This is our year cycle where we celebrate and honor our human experience in the multiverse through the inwards journey while simultaneously given back to our outer selves. In order to do this temple and personal meditation work is centered around delving deeper into the inwards journey, participating in heart centered rituals which place emphasis on purification, spreading joy and love, and encouraging positive change through acts of gratitude and giving back AND the spreading of knowledge. It is for this last reason I am writing this today to spread knowledge about us, By Us.
Many schools of witchcraft center around the practice of the craft. Tools, spells, divination, crystals, and all the external aspects. Some may combine this with their own version of the inward journey through meditation, trance work, and ritual. Grigorian is no exception to this, at least in the beginning. As you advance however through the standard, you grow to see the divergence of ideas in any tradition or spirituality. Through the development of knowledge you also take on the development and understanding of the responsibility that universally goes hand-in-hand with personal growth. Where your growth will naturally be a mirror or light to others own development and growth. In Grigorian Witchcraft we take this stance of continued learning, as part of our tiered educational process. As deeper mysteries are revealed as ability is fine tuned and learning develops.
In this regard many people who have seen us only at a surface level at gatherings, social media, or our open basic come to ask, "What is different?". Just as stated in our introduction page and many shared gatherings, voxes, social media, and coursework, there are things unique to Grigorian. A few of these aspects are:
Our structure of the three pillars, is to us, a reflection of the universe. Inspired by the works of the schools of Freemasonry. In Freemasonry, there is an aspect where "God" or the universe is held up by three pillars. Although, to make it clear, Grigorian Witchcraft is a polytheist organization. We see the universe as being composed of multiple Deities in the sphere. This is what is held up by these three pillars. For us these represent the Lady, the Lord, and the Community of INterwoven Spirits.
These three pillars are reflected not only through symbol in ritual but exist also as a guide to our daily use as the Three PIllar Year cycle. Our tradition rotates its' practices to celebrate the traditional eight sabbat year in witchcraft. This means that each year is lead by a Godhead or pillar where the leading energy of the ritual is emphasized around either the Lord, Lady, or Community of INterwoven Spirits.
For greater clairification the Community of INterwoven Spirits is Not seen simply as our involvement in the mudane communities of spiritualism Nor is it some unseen mystical force of spirits or guides. It is also not ancestral worship. Rather the Community of INterwoven spirits is based upon the concept of quantum physics, the quantum multiverse, and metaphysics in the sense of the self existant in other lives on mutiple planes and through time. As time is not linear but rather a conept by mankind to give a limited space or framwork to nature which forms all matter, (this is a concept taught by Jeffrey Rosenbush since the 1990's in public spaces such as the vox and other pagan gathering in MN at that time, as well as through the years of coursework and public forums).
These three pillars also denot the path under which each member of Grigorian chooses their spiritual marker. In other words, whether their work will have a primary focus on the Gods or Lords, Goddess or Ladies, or the pillar of the Community of INterwoven Spirits.
The three pillars are also representative of the great triangle, better known as the Great Pyramid in mysteries similar to Egyptian majick (this is in honor of my mother, who follows the Goddess Isis). In the mystery of the three points of the universe, which is also reflected as three points in the stars, and again in the three structure points which become the initial design of the great pyramid. It is revealed through time and practice that the pyramid is actually a tetrahedron. Each pyramid is actually made up of four triangles and it's base (which also represent the five degrees of our learning structure see below).
These four triangles of the pyramid are made up of steps of ascent or stages of development to the uppermost point. This is then reflected further in our stages of development related to everything from how we percieve the elemental stage development of self. To our integration of the chakras, energy movement, the physical to spiritual bodies, and degrees. Some of which I will share with you here.
