The Charge of the Goddess

[rex]

For their outlook and approach, these two versions of The Charge of the Goddess are worth reading. The first is the original(?) from Doreen Valiente and the second Starhawk's adaption.

Whenever ye have need of any thing, once in the month, and better it be when the moon is full, then shall ye assemble in some secret place and adore the spirit of She, who is Queen of all witches. There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery, yet have not won its deepest secrets; to these will She teach things that are yet unknown. And ye shall be free from slavery; and as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be naked in your rites; and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in Her praise. For Hers is the ecstasy of the spirit, and Hers also is joy on earth; for Her law is love unto all beings. Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it; let naught stop you or turn you aside. For Hers is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth and Hers is the cup of wine of life, and the cauldron of Cerridwen, which is the Holy Grail of immortality. She is the gracious goddess, who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man. Upon earth, She gave the knowledge of the spirit eternal; and beyond death, She gives peace and freedom, and reunion with those who have gone before. Nor does She demand sacrifice, for behold, She is the mother of all living, and Her love is poured out upon the earth.

She who is the beauty of the green earth, and the white moon among the stars, and the mystery of the waters, and the desire of the heart of man, calls unto thy soul. Arise, and come unto Her. For She is the soul of nature, who gives life to the universe. from Her all things proceed, and unto Her all things must return; and before Her face, beloved of gods and men, let thine innermost divine self be enfolded in the rapture of the infinite. Let Her worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. And thou who thinkest to seek Her, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, She has been with thee from the beginning; and She is that which is attained at the end of desire.

Source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos058.htm

Listen to the words of the Great Mother, who of old was called Artemis, Astarte, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Ceridwen, Diana, Arionrhod, Brigid and by many other names:

Whenever you have need of anything,
once in the month,
and better when the moon is full,
you shall assemble in some secret place
and adore the spirit of Me
who is Queen of all the Wise.
You shall be free from slavery,
and as a sign that you be free
you shall be naked in your rites.
Sing, feast, dance, make music and love,
all in My presence,
for Mine is the ecstasy of the spirit
and Mine also is joy on earth.
For My law is love unto all beings.
Mine is the secret
that opens upon the door of youth,
and Mine is the cup of wine of life,
that is the Cauldron of Ceridwen
that is the holy grail of immortality.
I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal
and beyond death I give peace and freedom
and reunion with those that have gone before.
Nor do I demand aught of sacrifice,
for behold,
I am the mother of all things
and My love is poured upon the earth.

Hear the words of the Star Goddess,
the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,
whose body encircles the universe:

I who am the beauty of the green earth
and the white moon among stars
and the mysteries of the waters,
I call upon your soul to arise
and come unto me.
For I am the soul of nature
that gives life to the universe.
From Me all things proceed
and unto Me they must return.
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices,
for behold—
all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
Let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion,
honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.
And you who seek to know Me,
know that your seeking and yearning
will avail you not,
unless you know the Mystery:
for if that which you seek,
you find not within yourself,
you will never find it without.
For behold,
I have been with you
from the beginning,
and I am that which is attained
at the end of desire.

Source: http://kaykeys.net/spirit/earthspirituality/goddesscharge.html

Don't know if anyone else likes to make connections between traditions, identifying themes and images. Vajranatha (John Myrdhin Reynolds) does:
Wicca, Paganism and Tantra
Wisdom Dakinis,Passionate and Wrathful

[Zhongyongdaoist]

The original is from Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, ostensibly an ancient work giving an account of traditional Italian witchcraft beliefs and practices.

The Charge of the Goddess, an important piece of liturgy used in Wiccan rituals, was inspired by Aradia's speech in the first chapter of the book. Parts of the speech appeared in an early version of Gardnerian Wicca ritual. According to Doreen Valiente, one of Gardner's priestesses, Gardner was surprised by Valiente's recognising the material as having come from Leland's book. Valiente subsequently rewrote the passage in both prose and verse, retaining the "traditional" Aradia lines. (Wikipedia on Aradia, or the Gospel of the Withes)

It was translated and published by Charles Godfrey Leland, about whom you can read here:

Wikipedia on Charles Godfrey Leland

The complete text of Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches can be found here:

Internet Sacred Text Archive, Aradia, the Gospel of the Witches

 

As noted above the source of the charge appears in Chapter One.

[rex]

Interesting connection between the text highlighted in this excerpt:

 

"Let Her worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you."

