August 2nd, 2008
Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a weekend with like minded pagans, during which a number of rituals and exercises were conducted. The highlight for me, curiously, was a ritual that involved but one person – myself. As regular readers will know, I have become interested in dragon energy lately, in fact, since visiting an ancient megalithic site in Denmark at the end of last year. The site was known to locals as the Troll Church (translated into English), and I found out about it chatting to the owner of a small esoteric bookshop in the town where I was staying. You can read the full story of my encounter with dragon energy and see a couple of photos in a previous posting.
Since then, I have been researching dragon energy, particularly in the Celtic tradition. One story which holds a lot of meaning for me is the story of Merlin’s prophecies to King Vortigern. The story appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s “History of the Kings of Brittain”, but I read it in “Merlin: The Prophetic Vision and The Mystic Life” by R.J. Stewart, available on the web at http://www.dreampower.com/ProphMerlin.html. I have briefly mentioned this story previously in my description of the “Caduceus Meditation”.
The story goes that Vortigern was trying to build a tower on top of a hill, and each night it would be turned to a pile of rubble, so that the next morning work would have to start all over again. Vortigern consulted all his priests and soothsayers who advised that only the sacrifice of a boy with no known father could prevent the collapse of the tower. Eventually Merlin, having been born of an ethereal spirit and a mortal women, was found and brought to the king. However, before he could be sacrificed, he declared to the king that the true reason for the tower’s collapse was known to him: If he was to dig under the tower, he would find a pond, and if he were to drain the pond he would find two hollow stone eggs, and if he were to observe the eggs, two dragons would emerge and fly into the sky, one red and one white, and grapple with each other. The appearance of these grappling dragons is the trigger for Merlin’s prophetic utterances.
Superficially the dagons represent the conflict between the saxons (the white dragon) and Celtic Brittain (the red dragon). However on a deeper level, the resonance is with the female (red) and male (white) quintessential energies, which when awakened coil around the caduceus of Hermes, bringing through their interplay and union, exalted states of consciousness.
I have previously described “Dragon Walking”, a walking meditation that accesses and activates the energies of the red and white dragons. In this post I give a variation of this practice, which adds a couple of aspects, and finishes with a version of the Caduceus Meditation.
1. Breathe in, visualising red earth energy from a glowing ball of energy beneath your feet streaming up in a red ray to strike the centre of your belly, where a red pearl takes shape.
2. Breathe out, visualizing the glow from the pearl first filling your body with a red glow, then projecting the energy out of your mouth to fill up and be contained by an egg shaped aura around your body.
3. Repeat this visualisation with breathing. Breath in through your nose. Breath out through your mouth, making an unvocalised sound deep in the back of your throat. The sound should be like long drawn out “h”, followed by the vowel sound in “door”.
4. Walk along slowly and deliberately, lifting one leg as your breath in, and placing it down slowly and deliberately, heel level with toe of the other foot, as you breathe out.
5. After a five minutes or so, when you are well aware of the charged auric egg, compress that energy down into the red pearl in the centre of your belly with the following procedure: (i) After a full breath in, squeeze the sphincter and pelvic floor muscles (as if to prevent yourself from passing stools or urine) tightly seven times in succession. On the seventh squeeze, hold the squeeze tightly. (ii) Pull in the stomach sharply seven times in succession, with each pump of the stomach muscles visualising the auric egg compressed down till it is contained within your body; on the last pump, hold the stomach muscles in; (iii) push sharply down with the diaphragm seven times, each time compressing the ball of energy down further until it is completely within the now highly charged red pearl at the centre of your belly.
6. Now commence white dragon walking as follows. Breathe in, visualising white spiritual source energy from a glowing ball of energy above your head streaming down in a white ray to strike the centre of your belly, where a white pearl takes shape.
7. Breathe out, visualizing the glow from the pearl first filling your body with a white glow, then projecting the energy out of your mouth to fill up and be contained by an egg shaped aura around your body.
8. Repeat this visualisation with breathing. Breath in through your nose. Breath out through your mouth, making an unvocalised sound by touching the back of your tongue against the roof of your mouth as you would in the Scottish pronunciation of the “ch” in Loch Ness. The sound should be like a long drawn out and extended “k”, followed by the vowel sound in “tea”. Really stretch your lips out in a smile to get the right sound.
