Contents
Moon Magick There are 3 days of each New or Full Moon. The day of the actual Phase (when the lunar tide turns), and the day before and after. New Moons New Moons symbolize beginnings. So, New Moons are when we allow prospective new members to attend. We always have our New Moon celebrations on the 3rd day of the new Moon (after the lunar tide has turned). This is a great time for starting things. We use self-stimulation instead of the Great Rite on the New Moon. Think of it as a preview of things to come. The 1st day of the New Moon is a great time for ending things. Full Moons Full Moons symbolize completion. It is the most Magickal time of the month. We usually have our Full Moon Celebration on the 1st day of the Full Moon. Full Moons are closed rituals. Only 1st Level members of the Pod are allowed to attend. No New members are allowed. This is when the High Priest and High Priestess Perform the Great Rite. Officers of the Pod - No one is required to become an officer of the pod until 2nd Level. I) Female Officers A) Maiden B) High Priestess C) Crone II) Male Officers A) Summoner B) High Priest C) Sentinel II) Female Officers-the female officers of the Pod begin and end their reign at mid-Aquarius (when the Sun is at 15* in Aquarius) If there are less than 3 women in the Pod, they may have to serve in more than one role. A) Maiden - The Maiden is the understudy to the High Priestess. If the High Priestess is unable to attend or perform her duties, the Maiden takes her place. She offers people the gaseous sacrament. At the end of a year, she becomes the new High Priestess. A) High Priestess - The High Priestess begins as assistant to the High Priest. At Mid-Taurus, she becomes the ruler of the Pod and leads all rituals. At Mid-Scorpio, she becomes the assistant to the new High Priest. At the end of a year, she becomes the new Crone. She offers people the liquid sacrament. Because the High Priestess and High Priest perform the Great Rite (make Love) in front of the rest of the Pod, couples should be pared up so that they get to be High Priestess and High Priest together for at least half of the year. Triads should be similarly accommodated. B) Crone - The Crone is the former High Priestess. If both the High Priestess and the Maiden are unable to attend or perform her duties, the Crone act as High Priestess. At the end of a year, she steps down and if there are at least 4 women in the Pod, she does not serve as an officer until all of the other women have been High Priestess. II) Male Officers - The Male Officers begin and end their reign at Mid-Leo. If there are less than 3 men in the Pod, they may have to serve in more than one role. A) Summoner - The Summoner is the understudy to the High Priest. If the High Priest is unable to attend or perform his duties, the Summoner takes his place. He offers people the Fire sacrament. At the end of a year, he becomes the new High Priest. B) High Priest - The High Priest begins as assistant to the High Priestess. At Mid-Scorpio, he becomes the ruler of the Pod and leads all rituals. At Mid-Taurus, he becomes the assistant to the new High Priestess. At the end of a year, he becomes the new Sentinel. He offers people the Solid sacrament. Because the High Priestess and High Priest perform the Great Rite (make Love) in front of the rest of the Pod, couples should be pared up so that they get to be High Priestess and High Priest together for at least half of the year. Triads should be similarly accommodated. C) Sentinel - The Sentinel is the former High Priest. If both the High Priest and the Summoner are unable to attend or perform his duties, the Sentinel acts as High Priest. He also has the duty of making sure that the ritual space is a safe place, locking all doors and window and even standing guard outside if necessary. At the end of a year, he steps down and if there are at least 4 men in the Pod, he does not serve as an officer until all of the other men have been High Priest. The Wheel of the Year In addition to celebrating the phases of the Moon, we also celebrate the movement of the Sun. This gives us 8 solar holidays in addition to the 26 lunar ones. These are the Solstices, Equinoxes, and the four mid-kerubic days. (The 4 days when the Sun is in the middle of one of the 4 Fixed or Kerubic astrological signs) Mid-Aquarius This is the day that the Sun is at 15* in Aquarius. In the year 2000, this occurs on February 4th. On this day, we burn all of the partially used candles we have and try to have as many candles burning during the ritual as possible. We use are usual format for the ritual except for the following section which we substitute for the Raising energy section of the ritual. High Priest: "today, we celebrate the succession of the Priestesses. This is the last Time that _____ will be acting as our High Priestess." High