If you can't read please download the document
Upload
cmarig
View
21
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Who Cannot Hex Cannot Heal
Citation preview
WHO CANNOT HEX CANNOT HEALby Cholla
copyright 2000
Last issue in Community Forum, Storm Faerywolf posed the
question what is Feri? Ultimately, we cant really pin it down and
that is the point storm makes. Feri is something more elusive, an
energy, a wildness. But I can tell you what Feri isnt. It isnt
uptight. Feri does not have a stick up its butt. It isnt about
rules and books. I want to tell you a little story about how I
discovered what Feri is. Or at least what it is not. Earlier this
year, we all watched as the WTO met in Seattle and people from all
over the world sat up and took notice that we were being taken over
by this weird secret organization. The World Trade Organization is
there to encourage free trade at all costs. They have been
instrumental in overturning our own environmental protection act.
They just decided that the restrictions we made to save our own
country were not good for free trade, so we couldnt make our own
laws. The thing that gets me about this is that I didnt know about
it. People like me are commodities, labor, not citizens who have a
right to be informed about the workings of such organizations as
the WTO. Evidently, a lot of people felt like I did. A lot of
people with more commitment, because a huge number of people showed
up in Seattle to protest the meeting of the WTO. We all sat at home
watching the protest and cheering them on. We saw footage of
unbelievable police violence. Then the stories began to come in, of
unlawful acts by the Seattle police and National Guard. Women being
taken into the police station and tied naked to chairs and
interrogated without arrest records. Police holding people down and
spraying pepper spray directly into their eyes; people who were
already handcuffed! The blockades, the tear gas, the protesters who
were arrested being kept without food or water or bathroom
facilities for days. No medical care for those seriously injured.
All of this in response to a peaceful protest? Of the approximately
50,000 protesters, only about 12 were destructive, and some of
those were not even protesters. And still they came. The protesters
still came and laid themselves out like lambs for the slaughter,
knowing that in not fighting back they had more power than in any
retaliation. As the nation began to wake up and become appalled at
what they were seeing, the tide began to turn. Even President
Clinton told the WTO that they would have to deal with the
protesters. Never again will the WTO work in secret. All the while,
people were asking each other to send positive energy to the
protesters. And I did. But one day, as I was watching them spray
pepper spray into another handcuffed childs eyes, I heard a rumble
from far away, and yet deep inside. In the past, this has been a
signal that big magic was happening.. Its different from all those
little spells I do because I want something . Every now and then,
the gods to whom I am devoted come a callin and usually it feels
like a freight train rolling through. They inspire me to action.
The shaking begins if I fight it, too many amps for someone in a
body. And all I could hear as I watched this crime was a cold and
chilling and quiet ya basta...enough. in a voice that was not mine.
I went to my keyboard and words flowed out of me, energy streaming
from me. I was in an altered state, flying, not even reading what I
was writing. What came out was something that terrified me. It was
a curse, the text of which is included. It has not been edited. Now
let me tell you something, I do not curse lightly. Basically, I
grew up in a tradition that saw cursing as an art form, and
something that you did because you were pissed off at your
neighbor. But my godfather taught me that the less you curse the
more powerful they are. He told me not to be a bitchy little old
grandma, and to use a curse only when you are willing to take
someone out for good. I have only used curses on one or two
occasions. And I have taken someone out for good. I know that
cursing works if you actually can do it. You can really mess
yourself up in the process if you are not careful. It requires
cursing yourself in the process, and being willing to face your own
destruction in an attempt to restore order. It takes commitment. I
posted this curse to a list of people I know who are Feri witches.
The curse caused nary a burp within this group. People instead
began to feel healing for the terror they had felt at seeing our
brothers and sisters being treated in this horrible way. This was
remarkable to me, how much healing actually occurred because of a
curse. Then my girlfriend and another close friend wanted to post
the curse to some other pagany witchy kinds of lists. I saw how
well it had been received with the Feri folks, so I thought, well,
ok. Maybe it would help some other people get some sleep, and the
more folks who worked against the enemies of my brothers and
sisters, the better, right? WRONGThe response was fast and furious.
