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1.: The Lore Of The Door From: Silver Fox

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1.: The Lore Of The Door

Posted by: "Silver Fox" silverfox_57@hotmail.com trickster9993

Sun Nov 6, 2011 8:35 am (PST)

The Lore Of The Door

Author Unknown

"If the doors of perception were cleansed,

everything would appear as it is-infinite." -
(Wm Blake)

Doors have been a key figure in many myths, legends and
local folklore. How many of us have heard "The Lady and The Tiger"
tale? Here the hero must choose between opening a door to life and happiness
(presumably with the Lady) and a door to sudden death (Tigers are known to eat
humans for snack food). Doors, as in this tale, often symbolize choices or
decisions.

Even now I hear cat owners all over the world saying
"C'mon.... either you're in or you're out...I can't stand here all
day...Make up your mind already!"

I began thinking about doors in a magickal sense when I ran
across a reference while reading a book. The author stated that the word
"threshold" came from the same root word as "tree" and,
more obviously, to "thresh". Since this also brought to mind the link
between the word "dur" (door) being the common term for "wood"
and hence to "druid" as "people of the oak", my Capricorn
need to make sense out of seemingly random references was unleashed. I opened
the "door" to speculation.

The story of a Mrs. Hand in 1920 opened that door a little
further...

"While yet a young girl, Mrs. Hand was visiting her
grandmother's family . Having been "playing in the garden she ran inside
and found that the building had changed. It was suddenly darker, as if there
was less window space, and all the furniture was different, and older in
design. A door to the kitchen was no longer there. Naturally assuming that she
had entered the wrong house by mistake, the girl left. As she exited the
lighting changed. So she went back into the house and it returned to the
strange, old world formation she had just witnessed. She left to go outside a
second time and then, ten minutes later, when she returned for a third peek
indoors everything was as back to its normal appearance. The light levels were
as expected and an aunt was cooking in the kitchen as anticipated.

In effect, Mrs. Hand seems to have seen the building in two
time zones side by side.. But the act of entering the door had worked like a
portal or gate through the centuries."-(story excerpt from "Time
Travel" by Jenny Randles, Blandford, 1994)

A doorway is that "place that is not a place"
indeed. You are not exactly "in" nor are you precisely
"out". You are in the act of coming or going...entering or exiting...
leaving here and entering there. What could be more magickal than that?

The Open Door at Samhain

"Between the heavens and the earth

The way now opens to bring forth

The Hosts of those who went on before-

Hail! We see them now come through the Open Door."

Some consider the time between Samhain and Yule as a time
which does not even exist on the Earthly plane. The "time which is no
time" was considered in the "old days" to be both very magickal
and very dangerous. So even today, we celebrate this Holiday
with a mixture of joyous celebration and 'spine tingling" reverence.

The Samhain Holiday begins at sundown on October 31st. The
nightide was always a time to be wary of walking alone in the countryside. So
much more on this Night when the veil between the worlds of humans and spirits
was at its thinnest. Traditional lore speaks of the dead returning to visit
their kin and the doors to the Lands of the Sidhe (pronounced "shee")
or Faery Realm being opened.

This Samhain should prove to be one of the most powerful in
recent years. Many are already experiencing vivid dreams and recollecting past
life experiences. Part of the reason for this is the fact that Saturn is
retrograde and will remain so through December
29, 1998.

I also have a strong inkling that the Pagan/Witch community
has been working quite vigorously on reclaiming the historical background of
the Craft. Who better to answer this call for the Old Knowledge than our own
Ancestors! Did you think that They would not hear you?

The Threshold of Time Ritual

Introduction and Admonishments:

I believe in magickal responsibility. Responsibility works
in two ways. I have a responsibility as a teacher to offer sensible guidelines
to seekers who are about to embark on a magickal exercise. The seeker has the
responsibility to consider these guidelines carefully and to undertake only
that which he/she can do in safety and to the degree that their present state
of magickal training will allow.

If you have previous training in divination, astral travel,
conjuration or shamanistic journeying, you should encounter no difficulties in
the performance of this ritual. You will be in familiar territory; only the
technique itself will be presented to you in different way.

If you do not have extensive training in these areas-or if
you feel uncomfortable while performing the preliminary exercises-please do not
continue. No real harm will come to you (There is a natural safeguard built
into this technique.), but you will derive no real benefit from it either.

The Time Threshold Ritual can be used by either the solitary
practitioner or in a group/coven setting. It is especially powerful at Samhain
and at Beltaine.

Preliminary Exercises:

Exercise Number 1

You will need a doorway. For this exercise, choose the
doorway to your own bedroom. This is your most private and personal space where
you feel the safest.

