Lessons in Witchcraft: Part I
Foundational Concepts; Breaking Down the Witches Pyramid
Around 8 years ago, as a freshman in college, I was interested in Witchcraft, but was tentative about going into it as I had grown up in a very religious home.
Being taught the concepts of Christianity since I had been a small child had the effect of indoctrination. I found it difficult to go against beliefs that have been thrust upon my world view from a young age.
I dipped my toes into witchcraft while stranded on the side of a highway with a broken-down car. I read a book by Lys de Angeles called Witchcraft: Theory and Practice.
It was not the all encompassing entryway into witchcraft one would think of, but it was my first step forward upon the crooked path.
This was also my first foray into occult information in general, and the first time I happened upon the concept of the Witches’ Pyramid.
The Witches Pyramid
The Witches Pyramid was first created by Levi Eliphas in one of his books titled Transcendental Magic.
It did not get popularized into mainstream occult and witchcraft practices until the Golden Dawn picked it up, and other influential practitioners of the 20th century.
Now many magicians and witches hold The Witches Pyramid in high regard, as the foundational pillars of witchcraft.
It’s both a learning tool for the beginner witch, and a philosophy to abide by while performing magick.
The cardinal directions and the elements makes up the foundation of the Witches Pyramid. They reflect primary concepts in the Craft in 4, and sometimes 5, short but memorable phrases: To Know (Air,East), To Dare (Water, West), To Will (Fire, South), To Keep Silent (Earth, North), and To Go (Spirit).
It is easy to see that they form the basis of the witches pentacle, the symbol of the elements.
The Witches Pyramid helps in understanding what a witch is, the basic principles we abide by, and the cardinal directions and the corresponding elements.
Which are essential when performing ritual.
Let’s go through each element and cornerstone of the pyramid. I will go through each element as it pertains to my understanding. It may include concepts that are not accepted by other witches, yet will align with the basic premise of each pillar.
To Know:
To Know embodies the element of air and corresponds to the east. It represents the mind and how its used within witchcraft. This includes learning, visualization skills, and expanding one’s consciousness to strengthen psychic ability.
“Visualization is the main ingredient of magic, inner peace: power.”
― Jessica Marie Baumgartner, Walk Your Path: A Magical Awakening
Practicing witchcraft means to be a lifelong learner, seeker of knowledge, and a pilgrim in search of the mysteries.
It is to know and understand that each of us has something to contribute, and we will never know all there is to learn within our lifetimes.
It is a continuous pursuit of knowledge, but this basic fact shouldn’t be disheartening. Rather, it should be something to treasure because it means that we can go out with curiosity and learn something novel within magick every day.
I also like to think that it corresponds to psychic abilities as well. Modern practitioners connect psychic ability with the element of water, but in this context, I connect it with the mind.
To be a witch, it is important to develop our psychic abilities and expand our awareness past its mundane functions. Psychic ability goes hand in hand with practicing magick, and serves to strengthen spell work and manifestation.
To Dare:
To Dare corresponds to the west and the element of water. As the element of water, I connect it with emotions and feeling, with the depths of the unconscious, and with initiation.
To Dare is to be yourself in a world that would tell you to be otherwise. This takes bravery and courage, which arises from the need to fulfill your dreams.
A necessity in the practice of magick. This relates to the practice of shamanism, a primal precursor to magick as we know it today.
It also means to dare to take risks and get your hands dirty. Witchcraft is as much about experimentation as it is about learning and practicing.
Like any other art form or science, to experiment is to make strides in a particular field, and witchcraft is no exception.
Practitioners say that to dare to take the crooked path is to move toward things that most people are afraid of, the things that are unspoken or hidden, the occult.
To Will
To Will represents the cardinal direction of the South, and the element of fire. It handles manifestation and energy, the initial spark needed to cast our intentions.
“Magic isn’t the empty parroting of words and actions; it is an involved, emotionally charged experience in which the words and actions are used as focal points or keys to unlock the power that we all possess.”
― Scott Cunningham, Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic
Fire is bright, powerful, life giving and destructive. This represents all the things that magick and witchcraft are capable of, as well as the natural forces that underpin all creation. It isn’t something to be trifled with or regarded frivolously.
It is the light of enlightenment, a torch in the dark upon the crooked path.
During ritual, it is common practice to build energy, to feel it and let it flow through you as electricity flows through a conduit. You can have the most powerful spells in the world, but without the spark of one’s own will, nothing will happen.
