The Gilded Pentacle: Inflation, 224 Working with the Rusted and Gilded Pentacles, 226
The Pearl Pentacle • 228
xiv Contents
Experimental Iron • 230 Iron Pentacle in a Group, 230 Iron of Iron, 232 Paths of Iron and Transits of Iron, 233
Recommended Reading 237
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle Breath fills me with life, and each heartbeat pumps the blood through my veins—blood rich in iron. Blood that calls to the light of stars and discovers the birth of iron…Blood calling deep to the fire in the earth and meeting iron again…Breath, beat, blood, bone…Iron, iron, iron, iron… From these threads of iron in the stars, iron in the earth and iron in my blood, the Iron Pentacle is born. The point of Sex—the baby’s head emerges from her mother’s body…we kiss, we join, we share life force…the sun illumines the earth in blessed radiance. Pride—my right foot steps over the threshold…we listen to each other’s stories and witness our truth…the stars deeply know they belong to each other. Self—my left hand cradles a mysterious core…in each other’s eyes we discover the meaning of essence…deep darkness peers into the mirror of curved space. Power—my right hand opens and stretches out, feeling its capability…we reach for each other’s hands in the circle of community…the Divine calls me to action, and I answer. Passion—my left foot dances my body across the stream… the fire of creativity we kindle enthuses our spirits…Life leans into me, and I commit. 1
T
he Iron Pentacle is a magical tool of experiential spirituality. It arises from the work of two contemporary and connected traditions of Witchcraft: Anderson Feri and Reclaiming. Displayed as a five-pointed star, the Iron Pentacle can be experienced through energetic work, personal process, and social analysis. It is a revolutionary magical construct that has evolved to be fundamentally related to the human body in the Reclaiming tradition. The five points of the Iron Pentacle are held within the body’s extremities; head, feet and hands. These five points relate to each other through a moving pentagram of energy: from the head down to the right foot, right foot up to the left hand, left hand across to the right hand, right hand down to the left foot, and finally left foot up to the head. The points are then encircled, with the circle touching each point and becoming a pentacle. However, the energy does not stop there—or anywhere; it is in continual motion. Each point of the Iron Pentacle has a simple name: in order, they are Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion. The pentacle is worked with Sex in the head, Pride in the right foot, Self in the left hand, Power in the right hand, and Passion in the left foot. Sex, pride, self, power, and passion are potent words in Western culture. They point to our longings, our fears, and our shadows. They haunt us. Who, as a child, was not rebuked for being selfish or proud? Which of us has not at some stage struggled with our sexuality? Who has not longed to express their passion—at the same time cautious of being swept away by it? How can the themes of power and powerlessness leave any of us untouched? Concepts of original innocence, paradise, sovereign and authentic self, and the reclamation of our divine origins underlie the working of 3
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Introduction to the Iron Pentacle  5
the Iron Pentacle. Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion all have complex and layered meanings and their exploration and interpretation is part of the work of the Iron Pentacle. There are many aspects of judgment, understanding, and relationship to these five points, both as inner qualities and as external forces. On hearing their names we have immediate reactions. We do not have to study them first or seek connection. We are related; they are part of us. The names of these points are not in ancient Hebrew, Sanskrit, or Gaelic, open to a variety of understandings and misinterpretations: they are in English. For those whose primary language is not English, we advise working with words from their own language, as cultural interpretation fuels so much of our understanding. The Iron Pentacle is a tool for reawakening to our essential humanity and our sovereign selves. The star and circle, the two symbols that make up the Iron Pentacle, are ancient and refer to our infinity of being and our origins in the stars—that we and our whole planet are made of stardust. The Iron Pentacle falling into the earth is a symbol for the origin of the witches’ fire. It parallels other traditional Witchcraft legends about the power of witches having come from the stars. By mass, iron is the most common element on Earth, and it is a mineral found in every cell of the human body. In the formation and development of the life of a star, it is the progression from silicon through to iron that spells its death in less than a second. An iron star is almost an oxymoron, or maybe it is a magical act of transformation; it no sooner exists than it ceases to exist. The end result of this development of iron at the center of a star is either a neutron star or a black hole. There is no evidence that the naming of the Iron Pentacle is related to this science, but it provokes interesting thoughts. In working with the Iron Pentacle we open ourselves to a more intimate experience of who we are; we reveal and behold our own deep divinity. The Iron Pentacle is a potent way to ignite awareness within ourselves and learn to act with the balance and integrity that comes from working directly with our Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion. Through working the Iron Pentacle we come more deeply