9. The walk is hard to explain, but walk as if you are a white dragon! The exact steps aren’t essential, but try and do it the same way each time, and different to the red dragon walking.
10. After a five minutes or so, when you are well aware of the charged auric egg, compress that energy down into the white pearl in the centre of your belly with the same procedure as in (5) above.
11. After several rounds of red dragon walking and white dragon walking, do the following meditation, which is best done standing upright. (i) Move the red and white pearls to the belly chakra. (ii) Each time you breath in, visualize energy from spiritual source and from Earth meeting at the belly chakra. This should be repeated on the in breath throughout all the subsequent steps. (iii) As you breath out, visualise red and white energy currents emerge from the red and white pearls, and move up to the solar plexus chakra. For me, the white energy comes up the left side of the body axis, and the red energy up the right side, like the intertwined serpents around the caduceus of Hermes. (iv) After several breaths, extend the visualisation on the out breath to send the white and red energy up the the heart chakra. The energy currents cross at each chakra, so between the solar chakra and the heart chakra, the white energy current is on the right, and the red energy current is on the left. (v) After several more breaths, send the energy up to the throat chakra. Once again, the currents cross at the heart chakra. (vi) After several more breaths, send the currents up to the brow chakra. As before, the currents cross at the throat chakra. (vii) After several more breaths, send the currents from belly chakra, through the solar and heart chakras, to the throat chakra and down to each palm, so that the white energy current charges a white ball of energy in the right palm, and the red current charges a red ball of energy in the left palm. (viii) After several breaths to establish this, begin to bring your hands together, with the intention of performing the sacred marriage of the red and white dragons. As your hands come together, allow the balls of energy to merge, producing a pink ball of energy. Slowly bring your hands up to your heart, and press the merged energy into your heart centre, and feel it expanding to fill your auric field with beautiful pink light, flecked with red and white.
12. Sit with the aftermath of this visualisation for several minutes. It is likely you will be in a deeply meditative state, and will be open to rich magical experiences. You may feel or see with your inner vision the presence of dragons. They will feel intensely playful and joyful. If you feel such presences, welcome them. The dragons may assist you in various ways with healing energy work, balancing bodily energies, and working with the transformation of consciousness. The may also ask your wishes, so that they may work on granting them. So make sure that you know what your true desire is – that which brings about your true work and highest good. You may also encounter one of the hooded ones, a magical order who it appears works closely with dragon energy. They may be recognised by their hooded tan coloured robes.
13. It may take some weeks of working with these techniques to begin experiencing their magic. The best time, I believe, to work with dragon energies is at dawn, before eating, and with bare feet. Dragon magic is a wonderful blessing and gift, and will not, I believe, come to those who have not done something to deserve it, or at least ready themselves for it.
At the gathering I mentioned, a handful of us got up at dawn on the Saturday morning, and worked through the dragon walking exercise described above. It was a great joy to me to be able to share this aspect of my work with my fellow travellers, and see its positive effect on others. However the following morning, Sunday morning, I found myself up at dawn, this time doing the dragon walking on my own, after calling in the energies of the four quarters. It was as if the practice had been energised by sharing with skilled practitioners the day before. I had been opened and lifted by a day of ritual and magical interactions. I was deeply moved by the practice, and became even more convinced that here is a way of deep and powerful contact which I am sure will leave you changed for the better. All it requires is a few weeks of diligent effort and a lifetime of preparation.
Here, there be dragons.
Blessed Be,
Rob
Tag Archives: red dragon current
The Caduceus Meditation
This is a practice focused on bringing a profound healing emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. It is based on the chakra system, and the symbolism of the staff of Hermes – the caduceus. It is intimately connected, as you might expect, with the sacred marriage. There are many ways that the sacred marriage may be performed, and in these pages you will come across some of these practices. In this series of visualisations, the sacred marriage is conducted in an abstract and energetic form, without a specific Deity focus.
As one goes through the various exercises presented here, one begins to build up a depth and luminosity to every performance of the sacred marriage, whether abstract, energetic or Deified. Each performance echoes and resonates across the dimensions of practice and concentrates within the timeless zone an ever increasing degree of connection and union, approaching from these three directions the mysterious essence behind all manifestations of the sacred marriage.