 

and these instructions:

 

Dr. Morris's Secret Smile & Breathing basic KAP 1

 

 

[Nungali]

Liber Al 1:61 – 65 ;

“But to love me is better than all things: if under the night stars in the desert thou presently burnest mine incense before me, invoking me with a pure heart, and the Serpent flame therein, thou shalt come a little to lie in my bosom. For one kiss wilt thou then be willing to give all; but whoso gives one particle of dust shall lose all in that hour. Ye shall gather goods and store of women and spices; ye shall wear rich jewels; ye shall exceed the nations of the earth in spendour & pride; but always in the love of me, and so shall ye come to my joy. I charge you earnestly to come before me in a single robe, and covered with a rich headdress. I love you! I yearn to you! Pale or purple, veiled or voluptuous, I who am all pleasure and purple, and drunkenness of the innermost sense, desire you. Put on the wings, and arouse the coiled splendour within you: come unto me!

 

At all my meetings with you shall the priestess say -- and her eyes shall burn with desire as she stands bare and rejoicing in my secret temple -- To me! To me! calling forth the flame of the hearts of all in her love-chant.

 

Sing the rapturous love-song unto me! Burn to me perfumes! Wear to me jewels! Drink to me, for I love you! I love you!

 

I am the blue-lidded daughter of Sunset; I am the naked brilliance of the voluptuous night-sky.

 

To me! To me! “

 

Comparative dates ?

[Seth Ananda]

[Zhongyongdaoist]

Comparative dates ?

 

Leland published Aradia in 1899, Crowley 'received' Liber Al in 1903. Liber Al, as you probably already know, indicates that Crowley was already widely read as it refers to 'Obeah and Wanga', African Diaspora terms, which may have been floating around in his unconscious. So it is possible that he may have been familiar with Aradia too. Somewhere I read about Crowley saying that he had met some witches in his early years, but didn't want to be bossed around by a woman. Unfortunately I cannot place the reference right now. Also is should be remembered that A. O. Spare had his witch teacher.

 

Wikipedia on Liber Al's use of 'Obeah and Wanga' (I was surprised to see that an entry this specific existed.)

 

Interesting connection between the text highlighted in this excerpt:

 

"Let Her worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you."

 

and these instructions:

 

Dr. Morris's Secret Smile & Breathing basic KAP 1

 

An interesting correlation Rex, I don't think it exactly correlates, but it is suggestive. Positive emotional states are a big help in magic and meditation, but then any intense emotions can be harnessed if one is properly trained. The oddest one that I found was one based solely on anger. The way in which it was harnessed was quite interesting, not as negative as it sounds on the surface.

 

Thanks for the Glenn Morris link, I have heard of him, and know that he is highly thougt of, but have never studied his material.

 

As for the secret of the 'secret smile', it is definitely a unique smile and cannot be faked. My own research indicates that it happens when the 'pleasure center' of the brain, like in those rat experiments, is stimulated. I have different ways of accessing it based on my NLP experience.

 

 

Edit: Italicized first 'Liber Al' after Crowley.

Edited January 17, 2014 by Zhongyongdaoist

[Seth Ananda]

Crowely was familiar with DeLaurence's work right? He wrote on Obeah as far as I remember...

[Zhongyongdaoist]

Crowely was familiar with DeLaurence's work right? He wrote on Obeah as far as I remember...

 

Am I correct in assuming that you mean L. W. de Laurence:

 

Wikipedia on L. W. de Laurence

 

of De Laurence, Scott and Company?

 

I haven't thought about him in years (decades really), though both my well worn copy of The Greater Key of Solomon and my first copy of the Goetia, were from them.

 

Well it's late where I am and I have had a long day, but I have spent the past couple of hours on a merry chase through cyberspace with the result that I can now see Agrippa's influence on Obeah, a most unexpected result. It is a strange world we live in. I will try to write more later if anyone is interested.

[Seth Ananda]

 

Am I correct in assuming that you mean L. W. de Laurence:

 

Wikipedia on L. W. de Laurence

 

of De Laurence, Scott and Company?

Thats the one

Edited January 17, 2014 by Seth Ananda

[BaguaKicksAss]

Agrippa must have been Obeah in a previous life or something .

[9th]

Hekátē of the Path, I invoke Thee, Lovely Lady of the Triple Crossroads,

Celestial, Chthonian, and Marine One, Lady of the Saffron Robe.

Sepulchral One, celebrating the Bacchic Mysteries among the Souls of the Dead,

Daughter of Persês, Lover of Solitude, rejoicing in deer.