6 Introduction to the Iron Pentacle
into our humanity and discover pathways of cleansing, release, transformation, and initiation, on both personal and societal levels. Just as our personal growth, spiritual understanding and social development are ever evolving, the Iron Pentacle also is not static. It is a moving system, constantly in motion. At its simplest level it can be used to rebalance one’s own internal energy. It can be worked with for personal growth and understanding and for exploring strengths, weaknesses, and inconsistencies. It can be employed magically or energetically and used as a tool for change in the world. It is an invitation to exist not just as a self-aware individual but also as a dynamic entity in the universe. The Iron Pentacle is a tool for personal and spiritual development as well as a hope for balance, inspiration, and action in our communities and our relationship to the earth. The Iron Pentacle works to reclaim hidden and shadow parts of the self. Its processes include integrating, recalibrating, and healing disowned and under-realized aspects of our own self, power, pride, passion, and sex. It proposes that each of us become a dynamic being, whole unto oneself, who relates with other humans, the Divine, and the world. It demands integrity of the whole individual. The Iron Pentacle does not seek to deny or contradict other magical systems or constructs, and it works well with many spiritualities. People we’ve explained it to—including Pagans, Buddhists, healers, yoginis, Sannyasins, psychologists, and those who are interested in the broad field of personal and social development—are fascinated by it. Working with the point of Sex, we have to re-examine our whole orientation to our bodies and sexuality, often going back to childhood and family history. When we look at Pride we have to dissect this concept; how can we learn to be genuinely proud of ourselves and our achievements? At Self many things begin to fall apart; it turns out that who we have imagined or allowed ourselves to be hardly relates to our deepest truths. In Power we have to address how to be active and dynamic without resorting to power-over, game playing, or manipulation. As we reach Passion we must ask ourselves what our meaning and purpose in the world is and how we will be true to that. Iron Pentacle work provokes unhealed trauma, unresolved issues, and fundamental
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle 7
unease with societal expectations and demands, and it can result in radical change. It also provides a guide and support for how to work through these issues into a place of integration and wholeness. Existing on many levels, the Iron Pentacle remains fundamentally experiential and thus experimental. It teaches from within, drawing on our own experiences, understandings, longings, and secrets. It teaches through body and history and desire; it teaches through sensation and exploration and feedback. The Iron Pentacle is not difficult to remember and not difficult to practice. It does not require reading vast tomes of theory, doing things the correct way, or following dogma. It is, rather, revolutionary; from its starting point of the human body and human experience, it travels outward, broadening from the personal to social, political, cultural, and spiritual themes. It is dynamic not just because it is a moving system but also because each time we work with it or allow it to work with us, we travel more deeply into it. Although the construct remains the same, for each person and at each time the Iron Pentacle will offer different challenges and rewards. Working with it is an adventure.
Origins of the Iron Pentacle The Iron Pentacle was originally known as the Iron Pentagram and evolved from the trance-journeying and magical inheritance of Victor Anderson (1917–2001). The Iron Pentagram was first taught to those who studied privately with Victor. He was a devout student of the occult and mysticism who was recognized and identified himself variously as a Kahuna, a Kabbalist, a witch, a Vodouisant, a seer, a shaman, and a Faerie doctor. He is said to have had an eerie ability to taste the essence of a person’s soul story so strongly that conversations with him became introductions to buried ancestry and deep spiritual wealth. Victor and his wife, Cora Anderson (1915–2008), together with some early initiates of theirs including Gwydion Pendderwen, took material from the Oregon-based coven Victor was initiated into at a young age and fused it with the folk and magical traditions of Cora’s family. Victor’s visionary gnosis as well as a sometimes-paradoxical braid of influences were woven together with this core material and
8 Introduction to the Iron Pentacle