The caduceus meditation is something that must be worked with and built over several months, at least, and possibly longer. It is something that can be returned to again and again during the course of one’s life, whenever necessary or desired. It is something that will profoundly affect one’s sense of well-being, and contact with the transcendent energies of Earth and Heaven.
The caduceus meditation is particularly useful for people involved in any kind of healing work. Wholeness is its aim and objective, and wholeness means being connected intimately and knowingly with the transcendent energies of the universe. There are two strands of Divine Energy that unite to form all the manifestations of the universe. These are the White Current and the Red Current, locked in eternal mutual embrace and an endless dance. These may be spoken of metaphorically as the Red and White dragons. In Eastern Philosophy, they are spoken of as Yang and Yin. They correspond to the primal Deities of the Great Mother – the Red Current – and the All Father – The White Current. The Red Current is manifested in the power of blood, and appears in a woman’s monthly cycle, and is associated with the Earth and its ability to generate and bring forth life. The White Current is manifested in the power of semen, and is associated with a man’s ability to sew the seed of new life within a woman’s fertile womb.
Energetically, the Red Current manifests as a dull red light or wash of colour, which may intensify and concentrate to a red that is almost scarlet, and which has a pearlescent quality to it. This energy is concentrated in the centre of the Earth, and may be contacted through the visualisation of a ball of this red light at the centre of the Earth.
Energetically, the White Current manifests as a white light or wash of colour which may intensify and concentrate to a diamond like clarity and luminescence. This energy is concentrated in the Sun, not so much in its physical, but in its Astral form. This energy may be contacted through the visualisation of a ball of white light over head.
In order to achieve balance and wholeness, one must not only manifest and contact both of these energy currents in the quantity and balance that’s right for you, but must allow them to combine within oneself. For it is the combination of these two energies that gives rise to the sacred child of promise, who has knowledge of his or her mother and father, and so works through life supported and never alone. It is the child of promise that may grow to greatness as an organ of the collective consciousness of all life and creation. However, the promise is just that, a promise. To realize the promise is a journey of countless steps. However, the journey cannot be started until the child of promise is born.
The caduceus meditation is one way to give birth to the child of promise. It is a rather impersonal way, in that it works with energies directly, rather than with Deity forms. Thus it will suit some more than others. Personally speaking, I like to work with both methods, as I find them very complimentary. Elsewhere, you may read about my work with the sacred marriage through Deity Cultivation and Projection. The approach here is perfectly complimentary to such an approach. However each approach may also stand on its own. The important thing is to pursue one approach at a time. That is, to have a particular focus to the rhythm of your inward development, in any one period of time. The caduceus meditation will require at a minimum, one to three months in order to provide its benefit to you. During this time, it should be the principal practice, though not necessarily the only practice.
Changes that you might expect to see within yourself as you do this practice:
(1) You may find yourself bursting into tears at the drop of a hat
(2) You may find yourself feeling extraordinarily happy and hopeful for no apparent reason
(3) You may find that you suddenly know exactly what you need to do to improve some situation in your life
(4) You may find yourself with feelings of courage and determination to do something that you have been putting off.
(5) You may find yourself saying things to people that you never thought you had the courage to say, and seeing things change for the better as a result
(6) You may find yourself having vivid or memorable dreams that seem to help you substantially in some way.
(7) You may find that you less often feel lost, lonely, and isolated, and more often feel inexplicably loved.
(8) You may find yourself more inclined to express your love to others in your life – friends, partners and family, verbally, or in little helpful ways around the house.
(9) You may find that tension or pain in certain parts of the body lessens, or even disappears.
(10) You may find that your sex life and sexual functioning improves.
Each person will be different of course, and the practice will work differently in each person. However, one thing that you can be sure of, is that there will be positive changes towards wholeness in your life. These changes may be so subtle that you don’t notice them at first. However if you compare before and after emotional and physical inventories, you will begin to see that changes are taking place.
A month is a very short length of time in which to bed down and make deep seated changes. It is really the minimum time that this practice should be done in order to begin receiving benefits. But once you begin to receive these benefits, why would you want to stop? Continue on for a further couple of months, to give those changes time to take hold, and work their way throughout your being.
