’Motto of the Dragon Court and the Dragon descent of the Royal House of Vere.
Scythian - Gaelic 5th century A.D.
The rite of the vampire
To prepare for this ritual it took a subject six months to a year of consistent and methodical practice, undertaken daily, after dark. In the first few weeks of her retreat on the ’Isle of Women’ (Avallon) she would have been guided by an older companion, a druidess or shamanka. The entire procedure was then summarized and condensed by using a series of Hermetic signatures or gestures as auto suggestive prompts. The Rite was broken down into numbered steps. The maiden decided on the type of gesture or verbal command or both and then used these at the beginning of each step. After methodical practice these prompts automatically became associated with the steps by the subconscious which, on command, would initiate the dynamic associated with that particular verbal command or gesture or both.
The aim of the exercise was to encourage the female to increase the amount of melatonin in her bloodstream prior to or during menstruation. The exercise or its glyph commands were also repeated on the night of the rite itself in order to ensure the correct ionic polarity of the neurotransmitter being discharged either by the womb or the Graffenberg gland, which was stimulated manually to the point of orgasm and ejaculation.
A golden flute or pipe, inserted into the urethra prior to stimulation, was either held in the mouth to receive the discharged glandular fluid, or otherwise it was directed into a chalice. If blood was desired the Grail princess would position herself over the mouth of the reclining recipient and allow gravity to take its natural course, aided by oral stimulation and the resulting uterine contractions.
The preliminary exercise required attention and was only to be practiced at night. Likewise the fluids themselves were only collected at night because daylight to a large extent, prevents the manufacture of melatonin. To begin with the princess and her druidess chose a chamber without light and if the exercise were being practiced today, ideally the space chosen would be free of live electric cables or equipment, as electro-magnetic discharges affect the pineal gland, which is the command gland of the entire endocrinal system.
It was also vital that this exercise never be conducted in daylight, ever. To do so would have resulted in the over production of Seratonin which in certain respects can be very dangerous. Once the exercise had become part of the mental landscape attention to such detail became less important. Relaxation and silence were however, very important in order to avoid distraction. The experience was extremely pleasant when it was done correctly; but it took work.
Modus Operandi
The energy centers lying idle within the morphic field of the body take a lot of encouragement to come out of that dormant state, and this requires a great deal of perseverance. Once they are established as a component of the conscious mind they will work on the physical centers that they correspond to. This produces sensations which, as they are the result of increased glandular function cannot be confused with wishful thinking or autosuggestion.
Dragon Magic is the oldest magic in the world. Most other shamanic and ritual systems are corruptions of it. Being the earliest it is the simplest and most pure and arose at a time when religiosity and hocus pocus had yet to cripple man’s mind. In Dragon Magic all phenomena is related first and foremost to the observer of the phenomena and the observer’s perceptions thereto are determined by the condition of her or his hormonal balance.
Our entire understanding of and relationship with the universe is governed by our body chemistry and, understanding this, Old Dragons compiled a series of exercises to which, of late, a vast amount of mumbo jumbo has been attached, by people who probably thought that it couldn’t, or shouldn’t, be that simple. Magical ability is hereditary.
Undoubtedly a great many dubious individuals have set themselves up as authorities on Magic. Having tried it and having also failed miserably to achieve anything, they have deduced that the formulae were too simple and therefore there must be something lacking. It would not occur to them that it was they, and not the discipline, that was missing the vital components. In an attempt to make simple, straightforward, workable Magic work for them, over the centuries they and their underachieving successors have added to it layer upon layer of pointless, unnecessary junk.
Adenosine Triphosphate is the fuel that fires up the body cells. The electrical discharge of these cells, along with the axonal discharge of the nerve channels which are comprised of these cells themselves, creates a morphic energy field around and within the body. Its shape is maintained as a stable continuum by the DNA blueprint which determines the body’s form.