became what is now commonly referred to as the Feri tradition. Until the end of Cora’s life, however, she simply referred to it as the Craft and mentioned that it had earlier been called Vicia. Gwydion is credited as attaching the term Faery, the original spelling of the tradition’s name. In this book we have used the spelling most well-known: Feri. The spelling of Faery and the distinction of Old Faery is regularly used by a group of initiates who have split from more public Feri/Faery groups or lineages and who share in common a covenant with ten principles representing codes of conduct and values such as not charging for teaching the tradition. Feri is a wild, fae, and starry current of pre-Gardnerian traditional Witchcraft. Unlike many well-known Wiccan forms of modern Witchcraft, Feri possesses only one level of initiation and does not rest upon a God and Goddess polarity or fertility cult. The prime divinity is the Star Goddess, or God Herself, who is all things. If She is a gender, She is all of them and none of them. The Blue God, also known as the Peacock Angel and sometimes as Melek Taus, is considered particularly special to Feri and is seen by some initiates as an embodiment of the collective soul of humanity. Feri draws from Vodou and Lukumi, British and Celtic folklore and sorcery, Aradian Witchcraft, and Hawaiian Kahuna and Appalachian traditions. Some of the key pieces of the tradition that are publicly known and taught in the Reclaiming tradition include the doctrine of the Triple Soul, the Black Heart of Innocence, and the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Starhawk was initiated by Victor and Cora in the 1970s and brought this material with her when she became one of the key founders of the Reclaiming tradition in the early 1980s. Some initiates of the Feri tradition believe Victor channelled the teaching and tool of the Iron Pentagram directly from the ether, or the spirits and gods, or perhaps from deep within our human collective consciousness. Others believe he inherited it from his previous coven in Oregon. The name and nature of the Iron Pentagram may have originated in this coven, and the points of Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion have been said to be a witch’s ethical directive in life. The Iron Pentagram itself is sometimes spoken of as the origin of the
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle 9
witch’s fire or power that fell as the star into earth. It resonates with other traditional Witchcraft stories about fallen angels mating with human women to initiate the lineages of witches. Widespread in European folklore and fairytales is the belief that tools made of iron are inimical or poisonous to the fae—yet the Iron Pentacle belongs to a tradition named Feri. One way we can approach this apparent contradiction is to acknowledge the human relationship to iron through our red blood and our origin in the stars and to claim the Iron Pentacle as a radically human magic, with its intent to align us with our deep humanity. In Reclaiming our approach to magic is more open-source, maybe radically so, than the traditional Witchcraft of Feri. We know that everyone can do the life-changing, world-renewing work of magic are words from the Reclaiming Principles of Unity. Most Reclaiming witches believe Witchcraft and magic are required at this time to defend and uphold the wild and the non-human and to work for justice and equality within the human world. People interested in Reclaiming Witchcraft or contemporary Pagan Witchcraft in general can attend core classes wherever Reclaiming community exists. There they can learn and practice foundational and advanced skills of magic, including trance; the creation of ritual spaces; spellcraft; raising, directing, and releasing power; meditation; working with breath; and the alignment of the three souls. We learn to work directly and intimately with the elements, ancestors, deities, spirits, dreams, myths, and stories. We also do the work—or it does us—of the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Iron Pentacle core classes have been taught continuously in Reclaiming communities since the early 1980s. Anyone can claim themselves as a Reclaiming witch if they agree with the Principles of Unity and practice Reclaiming-style magic, which is learned and practiced in core classes, in covens and circles, and at intensive retreats called WitchCamps. The basic theology and cosmology of Reclaiming can be found in the Principles of Unity, and it is definitively an inclusive tradition working to make classes, covens, camps, and communities accessible and open to people of all colors, sexualities, socioeconomic groups, genders, and sizes. Initiation into
10 Introduction to the Iron Pentacle
the tradition is not required to be a full participant of Reclaiming, though initiation does exist and is a deeply personal journey. In 2004 T. Thorn Coyle, a Reclaiming- and Feri-initiated witch and mystic, released her book Evolutionary Witchcraft. This was the first published book since Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance that included information and practices centering on the Iron Pentacle. Evolutionary Witchcraft opened the work of the Iron Pentacle to a whole new generation of Pagans, witches, mystics, and magicians. Storm Faerywolf, a Feri initiate, has also written publicly about the Iron Pentacle on the website feritradition.org. It is the culture and vision of Reclaiming, as well as our personal journeys with the Iron Pentacle and our anarchism that most influences our writing in this book. The way the magic of the Iron Pentacle is practiced within the Reclaiming tradition is informed by what a friend of ours, a Reclaiming and Feri priest, calls the four pillars of Reclaiming: Anderson Feri, ecofeminism, anarcho-politics, and the psychology and human potential movements. Whereas Victor and Cora gave the Iron Pentagram to initiates to work out on their own, in Reclaiming we take this further and use our tools and methods of trance, personal process, and cultural questioning to plumb the depths of the Iron Pentacle both within ourselves and as a group.
