Post by jadedsage on Mar 15, 2004 23:22:19 GMT -5
by Tony Steele (oamchief@yahoo.co.uk )
History
The Ophidian or Serpent-venerating Traditional Craft has been around for a very long time. One of its magical texts, the Oera Linda Book, has sections that date back more than four thousand years. Every ancient culture recognised a primordial Serpent-deity associated with wisdom and power, dwelling in the watery Abyss deep below the Earth's surface. In more recent centuries this ancient belief was kept alive by Travelling Folk, especially those who lived and worked on the sea, on rivers, and (later) on canals. Knowledge of the World Serpent also persisted in remote country districts all over Europe.
The Oera Linda Book was compiled over many centuries by the Frisians, a nation who in historical times lived around the southern coast of the North Sea. The Frisians believed that their ancestors had constructed the stone circles and megalithic monuments that are found all over Europe. They also claimed to be descended from the inhabitants of the lost island of Atlantis (or Atland, as they called it). The ancient Megalithic Culture existed across the whole of western and northern Europe, and was the earliest known civilisation on Earth. The Greek philosopher Plato, and the Oera Linda Book, both tell us that this vast area was divided into ten autonomous kingdoms, or kin-groups, spread out over large tracts of the continent.
The remains of the Megalithic Culture can be seen to this day in the form of cromlechs, dolmens, barrows, and stone circles such as Stonehenge. The earliest of these crypts, or temples, have been dated to around 4800 BC, so this gives us a reasonable starting point for the long and convoluted history of the Ophidian Craft - though some would say that it is as old as the human race itself.
Today, the Ophidian Traditional Craft is preserved and passed on by the Ordo Anno Mundi (OAM), which has branches in both Europe and North America. Based in Staffordshire, England, the OAM was founded on 18th March 1985 and traces its initiatory lineage to the Frisian-descended Canal Folk of the English Midlands. This illustrious lineage is passed on to all of its Initiates who undergo the training (for US details please e-mail Raven7866@aol.com).
Core Beliefs
The two words that best sum up the Ophidian view of reality are animism and polytheism. Literally everything is alive, with its own sentience and feelings. Nature abounds with spirits of every kind, many of which are powerful enough to be classed as deities, either gods or goddesses (or sometimes androgynous).
Ophidians see all gods and goddesses as individuals, and do not conflate them all together as "aspects" of each other. They venerate Mother Earth (called Irtha in the Oera Linda Book) as the most powerful of the goddesses, mother of all the others. They also, of course, venerate the World Serpent (Wr-alda) who fertilises Mother Earth with his life-force. Together the World Serpent and Mother Earth brought forth three daughters (Lyda, Finda, and Frya), the mothers of the human race. In addition, there is the Horned God (Fosite, or Wodin), who is seen as the messenger of the World Serpent.
Water is the physical manifestation of the World Serpent, and is therefore seen as the most magical of elements. In vast oceans, wide rivers, and tiny streams it moves in sinuous, serpentine motions across the Earth, bringing life to everything it touches. Flowing water is always accompanied by whorls and spirals of telluric energy, the invisible force that sustains all living things, including deities and spirits.
Ophidians also lay great emphasis on the veneration of ancestors. Indeed, many of their rituals involve the summoning of their ancestors to physical manifestation. The shades of the dead survive by regular infusions of the life-force from those still living, and mostly dwell in one of the Seven Hells that make up the Underworld. In a sense, their nature is vampiric (a word which has suffered much distortion in popular culture). Yet at the same time most Ophidians accept a form of reincarnation - though the specific ideas about this may vary slightly among individuals.
That this state of affairs will not last forever is implied by the belief that ultimately every human soul will leave the Seven Hells entirely and go and inhabit one of the stars of the firmament. Each of us has our own star, though we do not necessarily know which one. We can only find out by contacting our Cosmic Twin, a perfected and all-powerful version of ourselves that already inhabits the star in question. The most important star-cluster is the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. The seven main stars of this group are equated with the Seven Hells of the Underworld, and the Seven Heads of the World Serpent.
Role of Priestesses
Priestesses are referred to as femmes (a term derived from the Ancient Frisian famna, meaning "familiars"). The role of the priestess includes leading rituals, training and counselling other Initiates, and generally representing the OAM in the wider community. Priestesses wear white, black, or red, depending on rank. They may also spend time acting as guardians of ancient sites such as stone circles.