It was the naturally high strength of this field in the Fairy, emanating through pale, translucent skin and the quality of poise and transcendent, swanlike serenity that gave the Albe-gens; the Maidens of the Grail, the perceptible "glow" that earned them the Epithet "The Shining Ones". The Flame of Life burned brighter in them.
It is however possible to concentrate spheres of that energy in specific parts of the body at will. In this particular exercise the energy will be concentrated around specific glands within the endocrinal system. What happens then is that the cells of these glands will be fed more energy than is usual, causing them to work at an increased rate.
In Dragons it appears that a dormant facility for enabling energy to be manipulated in this way does exist in their genetic memories as opposed to the genetic memories of others. This means that they are more able than others to ignite these spheres of energy, which in Tantra are called wheels or Chakras and in Kabala are termed Sephira or Halos.
The exercise will prove initially fruitless to any newcomer because it seeks to make a warp in an energy field which has, in the average individual, to all intents and purposes remained seated in a genetic armchair for aeons: it will have stiff joints at first, and until perseverance has rendered it supple.
During the period devoted to practice, diet is important. Try to avoid anything that will encourage the production of free radicals and eat plenty of antioxidants like bananas, oranges, oats, tomatoes and so forth. The aim is to make the exercise as easy as possible and food that stresses the glands or works against them will have a deleterious effect on the health during this period. Eat plenty of Garlic. It is an excellent antiseptic and blood cleanser.
The Preparation
Having selected a quiet dark space that is warm, familiar and comfortable, ensure yourself a period of time free from all and any distraction whatsoever. The bedroom is ideal.
1) Loosen all clothing or disrobe, and lie flat on your back on the bed with your head cushioned at a low but comfortable angle. Place your arms by your side or upon the tops of your thighs with your elbows resting on the bed.
2) Starting with your feet, stretch your toes and tense the muscles in the ankles and then relax. Make a mental note of the sensation of tension and relaxation and repeat the tensing and relaxing exercises for the calves, thighs, torso, neck, face and arms. Repeat this routine until your are familiar with the feeling of being relaxed and then concentrate your attention on all the muscles of the body to ensure they are loose and unknotted. Once you are certain that you are completely relaxed make the gesture or think the command word which you wish to be associated with this relaxed state.
3) In a completely relaxed state, exhale completely but comfortably and breathe in again, counting the seconds in your mind, until you are near capacity but not straining or in discomfort. Breathe from the abdominal area not the chest. Take the air in through the nose. Make a note of how many seconds it took to breathe in, then hold the breathe for two seconds and breathe out through the mouth gently and slowly, taking the same amount of time to empty the lungs as it took to nearly fill them. Once they are discharged, hold for two seconds and then breathe in again. repeat this routine throughout the entire duration of the exercise. Attuning the breathing to the frequency of the heartbeat helps a great deal. After a while you no longer have to count but simply breathe evenly in sync with the heart. Continue to monitor your state of relaxation and adjust accordingly. After about ten minutes of relaxation and regular breathing you will feel the affects of the oxygen in the blood acting on the relaxed muscles of the body. You will begin to feel a pleasant buzzing in the head and a sense of weightlessness as if you are floating in mid air. when this happens make the gesture or think the command word you wish to be associated with this stage. If you get itches scratch them and start again. Always happens but as the exercise becomes more familiar, they subside.
At this stage a rhythmic pattern of breathing has been established which enables the mind to relax and attune itself to the brain’s cycles. what is being attempted in the first few months is to establish a psychosomatic relationship between mind and body which is conducive to enabling the mind to exercise control over bodily systems which usually remain unconscious. By repeating the rhythmic patterns faithfully the brain begins to associate the exercise with relaxation and calm which it will later habitually associate with the command prompts. When this happens each command prompt will trigger the correct bodily response.
Having established the relaxation and breathing exercises successfully it is now time to begin the visualization process of the exercise. The aim of visualization is to assert control of the mind over the body. An example of this is that if you visualize in your mind the image of you eating a lemon, you will automatically begin to salivate. This is mind over matter. This process is involved in concentrating energy into the gland centers associated with the dormant Sephira in order to awaken them.