Priestess: (at this point if she has anything to say, she does so) Then, the Great Rite is enacted as a foursome. (if there are only two women, the other woman acts as both Maiden and Crone. If there is only one woman, she fulfills all three offices) The High Priest has intercourse with the High Priestess while also giving pleasure to the Maiden and concentrating on making her the new High Priestess. The High Priestess is also giving pleasure to the Maiden and concentrating on making her the new High Priestess. The Maiden concentrates on giving pleasure to the High Priestess, feeling the mantle of divinity being transferred into her self. The Crone concentrates on giving pleasure to the High Priestess feeling the Crone energy flowing out of her and into the High Priestess. At the mid-point of the Great Rite, the High Priest pulls out of the High Priestess. At this point, The Maiden has become the new High Priestess, The old High Priestess has become the new Crone, and the old Crone is no longer and officer of the Pod. They begin again with the new Maiden joining in and the old Crone dropping out. Throughout this, the rest of the Pod are touching and sending energy only into the woman whom is to become the new High Priestess. The exception is that the old Crone touches and channels energy into the new Crone. In the Northern Hemisphere, this continues until orgasm. After the energy has peaked, the High Priest helps the High Priestess to stand and says: High Priest: "All Hail the Goddess incarnate! All Hail Aphrodite!" People: "So Mote it Be!" The members of the Pod each worship the new High Priestess individually, honoring her inner divinity. In the Southern Hemisphere, the old candles are not burned off at this time. Instead, fresh Bread is baked for the solid sacrament. And the Great Rite does not continue until orgasm but instead stops just before climax. Then, a ritual game known as "the Chase" is enacted. The Chase The Pod stands in a circle. One of the women begins a playful dance, weaving in and out of the other people as the High Priest begins to chase her with a scarf. The other Pod members can help her avoid him by stepping in the way. When he catches her and throws the scarf over her head, pulling her to him, they begin Making Love. They stop just short of completion. Then the High Priest hands the scarf to another man who picks one of the women and stars chasing her. When he catches her, they Make Love to completion. Then he hands the scarf to the next man. This continues until everyone has had an orgasm except the High Priest. The scarf is handed back to the High Priest who chases and Makes Love to the High Priestess to completion. The ritual is closed in the usual manner. Spring Equinox The Spring Equinox occurs when the Sun is at 0* in Aries. (0* Libra in the Southern Hemisphere) Usually this occurs around the 21st of March. (23rd of September in the Southern Hemisphere) For Spring Equinox we try to have the ritual in someone's garden. Often, we will charge seeds during the ritual if they are not already planted. We use are usual format for the ritual except for the following section which we substitute for the Raising energy section of the ritual. Members of the most numerous gender bring with them some personal item of clothing that does not make it obvious who brought it. All of the Items must be of the same type. Traditionally, in Tantra, shoes are used. But we prefer something sexier like bras or underwear. All of the items are placed into a basket before the ritual and at this point, the basket is placed in the center of the circle. The owners of the items sit in a circle around the basket facing outward and drumming. Members of the least numerous gender dance around and when the mood strikes them, they reach into the basket without looking and pull out an item. Then, while flirting with all of the drummers, they try to figure out whom the item belongs to. When they finally figure out whom the item belongs to, the couple goes out to the edge of the circle and begins Making Love. When all the non-drummers have been paired up, the left over people help the couples by fetching wine, massaging backs or feet or even holding person in order to help facilitate difficult positions. If there are more than 2 extra people, and if all of the members of the numerous gender agree to it, some of the members of the more numerous gender may play the part of the other gender. Whether this continues to completion is up to the individual couples. Mid-Taurus This is the day when the sun reaches 15* in Taurus. In the year 2000, this occurs on May 5th. On this day The High Priestess becomes leader of the Pod and the High Priest becomes her assistant. In the Northern Hemisphere, we hold "May Games" as couples compete to become the May Queen and King. Ideally we would like to have a festival where