Daring

The eighteenth bead of the blessing cord is the blessing of Daring. It is the blessing of fire in Hod. Daring your self to move past fear to do the things that you truly desire to do. One of the spiritual teachings called the magician’s pyramid or teachings of the sphinx says magicians should have four things in order to be great magicians: They must seek to know, to will, to be silent—and to dare. No act of magic can be made without daring to wish for what you want.

In a recent introduction to Witchcraft class, I was teaching the art petition spells in a group. Each student had to come up with something they wanted to create within their lives and put it into a petition so they could read it aloud and add the group’s energy and support to their spell. It was amazing how difficult this could be to those new to the path of magic. In our discussion of our spells they said how vulnerable they felt saying what it was they wanted in front of others, how it was hard to ask for the things they personally wanted, and how they feared doing the spell wrong. Each one dared to get past these feelings, to put forth a call to what it was they needed. I was reminded of how much magic there is in just the act of daring to cast a spell for what you want and need.

The blockage of fear is challenged by the power of daring and courage. Fear can hold us back from achieving our dreams. Fear can scare us into thinking we shouldn’t ask for what it is we want because we might sound selfish or be judged as weak for needing a desire fulfilled. Fear is an emotion that has helped us to avoid danger and that is why it can be so addictive.

There is an old joke where a guy walks by another guy spraying a spray in the air. The first guy asks “What are you doing?” The second guy says “Spraying anti elephant spray!” The first guy says “Really? How do you know it works?” The other guy says, “You haven’t seen any elephants around, have you?” This shows us how fear can become a ritual. We are so afraid of leaving the normal and everyday rituals of life because we are afraid of the catastrophes that could happen. So afraid we buy into the anti-elephant spray of beliefs built on fear because by sticking to using it, we never see any elephants—or the results we don’t want. We may never see these “elephants” we just fear that without our anti-elephant fear we will.

We have to confront these fears that stop us and see if they are truly well-founded. We have to dare to challenge them if we are to grow as individuals. Think of something you have always been afraid to do. Something that is good for you but you could “never dare” to do. In this meditation we will confront a fear and find the heart of its truth.

Meditation of Daring

Hold the eighteenth bead of the blessing cord. The bead of daring, the blessing of fire in Hod.

Count yourself down into a meditative state.

Allow the screen of your mind to expand until it is a sphere around you. Feel a sensation of rising as your sphere begins to fill with an orange light. Resonate the God name El-oh-heem Tza-ba-oth. 

Feel the mercurial orange light rist around you like mist. In the mist before you call forth your Sword of Truth. It appears before you. Take up the sword. Feel it’s weight in your spiritual hand. Know that this sword has the power to reveal the truth of any situation. All you have to do is point it at a being and command it to reveal its truth. Connect with the power of the sword.

Call out to the fears that hold you back from doing what you most want to do. Command them to take form before you. They may look like spirits, a situation played out before you, demons, shadows, or any other myriad of nasties. Look upon the form and shape of your fear and observe it dispassionately.

Point your Sword of Truth at an aspect of your fear. Ask for its name and aspect. It may give you a name to call it and tell you what kind of fear it is. If it does not, ask it again with the sword. If this doesn’t work, ask one more time. If it doesn’t answer, tell it that it cannot be a real fear if it can’t be named and banish it.

If it names itself, ask if that is its true name. It may give you another name. Keep asking until it is a name of a fear that rings true. Fears can have many layers. Command this fear by its name to show you its root cause. What created this fear in your life? You may see a scene with a parent, a bad school experience, or even something that happened to you in another life. Experience the vision of this root cause. Using the Sword of Truth, point at this vision and say that you understand the creation of this fear and it now no longer serves your. Draw an X over the fear and say “I dissolve, neutralize, and banish this fear. It no longer has power over me.” The being of fear begins to fade and dissolve from view as you neutralize it’s root cause, as if it was unraveling.

Hold your Sword of Truth before you in vision and say a statement of affirmation about doing the thing you were held back from by fear for so long. An example would be: “I dare to be a freelance artist! I dare to find a fulfilling job” and so forth. You may hear a ringing or singing from your Sword of Truth if this has become your new truth.

Thank the Sword of Truth and allow it to return to it’s rightful place until you need it again.

Feel a gentle decent as the light begins to fade from your sphere. The screen of your mind returns to normal coloring and then shrinks back to normal size.

Count yourself up to waking consciousness.

Give yourself clearance and balance. Ground if necessary.

Contemplation

Give thought to how fear has held you back in the past. What do you need to have daring to do in your life? Is there anything that is really stopping you from doing what it is you love? If so, what is it and why?