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THE
M Y S T E R Y S C H O O L
A Path to Higher Consciousness
through the Arts of Sacred Magic
_____________________
A COURSE IN SACRED EARTH MAGIC
LESSON TWO
That we are intimately at one with Nature is a cosmic truth we are all slowly
approaching. It is not only the dog it is not only the wild beast and the wood-dove
that are our close kindred but the green tree and the green grass
the blue wave and the flowing wind
the flower of a day and the granite peak of an aeon
…
We are woven in one loom and the Weaver thrids our being with the sweet
influences not only of the Pleiades but of the living world
of which each is no more than a multi-coloured thread.
–
Geoffrey Hodson
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Sacred Earth Magic
Lesson Two
1. READING AND STUDY
Merlin, Walker-between-Worlds
2. INNER WORK
VisionJourney: The Three Faces of Merlin
3. PRACTICUM
The Moon Shrine
4. IN THE GREEN WORLD
Attuning to the Moon
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THE MANY FACES OF MERLIN
Our Guide on this exploration of the MiddleRealm, or Green World, is Merlin, the primary
Guardian of the Sacred Earth in the Avalonian magical tradition. Unparalleled shapeshifter that he is,
Merlin has many faces: First and foremost, he wears the cloak of the archetypal Wise Old Man, whose
magical powers and knowledge have resulted in countless stories from the Middle Ages onwards. In
modern literature, books that feature Merlin directly such as the Crystal Cave series by Mary Stewart
and T.H. White‟s Sword in the Stone have become modern classics, while indirectly he has influenced
the creation of beloved characters like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Dumbledore in the Harry
Potter series. In medieval legends, he is most often portrayed as a magician, prophet and bard. He
appears as a magical child, but also as a foolish old dotard, a madman and a recluse. He is the worldlyadvisor to the king, and the mystic shaman of the woods. He is the last of the druids, the leaders of
Celtic society who were trained not only to be judicial advisors and political strategists, but also to be
skilled in the mantic arts. Further back beyond the mists of time, Merlin was undoubtedly a god who
embodied the spirit of the British Isles, the primordial deity who dwelt within the hallowed shores of
Britain, known as Clas Myrddin, or Merlin‟s Precinct. Throughout all his multifarious guises, Merlin‟s
gigantic stature has not diminished through the ages: He will always be the quintessential embodiment
of power and wisdom for the Western folk-soul.
In the Middle Ages, two aspects of Merlin stand out, and he appears as two distinct personages, Merlin
Emrys and Myrddin Gwyllt. If you have taken The Avalon Course, you will have already encounteredMerlin Emrys, as this is the aspect in which he acts as one of the Four Guardians of Avalon in the
UnderRealm temple. In the present course, we focus on his role as Myrddin Gwyllt, Guardian of the
Green World. First, let‟s take a brief look at the story of Merlin Emrys.
The Wonder Child
The story of Merlin Emrys, or Merlinus Ambrosius, was developed by the medieval scribe, Geoffrey
of Monmouth, in the 12th
century. In his semi-mythological History of the Kings of Britain, Geoffrey
tells how Merlin was a boy without a father, the son of a woman who had been impregnated by a
supernatural visitor. Merlin shares this mysterious birth with a number of other heroes and deities of
the ancient world, including Mithras, Zoroaster, Dionysius – and of course, Jesus Christ. Throughoutall religions, the child of one mortal and one immortal parent is heralded as one who has come to bring
divine blessings to the human race. Merlin is the last of a long line of god-men, who partake of both
the human and the spiritual world, who come as avatars to serve the human race. (In later accounts of
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Merlin‟s birth, this fact was obscured by the prevailing Christian beliefs about the supernatural, with
the result that Merlin is portrayed as having the Devil as his father.)
In Geoffrey‟s tale, Merlin shows his paranormal powers at an early age, when he attracts the attention
of the usurping king of Britain, Vortigern. Vortigern is trying to build a stronghold in the mountains of
North Wales to keep out his enemies, but the foundations keep collapsing. His druid advisors tell him
the only way to solve the problem is to sprinkle the ground with the blood of a boy who has no father.
Merlin is brought to Dinas Emrys, but escapes death by telling the King that there are two dragons, one
red and one white, fighting beneath the foundations, causing their instability. He then goes on to
prophesy at great length about the future of the Isle of Britain.
