I was taught as a young man that "Unless I had something positive to say I would be well advised to keep my mouth shut ", the truth of the matter is -that of late this has been sage advice, of course this is not the only reasoning for this prolonged silence, the answer there lies within the realms of personal thought and the nature of oaths taken, there has been much learnt and great gains within the often turbulent life of The Cunning man, a good deal of which serves no purpose in display here or anywhere else, family business is for family only and our concerns are not and should not be the concerns of others outside of such.
Silence during and after the storm will often furnish rich dividends, it allows the mind to reorder the troubles and distractions of modern living, it enables less reaction to the stresses and strains often placed upon us by others, when acknowledged the flood subsides and we are once more left to wander the fertile lands of our being, stronger for the temper having been held and forced to strengthen the soul, action engenders reaction and so forth, for a situation to be allowed to dissipate we must cease to continue to give it energy. This is not easy at all times but the reward is vast and resolve becomes as a Shield.
Yet opinions and views cast upon myself and upon my own kin and the nature of action/inaction still force me to examine why it is we act the way we do, perhaps to enlighten those who would criticise our perceived inaction.
A study of the art of war is as good as any place to start, one of the great manuscripts on warfare and studied still within the military colleges the world over despite its considerable age, this is not some how separate to spirituality but another oft overlooked facet of it, in order to protect the faith we become warriors of the faith,an army itself is made up of many people all with different skills that becomes a force far stronger through unification, but must we always run to war.
Our warrior nature allows for us to let our foes do the work, for them to send arrows badly aimed in our direction with intent yet with no power behind then, the wise man will wait until those same missiles are depleted from the stores of our enemies and the field is safe, then we have a deterrent and our own stores are plentiful, the attacker has become sterile no longer a threat to our peace. Let the angry warrior jump and swing, thrust and cut without thought or care as we step aside the badly placed blows, yet he becomes tired as we remain fresh and once more the field becomes quiet. Perhaps a time to strike will come around and when it does it shall be well aimed and truly find its mark, it will not be an action born of vengeance or anger but one child born of thought and justice. A silent assassin may complete the work efficiently where a thousand men can fail!
It would seem that in the eyes of others, that the quiet warrior is nothing more than a coward of inaction, unbloodied and impotent, when one truly studies the martial ways it may become apparent that the focused mind is the warriors most potent weapon, the unfocused mind or the enraged ego can be seen to be of benefit of the enemy and no one else.
So there in part explains my recent absence, thought and meditation, to be seen by some as unthinking inaction. Yet in all honesty there have been times of late where I have been physically restrained from action and now with hind sight I am glad for that council, for the moment at least I have gained more this way than I could have the other, and now the storm has passed I count my blessings as many and the curses as arrows that lie upon the field of battle, unbloodied and impotent alike to the perceptions of the ignorant.
Unfortunately within this time of electronic communication there are those who fail to adhere to the above metaphor, the computer keyboard has replaced the bow, sword and spear, it still seems to retain some similar properties of the shield however. Internet conflict is the modern form of warfare where the warriors of cyberspace duel with each other without fear of being hurt(physically), the dramas that seem to play out within the lives of teenagers are theirs alone no longer. I have been witness to all manner of threats and bullying, not as one would think coming from the adolescents within our community, but fully fledged adults, occult forums where grandmother stories proliferate at every level become the village gossip centres upon the book of faces, here it has become where talk is more about what so and so is doing and healthy debate seems to have taken a back seat. believe if you will but I have witnessed grown men challenge each other to Wizard's duels in the Harry Potter style fantasy, adults who cannot seem to grasp any kind of reality yet often have claims of power and heritage, the occult world is in danger of becoming a laughing stock in the eyes of "Muggles"(had to put that in, sorry), because those of us who refuse to react are laughing, although it is with pity and not mirth. As for the duellists,well, my own stang is quite heavy, it does not shoot out malefic flame but if I were to hit some one with it, my it would hurt.
Sadly of course, those lost individuals who might have a interest in the many faced jewel of occultism may feel today that is is not for them, up and coming talent is suppressed by the carrying on of those who in truth know nothing, the quiet ones are the ones to find, within the noise they become far harder to seek out with all the distractions and shouting everywhere, look for the one who watches, the one who thinks without the need to reply and listen to the heart.
My own climb upon the ladder continues as ever, I am within the arms of Fate and she continues to astound me. Midsummer is nearly upon us and family gathers for the feast of John, it truly seems like another life when I stood alone in the wilds of my home and wished for company below the stars.
To those who would seek companions of the Arte I would say, trust in yourself and only when you are content in who you are and what you do will something happen, the craft requires people that are whole or on the way to becoming so, you may well be capable of becoming so by yourself. Do not wait until the opportunity arises, do your thing, explore the worlds and find some of the keys, when you need to be among family she will provide, if it is through desire you will be a long time solitary.
You will only ever get out the equivalent of what you put in, she will aid and assist but if you treat her as a servant you will go hungry, devotion takes on many forms and she sees them all, displays of devotion are often just that when conducted with an empty heart, a true craftsman know this and I would say it is the one thing every "Witch" should know. So watch with care and take note.
Before I depart I will add one more message to those who have bought storms to my door- I am the quiet Warrior, I consider my actions carefully, do not think me impotent for if you do it will be your own down fall, I am not weak, I have a strength that you do not yet understand(I am not sure I do myself as yet) I shall not make threats or curse your pitiful souls, but sleep well tonight for one day I shall come, or perhaps I shall serve the lady Salome gladly and the choice of dish shall be up to you, perhaps within the dark of night or upon the field of war but your times will come, I promise you that.
Flags,Flax and Fodder.. Tony.