Do this exercise during the daylight hours. You should be
alone, or if you have an understanding household, ask them not to disturb you.

Stand or sit in the doorway with your back facing into your
room. Place one hand on each side of the doorway lightly enough to just brace
yourself and with your hands placed at a height level that is comfortable for you.
Close your eyes.

One of the most deep-seated fears of humankind is being
surprised by something that comes from behind you. Our eyes are placed facing
directly forward with just a little depth perception to the sides. Our backs
are literally our blind spots. Most people do not like to sit with their backs
facing toward a door or open space in a restaurant. There is a sense of
vulnerability that makes us uneasy. Warriors of old often pledged to protect
each other's backs. We are uncomfortable with what we cannot see approaching.

Remain in this position for ten minutes if you are
experienced in achieving altered states of consciousness; five minutes more
than that (to achieve that level) if you are not.

Visualize the room behind you turning foggy or filled with
swirling mist and then becoming simply an open space of nothingness. You
continue this until you have the feeling that if you took a step backwards,
there would be nothing there for your foot to contact.

When you have been able to clearly both visualize and feel
the effect of the nothingness, press your hands firmly against the sides of the
doorway to ground yourself and open your eyes. Take a few seconds to make sure
that your balance has returned and walk forward out of the doorway. Don't be surprise
if you feel that you have to sit down for a moment. Don't be embarrassed if you
sneak a quick peek into your room to see if it's still there!

The most common sensation reported at the beginning of this
exercise is a slight sense of disorientation followed by a feeling of pressure
against the spinal column. The impulse to turn around and look into the room
(or ease a foot back to check if the floor is still there!) can be as slight as
a thought or as overpowering as a sense of panic. This is that safeguard that I
told you about. If you became extremely uncomfortable or fearful, do not
continue with any further exercises, although you may want to try this one
again from time to time. It does offer good experience on handling the fear of
the unknown.

Exercise Number 2

Repeat the above exercise at night. Again you should be
alone or undisturbed. You may place one small candle in the room facing you-so
you won't trip over anything-but the rest of the area should be as dark as
possible.

This exercise usually raises the intensity level about
ten-fold. What child has not glanced in fear at his/her closet door at night?
After all, the fear of 'things that go bump in the night" is the premise
behind horror films, alien abduction reports and ghost stories.

The feelings reported after this exercise are often quite
startling. There is intense pressure upon the back as if something in the room
behind you is expanding outward. A few folks report the opposite-a feeling of
being sucked into the room. Remember, you can always press your hands firmly
against the door frame and this will help you to maintain your composure and
your balance.

Once again-Are you listening to me, seekers?-do NOT attempt
any further progressions if you experience a sense of deep fear or physical
affects such as trembling or headaches. If I find out that you went against my
advice, I will sneak up behind you and smack you right upside the head...(grin)

Orientation:

Many old shamanic Pagan traditions held the North-or the
North Star-to be the hub from which their energies came. Because of this
association of the North with Pagan practices, many old Christian churches
eventually walled up openings on this side of the building to prevent the
"devil' from entering.

An old folk story about this practice is related by Doreen
Valiente in "An ABC Of Witchcraft."

"In the old days, when attendance in the Church was
more or less compulsory, people who secretly adhered to the Old Religion, in
other words those who were Witches, made a point of coming into the church by
the north door, and taking their seats close to it."

Archaeologists can effectively date a pre-Christian burial
in the British Isles because of the north-south
alignment of the remains. Christians were buried in an east-west position.

To those who follow a very traditional Old Path-or want to
connect with very traditional Old Ancestors-a doorway in the North would be
most appropriate. Many modern Celtic Traditions may prefer to use of the
westerly direction attributed to Summerland or Avalon for their orientation.
It's up to you.

For those Pagans who live in a chilly climate, you can do
this ritual within any interior doorway. For those who prefer outdoor circles,
you can easily construct a "doorway" by using three pieces of trellis
board. Simply stake out the two uprights and place the remaining board over the
top. This type of material -with all its openings between the slats- is easily
decorated with ribbons and garlands and is light weight and collapsible for
easy transport. If one of your group has a truck, you can even make a
"doorway" for each of the directions and decorate them accordingly.

The Ritual

As outlined in the preliminary exercises, the threshold is a
place where two worlds meet. Divination is usually an important part of
Samhain/Beltaine seasonal rites.

As a solitary, you can personally contact your personal
Ancestors or scry a vision of the past or future while within the doorway of
Time. In a group setting, the coven Priestess, Guardian or Seer may be the
designated oracle for the group working.