When he is older, he becomes chief advisor to the rightful heir to the throne, Uther Pendragon, for
whom he builds Stonehenge as a memorial for British soldiers slain in battle on Salisbury Plain. He
helps engineer the birth of Arthur to Uther and Ygraine, Duchess of Cornwall, by magical means, and
makes sure Arthur is safely cared for with a foster family. When Arthur comes of age, it is Merlin whoarranges the famous Sword in the Stone incident that reveals the young man as the destined ruler of the
kingdom. Throughout Arthur‟s reign, he aids him with his wisdom and magical skills to conquer those
elements which threaten Britain‟s peace and unity. Merlin is also instrumental in bringing the Round
Table to Arthur‟s court, a highly significant act which signifies the establishing of a new paradigm for
the Age, one in which cooperation and equality supersede the separative influences of hierarchy and
privilege.
Myrddin Gwyllt
Myrddin Gwyllt, or Wyllt, (pronounced mer-thin gwihl-t or wihl-t) means Merlin the Wild. Myrddin is
the older form of Merlin‟s name in the Welsh language, the original tongue of the ancient Britons. Hisname may derive from the town of his birth, Carmarthen, which was originally Moridunum, the sea-
fort. Or it may derive from the root MYR, meaning a „supernatural being, elf, goblin, or phantom.‟
This Merlin is sometimes referred to as Myrddyn fab Morfryn, (pronounced mer-thin vab mor-vrin),
meaning Merlin, son of Morfryn, or perhaps, „Elf -man, son of elf-hill.‟
The story of Merlin the Wild is found in the 13th
century Black Book of Carmarthen and a second book
by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Vita Merlini, the Life of Merlin. Merlin was a bard and a lawgiver in
Demetia (Dyved), a region in southern Wales, who fought in the tragic battle of Arfderydd (anglicized
as Arthuret) between two British armies – one led by a Cumbrian chief, the other by Rhydderch,
overlord of Strathclyde, and Merlin‟s liege. He went mad at the horror of seeing so many of his friendsand family slaughtered, fled the battle and sought refuge in the forest of Celydon – the great
Caledonian forest that covered much of Northern England and Scotland. Here he lived as a wild man
sustained only by foraging for roots and nuts, barely surviving the harsh northern winters, and half out
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Myrddin Gwyllt
of his mind. His only companions in this self-enforced solitude
are the animals of the forest, his favorite being a grey wolf.
The King‟s men continually look for him, hoping to coax him
back to his old life at the court, but Merlin refuses. At length,
his sister, Ganieda in Latin, and in Welsh, Gwenddydd,
(pronounced gwen-theth) who is a skilled seer, realizing that
nothing will persuade him to return to the life of the court,
builds for him in the forest a house of glass (an observatory)
with 70 doors and 70 windows from which he can watch the
stars and prophesy from their movements and positions. Merlin
at last recovers his sanity by drinking from a healing spring. He
says:
“I was taken out of my true self, I was as a spirit and
knew the history of peoplelong past and could foretell the future. I knew then the
secrets of nature, bird flight,
star wanderings and the way fish glide.”
The last line is a clue to the original nature of Merlin the Wild Man of the Woods, not as a madman but
as a shaman, bard, and seer, of the type found in many ancient Northern cultures. Many details of
Merlin‟s story confirm this: In the forest, he lives beside a magic apple-tree which renders him
invisible from those who seek him. When Merlin cannot be found, he has “gone to Avalon,” i.e. he is
in the Otherworld, in the enchanted realm beyond time and space, from which he returns with
prophesies of the future. According to the Black Book of Carmarthen, he is sustained on the fruit froma grove of nineteen apple-trees. Nineteen is a number often found associated with magical figures in
Celtic lore, and is also closely linked with the cycles of the Moon. Merlin‟s forest sanctuary is
reminiscent of the nemeton, or sacred grove of the Celtic Druids while the apple tree is the Tree of Life
in the ancient British Avalonian tradition. It is said that "while the apples hung from the boughs,
Merlin rejoiced to live among the trees and wander through the groves." In the Black Book of
Carmarthen are a number of poems attributed to Merlin, each of which begins with the words, “Sweet
Apple-Tree. . .” as if he is invoking the spirit of the tree.