In the end, you must be the judge of how long to pursue this practice at any particular time. However you must give yourself a month to give it a fair trial, and then you can make your decision.
It is not a question of just launching into the practice, and doing it each day. The practice must be built, bit by bit, starting on a solid foundation. That is why a month is required. This is the time needed to work up to the full practice. You will need to set aside a period each day to work on the practice. The absolute minimum time for this is ten to fifteen minutes. The best time is at the beginning of the day, at about sunrise. This time is the time when the energies of Sun and Earth, Day and Night are at a point of balance. At this time, it is easiest to work in a balanced way with the Red and White Currents. Sunset is the second best time. It is also a time of balance, but there is a lot of activity and business going on in the psychic atmosphere at sunset, people rushing about and being caught in traffic etc. It’s not easy for most people to find a quiet space at this time. The third best time is in the evening after nine pm. Here the Red Current is waxing, and the white current is waning. However because most of us are used to working with the white current, at least unconsciously, as this is the focal point of western culture, we usually need more help contacting the red current, and find the white current easy. So a quiet time before bed will also work for most people.
Background
This practice arises out of the interweaving of four wisdom strands that have been important and influential in my life. These are the Western Mysteries, the chakra system of the Hindu mysteries, the sacred marriage of the pagan mysteries, and Tibetan tantric Buddhist practices focussing on the sacred marriage. The complete detail however wont be found in any of these traditions, as it has emerged from my own inner work.
Practice
Background
Light exercise – call elements – honour Deities or call guides – practice.
Breathing in the red dragon current.
Visualise a ball of red light at the centre of the earth. As you breathe in, draw the energy up and into the a red pearl at the centre of your belly. Allow your auric field to fill with the red dragon current. As you breathe out, concentrate the energy into the red pearl at the centre of your belly.
(2) Breathing in the white dragon current.
Similarly visualise a ball of intense white light overhead, and as you breathe in draw down the white dragon current from the centre of all creation, through the crown chakra, filling the auric field, and energising a white perl at the centre of the belly. As you breathe out concentrate the white dragon energy in the white pearl.
You may alternate between steps one and two until the red and white pearls are sufficiently charged.
(3) Sacred marriage at the Naval.
When the pearls are well energised, allow the energy from the pearls to combine and merge. I visualise the pearls orbiting around each other and then merging together, before separating again. Pay attention to the resulting feelings and energy of this merger.
(4) Lifting the currents to the Solar Plexus – sacred marriage at the solar plexus.
On the in-breath, visualise both currents energising their pearls. On the out-breath, visualise a red current emerge from the red pearl, and rise up the right side of the body and enter the solar plexus chakra. At the same time the white current emerges from the white pearl and rises up the left side of the body to enter the solar plexus chakra. Allow the energies to mix and energise the solar plexus chakra.
(6) Lifting the currents to the heart – sacred marriage at the heart.
Allow the currents to continue up, on opposite sides of the body, so now the red current will be on the left, and the white current will be on the right. Like the image of the caduceus, the twin energies cross at each of the chakras. Allow the currents to energise the heart chakra.
(7) Lifting the currents to the throat – sacred marriage at the throat.
Allow the currents to continue rising up, this time red on the right, white on the left, to energise the throat chakra.
(8) Lifting the currents to the brow – sacred marriage at the brow
Allow the currents to continue to rise up, again swapping sides, to unite at the brow chakra.
(9) The transport of the sacred spheres within. In which the energy sources of the red and white currents themselves are visualized as glowing spheres entering the body at crown and root, and proceeding to the naval, then upward on the caduceus to the solar plexus and through all the chakras to the brow.
Start with steps one and two, which should take no less than ten minutes, but you can sit with it for up to half an hour. After about a week, or when you feel that the pearls are sufficiently energised, proceed to add step 3. After a further week, add step four, and at intervals of approximately a week add the subsequent steps. However, the total time for the practice should not increase, as you will be able to do the earlier steps more and more quickly, with just as much or even more effectiveness as time goes by.
After you have completed the nine steps, you will find then that the practice begins to instruct you in how to work with it further. Allow yourself to be taught by the practice, and carry it further as it directs. You will then feel when the time is right to move on to another practice. Once you have performed this process, the complete meditation can be revisited very quickly when you feel it beneficial.