The Emerald Star

by Damian West
With its modern popularity, many now view Wicca as a washed down version of witchcraft, which lacks any kind of deep and meaningful roots. This article hopes to prove that this is not the case, by looking at some of the esoteric lore that surrounds two gods that are incredibly important to the current; Lucifer and Diana. For some these names may evoke certain rejections, but to those of us who are working and developing the craft, they are incredibly important to the very core of our art, which we know as luciferian gnostic witchcraft. Indeed, as one delves deeper, one realises that much of the symbolism between the various traditional witcheries are the same. The lines blur and the rivers come together to form the single craft of the art magical. Not only is Wicca just as much a valid form of traditional witchcraft (although I understand the need to separate it out in recent times), it is one of the most complete and powerful structured hermetic traditions of our time.

How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning. Isaiah 14:12 Luciferian gnostic witchcraft causes the practitioner to question all things within their reality. Rather than merely accepting what is said to be true or the instinctual urges of our animal desires, we seek to become fully aware and self-realising within the world around us. The ultimate devils advocate, we seek out the law of liberty to allow ourselves to become truly free and awake within the universe. By welcoming contradiction and breaking our minds, we expand to the realms of infinite possibilities, not constricted or bound by our own chains, so that we can blossom the wisdom of our own understanding through the knowledge of All. One of the primary figures within our praxis is that of Lucifer, the light-bringer who wears the emerald crown and is the brother and consort of our Lady, the mighty nocturnal light of the forests. His fall from grace and freedom from the garden of eden, caused the descent of the first flash down the tree of the living ones. From Kether to the Malkuth, spirit to matter, he brought about our earthly manifestation; life . He brings the chance for us to explore, to understand and to make our own mistakes in his dominion of the world of matter, rather than let the ego bathe in its own ignorance.

Though his light comes at a price, for it is said that one must suffer to learn, and to fully appreciate the rewards of our efforts, we must go through the many ordeals of the gods. For to be asleep in this world is far easier than knowing that the dissolution of all is so far away and beyond one incarnation.

The Emerald Star. Bottom right, widdershins moves through the four Qabalalistic elemental worlds in proper order, with spirit in the middle, creating the fifth. Y-H-Sh-V-H But we are the Knights of the Emerald Star, who travel on our quest, in search of the grail and the wisdom that can be learnt from the many streams that lead into the green chapel. The lord of the fallen ones illuminates the pathway of intelligence and allows the serpent of the tree to arise within us and ascend once again towards the radiant darkness of no-thing, by means of enlightenment. He is the lord of death and resurrection, but also takes on many forms, such as our horned god, Cernunnos. For in the garden, man and animal could speak in one tongue, and the horned god is both a reminder of this and a promise of it to come once again as he prowls the wild woods beyond the north. He is the sacrificial king at Lammas, who dies and is reborn again with the return of the Sun at Yule, and by doing so reminds us to keep strong our highest ideals so that we may become like the gods. His magical formula is found in the eternal cycles of Christ, who is yet another avatar of the one we call Lucifer, but at a different moment in time. This idea of the divine and sacrificial king can also be found in the story of Osiris, the scapegoat and Azazel, who is the leader of the fallen angels and associated with Lucifer. He appears in the old testament as the angel of death and it is the scapegoat that is given