Merlin‟s apple tree verses were adapted by the poet Thomas Love Peacock in the following poem
(abridged): Fair the gift to Merlin given,
Apple-trees seven score and seven;
Equal all in age and size;
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On a green hill-slope, that lies
Basking in the southern sun,
Where bright waters murmuring run.
Just beneath the pure stream flows;
High above the forest grows;
Not again on earth is found
Such a slope of orchard ground:
Song of birds, and hum of bees,
Ever haunt the apple-trees.
Lovely green their leaves in spring;
Lovely bright their blossoming:
Sweet the shelter and the shade
By their summer foliage made:
Sweet the fruit their ripe boughs hold, Fruit delicious, tinged with gold.
War has raged on vale and hill:
That fair grove was peaceful still.
There have chiefs and princes sought
Solitude and tranquil thought:
There have kings, from courts and throngs,
Turned to Merlin's wild-wood songs.
Merlin / Myrddin is also able to communicate closely with animals. Besides his lupine companionanimal, he communes with a wild piglet, to whom another set of poems in the Black Book of
Carmarthen are addressed, each line beginning: “Oh, little pig . . .” He rides upon a stag, leading a
herd of deer behind him, and in other romances, he shapeshifts into a stag with antlers.
A classic path of shamanic initiation is known as “the Way of the Wounded Healer.” Severe distress
or trauma can have the effect of loosening the usual holds on the physical world and catapult the
sufferer into the world of spirit. After undergoing an otherworldly initiation which may involve an
experience of death and dismemberment, he or she is reborn into the outer world with new insights and
the power thereafter to work in concert with spirit helpers. In the legend of Myrddin Gwyllt, Mer lin‟s
battle madness has this effect on him, and he becomes the shaman of the forest of Celydon. Rejectingthe civilized world, Merlin learns to reweave the ancient alliance between himself and Mother Nature:
in truth, he becomes a priest of the Goddess. He rediscovers the ways of the animal kingdom and
learns to speak with them. He submits to the superior teachings of the forest, which shows him the
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3. The Threefold Death
Merlin's story is entwined with a Scottish tale about a wild man of the woods called
Lailoken. At the end of the Lailoken text is the following triadic verse:
Pierced by a stake, crushed by a stone,
And drowned in the stream’s waters,
Merlin died a triple death.
This seems to refer to a motif that is usually associated with gods like the Celtic Lugh /
Lleu and the Norse Odin who undergo a ritual sacrifice. The discovery of a body
preserved in a peat bog in Cheshire, known as Lindow Man, who seems also to have
suffered a threefold death, suggests this may have been a Druidic practice also.
4. The Prisoner of Faerie
Perhaps the most well-known account of Merlin‟s last days comes from the Arthurianromances in which he is imprisoned through the wiles of a faery woman. The general
story goes that as an old man, Merlin falls in love with a beautiful nymph who tricks
him into teaching her all his magic, and then uses it against him so that he becomes her
prisoner forever. We will look at the esoteric meaning of this in Lesson Five.
A Man of Two Worlds
The stories of Merlin Emrys and Merddyn Gwyllt are strikingly different from each other, but they are
simply two sides of the same coin. Merlin Emrys is the druid of the court, which represents the
sophisticated world of Culture. Merlin Gwyllt, deep in the wildwood, is the druid of untamed Nature.
Together, these two personae comprise the whole of this extraordinary figure who is born of a humanmother and a supernatural father. Like the god-men of early religions, Merlin has a foot in both worlds,
the world of men and the world of spirit, and can come and go as he pleases, returning to his people
with the gifts of foreknowledge and teachings from the animal kingdom. Like the bards of old, he is
fluent in the language of the birds. His intimate knowledge of the vast web of life means that he knows
the patterns of all things and how they interconnect. In the world, this enables him to control the
destinies of a people, a whole country – HIS country – like a skilful player at a chessboard. In the
wildwood, he becomes one with the ancient pattern of star, tree and stone, far beyond the reach of the
human pageant.
