Meditation: Visiting the Red God, Qayin, at Samhain

 Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our members' consciousness. Below is our Samhain meditation. It takes place at the Western Gate of the compass, the place of water and sunset.  It is the home of the Witch Father, whom we know as Tubal Qayin, Lucifer, Azazel, Melek Taus. To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Visiting the Red God, Qayin, at Samhain

 

You open your eyes to see that you sitting in a large, freshly harvested field. The damp earth is stubbled with the stalks of the grains that have been hewn down, the farmer’s scythe resting on a nearby fence. Looking to the West, you see the Sun sinking toward a large pond.

You rise and start walking toward the pond, squelching through the muddy field. The trees that border both the field and pond have nearly dropped all of their leaves, but a few brightly colored ones still cling to the barren branches.

A movement from above startles your attention skyward, and you see a crane in flight. He is joined by two others, and they make great swooping circles in the sky – forming a triskele, spirals, and great arcs. One breaks formation and dives toward the pond, and you follow him to the water’s edge. As you approach the bank, you see him standing on the edge of the water. You are surprised by his height and the uncanny way in which he stands. He regards you as you come close, still giving him a wide berth.

The crane turns his head upon his long neck, and you follow his gaze. There is a rowboat in the pond very near to where you are standing. You climb in head for the opposite shore. The sun is now very low in the sky, and you hear frog-song and the croak of many toads about you in the marshy reaches of the water. When you reach the western shore of the pond, you see a large, fat toad hopping just in front of you before disappearing into dark grey stones of a cemetery ahead.

You enter the graveyard, aware of the damp wind and the solitary Elder tree standing sentinel on the border of the plot. You read the names on a few of the mossy stones until your attention is drawn to a cairn some distance ahead. You can see that a three-legged dolmen forms the entry way, and you walk toward it, unable to see past the darkness of the doorway. This is the Western Gate, and you know that beyond it lies the Realm of the Dead. This gateway has strange markings and symbols carved into the stones. Some are unfamiliar to you, but other have deep meaning in your mind. (Pause.) You see a toad carved into one of the rocks along with the Elder tree rune, a crane, and a triskele.

Your eyes adjust to the gloom of the cairn as you pass beyond the arch, and you can see stone stair spiraling down in a left-hand circle. You follow them carefully and discover a torch set into a bracket a few feet ahead. Holding it ahead of you, you circle down and down and down into the deep belly of the graveyard until you reach a cavern that opens into a great room of stone and earth. You recognize this place as a forge, though there is no clinking of metal upon metal. The great bellows are still and no forge-fire brightens the room. The tools are neatly stored away, and you are met with silence. All is dark and quiet, and only the light of your torch reveals the large hooded and cloaked figure sitting on bench near a brimming barrel of water. A few doors and earthen pathways open into this room, and you realize that there is more than way to access this place.

The large figure holds out his hand to you, beckoning you forward. Standing before him, you can see that his face is painted as white as Death, and the outstretched hand is decorated with white bones upon his coal-black skin. A helm rests at his feet very near the quench tank.

His eyes glint from beneath his hood, and he holds you in a piercing stare.

He speaks to you. “This is a place of transformation, of alchemy, holds great power and Mystery even when it is dark and cool and quiet. The spark of life is wedded to the watery womb that is also the tomb of the world.”

He scoops water from the barrel with the helmet and places it within your hands. The helm is cold and hard, and the water within looks black and deep. Holding his hands over yours, he looks into your eyes and speaks a message only for you. (Long pause.)

You thank him, and after a moment more of looking at you, he resumes his takes the helmet from you and draws his hood lower over his face. Knowing that the time has come to leave, you turn and walk back up the stairs that brought you here, curving on a right-hand path now toward the darkening night.

You pass out of the cairn and cross the graveyard and pond where the crane and Elder tree each stand guard. The frogs and toads croak in the pond as you return to the harvested field. Sitting down again in the damp and stubbly field, you close your eyes and breathe deeply, coming back to yourself.