“Ancient inscriptions record a story of certain angelic dissidents who, in transgression of Astral Law, descended to the earthly plane and there made their abodes. Each among their number served as a luminous benefactor, giving unto man a specific bequest of Light. The ancients called these magnificents "Watchers’. Why were they so named, and what did they watch?
Some say their eyes were captivated by the sight of mortal women, who were fair to behold. Upon seeing them, their desire was roused, and so they courted them, and embraced them as wives. From their union sprung the Giants or Mighty Ones, as well as the great houses of the Art Magical. Such is the Fascinum of Beauty, the Great Encircler, whose quality of Light binds Seer with the Seen, lures stellar power unto Earth, and serves as Mother of the Generations of the Wise.
Others assert that their stations were set on high to observe the progress of Man, and assist them who, humbly entreating the Fire of First Reckoning, aspire to transcend the shell of mortality and be as gods’. This is the power of dream-foretelling, which looks upon all things and perceives their apotheosis, even when their present forms are shackled by temporal constraint.
Adherents of the Doctrine of the One Image maintain that the Watchers were supremely potent shards of the Mirror of All Things, and that their means of observation is eternal:- it is forthis reason they are also known as ‘Vigilants’. According to this teaching, the Watchers cast their sight beyond time and mortal reckoning to the moment The World is at last reassembled, and the Mirror of All Things made whole. In that distant and shimmering reflection, them who watch on high behold in simultaneity all eventuality between the present moment and the instant the final shard of the Mirror is restored. As a result of their ever-open eyes, present and future are bonded, and a sacred trajectory is established.
The knowledge of the Witch, or Heretic, is that the Watchers are their especial patrons, who have bestowed upon them peculiar gifts of power or knowledge. Chief amongst these dispensations is a Hidden Fire burning at the nexus of Flesh and Spirit. Through the light and heat of this eternal pyre they may glimpse the veiled contours of Sheol and the New Jerusalem, and a thousand dominions beyond, even as the common man walks hoodwinked amongst a great labyrinth of illusions. The light of this fire, in addition to the revelatory properties it instills in the eyes, may also be formulated, by way of the Art Magical, to create and destroy.”
‘Concerning the Holy Virtues of Waybread, Chaplet of the Tortuous Track’
“Our Herb is patient and wise, for many tread upon it, and it sustains little damage; as a Companion on the Path it is ever present, having adapted its place of growing to waysides of the road. It is identified by its prostrate growth and rosetted, parallel-veined leaves, which give rise to stalks tipped with brown, spikelike inflorescences having tiny white blossoms. Its botanical indication is the genus Plantago, of which there are numerous species, the best-known of which are Ribwort (P. lanceolata] and Greater Plantain [P. major]. Both are nutritive and medicinal, good friends to afflicted skin, and powerful against the bites of vermin.
As a protection for the Wayfarer it stands as Ward of the roads a Walking Charm readily available in most lands; providing medicine, nourishment and protection against noxious spirits. Leaves placed into the shoes and hat afford protection from robbers or venomous beasts; a pillow similarly stuffed protects the sleeper from harm during the night, be it from the realm of Nesh or spirit. Leaves which be gathered on Midsummer Eve are of especially potent virtues, and are made into an ointment which aid the traveller in difficult passage, and shields its wearer from attack. Owing to its knack for rendering the most noxious venoms less harmful, the Herb may also be used for particularly difficult cases of Exorcism. Waybread leaves are renowned for relieving irritating skin complications, including cuts, bruises, Nettle or insect stings, and burns, and may be applied directly to such afflictions, even in severe cases. It is one of the best rapid-healing bandages Nature has gifted us with, and does not fail. Juice of the leaves has been used successfully to cure the bite of the rattlesnake.”
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Viridarium Umbris:
The Pleasure-Garden of Shadow
3: ‘The Book of Going Forth into the Field of Cain’
“As the word abides in silence for that which must be spoken, so the Book abides in emptiness for that which must be written, mirror of the Tablet of the Heart, the masque of the Great History written in the rings of the Spirit-Tree. For those called to the Work of Trees and Herbs, a sanctified Book of Leaves is useful for the field notation of plant species, samples of pressed leaves or flowers, observation of dreams or omens arising within the Wood, and certain prayers or charms needful. The patient and judicious commitment to text of one’s Work will, in time, prove fruitful and give needed insight, often providing such counsel as is wholly relevant and can be gained by no other confidence.
Its corpus is best construfted to be resistant to the elements, and of paper, ink, and binding revealed as Veil of the Spirit’s arcana. As the Book is protected from seepage, mildew, and filth; so too shall it be well warded against the human and spiritual emanations of these contaminants. For as the Wild is the Holy Sanctum of Worship, so the Book is an extension of the Temple of the Heart, a most personal refraction of the Waking Dream.
As the written record may be a valuable artifaft of working, so too there is power to be gain’d by abstinence from the Work of the Pen. For the Memory may serve in many capacities that the Book may not, tempered by the good Intercessor of Time, and kindled by the fire of immediate descent of spirit. Herein lies an eternal arcanum of both gnosis and enchantment, potent counsel unto all who would stand before the gates of the Immortal Gardens at the end of their Wayfaring.
With all books of paper beware: let the Wise of Art also behold therein the verity of dead remains: for the respective vessels of Letter, Word, and Page each hold their own empty-hearted glamours, not the least of which is mummification: voice deprived of breath, body without blood, fuel well-fit for the funeral pyre. For verily, a relic of Art recorded in text becomes but frozen in impress of mortal matter, and the fascination binding it to both Scribe and reader rests in the morbid fallacy of eternal preservation. Thus, let the Dead Letter give rise to the Living Word, and in power beget the Living Deed, the Deed to weave the living Web of Art. For herein is the True Glory of the Pleasure Garden, ever in motion, the Ophanim ever pinning out the Wisdom Dendritic, aflame with the green witch-fire that creates and conquers all.
Forsooth, turn not the eyes in worship to the meagre hide-bound husks of the written word, but rather to all that which remains unwritten and shall ever be so, the Mysteries inscrutable. For the True Grammaryof Art writes and unwrites itself in perpetuity, read by no man, possessed by no library, and bound by no stain of ink!”
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Viridarium Umbris:
The Pleasure Garden of Shadow
3: ‘The Book of Going Forth into the Field of Cain’