In more mundane concepts, To Will is to express one’s own willpower in everyday life, as well as live by one’s True Will. This is spoken about in the philosophy and practice Thelema created by english occultist Aleister Crowley.
To Keep Silent:
The last pillar is a representation of the cardinal direction of the north and the element of earth.
This is a concept that I remember the most, in part due to my own superstitious nature.
To Keep Silent is to not discuss what you are working on magically. It’s understood by modern practitioners that intentions by others can interact or interfere with the magick you are working.
So it’s best to keep what you’re working on private. Also, it adds a bit of mystery to your craft.
In ages past, to keep your craft hidden was a means of survival by those who do not have an open mind. In the Witch Hunts in both the U.S. colonies, and in Europe, the Church and other authorities hunted down those suspected of practicing witchcraft.
This may be controversial, but I believe to keep silent also pertains to gatekeeping. Many people are against the gatekeeping of occult secrets in the modern era, but it is necessary sometimes.
To work magick is no minor thing, and it is something that has the potential to be a weapon, or as a means of working malicious intentions toward others.
It is a word of caution that some must show an earnest, and honest interest in the occult for a higher purpose rather than to enact petty revenge. It is knowledge and secrets of the mysteries passed down to those worthy of knowing them.
To Go:
This is a recent addition by Aleister Crowley in his personal gnosis of the witch’s pyramid. It corresponds to the element of spirit and reflects the crown jewel, so to speak, of the pyramid itself. We can also see it in the pentacle as the topmost point.
To go means to incorporate spirit, as well as all the other elements, into one’s own lifestyle, to live as a witch.
It’s going on the Fool’s Journey through the Kabbalistic Tree to connect with higher realms of existence, to reach God and back again. It is to walk the Crooked Path of both the left and right hands to reach enlightenment.
To go out and practice witchcraft in service of others, self and of deity, if you follow deities, that is.
Spirit encompasses everything. It is the anima of everything in existence and, when worked with, brings the other elements to life, and vice versa.
Circle-Casting, The Elements and the Cardinal Directions
Following along the guidelines of the witches’ pentacle, while working this ideology within the witch’s pyramid, it would be helpful to discuss its practicality within ritual.
When performing magick, it is not always necessary to cast a circle or create sacred space. When doing something as a group, or to ensure your magick manifests as effectively as possible, it is pertinent to cast a circle.
There are as many variations of circle casting as there are traditions of witchcraft, which speaks to the importance and effectiveness of casting a circle. It can be as complex or as simple as one prefers.
To cast a circle is in short, creating a place outside of time. It is a liminal space where the potential for magick is heightened, energy can build up for the spell at hand, and to keep unwanted energies and influences out of the ritual.
I bring up circle casting in regards to the Witches Pyramid because to know the witch’s pyramid is to know which directions, and their elements, to call to bolster and fortify a circle while performing ritual.
The Golden Dawn has popularized these concepts, for example, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. The movie The Craft also provides an example of this: On the scene at the beach each coven member takes a place in ritual as an element in each related direction.
To cast a circle, I like to use a ritual tool. Some may use a wand, a ritual dagger, or their finger to draw a circle in a clockwise direction.
I like to say while drawing a circle: three by three and one. I do this to honor the Goddess Hekate, and create a space of potential because it adds up to 10.
The number 10 is a sacred number that represents endings as well as beginnings. The number 10 can be turned into 1, representing wholeness after completion, an endless cycle that represents an ideology in the mysteries. This can also be seen in the symbol of the ouroboros.
After casting the circle by hand, you can walk the circle, as is the case in some wiccan traditions. I don’t do this, but I have in the past and it indeed makes a difference.
After, you may address specific entities associated with the direction such as the Watchers or the Archangels. This can call in their corresponding energy to bolster the circle, provide extra protection, and give your magick a boost.
It is important that after you finish ritual and any spell work to dismantle the circle. Leaving it up can cause energy to build up, as well as some weird side effects, something nobody wants nor needs. I usually do this by undoing the circles with widdershins in the same amount of rotations as I had done when creating the circle.
Thank any spirits or deities you have called in for assistance and bid them farewell, and proceed to continue about your day.
References
- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2018/12/the-witches-pyramid/
- https://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2014/03/seekers-and-guides-the-witches-pyramid/
- https://exemplore.com/wicca-witchcraft/Witchcraft-for-Beginners-What-Is-The-Witches-Pyramid
- Angeles, De Ly. Witchcraft: Theory and Practice. Llewellyn Publications, 2016.