In the Rite of the Vampire there are five spheres which are utilized, corresponding to the brain and brain stem including the ventricles, the pineal gland, the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus, the thyroid and parathyroid glands in the throat and the Graffenberg gland and or womb. Starting from the top they are the:
Sphere Name
|
Location
|
Sphere Colour
|
Sphere Resonant
|
Kether
|
Brain
|
White Gold
|
Ti Ah Maat
|
Daath
|
Thyroid
|
Mauve
|
Ah Nah Ouh
|
Tiphareth
|
Thymus
|
Red
|
Nin Kur Saag
|
Yesod
|
Womb
|
Blue
|
Lih Lih Tou
|
Milathara
|
Graffenberg
|
Green Silver
|
Luh Luh Ahh
|
4) As you lie with your eyes closed in a state of perfect relaxation begin to visualize the first sphere in the column - Kether. About five inches in diameter this ball of white light should be envisaged as occupying the space within the cranium. Imagine looking at the sun on a misty spring morning and this will give you the exact image. Whilst visualizing Kether imagine that from its centre there is rolling a beautiful deep sonorous vibration similar to the haunting, unbelievably deep chanting of Tibetan Monks. As you are imaging the sphere glistening and glowing, and the three syllable chant from the centre : TIR ARRH MAAT corresponds to the rhythm of your breathing out, you will begin to see in your eyes a white light and you will feel you head humming in a way different from that caused by the breathing exercise. When this sphere has established itself imagine that from its centre a cylindrical Channel of white light has emerged and travelled down to your throat. Doing this will direct the pineal and pituitary secretions to the thyroids.
5) Maintaining the Kether sphere and the rod of light, now imagine a glistening ball of the same size in Mauve around the throat and lower skull. In the same manner as before, from its centre allow it to intone in your mind the chant AHH NAA OUU as one continuous sound. At this point, once it has become established, things get really interesting.
The thyroid gland starts to produce an excess of thyroxine 4 which the melatonin from the pineal converts into thyroxine 3 - Rocket Fuel. Within a matter of seconds this has entered the bloodstream and united with every cell in the body. The feedback loop to the brain energizes all the glands again and they in turn increase their output of hormones which increases the output and conversion of thyroxine 4 causing a snowball effect.
At this point you will have forgotten to breathe, visualize or chant. The thyroxine 3 has just united with the mitochondria to produce adenosine triphosphate which is now causing every cell in the body to behave like a nuclear reactor. The weirdest sensation of all is caused by the the boost of energy to the morphic field around the body.
It begins to expand and appears to have just developed nerve endings on its outer perimeter which now feels like an egg shaped aura encapsulating the entire body.
Whilst this is happening you feel bloated with energy like a balloon full of warm glowing water and most surprising of all is that you can actually see the cells glowing in your head. The discovery of an extra component to the human anatomy that you didn’t previously know of or believe in is a bit of a shock. Try not to forget the object of the exercise because it gets even better, especially for women. At this point remember to incorporate the command glyph or word.
6) After the initial surprise has worn off and the phenomena has stabilized itself resume the breathing pattern and check for muscular relaxation. Having restored the breathing pattern imagine that the ’channel of light’ has extended down from the mauve Daath sphere around the throat and come to rest behind the sternum bone of the rib cage. Here you should visualize a red -gold sphere the same size as the former two, scintillating and pulsing. from its midst listen to its chant emanate. NING GURR SAARG. In all cases you should hear the chants, not in your head, but coming from the spheres. Direct the sound out as coming from there. The thymus stores the T-cells which help fight infection and aid in the prevention of cellular damage. When the sphere has become stable and you can feel its warmth you will see in your mind that it is glowing without your willful act of imagination. At this point think the command word or gesture associated with this stage.
