Hunting by Starlight

The Church in South Africa celebrated the solemnity of the Epiphany on Sunday.  The traditional date is, of course, the 6^th of January, but local Bishops Conferences can decide that the festival is celebrated on the Sunday that falls between 2 and 8 January.  Such is the case here.

The Epiphany commemorates primarily the visitation of the Magi, as well as the baptism of Christ in the Jordan and the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana.  All three events are regarded as manifestations of the divinity of Christ.  The latter events are mentioned in the Liturgy of the Hours, while the Mass of the day is focused on the visit of the Magi.

The Three Wise Men - artist unknown

The Three Wise Men have always been one of my favourite parts of the Christmas story.  I’ve loved those mysterious figures for as long as I can remember (and having been raised in a Christian family, that has been pretty much all my life long).  The more I’ve learned and prayed, the more I love the feast.

Going back about twenty-six years, I can remember our pre-school class having to perform a Nativity play for our parents.  I was indignant (as indignant as a four-year-old can be, at any rate) at having been chosen to be one of the shepherds.  I did not want to be a shepherd!  I wanted to be a Wise Man!  I suspect the desire has never left me – perhaps my entire quest in this life is still to be ranked among the Magi!

For a long time, I believed every detail of the story to be literally true.  Now, it doesn’t have to be literally true (in my mind, anyway) to still be wonderful and to contain Truth that is even more wonderful than historical fact.  Oh, I’d love for it to have really happened.  Maybe it did happen – the truth is often stranger than fiction, and how often hasn’t the impossible proved to be possible?

Having heard the Gospel portion being read again, I was struck by the verse that says that the sight of the star filled the Magi with delight, and entering the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they did him homage (cf Matthew 2:10-11).  It was the “filled with delight” that struck me.  How wonderful!  

The Star of Bethlehem - Edward Burne Jones

I could be very wicked and say dat dey were filled wit de light of de star, but that’s not what I’m going for.  ‘Delight’ isn’t a word we use often in its truest sense.  I had a vivid mental image of these three men in their traditional depiction, eyes twinkling, faces wrinkled up into the broadest smiles, giving way to joyous awe.  To me, that’s the spirit of Christmas right there.  Nevermind what the supermarkets and bland greeting cards tell you.

Twelfth Night is the eve of the feast of the Epiphany.  I suspect that the term’s most familiar to people because of the eponymous Shakespearean comedy, but it is much older than the Bard.  He wrote it as entertainment for the festival which marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas (and, no, it doesn’t have very much to do with partridges in pear trees or five gold rings).

In Craft terms, Twelfth Night commemorates the Wild Hunt.  A legend that has persisted across Northern and Western Europe, it has seen varied forms. 

Wild Hunt - artist unknown

Shani Oates describes it wonderfully in her book Tubelo’s Green Fire, writing that “it evolved from possible vision questing of Paleolithic hunters, progressing through myths of the ‘Faerie Rade’ and its commemorative ancestral trains, merging culturally with Nordic gatherings of slain warriors led by the powerful Odin and Frau Gaude.  Northern traditions of spirit flight enriched the blend before the scaremongering of the superstitious Middle Ages demonized the process.  Ghosts and shades of evil-doers became the next form of the Wild Hunt, rampaging and terrorizing the countryside…  The once shining cavalcade of airy spirits in both ‘Celtic’ and Teutonic lore bear the torch of illumination – the light in the dark and wisdom of ages.” (cf The Wild Hunt, Tubelo’s Green Fire by Shani Oates. Mandrake Press)

Wodan's wilde Jagd - F. W. Heine

My celebration of the Epiphany now is also a celebration of the Wild Hunt.  I see camels and dromedaries among the fiery three-legged horses and hounds!  The journey is one toward the manifestation of Divinity; an encounter with the Light of Gnosis that will fill us with delight.

While the Magi followed the star, they did not seek the star itself.  They sought a much greater light.  After doing him homage, they offered the child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Gifts which an ancient hymn tells us are endowed with mystic meaning: “incense doth the God disclose, gold the King of Kings proclaimeth, myrrh a future tomb foreshows.”

There also sprang up the custom of blessing chalk on the Epiphany and using the traditional names of the Magi in the blessing of houses.  In Christian folklore, the Magi are named Caspar, Melchior and Balthazzar.  After the chalk had been blessed, the initials of the Wise Men were inscribed on the doors of houses as C+M+B, understood to mean Christus Mansionem Benedicat – May Christ bless this house. 

The Church sees in the visit of the Wise Men all the nations of the earth streaming toward the Lord made manifest in the flesh.  The theme of light is carried beautifully through the liturgy of the day.

