Ritual
In the first phase of Scáthach training the Novice is welcomed into the Order with an Acceptance ritual. The Novice studies energy through both mental and psychical exercises, learns and practices psychic skills and develops their magickal skills. At the end of this first phase the Novice becomes a Squire at an Armoring ceremony. The second level of training has to do with studying ritual and magickal weapons: We take our Magickal Weapons seriously and train with them. At the end of this second phase the Squire becomes a Knight at an Arming ceremony. The third phase of training is about teaching and leadership. At the end of the third phase the Knight becomes a Master at a Mastering ceremony. While our Sabbat rituals are constantly changing to reflect the creativity of our members, these initiations are fixed, tying us together with tradition.
In Scáthach we do not seek trance states. We are Warriors, and entering into a trance is risky business. As Warriors, we want to remain in states where we can better perceive possible threats surrounding us. Rather, our practice of meditation allows us to enter what psychologists call “flow states”: States of mind in which all of our senses are amplified and intensified. In order to defend yourself, you need all five of your senses at maximum perceptive levels. The meditative practices that we use in Scáthach training to give us this ability comes from martial arts disciplines. Our discipline of meditation allows us to develop these flow states to make our magick and our defenses more effective and efficient. There is an old saying in Karate: “Mind like water, mind like the moon.” The Scáthach Knight wants her mind to be like a still pond. She is then aware of the slightest ripple in her awareness. A still mind accurately reflects the reality around it. Satori is a true Warrior state of mind. Your whole being becomes awareness.
In Scáthach, we do not worship the Gods. We do not! Worship implies that the Gods are “out there”, that they are separate from us, on a pedestal somewhere. Worship is bowing down to the Gods and asking them to do things for you, to forgive you, to absolve you. This is how it is done in the revealed religions of the Western world, and it is a system based on guilt. People do whatever they want all week, violate their codes of behavior, and then “make up for it” at the end of the week at church. This cycle repeats itself endlessly.
The Order of Scáthach does not subscribe to this approach. Instead, we base our system on empowerment. We replace guilt with responsibility. Remember the Charge of the Goddess? The divine is within. Thou art God/dess. We don’t worship in Scáthach. We immerse ourselves in divinity. We entrain with divinity. We connect with divinity. We embrace divinity. Religion should be about helping you live life to the fullest, not making yourself a martyr in hopes of a better afterlife. One of my favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, once said: “You can die for your country or your people or your family, but for a god you should live fully and busily every day of a long life.”
Man’s relationship with divinity is a symbiotic one. We create divinity in our image and, in turn, the divine creates us. We are born from divine energy, made up of the dust of the stars. We reduce the infinite dimensions of this vast and awe inspiring universe that we live in to finite aspects that our minds can encompass. Scathách teaches novices this right from the start. Some of our earliest lessons involve creating new deities to deal with problems in our life. This shocks some new people at first: How can they presume to create a God? I tell them that every God of every pantheon of every religion that has ever been was invented by some guy or gal somewhere. Every single one. If thou art God, why not create another? We have a lot of fun with this. And it works.