7) Having accomplished this, imagine that the channel of white light is breaking from the Tifaret sphere and reaching down to the womb. Now visualize the womb being surrounded by a sphere of warm aquamarine light dappled like the moon reflected in water. The color is vivid and opalescent. From the centre of the Sphere and the womb intone the chant LEER LEER TOO. As with all the spheres, remember that the chant begins at the peak point of the intake of breath and continues until exhalation is complete. It does not however break off abruptly at that point but continues to resonate until you breathe in again. Make the chants flow. Surprise number two. After a while the womb will begin to react and the genital area will become sensate. As the visualization and the chant continue and the sphere becomes stabilized the feelings in the sex organs become more intense. Often this can result in spontaneous orgasm.
In the Rite, which is subdivided into two distinct sub routines, the firing up of the Womb sphere causes various hormones to be deposited there in increased amounts, depending upon the what stage within the menstrual cycle the exercise is performed at. During the applicable point in menstrual discharge the blood will contain ATP and thyroxine 3 which are collected for use as rejuvenants. In the second sub routine, which is conducted mid cycle, the content of the Graffenberg gland is harvested. This is thought to contain melatonin, vassopresin, dopamine, prolactin, retinol and oxytocin. The last two neurotransmitters will also be found in the menstrual blood. These are also present as a reaction to the Rite of the Vampire itself which, as one of the highest rites of Courtly Love, should be undertaken as an act of hierogamy or the union of the souls of the divine lovers. If this occurs then the brain of both the maiden and the vampire will manufacture prolactin and oxytocin which will result in that feeling of intense bonding between the two so often recorded in vampire lore. If it does not, the ritual is not being undertaken in the right spirit.
The two sub routines within the Rite of the Vampire are entitled:
At the point where orgasm has subsided if it does occur, remember to think the command or gesture. Rest and regain breathing and relaxation and return your attention to Kether.
8) At Kether, fire the sphere up again and resume the chant. Imagine in your mind’s eye the layout of the brain and brain stem. From Kether visualize the channel of light extending from the back of the brain, down through the spinal column to its base around the pelvis. From the pelvis direct the light to the bladder and urethra. When the channel is established to the urethra imagine that just behind the clitoris under the pubic bone following the duct of the urethra from the opening between the labia minora, there is a swelling. To help you locate this before commencing the exercise, it is best to feel just inside the vagina and up against the pubic bone. Located at that point of the urethra is the Graffenberg gland and at this point you should visualize it swelling and being engulfed in a light of Lunar Silver.
When this visualization is established feel the vibration of the chant LO LO OUAH. This Sephira is a subdivision of Yesod. In western Kabala Yesod covers the entire sexual region which for the Rite of the Vampire is too imprecise. By subdividing Yesod into two, Yesod and Milathara, concentration can be directed more effectively. Milathara is an Aryan variation found in Tantra. LO LO OUAH is the second part of the Yesod chant directed to the G region instead of being used for Yesod as a whole. At the point where the sphere of Milathara is established and is being experienced rather than willed, the G-gland will begin to become sensate and tingling. After a while it may also orgasm and discharge a clear fluid. The sensations accompanying this are utterly different from any other type of orgasm. In effect it is the female form of ejaculation. The possibility of this occurring whilst practicing the exercises in preparation for the Rite depend of the visualization capabilities of the subject. During the Rite the ejaculation is assisted manually anyway. If it does occur allow the sensation to subside and think the command or gesture. Now reassess the state of the Sephira and channels and enhance their respective intensities accordingly. Once they are all working at optimum level again initiate the following process.
La Fontaine de Vie
The Red Egg
9) At this point the sensation of being egg-shaped will still be felt. The Fountain exercise is accomplished to ensure an evening out of the energies throughout the morphic field, which is then charged to sustain a field of negative ionization. This field will then alter the polarity of the hormonal electrostatic charge which increases the hormonal impact and its affects on synaptic uptake following ingestion. Starting at the Kether sphere visualize a fountain of brilliant, sparkling blue-gold water flowing from the top of the sphere down either side of the body to the outer perimeter of the morphic field and down to the lowest point of the field just beyond the feet. When it has reached the base of the egg, visualize its flow returning up the body, this time under the back and over the breast until the flow reaches and re-enters Kether. Repeat this exercise until a continuous outward and return flow has been established.