I was evil for even writing a curse. People were screaming and
thumping their books like Pentecostal preachers. Just because their
traditions thought cursing was wrong didnt mean that I was bound by
their rules. Im a Feri witch. The quotes I remember are from two of
the traditions elders. White magic is poetry and black magic is
anything that works - Victor Anderson. He who cannot blast cannot
bless -Gwydion Pendderwen. I thought I had seen all the hatefulness
I could when I was a Christian. But it was nothing compared to the
hatefulness I was seeing now from other witches. Power is scary.
And scared people are very very dangerous. And dont for a minute
believe that these folks dont curse. The problem with prohibiting
cursing is that we think were not doing it if we dont make a ritual
out of it. But how many times when someone cuts you off on the
freeway do you hurl a curse at them? Yeah, well I hope you get in
an accident. Of course, were not on record with those kinds of
curses. And we never have to see the results of our flinging our
energy around like so many boogers on a finger. We spew negative
energy around if we dont know what its for. I was trained in
cursing. I was taught how to curse and why to curse. For instance,
I was told that I couldnt be in a state of rage or anger when I
curse, because the curse will implode. You need to know how to get
out of the way of a curse. You also need to know that when you hurl
a curse at a driver on the bridge, you have to make damn sure you
arent doing the same thing. If you are, youre screwed. If you know
how to curse, you become more aware of your responsibility. You
know that if you are whining about something, you need to either do
something about it or shut up already. Knowing how to curse can
considerably reduce the amount of cursing that you do. Cursing is a
part of most diasporic traditions and is a tool of the oppressed.
It is the tool we have to defend ourselves when we lack money and
power. The kinds of threats I heard leveled at me from these
witches and pagans were really awful. There was a group of witches
who were gathering together to protect the Seattle police and the
WTO. Go figure. There was a group who was working against me to
take me out of commission. Then there were those witches who were
so upset that I had broken their rules about cursing that they
decided to curse me! (Hmm, whats wrong with this picture?) Some
even suggested that I be burned at the stake. Please keep in mind
that all of these responses came from WITCHES. From the Feri
witches, I learned something else. Some rose to my defense, even
those who didnt normally get along. My friend who had spread the
curse really put himself on the line for me. And in a review
written about the Cholla curse (as it came to be called), the
author made a very good point. It hit me like a ton of bricks as I
read the review, because suddenly I understood the freight train
feeling I had had before. It was the first time I had felt that
since my initiation and it was unbelievable. When a Feri witch is
made, they take an oath, and that oath is a doozy. I remember that
I took a little while before I could swear it myself, because of
what it entails. I obviously cannot repeat it, but the point he
made was this-I was protecting brothers and sisters in the craft. I
was oathbound to do this. Those friends and strangers who had risen
up and defended my rights were my brothers and sisters in the
craft. They had sworn to do just that, even at risk to themselves.
We may fight and bitch at each other in Feri, but dont fuck with
our craft siblings, kay? And suddenly I began to cry, because I
realized that I was in service to the gods to which I had been
sworn. That I loved them for letting me be their pen and keyboard.
And that I was part of something real, which could rise like a
forest fire in my soul and could change the world, or crush me from
inside. I was a Feri witch, sworn not just to harm none but to
actually go out and do something in the world. To protect my
brothers and sisters in the craft, among other things. This made me
think about what it meant to have craftsiblings. I realized that
being a brother or sister in the craft was serious business,
because you dont get the choice to just sit by and watch them
suffer. That oath once sworn will remain in your heart. And should
you fail it, you will hear the rumble coming from far away inside.
For all my judgments and prejudices toward folks I know in the Feri
community, coven or class, new or old, of questioned or
unquestioned lineage, I realized that they all had something in
common. Not one of them would hesitate to use magic in defense of a
craft sibling. They were completely fierce, and not bound by fear.
We live our lives according to our own black hearts and the oaths
weve sworn. It made me proud to be a Feri initiate. It is
integrity, impeccability, and the courage to maintain it, even when
other witches would like to set you roasting over briquettes. And
one day, when you hear that distant rumble, be ready. Because the
gods will come calling, and you will do what you have been sworn to
do. That, storm, is your answer. That is Feri.A Curse of Blood upon
the WTO and the Seattle Police and National Guard Hear me hungry
mother, who sleeps in the earth
Inhuman redeemer of blood ill-spilt, awaken and hear my cry
your daughter who has not murdered without cause, yet has
murdered
I summon stir and call you up.