These themes are not so far removed from the Wild Hunt.  Here we may see the psychopomp leading souls to their place of rest.  We may see those spirits who bestow boons and blessings upon the living.  We may see ourselves in the Magi who hunted for the infant ‘King of the Jews’ as we ourselves ‘pursue God’.  We may see in the Magi and their star those who bear the torch of illumination, guiding us ever deeper into the Light of Gnosis.

The Gifts of the Magi

Bringing Out Treasures Both Old and New

After four years of hardly ever darkening the door of a church, I knew that I had to attend the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 2010.

 I found a church close to where I live, made a telephone call to find out what time the night’s proceedings began, and went to Mass.

The night was wonderful, despite being caught in a storm on my way home.  The carol service before Mass delighted me.  I think there is something very special about those songs.  Those old words and melodies have the power to transport me back to my childhood and, more than that, they carry in them a Presence that is peace and joy.

The Mass itself was beautiful.  A well-trained choir meant that there was the inclusion of some Latin chant, including the Missa de Angelis Gloria.  Complimenting the choir was a band of guitars and keyboards.  The liturgy was celebrated with dignity and solemnity and a very human touch. 

Beyond the pomp and ceremony of the Roman rite, however, was that familiar Presence at once both so simple and containing the very depths of God in all mystery. 

 

On walking into the church and seeing the tabernacle with its red lamp burning, I felt as though I had walked into the presence of a very dear friend who had been waiting patiently for my arrival.

I was touched, to the very core of my being.  I knew that my journey had once again taken an unexpected turn.  A light had dawned within, and I heard a voice say, “This is the way, walk ye in it.”

Christmas Eve 2010 effectively saw my “return” to a church that I had all but given up on. 

My “return” to the Catholic church has puzzled and confounded a number of my Pagan friends.  I’ve been accused of being a “christo-fascist” and a traitor to the Old Gods.  I’ve not been very good at explaining myself to these people, because it’s not very easy to put the continuing spiritual argosy of a lifetime into a brief conversation.  Attempts to provide items for reflection have usually fallen on deaf ears – either because people are unwilling to seek understanding and wisdom because of their own personal demons or their own pride. 

As my Traditional Crafting deepens, it illuminates so much of my “Catholicism”.  So much of the past has taken on new meaning, new life, and is relevant to my journey today.  Also, my Catholic background has given me a foundation that has possibly made it easier for me to relate to various aspects of Trad Craft that some might have difficulty with.  A case of “bringing out of my treasure what is new and what is old” (Matthew 13:52)?

The Good Shepherd

Of course, in the eyes of the church, I would be deemed a heretic.  Right-thinking Catholics, if they knew of my dual-faith, would probably have very little to do with me.  This doesn’t bother me in the least.  I’m not here to please people.  I’m here to seek the Grail.

I see it as no accident that I chose Mary Magdalen as my patron saint when I was confirmed during my reception into the church just over a decade ago.  At the time, I had various reasons for choosing her.  Some of those were based upon her popular myth, others were based on the Gospel accounts.  Another reason was the link of her name to that of a beloved relative of mine who had died several years before my reception into the church.  This person taught me the ‘Hail Mary’ and the Apostle’s Creed.

A few people giggled when our parish priest anointed me with the sacred chrism saying, “Mary Magdalen, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Knowing what I know now, I can’t but help giggle myself, but for different reasons. 

For some Gnostic Christians, the Magdalen is the Bride of Christ – and she is also the Holy Spirit/Sophia, from whom Christ received His anointing!

There came a point in my life as a Catholic where the Virgin Mary became a central figure, and I was clothed in the brown scapular.  A few years later, I had effectively “left the church”. 

Hail, Queen! Mother of Mercy

 

It was last year, when going through a dark night of the soul, that a friend of mine passed on words she had received for me through divination.  Those words led me to reflection and prayer, and it was quite unexpectedly that I had a flash of Vision and the Morning Star finally appeared.  I was granted the knowledge that my entire journey is in Her hands – She who is Mother and Bride of the Shining One who brings the light of the dawn, who is the light of the dawn.

I have recognized the Goddess and the Old Gods hidden within the church, and have come to an ever-deepening dual-faith.  I’d like to think that I’m experiencing the truth of that Unity from which all mystical paths spring.

Spiritual reasons aside, I’m also happy to be a part of the church for cultural reasons.  Living in South Africa has meant a certain distance from my cultural and ethnic roots.  Here, the native people still uphold and appreciate much of their traditional culture.  I’ve always been conscious of my ancestry, but in terms of knowledge, not practice.  I realised that so much of European culture became entwined with that of the Catholic church, and rediscovering elements of “Catholic culture” is enabling me to rediscover and practice the culture of my bloodlines.  I’ve found that my own sense of identity has been strengthened, and I’m able to celebrate my own culture in a land where cultural identity means so much to so many people.

"Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." - Matthew 13:52