At Arthur‟s court, Merlin is the strategist, campaign advisor and elder statesman. But his deepknowledge of the spiritual foundations that lie behind the world of appearances make him also a great
Initiator. When Arthur‟s knights have successfully fought their worldly battles to secure the kingdom,
the barons are suitably subdued, and all dissident elements brought under the king‟s law, Merlin knows
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it is time for them to take the inward adventure of the Spirit, represented by the vast and trackless
forest. In medieval times, the forest was a fearful realm of real and imagined dangers that pressed
menacingly against the castle walls. Merlin stands between these two worlds at the edge of the forest,
daring Arthur‟s knights to ride forth into its uncharted wastes for the love of adventure and marvels –
and also, in hopes of Mystery and transformation. Like the Dweller on the Threshold, he invites the
knights – who are none other than ourselves – to face fear and brave the unknown, whether in the
shape of monstrous dragons, ferocious lions, evil knights on horseback, razor-sharp bridges or haunted
castles.
This is demonstrated vividly in a passage from the 13th
century romance known as the Suite de Merlin,
in which Arthur and his knights are seated at the Round Table for the first time. They are full of
strength and ready for action, and they raise their swords on high, swearing always to turn wrong into
right, to punish the guilty, feed the hungry, help the weak and never refuse to succor a woman in
distress. No sooner have they pledged these oaths than strange things
start to happen: A white hart bounds into the court pursued by a smallwhite hunting-dog, with a pack of hounds following. The hunt tears
around the Round Table, and in its distress, the hart leaps over Sir
Gawain, followed by the white dog. Gawain grabs the dog, but is
carried off with it after the hart. As the knights sit there, dazed, a
beautiful maiden on a white palfrey rides in, loudly lamenting the loss
of her dog, and adjuring the knights to retrieve it for her. King Arthur
does not reply. Doubtless when they took their oaths, he and his
knights had more manly adventures in mind than helping a girl get her
dog back. The next moment, a sinister black knight rides in, seizes the
maiden and gallops off with his screaming, struggling captive. When
the commotion has died down, a perplexed Arthur turns to Merlin.
“What does this all mean, great wizard? Did this hunt and this black knight come from your forest?
Are they apparitions?”
Merlin throws back the hood that shades his face, but instead of revealing the ancient white-bearded
visage, crowned with mistletoe, he is transformed into a radiant youth with golden curling hair
crowned with laurel leaves. He smiles and exclaims,
“Was it a ghost hunt and a faery maiden? Are you not man enough to go out in search of adventures
and to ride in pursuit of faeries? Why are you assembled here if not to follow Gawain‟s example?”
And with that, he covers his face with his hood again, and disappears.
Merlin as Wise Old
Man
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Merlin’s all
This is the challenge Merlin issues to us today, long after these tales were first told. When you have
gone as far as you can in your conquest of the mundane world, will you be content to sit back and
enjoy the world‟s rewards – or follow the hunting horn into the deep forest where a different kind of
Adventure awaits you? As wizard, prophet and guide of souls, Merlin is no less today the primary
Initiator for those who have chosen to follow the Western Way, who would dare to leave the safety of
the Court of everyday life and follow the White Hart into his forest. For Merlin is a potent and
dynamic force in the Inner Planes, and has been for thousands of years. As one who deeply knows both
Earth and Stars, Merlin stands between them in the MiddleRealm, mediating their influences into our
own world.
That he has remained at the forefront of the Western literary imagination throughout the ages, to wit
the countless books, poems, plays and films about him, is evidence that this powerful archetype has
continued to exert a strong and undimmed influence on the folk-soul of all those attuned to this
magical stream of tradition. And perhaps because Merlin has always been deeply concerned with thehuman race, and the only one of the Three Chief Powers of Avalon to actually have walked the earth in
a human body, he can be contacted without too much difficulty through inner work. A number of well-
known magicians of the Western Way, such as Dion Fortune, Gareth Knight and C.R.F. Seymour have
made strong contacts with him, as well as many lesser-known ones working quietly behind the scenes
in recent years. All of which shows that Merlin is still very much alive and active behind the veil of
appearances, and is still vigorously engaged in working to bring about a new Golden Age with our
help.
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noise like a wind and from all directions of the forest comes a herd of wild animals: deer, goats, foxes,
badgers, boar, and all manner of beasts of the wildwood. They all circle him about, gazing at him
adoringly, then he gives one of them a push towards you. Notice what kind of animal this is, for this is
to be your guide….. You thank the woodsman, who opens his huge mouth and gives a long and loud
laugh that echoes throughout the forest as you go upon your way.