And with you, he of winter cold, who eats the bones of the
dead
Hear my words, father, and come to our aid
I summon stir and call you up to aid our siblings who have called
you
Who have blown the horn of Herne. They know all is lost and have
laid their own lives and safety aside
to speak for those who can no longer speak on their own
behalf
And in their name, I lay this curse upon the Police Department of
Seattle,
The National Guard, and the delegates of the World Trade
Organization May you be unable to shield your eyes from what you
do, attacking others as the hired assassins you are.
May you bleed drop for drop the blood you have spilt without
honoring the hungry mother.
May you face the glamour of my will, seeing your own mother,
father, brother, sister, daughter, son, and spouse in every face
you beat with your club or spray with your pepper spray.
You may defend yourself, but each unprovoked act will bring this
curse upon you.
I send upon you the restless voices of the Chapayukis, who fly from
their lairs on wings of owls
To torment you and steal your dreams, until you fall down with
madness.
I send upon you the restless voices of the Chapayukis, who fly from
their lairs on wings of owls
To kill and maim, one for one, your own families in equal measure
to the destruction of your own hands.
For each man and woman must live with their own actions and cannot
give their fate to another.
May your hate consume you.
May you be eaten from the inside out.
May you know the purpose of this curse and know the justice of
it.
And may that knowledge turn you from your ways.
I accept the terms of the hungry mother, should I one day be as
destructive as you to kill and maim for profit. I call upon the
minds of people, those you oppress and destroy.
I call upon the body of the earth which you eat and despise to rise
up against you.
And the spirits of the earth to speak to you in visions and
prophesy.
For every child who falls in the sweatshops, I ask that a child of
yours die.
For every disease and pestilence that has resulted from your
actions to destroy the earth,
I ask that pox be laid upon you.
One that will not kill, but will make you suffer long and
hard.
I ask that your very body, made of the body of the hungry mother,
turn against you.
May you feel her pain, her poison rivers become the poison in your
own blood.
I ask that when you set fire to the poor collecting spilled
gasoline that so many of your own corporate officials be consumed
by the same spirit of flame.
In this act I bind your fate to the protesters, to the citizens of
your countries
In this act I bind your fate to the earth upon which you walk and
can never never escape.
You may defend yourself, but each unprovoked act will bring this
curse upon you.
I send upon you the restless voices of the Chapayukis, who fly from
their lairs on wings of owls
To torment you and steal your dreams, until you fall down with
madness.
I send upon you the restless voices of the Chapayukis, who fly from
their lairs on wings of owls
To kill and maim, one for one, your own families in equal measure
to the destruction of your own hands.
For each man and woman must live with their own actions and cannot
give their fate to another. May your hate consume you.
May you be eaten from the inside out.
May you know the purpose of this curse and know the justice of
it.
And may that knowledge turn you from your ways.
I accept the terms of the hungry mother, should I one day be as
destructive as you to kill and maim for profit. And should the
voice of mercy touch your soul, and gentle Yomommuli buzz in your
ear
Should you turn and be unable to beat and spray the innocent, rape
and pillage, destroy and plunder
Should you grow a soul from your witnessing of the suffering of
your works
Should you hold the arm of another, preventing your fellow from
killing and beating without provocation
May this curse be averted, and blessing be upon your mind and
lips.
May the flowers of blessing rain down on you.
And for every one of you who opens the gates and releases the
protesters to freedom,
may you live long and happy lives, filled with abundance of love
and wealth
And may you die a happy death in the arms of those you love.
I accept the terms of the hungry mother, should I one day be as
brave and honorable as you I shall also know the honey of the
sacred bee. Sacred Butterfly, whisper this prophesy to them, let
them know the dread consequences of their actions, that they may
turn their hearts.
And guard the blessed children, who have suffered at the hands of
these
Keep them safe and bring their quick release to freedom, that they
may return home to those they love.
Wrap your wings around them, and give them safe harbor.
So must it be, so must it be, so must it be. Cholla