to the desert, whose blood fertilizes the land. In hebrew and arabic Azazel was known as the father of the djinn, which is another name for the fallen or Mighty Ones. He was also the leader of the Seirim (goat men or he-goats), which once again connects to the horned one and the black he-goat depicted in the artwork of the witches sabbat. Within the gospel of witches, the watchers are also referred to as the elder gods or the Fathers and mothers of the beginning. In the form described above, we find the aspect of death that makes up the lord of death and resurrection. Outside the temple of delphi are the much beloved words of know thyself, that have found their way into many mystery traditions, of which Wicca is one of them. How fitting then, that this temple is in honour of another aspect of Lucifer, the Greek Sun god Apollo. We can even find a direct link between the horned god and the light-bringer in the form of Apollo Karneios and through Levis image of Baphomet. The great Hermeticist, Giordano Bruno wrote It is not possible to see the Sun, the universal Apollo, pure light in its best and highest form. It is possible however to see his shadow, his Diana, the world, the universe, nature, which inside things which is the light within the opacity of matter, shining in the darkness. And so we must first have knowledge and conversation with Lucifer, which is found in the sphere of the Sun, Tiphereth, before we can find unity with godhead, which is love and found in the rites of agape and operations of the stars in the great rite. To do this, we can work with another avatar of the shining one, the Peacock Angel, Malek Taus. He is the balance and leader of the lords of light, who have set their stars upon the heavens, and who we also call archangels, the archetypes of the seven planets. By employing the royal art of alchemy and the peacocks tail we can break down the brilliant white light of the Sun into a prism of light, to understand every aspect of our being. Which leads us onto the thought, that everything we see is merely a shadow and one angle of what might be called truth in this earthly realm. So to open our mind to gnosis and communion with the Great Goddess, we must first empty our mind of the definite, which we are taught to hold so dear out of fear of the unknown. The philosopher Descartes, said If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. To do this we must de-programme our minds, from the constructs and masks that we are forced to adopt within the mundane world of the culture we are brought up in. The Witch, Paul Huson suggests that one should perform a ritual in which the lords prayer is recited backwards. This may seem a bit Hollywood for some and would only have full effect in old Christendom, but the process of this practice can trigger the mindset needed for our work. By purposely reversing the way in which we do things, we can start to unwind the ropes that entangle us within the web of delusion and because. Even something as simple as ritually completing a mundane task backwards can start the

process. With every decision we take, we should stop and think about all possibilities, rather than falling into the safe habits of what we know. The words, Protect me from evil and from good, found within the Gnostic Mass summarises this aspect well. We must have understanding and control over all three aspects of our soul; higher, lower and middle. Theses aspects are found within the triple horned god, by the horns (higher), hoofs (lower) and body (middle). Or within Cernunnos specifically by the torque (higher), serpent (lower) and body (middle). This is also explained within the Qabala by the three parts of the soul known as the Neshamah (higher), Rauch (middle) and Nephesh (lower). To combine all three we must overcome our lower natures and raise the serpents energy to our higher mind for greater purpose, which is another meaning behind the conjoined nature of man and beast found within the Horned One. But we must also be careful that our higher mind does not become a dominant power, subduing us from being capable of understanding our lower nature. The balance needed can be found within the mythos of Satan and the Archangel Michael, who is the ruler of the Sun. "...there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven." Book of Revelation 2:7-9 Within this iconic imagery, Satan who is the one opposed to our higher natures is defeated, but never destroyed. Instead it is a constant battle of combining the two souls (lion and serpent) with the third (man), to make the black heart, which is a concept that can be found within the strength card in the tarot. This also symbolises the fall of man and it is Michael, who causes it to happen. O lion and o serpent that destroy the destroyer "BE MIGHTY AMONG US" Within the craft degrees there is only so much that can be taught and learned from fellow initiates. The greater body of work, comes from exploration, by the means of gnosis. To discover these higher degrees our minds and souls must be free, but stand upon a strong foundation and symbolism. With these gnostic practices, we can hope to discover new streams of wisdom, so that we may bring them back to the green chapel and advance the current. But with the splendor of the practice of the individual, the question comes of how this can work within covens. We must somehow be both free and work as one, but confined by the structure of ritual and purpose. This is in itself a contradiction, partly explained by Satan and Michael. However, part of the answer to