The rights and duties of the priestesses are described in great detail in the Oera Linda Book. Whilst some of these have had to be adapted slightly for the modern age, the essence remains unaltered. Basically, the function of the priestess is to serve - firstly the World Serpent, then the other deities and ancestors, and finally her fellow Initiates.
Male Initiates are not regarded as "priests" in the same sense as the priestesses, because the Oera Linda Book tells us that only women can fulfil this role. Men can, however, act as teachers or organisers.
Organization of Groups
Like most branches of the Traditional Craft, Ophidian Witchcraft is primarily organised into Orders (sometimes called Clans). Not all members of an Order will be Initiates, however - some will be Neophytes awaiting initiation, and others, for example, will be family members who have no particular desire to undergo the training. Until the 1940s the Ophidian Craft was very much family based.
To be a Traditional Witch, one has to be initiated by another Traditional Witch. Although Covens exist, they tend to play a subsidiary role to the Orders, which may have a membership of a few hundred or so. Most of the Orders still in existence were founded during the twentieth century. It has to be assumed that many others were formed but never got off the ground, and at least two well-known Orders flourished until the 1960s when they were disbanded, their members and descendants later forming groups of their own.
Some Orders have six initiatory degrees, and others, such as the OAM, have seven. One has abolished degrees altogether. These changes have come about through natural evolution within each Order, as indeed have all the other differences. Typically, there will be an Outer Mysteries comprising the first three degrees, followed by an Inner Mysteries. Initiation into an Order will usually be conducted when the candidate is alone - such is the case with the OAM. The initiation itself will involve some sort of physical or mental endurance. The new Initiate will then be plunged straight into an intensive training programme.
Within each Order there are a number of Temples, or Covens, though by no means all members of the Order will be affiliated to one of these—either through choice or distance. In other words, membership of a specific Coven is not a prerequisite of initiation. Nomenclature varies considerably between Orders—in the OAM, for example, each Coven is headed by a Scribe. If the Coven is large, the Scribe will appoint one or more Ringleaders as assistants.
History
The Ophidian or Serpent-venerating Traditional Craft has been around for a very long time. One of its magical texts, the Oera Linda Book, has sections that date back more than four thousand years. Every ancient culture recognised a primordial Serpent-deity associated with wisdom and power, dwelling in the watery Abyss deep below the Earth's surface. In more recent centuries this ancient belief was kept alive by Travelling Folk, especially those who lived and worked on the sea, on rivers, and (later) on canals. Knowledge of the World Serpent also persisted in remote country districts all over Europe.
The Oera Linda Book was compiled over many centuries by the Frisians, a nation who in historical times lived around the southern coast of the North Sea. The Frisians believed that their ancestors had constructed the stone circles and megalithic monuments that are found all over Europe. They also claimed to be descended from the inhabitants of the lost island of Atlantis (or Atland, as they called it). The ancient Megalithic Culture existed across the whole of western and northern Europe, and was the earliest known civilisation on Earth. The Greek philosopher Plato, and the Oera Linda Book, both tell us that this vast area was divided into ten autonomous kingdoms, or kin-groups, spread out over large tracts of the continent.
The remains of the Megalithic Culture can be seen to this day in the form of cromlechs, dolmens, barrows, and stone circles such as Stonehenge. The earliest of these crypts, or temples, have been dated to around 4800 BC, so this gives us a reasonable starting point for the long and convoluted history of the Ophidian Craft - though some would say that it is as old as the human race itself.
Today, the Ophidian Traditional Craft is preserved and passed on by the Ordo Anno Mundi (OAM), which has branches in both Europe and North America. Based in Staffordshire, England, the OAM was founded on 18th March 1985 and traces its initiatory lineage to the Frisian-descended Canal Folk of the English Midlands. This illustrious lineage is passed on to all of its Initiates who undergo the training (for US details please e-mail Raven7866@aol.com).
Core Beliefs
The two words that best sum up the Ophidian view of reality are animism and polytheism. Literally everything is alive, with its own sentience and feelings. Nature abounds with spirits of every kind, many of which are powerful enough to be classed as deities, either gods or goddesses (or sometimes androgynous).