The guiding beast leads you on the uphill path through dense thickets of thorn, holly and yew to a
deeper part of the wood where two intertwining hazel trees form an archway across the path. You pass
between the trees and find yourself in a circular glade in which grows a grove of wild apple trees,
covered with white blossoms. A small wild pig is rooting around among the roots for mushrooms and
old apples. In the center of the grove is a large and spreading apple-tree, and below it, a spring bubbles
out from between grey rocks to form a pool of crystal water. Your guiding animal trots over to the
spring and laps the water, and since you are thirsty, you too stoop down and fill the silver cup that
stands upon the stone nearby. You drink and pour the rest away upon the stone – and in that moment,
the sky grows black, there is a loud clap of thunder, and a bolt of lightning strikes the tree into flame.As you leap back from the spring, you gaze up at the lightning-struck tree and see that one side of it is
in full green leaf, while the other is covered with leaves of flame…and yet there is no ash. As you gaze
upon this green and burning tree, the figure of a man slowly appears as if from out of the trunk. The
figure of a tall druid with long wispy white hair and beard, clad in a grey wolf skin. He steps out from
the tree and gazes at you with grave yet kindly eyes and you know that you have reached Merlin‟s
Grove, the bower of Myrddin Gwyllt, bard and prophet of the apple trees.
You greet him with respect and tell him how pleased you are to have found him at last. The grey eyes
give a familiar twinkle, and he tells you, “Ah but you have found me before…for I am also the Child
of the Morning and the Fool at the Crossroads who guided you on your way. I am of the Old Race, thelast of the Knowers of the Trees who understand the language of the birds. I saw fall the seed from
which this tree sprang and I knew the bird that dropped it. I watched this tree when it began to grow
and now it shelters me by day and night. I know the secrets of nature, bird flight, star-wanderings and
the way fish glide. I am the last of the Awenyddion who know the secrets of the fire within the mind
that illumines but does not burn to ash…..Now what is it you seek from me?”
You tell Merlin what you have come to seek, and what passes now between you is not for me to
know….(long pause)
You wish to give him a gift in exchange for his counsel, and find that there is something in your pocketto offer him. In return, he gives something to you…………………
And now as you gaze at Merlin, his face begins to change. Once again he becomes the Fool and the
Child, and you see many, many other faces as well from far-flung places and distant times….….(long
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pause)
And then he fades back into the tree, which has become a blossoming apple tree once again. Your
animal guide is gently nudging you to your feet and you follow it out of the grove, passing between the
two hazel trees and down the hill, back through the woods, with every step becoming more and more
aware that you are returning to this time and this place, and it is time to come all the way back.
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THE MOON SHRINE
I am the moon that rises from the sea, the twilight sea,
I bring men dreams that rule their destiny,
bring the dream tides to the souls of men,
the tides that ebb and flow and ebb again . . . Dion Fortune
Becoming familiar with the cycles of the Sun and the Moon is an important part of Sacred Earth
Magic. The Moon and the Sun are the two luminaries of our world that bring us light by night and
day. Since the Moon reflects the light of the Sun, it is helpful to think of it in the same relationship to
the Earth as the soul to the human body, while the Sun is the overlighting Spirit:
Sun Spirit
Moon Soul
Earth Body
In this lesson, we will work with the Moon, and in a later one, with the Sun.
Because the Moon is the soul of the world, many cultures worldwide think of her as feminine, and a
number of significant goddesses are associated with her, including Isis, Ishtar, Diana, Selene, Hecate,
Arianrhod, and the Virgin Mary. Moon goddesses are naturally enough associated with Water, the
element ruled by the Moon which determines the tides of the sea, and so came to be regarded asguardians of oceans, rivers, streams and sacred springs. The correlation between the Moon, Water and
women's fertility cycles, associate them with everything to do with fertility, regeneration and life-
giving forces. As discussed in the first course in this series, Morgan of Avalon has many aspects of the
Moon Goddess, since she is so closely connected with the sea.
Some modern magical paths regard the Moon as a triple-aspected goddess who appears as a maiden
when waxing, a mother when full, and the crone when waning. Robert Graves, in his book The White
Goddess, made this theory popular, but it is by no means as universal as many believe it to be. In fact,
in many ancient societies, the Moon Goddess had two faces: dark and light, corresponding to her
waxing and waning cycles. The Queen of Elfland in Thomas the Rhymer is an example of this, as arethe Cailleach and Bride, who represent her dark face and bright face respectively.
