If the Hierophant decides that it is in the best interests of the group to create a whole new line, then there are a few different methods that can be employed depending on what kind of structure the group is using, and the type of work/service the group will be undertaking over a longer period of time.
The benefits of working with a new line were discussed briefly in Chapter 1 along with the problems that such a new line can create. Overall, a new line brings with it a fresh power that is untainted by human interaction and can be formed at the very beginning to complement the current and future civilisation that the magical line will operate through.
The most common ways of founding a new line are a) through connection with a deity, b) through connection directly with polarised but as yet unformed divinity, and c) through Shamanic/land contact that does not directly involve a deity. Each has its problems and benefits, but the long term picture should be the deciding factor, regardless of what the short term difficulties may be.
WORKING WITH DEITIES
If the Hierophant decides to create a new line through connection with a deity, then the first action would be to choose the right deity for the job. Sometimes a deity will already be trying to make contact with the Hierophant, or the Hierophant may have been working for a substantial amount of time with a specific deity so the creation of a new line becomes a natural progression of long-term foundation building.
The main considerations to take into account when working with a deity are: is that deity able to operate sufficiently in the modern world and will they be compatible with the long term plans of the magical order? Sometimes it is not enough for a deity to be powerful and willing to work with humanity, their power expressions must also be taken into consideration when planning a line. For example, I worked with Kali for many years, but I would not dream of bringing through a line connected to her; we are in a time of destruction and to bring through such an active destroying deity at this time would narrow the work of the line down to destruction and death. So unless that was the purpose of the line (to end civilisation as we know it), working with such a deity would be a bad move and would result in a large body count pretty quickly.
The other point to think carefully about is the polarity of the deity. Most people think that a goddess is best served by women and a god best served by men. While this can indeed be true sometimes, there are times when the deity requires a priesthood of the opposite sex that it can polarise its power with. Usually there will be one priest/ess who is of the same sex as the deity who will act as an embodiment and who will allow the deity to move into them. Most of the other attending priests/esses would be of the opposite sex: that is often not a good balance for a magical lodge that has a more or less equal amount of men and women in its ranks.
There is another problem which often rears its head when a magical group aligns itself to a deity, and that is when the boundaries between a magical lodge and a spiritual temple become blurred as this can get confusing and difficult. A religious/spiritual temple is built around the deity, for the deity and is dictated to by the deity. A magical lodge works with a deity as contact, but the deity is not worshipped or allowed free rein with the group.
If the Hierophant still wishes to work with a deity, then it has to be made clear right from the beginning what the power dynamics are to be and where the boundaries lie. This is acceptable to some deities and not to others. Some deities are happy to be part of a working group, whereas some deities want total control and subservience. Once they are ‘in’ the lodge and the line holds their power, they can be near impossible to get rid of if it all goes wrong; so caution is really important!
Some of the best deities to work with are the ones who have once been human as they are sort of a midway point between an inner contact and a deity. There is very little in outer history as to which deities have been human (except in Christianity); but from an inner point of view, they are usually pretty easy to spot.
The other action which can also mitigate some of the more difficult aspects of working with a deity is to reach through the deity for the element of Divinity that is behind them. That way you get the filtered power of the deity but with the deeper quality of the Divinity that flows through them. A prime example of this is the Mithraic deity. If you wish to work with Mithras, then instead of just connecting with the deity, you would reach through the deity to the solar power behind the filter. Pulling the solar power through the deity filter gives you access to the full solar power but with the ‘operating system’ of the deity filter. This ensures that you can talk to them and bargain with them, but at a deeper and more powerful level than if you communed with the deity alone. If you are going to work this way, then reaching for the elemental power through the deity needs to be kept in mind when working within the structure that is outlined below.
The final consideration as Hierophant is that the power of the deity will have to pass through the body of the Hierophant and that body will have to be able to contain the elemental power of the deity without becoming physically ill. The first foundation member of the line will have to bring the deity into themselves which can have a massive impact on the body and mind. Although the deity does not normally stay permanently within the Hierophant (though that is possible, but normally just a fragment remains), the joining itself initiates permanent changes, as does the internal absorbing of the elemental power.
Using Mithras again as an example, if a man brings that power into his body, particularly if that man is in the prime of his testosterone/sexuality output, then the solar power of that deity will increase that sexual power a thousand fold. That can have devastating consequences as too much testosterone can send a man literally mad, or at least make them very violent and unstable. This is not a good foundation to build a long term magical line upon. It would make far more sense for the initial foundation member in such circumstances to either be a gay man or a woman. This would counter balance the sheer power of this deity and bring the solar energy into a vessel that tempers it and can transform it into workable magical power. So the gender, the age and the sexuality of the Hierophant must be a major deciding factor on which deity is to be used to anchor the line.
