Common ancestry

[heartssdesire]

One of the things I contemplate often in my spiritual practice is the intersection of Feri and Faery. They are two different traditions and lines of practice, but I've always felt they were different in the way that puzzle pieces are different, or like the parts of one of those true-love pendants that breaks into two pieces that fit together. Feri

Comments

[ardaraith]

lol
This is my work - literally. The blending of the two. Did you hear the interview with Victor done at Pcon? He said RJ's work and Feri were the same, just different liturgy.

[heartssdesire]

I was there for a couple of his presentations at PCon, but it's been a good many years so I'd forgotten a lot of what he said.

Um... come to think of it, it might have been me asking that question... but I couldn't be sure of that.

[ardaraith]

lol
That would be something if it was you. Storm posted the voice recording for his students. It was wonderful to hear him, and answered so many of my questions. Years ago when I began studying Feri, I was told by an initiate I respect that forays into Faery were unsafe, and RJ's work a little ungrounded. This comment, meant kindly, was taken by me and turned into a belief that Feri was a different thread or energy and tradition than Faery. It has only been within the past year that I perceive them as the same and am working to weave my disparate experiences together.

[heartssdesire]

Heh, well, traveling into Faery is unsafe. If somebody tells you that's a reason not to do it, just quote Victor at them: "Anything worth doing is a little dangerous."

[arethinn]

"I had this realization: the fourth element is the body itself. It would work like this: earth-body; water-Fetch; air-Talker; fire-Godsoul."

Don't forget also the way this maps to Earth, Moon, Sun, and Stars.

I too am often mixed up on whether Sun and Stars maps better as Air and Fire, or as the other way around. This is one of the reasons I often toss the whole four-elements deal out the window and just work with the celestial body concept alone, heh.

[ardaraith]

I'm also reminded of the directional qualities propounded by the Rees brothers which correlate to the provinces of Ireland. These are specific to Faery Faith as found in that country, but interesting none-the-less

[heartssdesire]

I hear from a lot of practitioners about how they work with the triple soul that way: Fetch/moon, Talker/sun, Godsoul/stars. It makes sense. But also I play with a soul alignment where I link Fetch to the earth, Talker to the moon, and Godsoul to the sun, being itself a star. I've been using this setup because it allows you to work with the eclipse as an image for soul alignment which I find very powerful... but I suppose it could be done with the other mapping, too, come to think of it.

Yes, it's all quite fluid. I used to get frustrated about the way things overlap and fail to map neatly, until I remembered that this is all really a game we play with ourselves, to trick ourselves into spiritual awareness. Nature itself isn't really interested in our conceptual categories, and we shouldn't expect it to.

[chemalfait]

You should also check out the zodiac associations, taurus, leo, aquarius and scorpio, Bull, Lion, man-angel, and serpent/eagle/scorpion.
earth, fire, air, water, respectively.
Sound familiar?
Look for an email from me
Henry

[heartssdesire]

Yes, those links came into Feri via the Tower fam-trad link, or at least that was one source. My teacher, Linnea, trained with Julie Tower for a few years. Those "quarter beasts" are one of the things that you see in Vanthi line that you don't see much of elsewhere. I don't think they are much linked to Faery/Underworld tradition though.

[chemalfait]

you're right, they aren't linked to faery underworld, yet they are linked to feri elements, and those elements in their association with IP points.
They are also the signs in which the cross quarter days fall.Due to their positions in the zodiac and the wheel of the year as it were, each represents the height of the season
Peruse any astrological description of the traits of those signs and see what you think.
It's all Niklas' fault ;-), due to a discussion way back which caused me to dig deeper into why the feri elements are arranged the way they are, on the pentagram.

[faerywolf]

It would work like this: earth-body; water-Fetch; air-Talker; fire-Godsoul. Suddenly it fits.

Rock on! This is one way in which I work! In fact I recently wrote a Three Souls alignment that alludes to this, although with celestial imagery: The three luminary souls in the earthly vessel. Godsoul = stars, talker = sun, fetch = moon, body = earth. It concludes with:

“Shining star, and moon, and sun
Aligned within this vessel of the earth
Together now the Three Made One
Our single voice in union given birth.

I see Traci already commented about what Victor said regarding Faery and Feri. My own Feri training incorporated work with the Faery realm and so I already saw them as one and the same... perhaps two sides of the same coin. Rather like the Iron and Pearl, no?

OK... I'll stop rambling in your journal. It just excited me. We should work together sometime. You rock!

[heartssdesire]

I know. I keep thinking the same thing. That we should work together, and that you also rock. :) It's sometimes frustrating to live so far away from everything and everybody, it really cuts down my opportunities for things like that.

What was the Faery work that you did in your training? Did your teacher use a particular school of Faery lore and practice, or was it just their own material?

... perhaps two sides of the same coin. Rather like the Iron and Pearl, no?

Yes. I keep thinking about this in terms of the three souls too, as keys to different realms. There's a complementarity there, too: the above and the below, Godself and Fetch. I think in Feri a lot of people seem to focus on the Heaven-realms and outer spaces, the place of the Gods and Guardians, and on connecting through Godself. Most people seem interested in Fetch more as a means to contact Godself, and for its role in creativity. I think that in their desire to differentiate Feri from Faery ("This isn't about cute sparkly fairies. We deal with the big guns.") they

[faerywolf]

Mitchell, for a time, was working with the R.J. Stewart material (as were a lot of the Sacred Wheel folks in the 90's). He also added his own flair, based on his own experiences in that realm. It was less mythologically based, and more based on personal observances (so little-to-no Thomas the Rhymer talk, although I find all of that lore fascinating and insightful). One thing in particular was that he introduced me to the "Faery Rose Tree" as an answer to Feri's lack of an axis mundi which proved to be a very powerful astral temple that I use and pass to this day.

It's interesting, because you mention Feri focusing heavily on the heavenly realms, and in my neck of the woods (Bloodrose descended practice) it is just the opposite. The only way to get to the celestial sphere in that practice was to descend into the Underworld to find the stars there, which is another reason Mitchell introduced the Tree, so that one could ascend directly, if desired

[heartssdesire]

Wow, I didn't know there were any other initiates using RJ Stewart's material... cool. :) I would love to hear more about the Faery Rose Tree some time.

The only way to get to the celestial sphere in that practice was to descend into the Underworld to find the stars there

I guess what I meant is that a lot of what I've seen (not being familiar with Mitchell's work) seems to treat Fetch as primarily a means toward reaching the Godsoul and realms of the Gods. Whereas I see it as being a gateway in itself to the Faery realms. I'm interested in the Underworld for itself, not just as a prerequisite to reaching the outer realms. That's kinda what I was getting at. I'm glad that I'm not the only one. :)

[eldriwolf]

---I sort of thought that body=earth was so *Obvious* that it did not need to be spoken of---Ive been working them that way for years ----

air/talker, water/fetch, fire/godself, when I need to map them out--

>>>>Feri feels more modern, more eclectic to me, woven as it is from bits of many cultures and from the inspirations or ravings of various founders and practitioners. It feels a little rootless; it longs for history, and lacking it, invents its own.<<<<
***we will have to sit around a talk about this one--*I* do not get that feeling from it at all---but, face to face, OK?