Nocturnal One, Lady of the Dogs, invincible Queen.

She of the Cry of the Beast, Ungirt One, having an irresistible Form.

Bullherder, Keeper of the Keys of All the Universe, Mistress,

Guide, Bride, Nurturer of Youths, Mountain Wanderer.

I pray Thee, Maiden, to be present at our hallowed rites of initiation,

Always bestowing Thy graciousness upon the Boukolos.

[Nungali]

 

Hymn to Proserpine (After the Proclamation in Rome of the Christian Faith)

 

 

 

 

By Algernon Charles Swinburne

 

 

Vicisti, Galilæe.

 

I have lived long enough, having seen one thing, that love hath an end;

 

Goddess and maiden and queen, be near me now and befriend.

 

Thou art more than the day or the morrow, the seasons that laugh or that weep;

 

For these give joy and sorrow; but thou, Proserpina, sleep.

 

Sweet is the treading of wine, and sweet the feet of the dove;

 

But a goodlier gift is thine than foam of the grapes or love.

 

Yea, is not even Apollo, with hair and harpstring of gold,

 

A bitter God to follow, a beautiful God to behold?

 

I am sick of singing; the bays burn deep and chafe: I am fain

 

To rest a little from praise and grievous pleasure and pain.

 

For the Gods we know not of, who give us our daily breath,

 

We know they are cruel as love or life, and lovely as death.

 

O Gods dethroned and deceased, cast forth, wiped out in a day!

 

From your wrath is the world released, redeemed from your chains, men say.

 

New Gods are crowned in the city; their flowers have broken your rods;

 

They are merciful, clothed with pity, the young compassionate Gods.

 

But for me their new device is barren, the days are bare;

 

Things long past over suffice, and men forgotten that were.

 

Time and the Gods are at strife; ye dwell in the midst thereof,

 

Draining a little life from the barren breasts of love.

 

I say to you, cease, take rest; yea, I say to you all, be at peace,

 

Till the bitter milk of her breast and the barren bosom shall cease.

 

Wilt thou yet take all, Galilean? but these thou shalt not take,

 

The laurel, the palms and the pæan, the breasts of the nymphs in the brake;

 

Breasts more soft than a dove's, that tremble with tenderer breath;

 

And all the wings of the Loves, and all the joy before death;

 

All the feet of the hours that sound as a single lyre,

 

Dropped and deep in the flowers, with strings that flicker like fire.

 

More than these wilt thou give, things fairer than all these things?

 

Nay, for a little we live, and life hath mutable wings.

 

A little while and we die; shall life not thrive as it may?

 

For no man under the sky lives twice, outliving his day.

 

And grief is a grievous thing, and a man hath enough of his tears:

 

Why should he labour, and bring fresh grief to blacken his years?

 

Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean; the world has grown grey from thy breath;

 

We have drunken of things Lethean, and fed on the fullness of death.

 

Laurel is green for a season, and love is sweet for a day;

 

But love grows bitter with treason, and laurel outlives not May.

 

Sleep, shall we sleep after all? for the world is not sweet in the end;

 

For the old faiths loosen and fall, the new years ruin and rend.

 

Fate is a sea without shore, and the soul is a rock that abides;

 

But her ears are vexed with the roar and her face with the foam of the tides.

 

O lips that the live blood faints in, the leavings of racks and rods!

 

O ghastly glories of saints, dead limbs of gibbeted Gods!

 

Though all men abase them before you in spirit, and all knees bend,

 

I kneel not neither adore you, but standing, look to the end.

 

All delicate days and pleasant, all spirits and sorrows are cast

 

Far out with the foam of the present that sweeps to the surf of the past:

 

Where beyond the extreme sea-wall, and between the remote sea-gates,

 

Waste water washes, and tall ships founder, and deep death waits:

 

Where, mighty with deepening sides, clad about with the seas as with wings,

 

And impelled of invisible tides, and fulfilled of unspeakable things,

 

White-eyed and poisonous-finned, shark-toothed and serpentine-curled,

 

Rolls, under the whitening wind of the future, the wave of the world.

 

The depths stand naked in sunder behind it, the storms flee away;

 

In the hollow before it the thunder is taken and snared as a prey;

 

In its sides is the north-wind bound; and its salt is of all men's tears;

 

With light of ruin, and sound of changes, and pulse of years:

 

With travail of day after day, and with trouble of hour upon hour;

 

And bitter as blood is the spray; and the crests are as fangs that devour:

 

And its vapour and storm of its steam as the sighing of spirits to be;

 

And its noise as the noise in a dream; and its depth as the roots of the sea:

 

And the height of its heads as the height of the utmost stars of the air:

 

And the ends of the earth at the might thereof tremble, and time is made bare.