CREATING A LINE FROM A DEITY
The initial preparations for drawing a line from a deity are almost the same as the preparations listed in Chapter 1. The differences are the preparations to work with the deity both in the group and the Hierophant. As soon as the choice has been made, both the Hierophant and the foundation members need to begin building lines of communication with the deity on a daily basis. From the very outset it is important to make sure that all communications with the deity are in the manner of communion with a respected co-worker and are not ‘worshipful’ in any way.
The communication is best done through visions and dreams based around the inner temple where the deity resides, and should relate to the future path of the group. It is also advisable to find out what the payoff for the deity is as they rarely do anything for nothing. It must benefit them somehow in equal reciprocity so that the group does not become beholden to the deity or indebted. A sure way to avoid a lot of the pitfalls is to give the deity a very narrow brief and stick to it.
The line should not wholly depend upon the deity for its survival rather the deity should be one of the keystones. Once the line has a couple of generations under its belt, it will begin to get a big enough swell of power and skills within the egregore that the interaction with the deity becomes stable and simple. In reality, this is what usually happens if the group maintain the structure of a magical lodge. Though more often than not what starts out as a magical lodge gets turned into a religion, so it would be wise to structure the path ahead to ensure that such a dynamic does not happen.
One way to avoid that massive pitfall is to only have two founding members who are aware of the deity connection. The initial workers would be the Hierophant and the two members, with the rest of the group excluded. The down side of this is the secrecy. If you cut out some founding members from the truth of the foundation, then you create shaky foundations and power hierarchies. This is one of the problems with some contacted magical lodges, the anchor of power is often kept secret from all but a chosen few which creates elitism and subsequent power struggles. It is not possible for the Hierophant to shoulder the knowledge alone as the power mediation takes more than one person.
For myself I found (after being burned a few times) that working with the deity through a sigil rather than an image or vision acted as a great filter as it allowed the power to flow without intrusion of a personality. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea as you have to be hyper-focussed and there is no way to get into chatty communication with the deity, but it does give access to the power and knowledge if you can let it flow through you at a deep level. It is also a method that does not exclude any founding member, as all get to take an equal role in the creation of the line.
THE WORK
The group, having prepared themselves and having built up a communication with the deity which is balanced, will be ready to get to work. An altar will need to be placed in the appropriate direction for the deity and will need only a flame, stone, or bowl of water upon it, and a bowl of consecrated oil. To the side of the altar place a piece of board or wood, and a dish with paint and a small paintbrush. The colour of the paint should be a colour that is linked to the deity.
The first step is to go in vision as a group to the inner temple where the deity resides. Rather than go through the void or the Abyss, it is better to go through the ‘front’ door, i.e. down through the underworld, up into the stars, into the caves or mountains, wherever it is that the deity traditionally lives. Take gifts with you (gifts that exist in the outer world, which will then be burned or put in a lake) and each member of the group communes silently with the deity to prepare for the work. The deity will tell each person a fragment of the knowledge behind the line, so it is important that the group talks around after the vision, saying everything they saw and heard regardless of how trivial they think it might be.
The next step is to go back into the temple again. The group goes behind wherever the deity presents him/herself and begins to create a doorway. This is done by literally breaking a hole in the wall behind the deity and building a doorway, hanging a door and putting a lock on it. Each member then stands in front of the door and breathes over it, putting a fragment of their life breath into the door.
The finished door is shown to the deity who will immediately mark it with a large sigil: take note of the sigil, this will be one of the keys for working with this deity and will need to be marked upon a board during one of the visions. At this point, the group needs to stop and eat. A light meal (no meat) and rest are important as the door building is harder than it sounds or looks. The impact may or may not hit straight away, but it will hit!
Make sure everyone is rested and ready for round two before embarking on the next vision. Two upholders must be chosen and they will become the hinges of a doorway, so they will need to sit on either side of the Hierophant during the vision. Two guardians will need to be appointed, as will two openers of the way.
The group go once more into the temple and to the door. The door is opened and the Hierophant stands on the threshold of the door with the two group members chosen as hinges on either side to uphold her. Two other members go through the doorway to act as clearers of the path and the two guardian members wait to come up behind everyone who walks through the doorway, The deity is called to join the pattern of the new line and the deity walks into the Hierophant, pausing for a short while before passing through the Hierophant and into a tunnel. The clearers of the way walk down the dark tunnel, leading the deity until they come to a ledge. It will quickly become apparent to everyone that they are on the ledge of a tunnel in the Abyss — this is the back door to the temple of this deity.