Ophidians see all gods and goddesses as individuals, and do not conflate them all together as "aspects" of each other. They venerate Mother Earth (called Irtha in the Oera Linda Book) as the most powerful of the goddesses, mother of all the others. They also, of course, venerate the World Serpent (Wr-alda) who fertilises Mother Earth with his life-force. Together the World Serpent and Mother Earth brought forth three daughters (Lyda, Finda, and Frya), the mothers of the human race. In addition, there is the Horned God (Fosite, or Wodin), who is seen as the messenger of the World Serpent.
Water is the physical manifestation of the World Serpent, and is therefore seen as the most magical of elements. In vast oceans, wide rivers, and tiny streams it moves in sinuous, serpentine motions across the Earth, bringing life to everything it touches. Flowing water is always accompanied by whorls and spirals of telluric energy, the invisible force that sustains all living things, including deities and spirits.
Ophidians also lay great emphasis on the veneration of ancestors. Indeed, many of their rituals involve the summoning of their ancestors to physical manifestation. The shades of the dead survive by regular infusions of the life-force from those still living, and mostly dwell in one of the Seven Hells that make up the Underworld. In a sense, their nature is vampiric (a word which has suffered much distortion in popular culture). Yet at the same time most Ophidians accept a form of reincarnation - though the specific ideas about this may vary slightly among individuals.
That this state of affairs will not last forever is implied by the belief that ultimately every human soul will leave the Seven Hells entirely and go and inhabit one of the stars of the firmament. Each of us has our own star, though we do not necessarily know which one. We can only find out by contacting our Cosmic Twin, a perfected and all-powerful version of ourselves that already inhabits the star in question. The most important star-cluster is the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters. The seven main stars of this group are equated with the Seven Hells of the Underworld, and the Seven Heads of the World Serpent.
Role of Priestesses
Priestesses are referred to as femmes (a term derived from the Ancient Frisian famna, meaning "familiars"). The role of the priestess includes leading rituals, training and counselling other Initiates, and generally representing the OAM in the wider community. Priestesses wear white, black, or red, depending on rank. They may also spend time acting as guardians of ancient sites such as stone circles.
The rights and duties of the priestesses are described in great detail in the Oera Linda Book. Whilst some of these have had to be adapted slightly for the modern age, the essence remains unaltered. Basically, the function of the priestess is to serve - firstly the World Serpent, then the other deities and ancestors, and finally her fellow Initiates.
Male Initiates are not regarded as "priests" in the same sense as the priestesses, because the Oera Linda Book tells us that only women can fulfil this role. Men can, however, act as teachers or organisers.
Organization of Groups
Like most branches of the Traditional Craft, Ophidian Witchcraft is primarily organised into Orders (sometimes called Clans). Not all members of an Order will be Initiates, however - some will be Neophytes awaiting initiation, and others, for example, will be family members who have no particular desire to undergo the training. Until the 1940s the Ophidian Craft was very much family based.
To be a Traditional Witch, one has to be initiated by another Traditional Witch. Although Covens exist, they tend to play a subsidiary role to the Orders, which may have a membership of a few hundred or so. Most of the Orders still in existence were founded during the twentieth century. It has to be assumed that many others were formed but never got off the ground, and at least two well-known Orders flourished until the 1960s when they were disbanded, their members and descendants later forming groups of their own.
Some Orders have six initiatory degrees, and others, such as the OAM, have seven. One has abolished degrees altogether. These changes have come about through natural evolution within each Order, as indeed have all the other differences. Typically, there will be an Outer Mysteries comprising the first three degrees, followed by an Inner Mysteries. Initiation into an Order will usually be conducted when the candidate is alone - such is the case with the OAM. The initiation itself will involve some sort of physical or mental endurance. The new Initiate will then be plunged straight into an intensive training programme.
Within each Order there are a number of Temples, or Covens, though by no means all members of the Order will be affiliated to one of these—either through choice or distance. In other words, membership of a specific Coven is not a prerequisite of initiation. Nomenclature varies considerably between Orders—in the OAM, for example, each Coven is headed by a Scribe. If the Coven is large, the Scribe will appoint one or more Ringleaders as assistants.