Of Pentacles & Pateras: A Call to Serve, Not to *Be* Served

A snapshot of my own Holy Regalia after it has been freshly polished in preparation
for a Magickal Rite: two vintage brass candlesticks, a silver-plate Chalice, and a
silver-plate Patera.

I would like to address two of the most seldom used and misunderstood ritual items to be housed on a Witch's Altar, if at all: 

The Pentacle (sometimes called a peyton or a paten) ought to be one of the first Ritual Items bought by a Witch for his or her Altar because it is used so frequently and practically when an item needs to be consecrated or "charged"--as we say--with a Witch's own psychic energy.  Items are typically placed atop the Pentacle, rather than within an otherwise atypical saucer, in preparation for consecration or blessing by the Witch.  These may include ritual jewelry to serve as an amulet or a talisman, candles for spells and rituals and, more importantly, the Sabbat Cakes that we sacrifice to the Old Gods.  The Sabbat Cakes should always be offered to the Old Ones, first, before being distributed individually to the assembled Coven, even if it is a loose gathering of fellow Witches in celebration of the Sabbats or a monthly Esbat at the Covenstead.  It is because of this feature--holding the Sabbat Cakes, as the Chalice holds the Sabbat Wine--that the Pentacle is considered both masculine and feminine; indeed, the Pentacle teaches us the crucial Mystery that the masculine may also be receptive and feminine.  Although, according to the Gardnerian Book of Shadows the Pentacle is presented to the First Degree Witch, along with any other primary "working tools", who may use it when Evoking "the appropriate spirits" during a Ritual.  It is used for this purpose today by Witches who hold it aloft at each Quarter when Conjuring the Elements,  the Elementals, or even a Power Animal.  Another general use for the Pentacle, which is seldom underscored in the vast majority of occult literature, is that the presence and use of the Pentacle upon the Altar serves to both control and focus the forces raised within a Magickal Rite, whether psychic or Otherworldly.  It is also for this reason that the Pentacle is drawn into the air during a Rite of Evocation when one casts a Magick Circle.  Unfortunately, far too many untrained and ill-educated lay-Witches realize the significance of this tool other than as a mere bauble or decoration that signifies that they are, indeed, a "real Witch" with the Pentacle to prove it!  It is far more than that and deserves far more respect and awe as a significant Tool of the Art.

The Patera, however, serves a far more prosaic function as an offering vessel into which a splash of Sabbat Wine and one or two Sabbat Cakes may be solemnly placed for the Old Ones before being removed from the Temple, after a Magickal Rite, and returned to the Elements and the Earth from which the offerings came.  It is one of the most ancient ritual tools that featured on every Altar in antiquity, and one of the most seldom used by contemporary Witches.  It is also far too frequent within American Witchcraft for the Ceremony of Cakes & Ale to be treated as either a banal "Grounding & Centering" procedure at the close of a Rite, or at best, it has devolved into a generic platitude by asking that each assembled Witch "may...never hunger...[and] may...never thirst" (as if the blessing were given directly by the High Priest/ess himself or herself, instead of from the gods),  after which the gods are ironically forgotten almost entirely!  This places mankind's needs above those of the gods who are to be Invoked as our Honored Guests at each Sabbat  and Esbat ritual.  It is the gods whom we have gathered to celebrate and to worship, not our own sense of entitlement or Ego; yes, I have seen a fair number of Witches who believe that if one does not seem grateful enough or if they have not been personally thanked, then the "offending" Witch/es are either never invited to another public ritual, or the event is canceled altogether in order to "punish" an ungrateful Pagan community.  What these members of the Craft have forgotten is that the role of the High Priesthood is a thankless job in which we serve the gods first-and-foremost, but also our community!  But, even if an Initiate of the High Priesthood was not directly and personally thanked, they ought to be grateful that anyone took the time out of their day to attend and to rejoice in the Mysteries of the gods in kind.  This is the nature of hospitality!  Moreover, this is also the Mystery embodied by the Chalice that symbolizes the Goddess, for it transmits blessings hand-to-hand; ergo the purpose of the Chalice is to bless each individual Witch, but also (and primarily) to receive and to share the blessings of the Goddess to each other without demand or request, and certainly without refusal and reprisal.  To behave otherwise will only serve to alienate the community that one proclaims to serve, it is also a betrayal of the gods and the Mysteries embodied by the Tools that we have consecrated.  In other words individuals such as these have inverted the Pentacle and they have placed their own petty emotions above their call--no, their duty--to service!  The Degree of the High Priesthood is not  a goal worth seeking as though the process is little more than a standard education or a quest for Mastery and Achievement within the Craft.  It is not for those that relish Power and Authority.  An "Authentic Initiation"--as I have termed it--is a psychologically jarring process, a Spiritual Transformation, that cannot be conferred by the hands of man, alone.  Indeed, most people that have experienced it report that they have endured a Question of Faith, or a "Dark Night of the Soul".  You see, each point of the Pentacle represents the Elements of the physical world as well as human desire poised in balance below the Sacred (the Fifth Element), not over Them.  The Ego can be a misleading ally in the Path of Service.  It is for this reason that The Devil card within the Major Arcana of the Tarot serves as a formidable warning against allowing our human vices--whether it is the Ego, selfishness, a desire for financial gain, relish for Power, and materialism--to tether us, and preventing us from achieving true Spiritual Enlightenment, dedication, and service within the Craft.  It worries me to observe how many of my fellow Pagan Brothers and Sisters obstinately turn their nose up at the thought of donating their time in the capacity of a humble volunteer, unless it gains them further Glory and renown.  Socrates, moreover, expressed this crucial gift of service and humility in his own humble prayer:

O beloved Pan and all ye other gods of this place, 

grant to me that I be made beautiful in my soul within,

and that all external possessions be in harmony with my inner man.

May I consider the wise man rich;

and may I have such wealth as only the self-restrained man can bear or endure.

For me that is prayer enough. 

Select Resources:

• Eliade, Mircea.  Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy.  Trans. W. R. Trask.  Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1964.
• Kelly, Aidan A.  Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939-1964.  Llewelyn Publications: St. Paul, 1991.
• Leek, Sybil.  The Complete Art of Witchcraft: Penetrating the Mystery Behind Magic Power.  Signet: New York, 1971.
• Lipp, Deborah.  The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle.  Llewellyn Publications: St. Paul, 2003. 
• Rabinovitch, Shelley and James Lewis, eds.  "Tools of the Art".  The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Neo-Paganism.  Citadel Press: New York, 2002: pp. 273-74.
• Valiente, Doreen.  An ABC of Witchcraft Past & Present.  St. Martin's Press: New York, 1973. 
• ---.  Charge of the Goddess: The Mother of Modern Witchcraft.  Hexagon Hoopix: Brighton, 2000.