Our History with the Iron Pentacle We met the Iron Pentacle as part of the evolving Reclaiming body of work. We followed our own way of working with it, spending a month in each point to deeply explore our relationship with that aspect of ourselves. After five months we would spend a month integrating the whole pentacle. Often once we finished a six-month working, we would begin again or complement it with a six-month working of its companion, the Pearl Pentacle. During the last six years we have—individually and sometimes together—worked almost continually with the Iron Pentacle. Gede more commonly works with the Iron Pentacle energy daily, whereas Jane more often concentrates on one point within the context of the whole pentacle, but both of us
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle  11
work the other way, too. Jane inclines to wild experimentation while Gede tends to bond more with custom and tradition. We have variously taken classes in both Iron and Pearl Pentacles and worked with them in small groups. We have taught Iron Pentacle classes together, on and off, since 2011. In between all that iron we have done other things; for Jane an emphasis on local magic, the Wheel of the Year, and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, and for Gede a continuation with private initiatory Witchcraft, sorcerous spirit-working, and shamanic craft. We teach at Reclaiming WitchCamps as well as continue developing and offering our individual work. All of this has mixed into the cauldron of the Iron Pentacle, influencing the way we approach it and suggesting new and engaging ways of investigating it. Throughout these years the Iron Pentacle has been alive to us. We have interacted with it as energy currents within our bodies and as a voice in our heads, a prompting toward balance, integrity, and adventure and an always-relevant guide to self-knowledge, healing, and wholeness. Having learned it, the Iron Pentacle is inescapable; it is literally in our bodies and in our blood. Working with iron has become an immediate and obvious entry point when we have felt distressed, unbalanced, or confused. We are astounded that such a useful, elegant, and powerful tool is not more widely known. This book is one of our offerings back to the Iron Pentacle, that it might get to share its adventures with different audiences—with those involved in ritual, in magic, in healing, in self-exploration, or in working energy and transformation with a group.
How to Use This Book Magic of the Iron Pentacle will teach you about the Iron Pentacle and different ways to work with it. There are all sorts of reasons to be inspired by and experiment with the Iron Pentacle. It is a magical tool that anyone can use. As a construct it is extraordinarily generous, seeming to seize each person who approaches it and teach them through direct experience how it works, what it means, and what it can offer. We have been investigating it intensively for six years now and certainly are not bored with it; instead
12 Introduction to the Iron Pentacle
we feel more excited than ever about the questions it raises and the potentialities it opens. Although the Iron Pentacle can certainly find a place in formal magic or structured ritual, it also exists as an invitation to deep personal work, as an adaptable ritual and magical tool to work solo or with a group, and as a way of engaging strongly with the world we live in—that world of relationships, work, politics, and community. Each of the Iron Pentacle points of Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion are explored in depth in their personal, magical, social, and, in some cases, political aspects. In this book you will find exercises, rituals, and spells relating to each of the Iron Pentacle points. These processes offer ways to directly connect with the point as it exists in the Iron Pentacle and in you. There are also memoirs that describe some of our own experiences with the points of the Iron Pentacle, offering a more intimate perspective on how the themes of Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion can play out in someone’s life. Many of the spells, processes, and rituals included in this book suggest you begin by grounding and centering, casting a circle, or aligning your souls. In the Iron Pentacle Tools section on page 195 are explanations of some of these fundamental magical and ritual practices that will help you to progress through the book. They cover grounding and centering, casting a circle, and the concept and practice of aligning the three souls. You may already be familiar with these practices. You may choose to read through that whole section prior to beginning any practical work or you may choose to refer to the explanatory section as you need to—when a process asks you to ground yourself before beginning, for example. Working with the Iron Pentacle energetically, mentally, and physically is an essential part of this book, and different ways to do that are outlined in the How to Run Iron section on page 206. You can read and work through this book as it is written, beginning with the introductory section and then progressing through each of the Iron Pentacle points in turn, concluding with the final section of Deeper Iron. You might choose to do this over a set period of time; for example, six weeks or six months. To do this you would devote each week or month to one of the points, progressing on at the end of that time to the next one. The final week or month would be spent inte-
Introduction to the Iron Pentacle  13
grating the pentacle as well as working with some of the material in Deeper Iron. You can do the Iron Pentacle work by yourself. This book is written primarily for the solo practitioner; however, the Iron Pentacle is also a wonderful magical tool to explore with a group, whether that is a magical group or coven, a personal growth or support group, or just a group of people who want to travel more deeply with each other. Another way to journey with this book is to read it all the way through and then choose how to approach the work. There may be certain points that call to you as being most appropriate to your life right now, or particular exercises or rituals that you want to do regardless of where they appear in the pentacle structure. You might approach the book in a completely different way, reading in depth about each point and leaving the memoirs and processes until later. Or you might approach the book mainly as a piece of reading, doing just one or two of the processes as you feel guided to do. However you engage the Iron Pentacle, we encourage you to invite a spirit of adventure to accompany you. Our authority extends only as far as having done this work and being in these adventures ourselves. One of the delights of an open system such as the Iron Pentacle is that it offers something different to each person each time they approach it.
