| In the May/June 2006 issue of Llewellyn’s New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit, we ran a contest titled “Can You Rescue the Magician?” Here is what people read:
Eliphas gasped for breath as he dragged himself on shore. Waves lapped at his feet and legs as he crawled slowly, achingly, further up the sandy beach. He had no idea how he had been able to survive his recent horror. He fell asleep on the sand.
He awoke to bright sunlight and sat up. Every muscle and bone in his body ached, but his heart ached even more. He wondered how many people had died in the plane crash.
Eliphas did a quick tour of the area. He found a small stream and fruit-bearing trees. He wouldn’t starve. But how would he get help?
He walked down the beach to see if anyone else had survived. He went what he guessed was a mile in one direction and was about to return when he saw something glittering in the sun. He knew immediately what it was and ran toward it. “My tools!” he shouted.
He opened the box. Inside were four elemental tools: Fire Wand, Air Dagger, Water Chalice and Earth Pentacle. He also had his general use, black-handled dagger. There were also candles of various colors, incense sticks and matches. The outside of the box was intricately carved and covered with inlays of mother-of-pearl and sterling silver. He felt empowered again. Eliphas was a magician.
He started walking back to the stream and promptly stubbed his toe on a piece of wood. He dug around it and discovered it was a small chest made of wood and sealed by a small lock. “I have my magickal tools and my watch seems to be working. There are also a lot of herbs growing here. I wonder what ritual I can do to get rescued? I’d gladly give this chest of treasure to whomever saves me.”
Can You Rescue Eliphas?
Send him a message — a rescue ritual — in a bottle. You can use the box as his altar, the items inside the box, his watch and herbs he can find, but nothing else. Oh, and one more thing, only one sheet with 300 words or less will fit into the bottle.
We had many entries from all over the country. It was a difficult decision to determine who should win. Several entries followed a similar pattern that only involved astral projection. Some entered general “escape from anywhere” rituals, but this contest was meant to be specific to the rescue of Eliphas.
After much consideration, we selected Celeste Jones of Natchez, Mississippi as the winner. Here is here winning entry:
Eliphas decided to perform a magical ritual concentrating on the element of Fire for energy to gather firewood for a signal fire and the element of Air to gain inspiration and means to travel off the island.
Using the small chest as an altar, he set up his ritual as follows: he chose a blue candle for inspiration and a red candle for energy and courage. Then he rested meditated and waited for dawn, which is the best time to honor the deities that he chose to call upon. Lighting the charcoal in his censer, he sprinkled wild rosemary for determination, courage, and inspiration; wild thyme for energy; and a sprinkling of jasmine for good luck, all of which he had cut with his black handled dagger.
He then drew a circle of protection with his Air dagger, starting in the east toward the rising sun. ‘I dedicate this circle of power to the Ancient Gods. Here may they come to bless me.’ Moving back to the altar and facing east he said, ‘I stand between the world of the seen and unseen, may the Ancient Ones help and protect me.’ He had filled the water chalice with sea water, which contains salt. Setting the chalice on the earth pentacle he said, ‘Brigit, goddess of energy and creativity, bless this creature of water and earth to your service.’ Beginning in the east and moving clockwise, he sprinkled the water around the edge of the circle.
Then he held the dagger over the lighted incense burner saying, ‘Lugh, god of energy, divine inspiration, and travel, bring me the power I need to get off this island.’ He then carried the burner around the circle clockwise. Then starting in the east he saluted and thanked each element.
The prizes she won for her entry include:
Mysteria Magica: Denning and Phillips’ classic text of training and development in the Western Mystery Tradition
New Encyclopedia of the Occult: John Greer’s comprehensive guide to the history, philosophies and personalities of Western occultism
Modern Magick: the most popular, step-by-step training in high magick ever published, by Donald Michael Kraig
Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Agrippa’s book is the single most important text in the history of Western occultism, edited by Donald Tyson
The Golden Dawn Enochian Skrying Tarot: by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero and Bill and Judy Genaw, it combines Enochian and Western Tattvas in a unique divinatory deck
The total retail value of these prizes is over $150.00. Congratulations, Celeste!
What features of her entry made it a winner?
1) It worked on magickal and practical levels, calling on Air and Lugh and using the ritual for energy to build a signal fire
2) It used items that Eliphas had in his magickal box and items gathered from the island
3) It showed an understanding of magical herbology
4) It realized that the use of ocean water — which has salt and water — would be an appropriate choice for the ritual
5) It consistently used deities from one pantheon rather than mixing different systems
Although there was only a first-place winner, we’d also like to mention that the entry from Darren White of Stringtown, Oklahoma, was a very close second.
In the future, there may be more contests that will occasionally appear in New Worlds. For those of you who are unfamiliar with New Worlds, it is a bimonthly magazine featuring interviews with well-known and new personalities in the field of body, mind and spirit, columns by respected experts, articles, reviews, listings of author appearances and activities, and more. It is also filled with the latest information on both new and popular Llewellyn books, Tarot decks and other products. It is available for free at your local bookstore. If they don’t have it, ask them to call Llewellyn and have a bunch included in with their next order. Or, if you are in the U.S., you can go to http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/catform.php and fill out the form. We’ll send you a copy for free. |