The elemental relationship to the self, was inspired intially by the new age movements popular in the early 1990's of the Mind, Body, Spirit connection. Yet, to me this told only half the story. In which case, myself and the founders of Grigorian began to dig deeper. During my time with the unitarian movements and my term in pastoral counseling, I came across the educational or learning structure of the self, that needed to be in place for anyone to develop metacognition. This was Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs theory. In this theory (which can be found in both education and psychology) is a motivational theory composed of five tiers of human need. The lower levels needs must be in place for higher-levels of understanding can develop. As elements are the introduction for many witches into practice, spirituality, and majick in general. It became apparent to us, that the understanding of each aspect of the elements could be subdivided and associated with steps not only of majickal development but also perception and development of self as it relates to our nature and allignment with nature. This also coincided with our understanding of more layers existant beyond just the body mind and spirit.
These layers we came to know, are yes in line with the physical body here on this plane, but also there are other layers in existance. These layers are the mind, which is part of the inner journey here and now (in being present and development of spiritual knowledge unhindered by emotion or systematic patterns passsed on), next is one's own fire or will, the force body (inpired by the work of Aleister Crowley and other forms of ritual majick training and self-study from the 1990's to early 2000's). The emotional body is also a concept from psychology, in how are preceptions are not just influenced by our knowledge and patterns of the mind but our emotions and preceptions and emotional connection with the world through majick. Following this there is also the Ousia and the Spirit as seperate yet intertwined bodies. More information on this has been published by us not only on this website and through social media, but also in public conversational discussions shared at spiritual events in discussion rounds.
Guiding this progress up the ladder of self through the elemental sections and the sections of the five-fold body are, for us, spiritually lead by the Grigori. Seen as the great eye, or all-seeing eye. This symbol represented at a basic level as the eye witchout the triangle. It represents the universal eye or teachers, also known in some circles from the earliest writings of Wicca dating back to Gardner when he introduced the Golden Dawn concepts. However, many people since this time have all interprested these watchtowers or spirit forces differently. Some organizations see them as elementals, elemental kings, star people, even arch angels. We utilize the name or power behind this oversight as the Grigori. To be clear, this is the latin name only, and holds No connection to the perversion of these entities by the Catholic Church (in which it is actually called Gregorian) that the monothesitic religions misinterpreted from earlier Babylonian and Aramaic texts. The Grigori in Grigorian Witchcraft is simply one name of a group of universal spirits that exist cross-culturally and have reappeared in many cultures in spiritual, philosophical, and occult texts over the years, known by different names, yet have always been seen as the teachers and observers of humankind (Rosenbush, et al., Grigorian BOS, 1999). These teachers also act as guides to working majick, the flow of majick, and intermediaries to the Gods and Goddesses.
These layers of the self then link directly to the tiers or degrees of training (again as represented by all sides of the pyramid) within the circle or sphere of the universe represented by our tradition's symbol. Known traditional Wicca movements such as Gardnerian and Alexandrian have published three degrees. We have five. Each level of training is only given after learning is achieved and responsibility through action shown in development. These tiers also allow individuals to freely choose the level or depth of their involvement with majick, ritual, and the outer or mundane community at large. The reason for this is simply a practical one. As we each have our own lives, families, requirements, and journeys and to honor that we give people the freedom to choose their own rate of progress and personal responsibility in line with coven work.
The above is a brief insight into what makes Grigorian Witchcraft Tradition not only specific but unique. This and other mysteries of ours have been shared for the benefit of understanding direct from the source. Grigorian Witchcraft Tradition has existed and holds licensure in the state of MN for over twenty years. We are recognized as such not only through our ministry licensure, but also our letters of Good Standing within the state of Minnesota itself. It's founders do not, nor ever have, gone by pseudonyms or title only. Nor do we require tithes or fundings outside of ourselves. As the main bylaws of our organization are founded upon principles such as 'know thyself', which is not just an inner journey but a journey of truth. As well as, 'Honor the Gods, Goddesses, and Community of INterwoven Spirits'. Which is not just done through the practice of witchcraft or our involvement in social organizations, but rather also speaks to the passing on good works and knowledge through our actions daily.
Thank you and Blessed Be.
References
Crowley, Aleister (1943) LIBER II
Gardner, Gerald (1948-1961) Gardnerian Book of Shadows
Rosenbush, A., Rosenbush Jeffrey (1998) Grigorian Book of Shadows published by R. LLC MN
Sanders, Alex (1984) The Alex Sanders Lectures