 

Will ye bridle the deep sea with reins, will ye chasten the high sea with rods?

 

Will ye take her to chain her with chains, who is older than all ye Gods?

 

All ye as a wind shall go by, as a fire shall ye pass and be past;

 

Ye are Gods, and behold, ye shall die, and the waves be upon you at last.

 

In the darkness of time, in the deeps of the years, in the changes of things,

 

Ye shall sleep as a slain man sleeps, and the world shall forget you for kings.

 

Though the feet of thine high priests tread where thy lords and our forefathers trod,

 

Though these that were Gods are dead, and thou being dead art a God,

 

Though before thee the throned Cytherean be fallen, and hidden her head,

 

Yet thy kingdom shall pass, Galilean, thy dead shall go down to thee dead.

 

Of the maiden thy mother men sing as a goddess with grace clad around;

 

Thou art throned where another was king; where another was queen she is crowned.

 

Yea, once we had sight of another: but now she is queen, say these.

 

Not as thine, not as thine was our mother, a blossom of flowering seas,

 

Clothed round with the world's desire as with raiment, and fair as the foam,

 

And fleeter than kindled fire, and a goddess, and mother of Rome.

 

For thine came pale and a maiden, and sister to sorrow; but ours,

 

Her deep hair heavily laden with odour and colour of flowers,

 

White rose of the rose-white water, a silver splendour, a flame,

 

Bent down unto us that besought her, and earth grew sweet with her name.

 

For thine came weeping, a slave among slaves, and rejected; but she

 

Came flushed from the full-flushed wave, and imperial, her foot on the sea.

 

And the wonderful waters knew her, the winds and the viewless ways,

 

And the roses grew rosier, and bluer the sea-blue stream of the bays.

 

Ye are fallen, our lords, by what token? we wise that ye should not fall.

 

Ye were all so fair that are broken; and one more fair than ye all.

 

But I turn to her still, having seen she shall surely abide in the end;

 

Goddess and maiden and queen, be near me now and befriend.

 

O daughter of earth, of my mother, her crown and blossom of birth,

 

I am also, I also, thy brother; I go as I came unto earth.

 

In the night where thine eyes are as moons are in heaven, the night where thou art,

 

Where the silence is more than all tunes, where sleep overflows from the heart,

 

Where the poppies are sweet as the rose in our world, and the red rose is white,

 

And the wind falls faint as it blows with the fume of the flowers of the night,

 

And the murmur of spirits that sleep in the shadow of Gods from afar

 

Grows dim in thine ears and deep as the deep dim soul of a star,

 

In the sweet low light of thy face, under heavens untrod by the sun,

 

Let my soul with their souls find place, and forget what is done and undone.

 

Thou art more than the Gods who number the days of our temporal breath;

 

Let these give labour and slumber; but thou, Proserpina, death.

 

Therefore now at thy feet I abide for a season in silence. I know

 

I shall die as my fathers died, and sleep as they sleep; even so.

 

For the glass of the years is brittle wherein we gaze for a span;

 

A little soul for a little bears up this corpse which is man.

 

So long I endure, no longer; and laugh not again, neither weep.

 

For there is no God found stronger than death; and death is a sleep.

[Apech]

A Prayer to Hekate

 

Hekate, sure-stepping maid, watcher at the gate,

honored by mighty Zeus above all others,

fair goddess who walks freely along all paths,

holder of shares in all the worlds. Hekate,

keeper of evil from the home, friend of women,

guardian of children, protector in fear and need.

 

Hekate, keen-eyed one of whom we know too little,

honored in ancient times at each home's door,

receiver of crossroad offerings, of mothers' prayers,

I ask of you, defend us now as you did then.

I call on you to guard my home, my family,

my children. Kind Hekate, I praise and honor you.

 

Glorious Hekate, well known by all in times past,

honored today as well in many guises,

on this dark night I pray to you, shining goddess.

Peerless Hekate, I pour out sweet wine to you,

I pray to you: safeguard my home, my household;

watch over my daughters; keep all ill from my door.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

I can now see Agrippa's influence on Obeah, a most unexpected result. It is a strange world we live in. I will try to write more later if anyone is interested.

