"Portal between Worlds", art credit pixabay.com
To introduce this topic briefly, I’ll say again that I have been tasked with opening [1] portals between worlds and keep these portals open. The timing to do this is not randomly picked, nor does it always align with other holidays from other traditions although it sometimes does. The timing for what I have to do is indicated, for some of the occasions at least, by the positions of the Pleiades. To get the complete picture, please read “Chasing Stars”, a short post that I linked in the Resources section.
I also talked about “Liminal Powers or Fairy Gods”, post linked in the Resources, and I mention them again because the action of opening portals is connected indissolubly to these Liminal Powers.
Last but not least, I must say that the portal opening job per se is part of a bigger agenda. I can say without exaggeration that at this point the bulk of my work is all part of a bigger agenda. (To get a better picture, see “Fairy Priestessing: When Your Spirituality Swallows You Whole”, Morgan Daimler, “Elves and Witches: A Survival Guide”, “Mound Magic: Elves, Necromancy, and Adaptation” Parts 1 and 2, “Essays from Crossroads”, Cat Heath, all linked in the resources.
Following the guidelines provided by my guides among the aelfe (this is how the group I have the strongest connection with identify themselves) I wrote the templates for the portal-opening rituals. I am offering these rituals as semi-regular posts here, at Whispers in the Twilight. The word template clearly suggests that there will be a repetitive element in these posts. However, since rituals in general are not to be done by the rote, the personal connection one has with the Powers who are invited to anchor, protect, and flow through these portals, makes each ritual unique. As always, some people will resonate with what’s being said here while other will not. Please adapt the form and content to suit your needs and beliefs.
As detailed in “Chasing Stars”, I have finally pinpointed the time and days when the Pleiades are visible at the horizon in the North-East, exactly at nightfall. This begins to happen on October 30, but unless someone is at see or has some tech to track it, the Pleiades apparition at the horizon it would go unnoticed. So, rather then a one-day-only event, I prefer to think of it as a several days’ opportunity, when depending where people live, each can choose the day when the Pleiades actually are more observable. It is my personal belief that in many regional cultures tracking time and setting events based on stars depended of when and where one could see them.
During interval October 31-November 6, the Pleiades’ position aligns with everything discussed so far. (There may be slight differences determined by latitude and longitude, but generally speaking this interval should work for the Northern Hemisphere) I personally prefer to do the ritual on October 31 or November 1st. These dates align with Samhain, the Irish name for the moth of November, and with ancestor veneration practices that occur at this time.
So, here’s the Portal-opening Ritual for Samhain and the Autumnal Rising of the Pleiades [2]
The structure and most of what is to be said during this ritual came to me during a meditation that I’ve done with the specific intent of accessing this information.
Outline for the Ritual
- Start standing at the center of the space where the ritual will take place. Face the direction that you would usually face when beginning a ritual. For example, I begin facing my altar by the Fairy Tree, then first turn North.)
- Announce what you are about to do, using words like: “I am setting sacred space. In this sacred space I will open a portal between worlds, human and fairy, a portal that shall allow the two worlds to merge within the confines of the space that I dedicate to this purpose”
- Turning to the left, walk a spiral path starting at the center and gradually expanding toward the periphery of the space. You can walk one several coils, depending on how large your space is. (As I spiral outward, my space accommodates a 3-coils spiral, I sprinkle water on the ground and repeat my intention.)
- When you reach the periphery of your space, walk one full circle to mark the outer boundary. (I have a copper bowl filled with water in which I soak herbs that I know are pleasant to fairies and Fairy Higher Powers. As I walk around this last full circle, I sprinkle herb-infused water on the ground. In my experience, it makes the space feel really good, and it is a nice way to welcome the Powers that I seek to invite. You may want to sprinkle water and/or dried flowers as you walk throughout the whole spiral path, not just the outer bounds. You may wish to use plain water, scatter leaves or something else, or use nothing at all beside your own intent.)