The Hormones are now charged. After about five minutes turn the Water into warm, glowing Blood. Red is the color of energy discharging. The object during the actual Rite itself being to expel the energy and donate the essence, the color red tends to push matter away from the source of its nascence. This in conjunction with the blood as a mystical symbol in itself is the origin of the Icon of the Scarlet Woman and the Whore of Babylon. The Virgin Mother of Christ and the Maiden Magdalene.
In the Nine stages of the Nahash, the serpent of wisdom, the exercise is complete. In the Sacred Grove, The Maiden is now the Tree of Life * and the Tree of Knowledge* and the serpent is entwined in her branches. The Sephirah are the Apples of Avalon glowing under the leaves of her flesh. Her slender boughs are the myriad of vessels, arteries and nerve fibers through which flows the sweet sap of Holy Blood and the Waters of Life. In her topmost branches rests the white Dove of Peace, whilst at her feet the waters of the pool of eternal wisdom ripple with the eddying breath of her sacred scents.
Into the clearing, wandering in the Quest of life giving waters, appears the Stag of Nine Tines, The Great Lord of the Forest.
* Lilith’s Stag Lord was Samael, the Dragon King. The Pictish variant of this is the Boar in the Orchard. The Blue Boar in the orchard consumes the apples of Avalon.
The Green Stag
For the vampire princess or prince the exercise is exactly the same in all points except that in the case of the male, he omits the Malathara sphere and the channel from the brain stem. In Magic the use of color and vibration corresponds with known scientific fact concerning the qualities relating to the frequencies of light energy levels. For each color there is its opposite and in the case of red, its optical correspondent is green. This can be ascertained by staring at a red colored spot for about a minute. If one then looks at a white sheet of paper, the persistence of vision will make it seem as if a green spot has appeared on the sheet. The color green is the true color of the vampire for this very reason. Whilst red is a positive, emitting color, green is a negative absorbing color which draws life into it. In consequence the Dragon princess or prince who is to act as supplicant to the Maiden should infuse their ’morphic field’ with green.
We have numerous examples of the Ancient Rites of the Elves and these were in many cases the Rites of the Vampire, both being of one and the same identity. The color most associated with the Elves of the ancient forests was green. Similarly the color of the Stag of Nine Tines that drank from the Holy Grail was green, and that stag was the emblem of the Pictish Calle Daouine king and queen, the Oberon and Titania of Shakespeare. In medieval art, both the Stag and the Dragon were often depicted as being led on a golden chain by the Maiden. Thereby we are given to understand that the relationship between the vampire and the virgin is one of female choice and male devotion.
It was only later with the advent of Catharism and the rise of the Dragon Court and its most famous prince, Dracula, that the color black became associated with the archetypal vampire. This arose because of the color of the Cathar robe and the Dragon Court tradition of wearing Black on Fridays to honor the Cubic Stone and Venus.
Notwithstanding, the standard colors for the Dragon Court at other times were Hunter’s green and blood red. Otherwise green was always associated with the Fairies and the Fairies were always associated with vampirism by the human population, who were encouraged to live in terror of their otherworldly cousins, and exhorted never to wear the Elven Green, which was evil and unlucky.
