Sunday, January 18, 2009

Sunday Surprise - The Lost Heritage Of The Elder Races.

Our kind is not the first to live on the green earth, and it shall not be the last. There have been civilizations of which we have no knowledge which have vanished with hardly a trace. In time, we shall follow them, for we are related to more than merely those of humankind. The legends of the Old Religion say that "Single is the race of Gods and men, and from a single source we both draw breath." The Gods are our kin; so also are the Elder Ones - for at length it becomes impossible to separate one from the other. It is given to each race to have this world for a while - to learn and to progress upward toward a finer plane; then, when sufficient development and sufficient wisdom is attained, to depart for another realm of existence, leaving behind their lands and works for a newer, less-developed people to try to understand and attempt to use. We do not know how many earlier races there have been, only that some were non-human and pre-human. Ancient lore speaks of the Tuatha de Damnu, the Tuatha de Danaan, and those whom we call Elven or Faery.

The worlds to which the Elder races ascend are superior in every way to this world of ours. They are places of beauty, of Magic, of mystery, of brilliant and joyous color. Life goes on there, and all manner of normal events, though on a higher level of existence. Death also exists, though its meanings and imports are not so dread as here - being merely an intermediate change in lives, throughout which consciousness and memory is retained. All of the arts and sciences, love, and even love-making are far more compelling and enthralling in those far regions.

Transition to the Otherworlds is made by Magic of the mind. The one making it becomes insubstantial, invisible, then vanishes altogether from the perception of the earthbound. Returns are possible, but become less and less likely. This Magic method is said to be known to the highest adepts of the Craft. The method for this transition, however, generally must be sought out and gained by the individuals, for it involves not just surface knowledge, but a deep understanding within the very depths of the soul. It cannot fully be written, and is not easily passed between people by any normal means.

One seeking this manner of transformation is advised to study the lore of the Elven Folk, who are perhaps the closest to us and of whom some knowledge yet remains. The ways are of moonlight and forest, silent meadows and mists, of candles and firelight, and the Magic of being "between the worlds." Myth and legend have the keys, and the practice of spells and Magics will condition the mind and the body for the change.

from: A Grimoire of Shadows: Witchcraft, Paganism, & Magick

by Ed Fitch, posted by Elder Pagan

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