 

The above of course seems odd, but here is the quick answer. It is only Obeah as it developed in the Twentieth Century and not its earlier development. Agrippa influenced Obeah through L. W. De Laurence by way of Francis Barrett:

 

De Laurence's 'Obeah Bible'

 

From the Amazon.com description:

 

What are the secrets of Obeah? This Caribbean magical tradition strikes fear into the hearts of many. Now at last its secrets are revealed. The Obeah Bible was originally published as The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism in 1898 by L.W. de Laurence. This text is taken from the 1915 edition. The Great Book became an influential text in the practice of certain African-derived magic systems, including hoodoo, Voodoo and Obeah. The Great Book, along with all other books published by the De Laurence Company, remain banned in Jamaica due to strong associations with Obeah practice. This has earned The Great Book its nickname The Obeah Bible. (Emphasis mine, ZYD)

 

And from the publisher's description:

 

The Obeah Bible was originally published as The Great Book of Magical Art, Hindu Magic and East Indian Occultism in 1898 by L.W. De Laurence. This text is taken from the 1915 edition. Despite the title, the text has little to do with Hinduism -- many of the "Hindu" words were fabricated and pasted into the text, of which much is an adapted version of Francis Barrett's 1801 occult work The Magus (which was itself a compilation of earlier European occult works, including those by Cornelius Agrippa and Pietro d'Abano.) (Emphasis mine, ZYD)

 

There is a lot more that I discovered, but I don't have time to go into it, but I would be remiss if I neglected this lovely tribute to De Laurence by a Jamaican:

 

Dr. L. W. de Laurence was an American author and publisher on Occult and Spiritual topics. He wrote many books; among them are The Master Key and The great book of Hindu Magic. He had a reputation of being a book pirate, often times publishing books that were written by others under his own name and without ever giving credit to the true authors (plagiarism). For example The Pictorial Key to the Tarot and The Rider-Waite, Tarot Decks were published by de Laurence without giving any credit to either AE Waite or Pamela Coleman-Smith. His reputation for plagiarism unfortunately overshadowed his considerable contributions to occultism. He is credited to date on the development of Jamaican Obeah and many stories were told about him and his magic which drove fear in many a people in several Jamaican communities. De Laurence influenced obeah which involved the use of crystal balls, tarot cards and sympathetic magic. The six and seven books of Moses was considered the bible by the de Laurence practitioners. Many Jamaicans wrote to de Laurence whose catalog company was based in Chicago IL, wanting to learn how to divine, invoke spirits and heal among other things. (L.W.de LAURENCE!!! READ WITHOUT FEAR! by Obara Meji) (Emphasis in the original, the titles are in a larger font in the original, in copying they came out bold, ZYD.)

 

The whole post is worth a read and I think that De Luarence would be pleased with it. It includes this wonderful quote:

 

Here is an excerpt from one of his books…….. THE MYSTIC TEST BOOK OF THE HINDU OCCULT CHAMBERS (not sure if this was plagiarized) To understand the mysterious Occult influences of the Celestial Realm upon the Intellectual and deep upon the Terrestrial , and to realize how to develop ourselves so as to be a Master who is capable of attracting to his own soul the supreme influences of these worlds, whereby he may be able to operate and do wonderful things by these Occult Powers —— to read the past and future of man, to know the secret counsels of men, to attract wealth, to overcome secret enemies and animals, to procure the love and favors of those around you, to deflect or expel disease, to prolong the days of your life on the earth plane, to foretell future events, to see clairvoyantly and realize things happening many hundred miles away, and such likes as these. That this lies within the possibilities of the soul of man may seem incredible but you will realize that the above possibilities can be confirmed and verified by common sense and reason. For the Cringing, Skeptical, Material fool and doubter the writer cares nothing. (Emphasis mine, ZYD)

 

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

To understand the mysterious Occult influences of the Celestial Realm upon the Intellectual and deep upon the Terrestrial , and to realize how to develop ourselves so as to be a Master who is capable of attracting to his own soul the supreme influences of these worlds, whereby he may be able to operate and do wonderful things by these Occult Powers...

 

So is that what happened?

 

I became capable of attracting to my own soul the supreme influences of the Celestial Realms?

 

Sounds cool.

...

 

[rex]

An interesting correlation Rex, I don't think it exactly correlates, but it is suggestive. Positive emotional states are a big help in magic and meditation, but then any intense emotions can be harnessed if one is properly trained. The oddest one that I found was one based solely on anger. The way in which it was harnessed was quite interesting, not as negative as it sounds on the surface.