this dilemma can found within the mysteries of the group or coven mind. Within traditional Wicca, the main form of gnosis is found within the drawing down of the Moon, where the Priestess invokes the goddess and speaks with her words to the coven from the voice of the divine. This is a powerful way in which new wisdom can be discovered, but also has another purpose, as by Invoking often, we draw closer to our higher selves. The soliloquy found with the Cochrane current is another way and while arguably not as potent for the individual, it is the the perfect practice of gnosticism within coven witchcraft. Usually after an act of altering consciousness, such as treading the mill, there is a pause in which coveners traverse the astral and speak from the inspiration of the spirits. Each in turn can build upon what has already been said, until all the strokes of the brush have been painted and the image revealed. The balance between freedom and structure is a difficult one. Tradition can be constricting as the student worries about getting it perfect and the teacher worries about the student doing so. This means that the rituals can be ruined because of worry and lack of being in the moment. All too often I have told my initiates, that if they do not fully know the words on the night, then it is better to speak from the heart. However, no amount of reassurance removes expectation fully from the mind. We can hope to try and avoid this by making rituals more fluid and open, rather than fully scripted. But this has a problem of its own, as by doing this we are at risk of losing out on the wisdom that is weaved within the mystery traditions. It also relies on everyone within the circle having a solid foundation within the art magical, which only comes from formal training, whether that be from another initiate or the Mighty Ones themselves. Those who work from the same page and constrict themselves to have a finely tuned coven mind, will find themselves with a tremendous amount of power and as a single entity they can achieve miraculous things. However, this type of coven is either doomed to implode, or its light will slowly fade until its members become slaves to those who are running the coven. With this way of doing things, the witch will perfect what is known, but the current will not be progressed. This is why gnostic practices are so important and why there must always be a certain level of freedom within ritual. Some readers may understand the importance of both structure and freedom in terms of the bones and the flesh of the arm and movement.

Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and the Moon, the god of light (Splendor), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from paradise.

Aradia, Gospel of witches The consort and sister of Lucifer is Diana, who is the Moon and the shadow from which Lucifer was born. She is the triple goddess, who represents all three stages of the craft and the operations of the art. The maiden, mother and crone can be overlayed on middle pillar of the tree of life (Yesod, Tiphereth, Kether), and it is her mighty bow, shaped like the crescent Moon, that launches us up towards the crown (Kether). She brings with her the hidden mysteries of the deep waters within the world of Yesod and the astral realm of the Moon. She is the circle of infinite possibilities, which we can only discover once we have found our own true will, which is liberated by her brother. This esoteric knowledge, locked away in the akashic records is what we yearn for on our quest, through our gnostic and astral disciplines. But our lady is also the High Priestess who sits by the veil and guards the pathway to higher worlds and so before anything else we must seek her out. This is why the 1st degree of the art magical is one attributed to the Goddess. She is the lock and Lucifer is the key, to opening up the gates to the midnight garden of the Witches Sabbat.

The title of this article, The Emerald Star refers to the jewel from Lucifers crown that fell from the heavens. There are many tales of what happened to it, including how it was forged into the holy grail or used for the emerald tablet. But the meaning given here transcends the idea of physical things, as some might say the examples just given do as well. It is the symbol of the quest for our own transmutation of enlightenment from lead into gold. Each point of the star represents the elements within us, which make up the word of the hebrew Jesus, YHShVH. Shin (Sh) being the spirit that uplights us, the fire and light of the eternal forge. By harnessing the power of the ineffable name, we can become the master magician and polish the jewel of the emerald star until the elements join in harmony. We do this every time we welcome the elemental lords (Mighty Ones) into our circle, by drawing the pentagrams. Each time the star shines a little brighter. The importance of the messiah (Aradia being one of them) and the mortal turned Mighty One are also incredibly important to Wicca, but needs an article in its own right. The inverted emerald star is also linked to the 2nd degree of Wicca, where the lord of death

and resurrection becomes very important. It is also the star attributed to the major conjunctions of venus in the sky, which is the the morning star and another name of lucifer, as he is the son of the dawn. It is also fitting then that the stone associated with venus is the emerald.

In this article I have attempted to begin demonstrating the wealth of symbolism and wisdom found within the current of Wicca. Although much more could be said about these two gods, we find ourselves needing to come to a close. But before we do, I wish to point out that the greater mysteries are not found by looking at the gods separately, but by them being conjoined in blessedness. This is where the circle of infinite possibilities and the cross of the balanced will come together to form the star. I hope this writing will inspire others to peel back the veils to discover yet more of Wicca, so that this magical witchcraft tradition can be revived and remembered. For it matters not what we make our foundation within the art magical, just as long as we have one, as we are all brothers and sisters of the witches blood. So let us together, push the boundaries of our own knowledge and hear the whispers on the winds of the universe. For there is no part of us, that is not of the gods. Copyright Damian West