The Time of The Season
Specific times during the cycle of ovulation were chosen to drink the Blood of Life and the Waters of Wisdom. As the constitution of every Dragon princess was different, the nights of the Rite varied for each one. Essentially two nights per lunar month were set aside for the alternate drinking of blood or water. The ideal time could be ascertained by counting a certain number of days from the discharge of the ova to mid cycle. The calculation could not be written in stone as the human circadian cycle works to a rhythm that has a "day" of twenty five hours. A time discrepancy occurs which adjusts itself regularly but this causes fluctuations in the secretion of hormones. The body’s day, beginning at 0001hrs, finishes not at 2359hrs as the chronological day does, but at 0100hrs, a day later. As a result of this and other factors, female menstruation occurs within a plus or minus window which had to be anticipated.
The Temple of the Goddess (See Notes: Wild Hunt)
The Rite of the Vampire was often conducted in a Forest or Sacred Garden. In Anjou Melusine is said to have conducted the Rite in a maze garden in the midst of which stood her sacred fountain. The garden was situated in the forest of Verrieres-en-Forez which was an underwood populated by blackthorns and briars. The maze, conforming to classical Scythian design, would have been shaped like a spiral swastika. In the centre stood a black marble cube. From beneath the plinth there flowed the gentle rippling stream, symbolic of the flow of the fountain from Melusine’s own sacred being. The ’Cubic Stone’ and the ’Fountain’ symbolized the Graffenberg gland, the ’Jewel in the Crown’ of Lucifer, whilst the maze represented the ’Spiral Dance of the Vortex’. The direction one entered it signified whether one was to give or to receive (see notes: Swastika). On another level the maze represented the ’Quest for the Holy Grail’, the end of being and thus the ’Still Centre of the Universe’, in which is to be found the truth of all truth. The spiral dance was a significant ritual feature of witchcraft, whose practitioners provided the backbone of support for the ancient elven families.
The Forez or thicket of blackthorn symbolized the forest of the mons veneris. A similar forest of thorns is to be found in the story of ’Sleeping Beauty’. The blackthorn tree, the ’Tree of Elphame’, was thought to be ruled by Saturn, who was the angelic spirit of the sephiroth of Binah, whose sacred flower was the lily of the valley. Binah represented ’Understanding’. Under-Standing is the act of giving way or yielding. It is passive perception. The act of yielding or bending to a greater intelligence was represented by the willow or wicker from whence originated the word wicca or witch.
Binah was called the ’Primordial Deep’ which, also represented by Tiamat the great Dragon queen, was replicated in a multitude of sacred lakes and wells in Scythian myth which were said to be the gateways to the Otherworld. To drink from the waters of the sacred lakes, fountains or wells was to enter the Otherworld, Elphame, the source of Death and Rebirth. The symbolism of the Melusine’s sacred garden is an extension of the otherworldly sacredness of her own nature. An intimation of the magical qualities of her feminine sex and a hint of the promise of transcendence for all those who imbibe of her essences and the essences of those of her fairy maiden kin and posterity.
Binah’s sacred animal was the bee. This creature was used by the Merovingians as a totem dynastic badge which, in relation to the other glyphs associated with this sephiroth, recount the entire arcane wisdom of the Holy Grail and the Rite of the Vampire. Associated closely with Binah was the cypress. Used as an incense at both weddings and funerals this tree symbolized Constancy or Transcendence (Death) through Divine Union (Marriage). The message is straightforward. The Bee (Vampire) sucks the Nectar of the Lily (Grail Maiden), which act is an act of Union, resulting in Death, the Transcendence of Consciousness.
Transcendence of Consciousness
The Temple of the Goddess is the Maiden’s vulva which, symbolically reproduced on a greater scale becomes variously and euphemistically:
The Isle of Avalon
The Sacred Grove
The Garden of Love
The Rose Garden
The Hind in the Thicket
The Maze in the Forest
La Fontaine de Soif dans
La Jardin Sauvage
The end and beginning of all delights and all sorrows, this scented enclosure provides the stage within which is enacted the greatest of all mysteries: The Rite of the Vampire.
La Fontaine du Soif
Intermingled, the warm, caressing Summer Evening scent of white Iris and Briar, buffits against the heavier, closer perfume of Apple and Myrrh, of Nutmeg and Pomegranate.
