Faehallows Magical Blog

Working with the Iron Pentacle December 3, 2009

Posted by wulfworks in Uncategorized.
Tags: healing with magic, Hindu mythology, Iron pentacle, Kali, magic, myth-working, Reclaiming, Shiva
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I recently went through an “Iron Pentacle” workshop offered by our local Reclaiming teachers. I have to say, it really shook my foundations, just as it was designed to do.

The whole idea is to look into your personal shadows in the areas of sex, power, pride, passion and self, and explore how they relate to each other in your life. We worked with the story of Kali and Shiva from Hindu mythology and it fit perfectly! I have to admit, since this particular pentacle work is relatively modern and not passed down from ancient tradition, I wasn’t expecting the magic to be all that powerful. Wrong!

I have great respect for the ancient myths and traditions, but I see now that it doesn’t have to be ancient to be powerful. Myth-working, I suppose, will be powerful no matter what the context. Change is definitely happening! One thing that happens when you look into your shadows is that the stuff you didn’t want to see or feel is suddenly running through your blood and staring you in the face. That includes disappointment, anger, shame, fear, vulnerability, self-criticism, confusion, and a bunch of other stuff that can’t even be expressed in words.

Starting with sex, which in the physical world is where all life begins, we worked our way around the circle to self. By that time I felt like I’d been through the wringer, but that was just the beginning. Now, two days later the shock waves are still rumbling through. Take a deep breath. Coming to terms with all the disappointments of a lifetime can be a monumental task! Where is the fairy-tale romance my inner child was counting on? Why have I never fully stood in my power? How come it is so easy to get stuck in deflated pride? Why has my passion so often been a sideline, pushed aside to make room for practicality and security? And self… who is it anyway… really? Is it the face I show the world, or the face I keep to myself, or is it something beyond either of those? One exercise we did was very revealing.

When working with the point of pride, we were asked to find our true authentic self. Where did we feel like we were most strong and capable and secure? Where did our true self flow unimpeded? For me it was in writing, which I found a bit surprising, because I have always thought of myself as an artist at heart… a visual artist. Yet it was in writing that I found the anchor to my authentic self. And it was to writing that I had to go back to pull myself out of the state of deflated pride. Funny how easy it was to get stuck there!

Another interesting thing is how much anger is coming to the surface in these days after the workshop… anger mostly at myself for “wasting” opportunities, fearing my own power, allowing my passion to be squelched… anger that is likely to explode on unsuspecting people if they happen to cross me. Watch out! Take a deep breath. All part of the clearing process. Interesting also that I just happened to be in the middle of a physical cleansing process at the same time (blood, colon, liver, parasite cleanse).

I have spent most of my life thinking anger was a bad thing. I never even allowed myself to feel it, but obviously it was there and it is ready to be felt now, like it or not. Take a deep breath. And underneath it there is a deep sadness. Sadness for all the unrealized dreams, all the broken promises, the destruction in the world – of lives, forests, species, ecosystems, hopes… and my own sense of self-worth which has been eroded away by constant self-criticism.

There is nothing unique about any of that. Billions of people are in the same boat, chipping away at themselves until they have nothing left but Prozac, TV, crack, pot, chocolate, booze, and fast cars to distract them from the pain. But here is the difference. When we stop and take a look into our shadows and stir up that pain, anger, sadness,and fear, it starts moving. That sort of movement doesn’t feel all that good. That’s why we stuffed it in the first place. But if we can just allow it to move through us, like the dance of Kali on a rampage after devouring demons, there will be a point where she stops and recognizes the pure innocence of our inner self… and as she recognizes our true nature, so too will we.

Kali is the archetypal destroyer, yet when Shiva laid himself down at her feet, she recognized the purity of his being and became the archetypal nurturer. Only when she has finished destroying our demons will she be able to recognize the true essence of who we are. Take a deep breath. So, as in the story of Shiva and Kali, I choose to let Kali rampage through my inner world, kicking up anger, fear, pain, and sadness in her wake. I choose to lie helpless on the battlefield of my soul, waiting for the moment she will recognize the essence of who I am, so that I can be free of the demons that haunt my shadows.

I don’t want to numb myself with drugs, booze and fast cars. I want to feel the stomping of Kali’s dance and the earthquakes that cause my illusions to crumble. I want to be fully awake and aware in the moment Kali stops with her tongue hanging out in amazement at the sight of me lying on her battlefield of destruction… the me that I really am. I don’t want to miss that. Take a deep breath. Okay, I feel better now. I also found the following interesting article about how the Iron and Pearl pentacles fit the Qabalistic tree of life for those who are interested in such things. I thought it was fascinating. – http://www.wiggage.com/witch/penttree.html