- After you finished walking the circle that defines the outer boundary of your ritual space and sets the size of the portal, acknowledge the Pleiades, the Seven Sister, Seven Queen, or the Hen and Chicken as I knew it while growing up. Pleiades Acronychal rising is the marker for the liminal time we are entering, and there is plenty of evidence that fairies time various celebrations they hold based on star cycles. Begin inviting the Powers that you associate with the Autumn Equinox. You can do this is any way that suits you, so feel free to adapt what I describe below.
(*As I mentioned already, I am personally connected with seven main Fairy Liminal Powers, or Fairy Liminal Gods plus a couple more regional/seasonal/conjecture-based ones. In my own experience, five among these relate to the Autumn Equinox: Keeper of the Passages/The Gatekeeper, Queen of Apples, The Hunter, Queen of Waters, and The Earth Queen. These five Fairy Gods are the ones that I call to both anchor the portal, and bring in the blessings of the season along with balance throughout the months to come. Call the Powers that you feel drawn to call. Even if you resonate with the ones that I mention here, still know that you can call them in any order you chose. For me personally, this order is arbitrary since I do not have any set correspondence linking a Power to a specific cardinal direction.
After I finished setting up sacred space, I stand at the center of the space, which is in my backyard. I have prepared a small jug with fresh water, which will be the first offering I’ll make to the Powers.
- - I stand facing the Fairy Tree. I call the Keeper of the Passages/Gatekeeper to open the gates between worlds and help me keep them wide open. I ask the Gatekeeper to grant passage from one side to the other only to those among humans and fairies who are goodly inclined toward each other’s world and its inhabitants. I invite his presence and his blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Keeper of the Passages, and pour out some water as an offering for him.
-- I turn to face North. I invite the the Queen of Waters, the spirit present in raindrops, wells and rivers, she’s the one who hides or uncovers springs, and is behind the life-giving powers of waters; she’s within tear drops, whether caused by joy or welling up in goodbyes toward beloved departed ones; whose energy runs in the blood, as well as in the plants’ juices. I invite her presence and her blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Queen of Waters and pour out some water as an offering to her.
I turn to face East, and call the Queen of Apples, beholder of vitality and life-force, she who embodies abundance, whether on fields, orchards, or as the health and vigor of mind and body. I invite her presence and her blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Queen of Apples and pour out some water as an offering to her.
- I turn South, and call the The Hunter King/The Arrow Master: he brings on endings to support new beginnings, release energy from old forms to support growth in the viable ones who still have an active purpose to fulfill. He trims down the numbers to maintain balance: none shall exceed in numbers and none shall starve on his watch. I invite his presence and his blessing in the ritual space that I am creating. I welcome the Hunter King/The Arrow Master, and pour out some water as an offering to him.
Stand at the center and face any direction that you chose: ask the Powers, collectively, to anchor the portal and guard it so only those fairies and Fairy beings who are benevolent to you and beneficial for the place may come through.
- Standing at the center, or by the altar – if you have created one- and face any direction you chose. Invite the Fairy Queen or King that you are devoted to or connected with, if there is/are any. Pour out water for them too. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come in.
- If you believe that you have ancestors or relatives in Fairy, invite them to join. Pour out water for them. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come in.
- Invite your fairy familiar(s) and allies. Pour out water for each of them, and greet them individually. Affirm that the portal is open for them to move through as they please, and ask them to guard it against any inimical being that may want to come.
- Express your gratitude for the presence and support coming from those that you invited and the peoples they represent.
- Intend for the portal to remain open and bridge the worlds asunder, human and Fairy.
- Present the offerings of food, and other drinks if you have any (I usually have cakes, or fresh bread and butter, fresh fruit, or a portion of whatever I cooked for myself and my family. I may also offer milk, wine, beer, fruit juice etc. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but whatever it is, it shall be the best quality you can afford.)
- If you have any other offering, such as song, dance, reading aloud something that you chose for Them, you can deliver that now.
- You can burn incense or fragrant herbs as part of offerings. (MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON’T BURN ANYTHING TOXIC!!)
