Fire comes from the direction of south and is associated with the quality of inspiration. Feel the power of fire within the heat of your body and the electric signals that are constantly at work within you. Consider how you act upon inspiration in your life and what has inspired you within the pages of this book. How will you act upon this inspiration? Take three deep breaths, breathing in the quality of inspiration and breathing out any times of inaction or creative blockage. Holding awareness of all the qualities thus far within you, step forward and to the right seven paces to the last point of the septagram, water. Turn to face the centre of the septagram.
Water comes from the direction of west and represents the quality of joy. Feel the power of water within your body, within your riverlike veins, your blood, tears, sweat, and hormones. Consider the presence of joy in your life and what has brought you joy within the pages of this book. Take three deep breaths, breathing in the quality of joy and breathing out despair and boredom.
Now, holding all the qualities of honour, magick, connection, earth, air, fire, and water with you, step forward into the centre of the septagram. Feel all the qualities at work within your life and the world around you in balance. Take three deep breaths, breathing in the quality of balance and breathing out any imbalance or unwanted chaos.
Whilst in the centre, perform the Becoming the Faery Tree exercise once more to ground yourself, then reflect on your experience, walking back into everyday life with all the qualities of Faery Craft in balance within you.
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The Raven King’s Daughter
Once upon a time, be it long ago, this very moment, or perhaps in years to come, the Faery Court of the West was ruled by the wise and ancient Raven King. The Court of the East was ruled by the White Queen, who often walked the land in the form of a great white mare.
But twice a year, when the day and night were of equal length, the king and queen would meet at the boundary between their two lands, at the blessed mound of Silbury Hill. And there, while their clans celebrated in the halls beneath, the Raven King and the White Queen would meet in private at the top of the hill by silvery moon and discuss the fate of mankind.
The wisdom of the Raven King had kept the peace for many ages, but in the days we speak of, his patience was growing thin. No longer did it seem so wise to let the ills of man and their greedy deeds go unchecked, and yet the White Queen sang to him always of peace.
She loved the passion with which he raved, and he loved the beauty of her peaceful song, and between them, on a spring night, they made a daughter of true royal Faery blood, with the passion of her father and the beauty of her mother.
When the Raven King’s daughter had almost reached her bloom, she heard the ravings of her father and knew that his heart was at last determined upon war.
Placing her hand upon his heart, she pleaded with him to keep the peace.
“Father,” she urged, “to be sure, must we not know the truth of their hearts? Let me go amongst them and see whether I may learn it, for surely war is a dreadful thing!”
The king examined his daughter’s face.
“Are you so determined, my precious child? For you know that to fully enter the world of mortals, you must die to us and be reborn to them, and this you may do only four times, as the paths of the crossroads allow, before you return to us at last…”
“Father, I am determined,” she replied, “and willing to make this sacrifice for lasting peace.”
The Raven King could see the truth in his daughter’s eyes, and he knew there would be no dissuading her. And so it was that the Raven King devoured his daughter and went to the crossroads where the worlds meet.
There, alongside the first path, he saw a silver fish swimming in the river, so he visited himself upon the fish, and the Raven King’s daughter was born into the world of man as a fish.
Her life as a fish was short, for as she swam to get near the first men she saw, she was caught in their nets and sold to market.
When her spirit returned to the land of Faery, her father asked, “Tell me, what have you learnt of the heart of man?”
The Raven King’s daughter replied, “Father, I have learnt of their greed, but I think I saw a tinge of regret in the eyes of the man who caught me. Please, Father, I must return again!”
So the Raven King devoured his daughter and returned to the crossroads where the worlds meet. There on the second path he saw a bird sitting high in the branches of a tree, so he visited himself upon it, and the Raven king’s daughter was born into the world as a bird. Her life as a bird was long, for she flew high above the world of man, who seemed barely to notice her at all, yet she saw all their quarrels and the devastating effects of their growth and destruction.
When her spirit returned to the land of Faery, her father asked again, “Tell me, what have you learnt of the heart of man?”
“Father,” she replied, “I have learnt of their short-sightedness—and yet I saw some invention and ingenuity in the world they are creating for themselves. Please, Father, I must return again.”
So the Raven King devoured his daughter and went to the crossroads where the worlds meet. There on the third path was waiting a sturdy Shire horse, and he visited himself upon it. So his daughter was born once more into