We sink down into this earth and find the iron deep in the soil… we draw iron up from earth, into our bodies… We reach up into the stars seeking the iron that originates there…we draw iron down from the stars, into our bodies… Iron from earth and iron from stars swirl within us; they meet…we are born from earth and stars, we hold iron within us, we are iron— and the iron surges up into our heads, into Sex— so the Iron Pentacle begins.
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he first point of the Iron Pentacle is Sex. This is the top point of the pentacle. When the Iron Pentacle is held within the human body, Sex rests in the head. Sex is not usually something we think of as belonging in our heads, although we might agree that much of sex is in the mind. To work with sex energy in the head requires us to re-examine what we mean by sex. Not genital sex, not genitals at all. The ideas of sex that are held in the mind are what we are examining, as well as our socialization around sex, connection, and intimacy and how we interpret them. When we are born most humans crown, head first, from our mother’s womb. It is true that the first sensuous kiss of air rushing into our nostrils and mouth comes because our head led the way into the world. We are born from sex. Literally, our parents had sex to begin the process that has resulted in our body and life. We enter the world in the current of sex. It looks as though sex is our birthright, as it is literally imprinted into us through the earliest experiences of the collection of cells that became us. Socially, however, sex is something that is obscured and hidden. Our childhood experiences of sex, sexuality, and sensuality are frowned upon by the adult world and so become secret, unspoken, and often unexamined. We may even have our sexuality abused and assaulted. As we grow older a conforming sexuality is imposed according to our assigned gender, perceived level of attractiveness, and our degree of permissiveness. Yet sexuality is an unstoppable force. No matter how repressive the society we are raised in, sexuality emerges at puberty. No matter what rules or norms exist, as teenagers we flirt, we experiment, and we explore. Always, at some level, we realize sex’s inherent and potentially volatile power—its beauty, depth, and intricate and bold synergy 17
18 Sex
with our true selves. We identify with our sexuality, we release it, we turn away from it, we run toward it. We journey together. Intimate relationships, particularly sexual relationships, are one of the areas of life that bring the greatest happiness and also incite the greatest pain. We fall in love, we risk our hearts, we offer ourselves, we lie naked with another. We experience rejection, unbounded joy, great excitement, trepidation, sometimes contentment, depth and union and sometimes jealousy, trauma, and distress. The challenge of being genuine in our sexuality—in representing ourselves and our truths, longings, and fears—is ever unfolding. Sex fascinates us. It is the raw life force, the tide we are born on, and our engagement with it puts us in the center of not just our bodies but in connection to all of nature. We are of Sex—made of it—and so in this point of the Iron Pentacle we begin; we begin again, and again.
Body, Mind & Spirit / Magick Studies
“An illustrative, informative resource for understanding and applying the Iron Pentacle . . . A ‘must-have’ for any magic worker involved in unearthing the witch-flame within and becoming an iron-smith for integrity!” —Orion Foxwood, Traditional Witch and Faery Seer
This is the work and the time is now
Let the adventure begin The Iron Pentacle is a tool for reawakening to our essential humanity and our sovereign selves. Exploring the themes of Sex, Pride, Self, Power, and Passion, this book invites you to develop magic of the body that sings to the spirit. Join authors Jane Meredith and Gede Parma on an intense journey into self-awareness through practices of the Reclaiming Tradition, where each step leads to self-actualization, authenticity, and potent magic. Through personal stories and rites you can perform, Magic of the Iron Pentacle opens the door to a revolutionary concept that combines personal empowerment with magical technique. The Iron Pentacle evokes qualities neglected and disparaged—yet these qualities, together and in balance, enliven our magic and our lives. Jane Meredith is a writer and ritualist. Her books include Circle of Eight, Rituals of Celebration, and Journey to the Dark Goddess. She offers workshops internationally and as distance courses. She is a Reclaiming teacher and one of the founders of CloudCatcher WitchCamp. She lives in Australia and can be found online at www.janemeredith.com. Gede Parma (a.k.a. Fio) is a witch and lover of Mystery. He is a genderless, mercurial being who teaches private initiatory witchcraft and offers public workshops around the world. Gede is a Reclaiming witch, an initiate of the WildWood and Anderean Traditions, and a co-founder of CloudCatcher WitchCamp. The author of Ecstatic Witchcraft and By Land, Sea & Sky, Gede can be found online at www.gedeparma.com. $17.99 US / $20.95 CAN
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