Beneath Moonlight and Starshine, her hands tracing delicate arabesques, she sings softly in a tongue long forgotten, a haunting, breathless melody that embraces the night, harmonizing with the sparkling plainsong of the soft cascading water, spilling from beneath the dark, unyielding plinth upon which she reclines.
The Shining One, His sister His bride; this Lord of yesterday holds close within his hear4 as she gazes deep into the stalk abyss above the western sky. With childlike eyes as old as the Ancient of Days, she surveys with her infinite soul her sister, that eternal timeless realm, heedless of her lover’s impanent foo falls upon the Chamomde swathe, amidst which her sacred monument stands rooted upon the earth.
Yielding the translucent flesh of her slender, glowing limbs to the hungry embrace of this ice black, unforgiving tomb; in her preoccupation her stillness now feigns death’s charade, causing the yearning approach of her lover to bridle, as he stands and meditates with wonder this moon bathed mystery, wherein soft pale skin and shimmering cubic stone entwined, become sculpted as one, in the eloquence of their radiant glory.
Countenancing such, what heart has he now that isn’t bound about by Golden Chains and enslaved by the look of her? what has she left within him in that fleeting moment but a lonely chasm as cold as the bed upon which she lays and as hollow as the abyss upon which her innocent Contemplation rests. His emptiness is filled with tears that can never quench his thirst for her
In some middle distant glade, within the dark encroaching forest, a Turtle Dove breaks in upon his sweet agony with a spectral strain for some far off burnished love, echoing the pleas of his sundered eldritch soul. No murmured answer is rejoined, but the softly responding cadence of this lord’s beloved bride, enshrined beneath the boundless canopy of heaven.
The dying refrain of her tender imprecation quickens his desire, as the incantation in its ceasing, summons him to his obeisance, to his heart’s brief ease - and oblivion. To the Turtle the Phoenix replied:
"For my love, thy constancy; for thy wine, my eternal soul".
Then raised she opens to him with Myrrh moistened fingers, and with one, heavy scented, dew dripped kiss, he drinks deep from the fountain of thirst and empties her cup of sorrows. With Myrrh moistened fingers she opens to him the door of a realm he now sees with her eyes. And trading longing for longing, in her tender arms he yields to her his promised soul, and dies.
Appendix. Attitudes to women in the Medieval period and the notion of Courtly Love
From; Jules Michelet ’Satanism and Witchcraft’ (Tandem 1969).
"Sprenger said before 1500: We should speak of The heresy of the Sorceresses, not of the Sorcerers; the lanner are of small account. So another writer under Louis XIII: For one Sorcerer, ten thousand Sorceresses".
"Nature makes them Sorceresses - the genius peculiar to woman and her temperament. She is born a creature of Enchantment. In virtue of regularly recurring periods of exaltation, she is a Sybil; in virtue of love, a Magician 99."
(My note: Sybil was a Roman prophetess. Michelet’s comment refers to the lunar cycle and the special feminine powers of magic and seership which, as has been universally witnessed, appeared to be most prominent at the time of menstruation. At this time, oestrogen production lessens and therefore the ascendence of melatonin and related hormones causes an increase in the intuitive faculty)
Michelet goes on to say:
"By the fineness of her intuitions, the cumfirig Or her wiles - often fantastic, often beneficent - she is a Witch, and casts spells, at least and lowest lulls pain to sleep and softens the blow of calamity."
Fairies, ’Satanism and Witchcraft’ Page 32.
Michelet asks;
"What were the Fairies? What we are told is that in the old days, queens of the Gauls, proud and fantastic princesses, at the coming of Christ and His apostles, were wickedly impertinent and turned their backs, In Brittany they were dancing at the time and never stopped. Hence their cruel sentence; they are doomed to live on till the Day of Judgment".
From Fernando Henriques ’Love in Action, The Sociology of Sex’ (Panther-586-01683-X- 2).
Go Back
|