The deity stands upon the ledge and begins to call in a strange tongue. The deity is assembling an inner group of contacts to work with the group and they will probably be a mix of non human beings (angelic beings, faeries, ancestors, demonic beings, elementals etc). As the deity calls, the sigil appears over the entrance to the tunnel, so that anyone travelling the Abyss will be able to identify this entrance to the tunnel of the temple.
Beings start to appear by climbing up onto or dropping onto the ledge and the group members take a being each by the hand, because to go through the tunnel of the deity, the beings need to be upheld by a human. The tunnel will give them access through the temple to the human world, and beings can only bridge into the human world if invited by humans. (This is another good reason to really know your deities, i.e. what sort of beings do they work with and hang out with.)
Once the beings are in the tunnel, each being must be led by the hand by a group member and led to the door of the temple. The Hierophant stands in the doorway and asks the deity to move into her. The Hierophant must be supported on either side by the two hinges of the group, both in vision and in body by having the members on either side of the Hierophant place a hand upon her shoulder.
The deity passes into the Hierophant, and the beings that were called from the Abyss pass through the deity/Hierophant and into the temple. It will take a little time until they have all passed through and are safely in the temple, at which point the Hierophant steps forward into the temple while keeping the deity within her. The two guardians go and stand on the threshold of the front entrance of the temple and do not allow anything or anyone to leave the temple.
The rest of the group must now lay down both in vision and in body and go to sleep while still in the vision of the temple. The only ones who stay awake are the guardians who must stay physically awake while the group sleep. This is a time where the group must collectively sleep: the weave of the beings begins as the line of connection between deity, beings and humans begins. The contacts will be picked up in collective dreams, and the work will settle itself in the consciousness of the group.
The moment everyone has awoken, they must immediately be aware that they are still in the temple at a deep level and get straight back to work. Now that the deity and the Hierophant are one, it is time for the first passing on of the line though physical touch. Building up the vision of the temple again, the group become aware of the beings in the temple, the dual nature of the deity and the Hierophant, and the structure of the temple. The Hierophant, while remaining in vision, will need to go and stand before the altar.
One by one, while maintaining the vision, the group members go and stand before the Hierophant who will first cleanse them of all beings, all parasites (a basic cleansing/exorcism), before laying hands upon them. The Hierophant will feel the deity within her reach through and touch the group member before her. Power will flow through the Hierophant and into the group member, thus consecrating them. The Hierophant must maintain that touch until she feels the deity withdraw the touch of power from that person. When it is finished from an inner point of view, then just as listed in Chapter 1, the Hierophant utters the words of consecration including the name of the deity over the person while marking their foreheads with the sigil of the deity using the consecrated oil.
After everyone has been consecrated, the Hierophant marks her own forehead with the sigil of the deity. When the consecration is completed in the outer world, then the founding member group need to take upon themselves the burden of the weaving of the line: they will uphold specific powers and contacts that will eventually be woven into the egregore so that future generations can access the contacts safely.
Starting with the member who was first consecrated, they go once more to stand before the Hierophant while still maintaining the vision of the temple. The Hierophant places a hand upon their head, a foot upon their foot and allows the power of the deity to build within her. The Hierophant then calls upon one of the beings who came out of the Abyss to come through the filter of the deity/Hierophant and into the member. The Hierophant will then be urged by the deity to either breathe over or into the member’s nostrils, allowing the spirit of the being to enter them.
The consecrated members will then need to sit down and absorb the knowledge of the being and its inner abilities. Each being provides the group with a specific skill set and inner ability that can be developed and brought out over time by the member that it inhabits. The skills are specifically for the building and powering of the line and are not for any personal gain or magical agenda.
When everyone is marked with the sigil and has a being within them, then the sigil itself needs to be sealed with power. To do this the Hierophant physically picks up the paintbrush while remaining in vision in the temple, and paints the board with the sigil. When it is painted, she places her hands over the sigil and allows the deity to flow into the sigil. By placing the deity in the sigil rather than in a person or an image, it keeps the power of the deity usable without personality. The deity will be present through the sigil and also in the inner temple. There will be a fragment that remains within the Hierophant until death and the Hierophant will be forever changed by the union. Some of the deity’s power, knowledge, and experience will be absorbed by the body and will be accessible to the Hierophant. The sigil is then placed upright on the altar and will become one of the power tools that allows the power to flow through the line and through the lodge.