How you use the Doorway will depend on your personal or
group beliefs. Those who find this an effective means of divination can adapt
it for use at any time during the year. In fact, after you have experienced the
Threshold, you may never enter a doorway again without being aware of its
magickal implications.

You should conduct your ritual as usual, properly preparing
yourself and the area. The preliminary exercises merely demonstrate how to
focus on the Threshold, not how to adapt them for your particular beliefs.
Pagan practices vary so widely, that I would not even attempt to make this a
'one size fits all" ritual. YOU are the magickal practitioner and it is
you who must discover what the crossing of the Threshold means to you.

I am surprised that the magickal connection of doorways to
Otherworld journeying is not being more widely taught today. I seek merely to
introduce you to its possibilities. You may claim this as a recovered part of
the Old Religion or go on to modernize it as you wish.

The secrets of the Old Religions are hidden within metaphor
and myth. They are often only fully realized when one dares to take that
intuitive leap into the unknown. Standing on the Threshold of Time requires
courage and trust. This is an important concept in occult thought and a
necessary element in some of the oldest initiation rites from around the world.

This is Mystery standing in the Threshold of Time.

"Now the veils of worlds are thin; To move out you must
move in.

Let the Balefires now be made, Mine the spark within them
laid.

Move beyond the fiery screen, Between the seen and the
unseen;

Shed your anger and your fear, Live anew in a new
year!"

(Above passages from FIRESTAR BELTAINE 1986)

----------------------------------------------------------

Notes and Lookups:

Webster Definition for "door": door 'do-(*)r,
'do.(*)r n [ME dure, dor, fr. OE duru door & dor gate; akin to OHG] turi
door, L fores 1: a usu. swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed
and opened; also : a similar part of a piece of furniture 2: DOORWAY 3: a means
of access.

Webster'Definition for "thresh": Thrash Thrash,
Thresh Thresh, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thrashed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Thrashing.] [OE. [thorn]reschen, [thorn]reshen, to beat, AS. [thorn]erscan,
[thorn]rescan; akin to D. dorschen, OD. derschen, G. dreschen, OHG. dreskan,
Icel. [thorn]reskja, Sw. tr["o]ska, Dan. t[ae]rske, Goth. [thorn]riskan,
Lith. traszketi to rattle, Russ. treskate to burst, crackle, tresk' a crash,
OSlav. troska a stroke of lighting. Cf. {Thresh}.] 1. To beat out grain from,
as straw or husks; to beat the straw or husk of (grain) with a flail; to beat
off, as the kernels of grain; as, to thrash wheat, rye, or oats; to thrash over
the old straw.

Webster Definition for "threshold": thresh.old
'thresh-.(h)o-ld n [ME thresshold, fr. OE threscwald; akin to ON threskjo:ldr
t]hreshold, OE threscan "to thresh"- 1: the plank, stone, or piece of
timber that lies under a door : SILL 2a: GATE, DOOR 2b1: END, BOUNDARY; specif
: the end of a runway 2b2: the place or point of entering or beginning : OUTSET
3: the point at which a physiological or psychological effect begins to be
produced.

Webster Definition for "tree":

1. tree 'tre- -l*s n [ME, fr. OE tre-ow; akin to ON tre-
tree, Gk drys, Skt] often attrib da-ru wood 1a: a woody perennial plant having
a single usu. elongate main stem generally with few or no branches on its lower
part 1b: a shrub or herb of arborescent form {rose ~s} {a banana ~} 2a1: a
piece of wood (as a post or pole) usu. adapted to a particular use or forming
part of a structure or implement (archaic).

2. tree vt or treed; or tree.ing 1a: to drive to or up a
tree {treed by a bull} {dogs ~ing game} 1b: to bring to bay : CORNER 2: to
furnish or fit with a tree.

Webster Definition for "wood":

1. wood 'wu:d, 'wo-d, 'wu.d aj [ME, fr. OE wo-d insane; akin
to OHG wuot madness - more at MVATIC archaic : MAD, VIOLENT

2. wood 'wu.d n [ME wode, fr. OE widu, wudu; akin to OHG
witu wood, OIr] fid tree 1: a dense growth of trees usu. greater in extent than
a grove and smaller than a forest, 2a: the hard fibrous substance basically
xylem that makes up the greater part of the stems and branches of trees or
shrubs beneath the bark and is found to a limited extent in herbaceous plants
2b: this material suitable or prepared for some use (as burning); 3: something
made of wood; esp : a golf club having a wooden head : escaped from peril or
difficulty - out of the woods.

Silver Fox

"It is all true, it is not true. The more I tell you, the more I shall lie. What is story but jesting Pilate's cry. I am not paid to tell you the truth."

Jane Yolen; The Storyteller

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