- Leave the offerings in their dishes in the ritual space for as long as you plan to be around celebrating the holy day. Please keep in mind that on this particular occasion the ritual focuses on opening a portal between Fairy and the human world. Because there is a link between fairies and the human dead, honoring the ancestors acquires deeper meaning on this day. Celebrating Samhain, is part of this ritual, but it is more of a backdrop rather than the main purpose in itself. So prepare accordingly, and elaborate your celebratory aspects as much as you like; what I intend to provide here is only an outline, and my focus is on the portal opening part. Make merry and feast, and when you are done, pour out the offerings: you can burry them, put them into fire if you are having a fire lit for the occasion, or leave them on a rock, or on what would represent an outdoor altar space. Be careful about what you leave outside, and make sure it is not toxic for the wildlife or the vegetation around. Alcohol is damaging for herbs and animals, and chocolate is toxic for dogs and the canis family in general (wolves, coyotes, foxes – etc), so best burry or burn those items.
- Since there is no plan to close the portal, find a moment to tell your Fairy invitees that they may stay or leave as they wish. A while ago, during my training in witchcraft I learned the formula “In good will and perfect trust/ stay if you will, go if you must.” I like it and still use it, although I occasionally play around with the wording.
- Let the ritual blend into the rest of your evening, or night, without closing abruptly, so that it mirrors the opening of the portal and the smooth flow between worlds, a subtle but continuous process without any steep halting to it.
May starlight always shine bright on your path,
Daniela
Notes:
[1] Part of my task was to find the days when the Pleiades are first visible at night fall in the night sky in late autumn. Based on observations, this is a period of time between October 30 and November 6. The name for the holy day is the Autumnal Rising.
[2] Portals open naturally at various times and in different locations. They may follow natural cycles or features in the landscape. The process can be supported and enhanced through ritual action which makes the portals stronger and permanent or semi-permanent, which means that their energetic influence increases in the surrounding area or even wider.
Bibliography and Resources
Books:
Carding, Emily “Faery Craft: Weaving Connections with the Enchanted Realm”, 2012
Daimler, Morgan “Travelling the Fairy Path”, 2018
Daimler, Morgan “Living Fairy”, 2020
Seo Helrune, “Essays from Crossroads: A 2016 Collection” , 2016
Simina, Daniela, “A Fairy Path: The Memoir of a Young Fairy Seer in Training”, 2023
On-line resources:
Daimler, Morgan “Fairy Priestessing: When Your Spirituality Swallows You Whole” https://lairbhan.blogspot.com/2018/07/fairy-priestessing-when-your.html
Daimler, Morgan “Liminal Gods- Deeper Theology”, January, 2021 https://lairbhan.blogspot.com/search?q=Liminal+Gods
Daimler, Morgan “Speaking Stars”, https://speakingstarlight.blogspot.com/2020/12/
Daimler, Morgan “Another Approach to Holidays” https://speakingstarlight.blogspot.com/2021/11/an-other-approach-to-holy-days.html
“The Fairy Dwelling on Selena Mor” https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/swc2/swc216.htm
“The Fairy Queen”, The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0576, Page 414, https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes
Simina, Daniela “Chasing Stars” , https://whispersinthetwilight.blogspot.com/2022/10/chasing-stars.html
Classes:
“Elves and Witches: A Survival Guide”, with Cat Heath. For questions about registration and access to recorded material contact Cat Heath at seo.helrune@gmail.com
“Mound Magic: Elves, Necromancy, and Adaptation” Parts 1 and 2, with Cat Heath. For questions about registration and access to recorded material contact Cat Heath at seo.helrune@gmail.com
“Pleiades: Exploring the Significance of Stars in Ireland and Globally” , with Morgan Daimler, available at https://irishpaganschool.com/p/stars
“Fairycrafting: The Art of Fairy Magic – Foundations” with Daniela Simina. For registration and details check https://www.solstice.love/product/11-19-fairycrafting-the-art-of-fairy-magic-with-daniela-simina/5243?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false
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