At this point, most of the initial work is completed and the company needs to stop, close the vision and eat. While eating a communal meal, it would be wise to talk around what happened, how did they feel, what are the powers of the being within them etc. Through talking, the beings within emerge and begin to make themselves known by speaking through the members. The emergence can sometimes take a while and unfold over days or weeks, sometimes it is instant.
Each group member will now be holding an inner contact/being and a specific set of skills that will help to build the line and the magical lodge. You will notice that there was no action at any point that asked for specific skills to be passed to the group: in the creation of a new line it is impossible for us as humans to fully grasp the long term development of a line and the skills that will be needed. Such a shopping list is best left to the deity who will call specific beings based upon what they can offer in the long term.
Over the coming weeks and months, as the group begins to build the lodge and the line, the necessity for the acquired contacts will become apparent. It will be important for the Hierophant to keep a close eye upon the group members to make sure no one struggles too much under the burden of carrying the inner being/contact, and that each member has as much support as necessary for them to be able to make full use of the skill set that has been placed within them.
Because all of the group carry a being of the Abyss, it will pull the group close together and certain dynamics will need to be watched for. While the members carry a being, they must be very careful to not enter into relationships with each other that did not exist before the work began. Such relationships can be driven by the beings that they carry, and a difficult and emotionally devastating tangle can happen very easily in such scenarios.
It will not take long for the inner beings to discover that they can to some extent manipulate the emotions of the host, and some of them may try to engage with each other by feeding false emotions to the host. This means that any relationship that develops in this time cannot be trusted to be a true relationship as human emotions are easily manipulated and the beings are usually not aware or are not concerned with the fallout that such a relationship can cause.
The other problem that can arise out of such a union is a child. While carrying an inner being, most humans become extremely fertile and any child that comes from such a union has a really strong chance of not being a human soul. This action used to be purposely manipulated by Hierophants of the past to bring through specific beings of power into a child that could then be trained and controlled. Such an arrangement is not socially acceptable or advisable in today’s world.
If two members do get strongly attracted to each other, they should seek counsel with the Hierophant immediately who can then help the hosts deal with the emotional rollercoaster that such an attraction can cause. All members need to be aware of this potential minefield and not allow themselves to be swept away by power and emotions. A reassessment can be made after the beings have left the group and returned back to the Abyss. After a settling period, any real attraction will still be there and can be acted upon. If the attraction was simply a manipulation, then it will fade once the beings have left.
Although there may be many good reasons to keep the inner contacts for life, it is best that the group, along with the Hierophant, agree to a specific time span or job list after which the inner beings are taken in vision back to the Abyss and an outer ritual of disconnection is performed. If the group do decide to keep the contacts until death, then there falls a great deal of responsibility upon the shoulders of the Hierophant and the doorkeepers/hinges to monitor and support the hosts for the rest of their lives. There are so many things that can and do go wrong, and so many power trips, dead ends, etc that will pull the host away from the true task at hand and send them down the path of deification and power abuse. It takes a truly strong will and clear heart to hold a long term powerful non-human contact without allowing any degeneration of personality.
After the work has been completed, the group will need to stay together for another 24 hours, if possible, just to let the power levels slowly lower and for the hosts to get used to their new additions without having to field the outside world. This gives time for normalisation which is very important if the group members have non-magical partners or partners who are not involved in the work. Reconnecting too soon may allow the inner being to take a more dominant role within the host which could be a disaster in a relationship. The host needs to learn how to prevent the being from taking an inappropriate amount of control, and for both host and inner being to work out boundaries before the host goes back into the outside world.
Usually within a week of this work, the group should be ready for action and energised to begin the construction of the inner and outer temple, and to create pathways for future initiates and priests/esses.
This method of work, as you can now see, is fraught with death traps and problems, and needs to be approached/handled with great intelligence and care. However, the magical benefits that can potentially be reaped from this work if approached correctly are truly mind-boggling. When you look back through ancient history, you will start to see the signs of this work — although it is never usually written about, it can be spotted by its fruits, bitter or otherwise.
Note: Just to reiterate, in the future, when the hierophant is sure the line is stable and the group structure is in place, then it is best for the group members to go to the Abyss via the temple and let the beings within them go. They are not there under duress, rather they are beings that are willing and have offered to work with humanity for the sake of the deity. But most conditional beings will try and opt to stay in a human body if they can, and such an arrangement can be seductive for both being and human. Because of the immense power involved and the amount of ways it could go wrong, the being should not be held in the body for any longer than needed.