 

Thanks for the Glenn Morris link, I have heard of him, and know that he is highly thougt of, but have never studied his material.

 

As for the secret of the 'secret smile', it is definitely a unique smile and cannot be faked. My own research indicates that it happens when the 'pleasure center' of the brain, like in those rat experiments, is stimulated. I have different ways of accessing it based on my NLP experience.

 

You're welcome! When there's a lot of energy coming into the system, either from above or below, the secret smile can make all the difference between between having a sublime or terrifying experience.

 

The reason the thread was tagged with tantra and thereby linking it to witchcraft and The Charge of the Goddess is that in the tantric literature I've chanced upon the presence of certain goddesses automatically evokes certain emotions and that the goddesses are in turn drawn to these emotions in the aspirant, hence this part from The Charge:

 

And thou who thinkest to seek Her, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, She has been with thee from the beginning; and She is that which is attained at the end of desire.

 

Continuing on the role of emotions there's this from a dialogue between Parvati and Shiva:

 

The goddess Parvati, the Shakti of Shiva, says:

"O Lord of my heart, Guru of my soul! There is never a moment when I am not filled with

longing for you! Now tell me more. Tell me how erotic fantasy can become a vehicle of

Liberation. Tell me how the emotions can be transformed and also about the role of the

sentiments. Then tell me about sexual roles."

 

Inhaling deeply, the Supreme Yogi replies:

"Beloved Mistress, erotic fantasy stimulates the emotions and helps lift the sentiments beyond

mundaneness. Erotic fantasy is particularly helpful to those who feel restricted and

caught up in worldly circumstances. By causing consciousness to expand, erotic fantasy can

truly become a vehicle of Liberation.

"The emotions are feelings of ecstasy, love, hate and so forth. When an awareness of the

nature of emotions is present in the consciousness, nine sentiments manifest. From the

original tranquil sentiment, the amorous, humorous, compassionate, furious, heroic, awesome,

wondrous, and repugnant sentiments arise. Of these, the amorous, humorous, compassionate,

and wondrous sentiments are naturally uplifting and potentially liberating. The

furious, heroic, and awesome sentiments play a major role in Tantric evolution because

they transcend convention. As for the repugnant sentiment, it serves to repel undesirable

influences. All these sentiments evolve from an original ground of tranquility. All have a

psycho-cosmic function, leading to transcendence.

"The emotions can be channeled by conjuring them from a position of inner tranquility.

Different emotions and sentiments are normally linked to an individual's experiences and to

psycho-physical processes. The ever-fertile mind of man is a veritable a garden of emotions,

producing both sweet and bitter fruits. With thought, the mind empowers emotions with

meaning. Linked to breathing and the imagination, emotions and the sentiments are the

cause behind the endless round of births and deaths.

"Emotions are part of one's being and are generally focused in the region of the heart.

They reach all parts of the body and create positive or negative conditions in the senses and

organs. Emotions are naturally linked to colors, sounds, forms, worldly phenomena, seasons,

and planetary motions. For example, there is a color classification based on cosmology;

the amorous sentiment is traditionally related to green, the humorous to white, the compassionate

to gray, the furious to dark red, the heroic to golden red, the awesome to black, the

wondrous to yellow, and the repugnant to a certain type of blue. The tranquil sentiment is

viewed as translucent, effulgent, and shining, yet with hints of all the colors.

"By visualizing particular sentiments as colors and using the breathing techniques of Hatha

Yoga to give them stability, one can consciously channel and transform emotions. In this

process creative imagination and a positive mental attitude are all-important. Generally the

inhalation of breath is linked to the amorous and wondrous sentiments; retention of breath to

the heroic, awesome, and tranquil sentiments; exhalation to the humorous, compassionate,

and repugnant sentiments; and rapid inhalation and exhalation of breath to the furious sentiment.

In most worldly circumstances sentiments are mixed; rarely are they pure.

Source: Quoted in Sexual Secrets: The Alchemy of Ecstasy, Nik Douglas & Penny Slinger

 

Coincidentallly I had an interesting experience with intense anger a few years ago. It didn't occur during a meditation session but when involved in the daily grind of work, routine and repetition. It would have been highly damaging to all concerned if the violent anger was expressed so despite continuing aggravation it was just given the mental space to be, being neither encouraged or suppressed. After about ten minutes it transformed into a calm focused mental clarity that hung around for a few hours. Interestingly, in vajrayana buddhism the primordial, pure form of anger is clarity.