The ancient Celtic calendar was calculated by the phases of the moon, and in 17th century Scotland a
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month was still reckoned as one full moon cycle. Everyday country life was attuned to its phases: The
waxing moon, which encouraged growth and increase, was a good time to sow seed for crops that grew
above the ground, slaughter livestock, set out on a journey, or begin any new venture. It was also the
most fortunate time for a baby to be born. Under a waning moon, the life force was withdrawn, and it
was only good for tasks that needed dryness, such as plowing, reaping and cutting peat, or for planting
root crops. After the dark of the month, the new moon was welcomed back with songs of joy, and
many customs attended its return. On the Isle of Skye, people gathered at the holy wells when the
moon was new to make a sunwise circle three times and cast an offering into the waters. In some
districts, people climbed the nearest hill to greet the return of the „jewel of the night.‟
At Full Moon, create a Moon Shrine, preferably outdoors, but if that‟s not possible, use a windowsill
where you can gaze out at the Moon, or a place where its rays shine in. Set upon it three, six, or nine
candles of blue, white, or silver, some incense, and a chalice of juice or wine, placed so that the
Moon‟s rays shine on the liquid. Light the candles and the incense, stand before the shrine, and raise
your arms towards the Moon, saying:
Our Lady of the Moon,
This sacred shrine
Is raised in honor of thee
And to bless thy name.
Mistress of silver magic,
Guardian of the gates to Faery,
Queen of tide and time,
I drink this toastIn thine honor.
Raise the chalice high and drink to the Moon Goddess. Sit down and receive any communications
from Her that may come. You may also wish to use this time to journey through the portal of the
Moon: Travel up on beams of light until you reach the great orb, then pass through into the
Otherworld.
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ATTUNING TO THE MOON
Make a point of becoming aware of the Moon's cycles during this lesson period. If you live where
the skies are generally clear at night, do this as much as possible through first-hand observation.
Follow the Moon throughout her 28-day cycle as it grows from a thin silver crescent to a full, pearl-
white orb. Watch as it shrivels and shrinks with old age, rising later and later from its bed each night,
until disappearing altogether at the end of the cycle. Learn to recognize the difference between the
waxing crescent (D Moon) and waning crescent (C Moon). When the skies are cloudy, use a calendar
or almanac to help you.
Become aware of the Moon Goddess, and how her power changes according to her cycle, and because
she rules our emotions, is most strongly experienced through our feeling nature. In her fullness, she isthe splendid Queen of the Night. Beautiful, regal, and mysterious, she heightens our emotions and
moods (hence the word "lunacy") makes our dreams more vivid, and stimulates our sexuality. This is
particularly the case for those born under the sign of the Moon – Cancer – or who otherwise have a
prominently placed Moon in their natal astrology. She is also very powerful at the dark of the Moon in
a different kind of way. Those of you who have taken the first course in this series will recognize her
as the Dark Goddess, who brings about death, transformation and eventual rebirth. Meditations upon
the Moon Goddess at her times of power can yield much magical fruit. A simple ritual for the Full
Moon is given below.
Use your awareness of the Moon's cycles in your daily life. Begin new projects and activities when the
Moon is new or waxing. Bring projects to completion or get rid of things you don't want in your life
during the waning moon. This extends to your magical activities as well. Workings for growth,
healing and the invocation of positive forces on any situation should all be performed between the new
and full Moon. Workings to reduce negative influences, sever binding ties, or release situations should
be undertaken when the Moon is waning or at the dark of the Moon.
The full Moon itself is a very powerful time for all positive magical workings: its influence extends for
one day before and one day after it is technically full. At this time our psychic and intuitive skills are
heightened, which makes it a good time for scrying. If you have taken the first course in this series,
you will know how to do this using a bowl of water. Whether you are new to scrying or not, try it at
the full Moon by filling a dark bowl full of water and placing it where the Moon is reflected in the
water, preferably outside if possible. Let your consciousness become diffuse and dreamy as you gaze
into the reflected Moon, and allow images and impressions to arise.
8/18/2019 Earth Magic II
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