all of the Pods in the country attend. People must compete as a couple. The "games" consist of various erotic games such as "nude twister", "body painting (with edible paint)" and "body paint removing". High Priestesses and High Priests are not allowed to compete. The winning couple performs the Great Rite by the maypole while the rest of us perform a maypole dance. The May Queen serves for a whole year. But the May king only serves until Mid-Scorpio. For the duration of their term, any Primary relationships that the May couple were in are dissolved. The act as if they were 7th level members, forsaking their own pleasure and totally giving them selves to the service and pleasure of others. This is a good way for interested people to get a preview of what 7th level would be like. But the May couple are Not 7th Level. It is possible however that if the May couple have been particularly selfless, the Council may grant them 7th level at the end of their term. In the Southern Hemisphere, a group scrying is done during the working part of the ritual and the High Priestess is "on top" for the Great Rite. Summer Solstice The Summer Solstice occurs when the Sun enters 0* Cancer (0* Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere) This Occurs around June 21st. (December 21st in the Southern Hemisphere) One tradition we like to uphold is to try to remain skyclad all day from the moment we awaken until the moment we go to sleep. We use the usual ritual format except the Great Rite performed by couples (or triads) who are currently in an ongoing sexualove relationship. People, who are not in a current relationship in the Pod, channel energy into the participants as usual. Mid-Leo Mid-Leo occurs when the Sun Reaches 15* Leo. In the Northern Hemisphere, fresh Bread is baked for the solid sacrament. In the Southern Hemisphere on this day, we burn all of the partially used candles we have and try to have as many candles burning during the ritual as possible. We use the usual format for the ritual except for the following section, which we substitute for the Raising energy section of the ritual. High Priestess: "today, we celebrate the succession of the Priests. This is the last Time that _____ will be acting as our High Priest." High Priest: (at this point if he has anything to say, he does so) Then, the Great Rite is enacted as a foursome. (If there are only two men, the other man acts as both Summoner and Sentinel. If there is only one man, he fulfills all three offices) The High Priestess has intercourse with the High Priest while also giving pleasure to the Summoner and concentrating on making him the new High Priest. The High Priest is also giving pleasure to the Summoner and concentrating on making him the new High Priest. The Summoner concentrates on giving pleasure to the High Priest, feeling the mantle of divinity being transferred into his self. The Sentinel concentrates on giving pleasure to the High Priest feeling the Sentinel energy flowing out of him and into the High Priest. At the mid-point of the Great Rite, the High Priest pulls out of the High Priestess. At this point, The Summoner has become the new High Priest, The old High Priest has become the new Sentinel, and the old Sentinel is no longer and officer of the Pod. They begin again with the new Summoner joining in and the old Sentinel dropping out. Throughout this, the rest of the Pod are touching and sending energy only into the man whom is to become the new High Priest. The exception is that the old Sentinel touches and channels energy into the new Sentinel. In the Southern Hemisphere, this continues until orgasm. After the energy has peaked, the High Priest helps the High Priestess to stand and she says: High Priestess: "All Hail the God incarnate! All Hail Eros!" People: "So Mote it Be!" The members of the Pod each worship the new High Priest individually, honoring his inner divinity. In the Northern Hemisphere the Great Rite does not continue until orgasm but instead stops just before climax. Then, a ritual game known as "the Chase" is enacted. The Chase The Pod stands in a circle. One of the women begins a playful dance, weaving in and out of the other people as the High Priest begins to chase her with a scarf. The other Pod members can help her avoid him by stepping in the way. When he catches her and throws the scarf over her head, pulling her to him, they begin Making Love. They stop just short of completion. Then the High Priest hands the scarf to another man who picks one of the women and stars chasing her. When he catches her, they Make Love to completion. Then he hands the scarf to the next man. This continues until everyone has had an orgasm except the High Priest. The scarf is handed back to the High Priest who chases and Makes Love to the High Priestess to completion. The ritual is closed in the usual manner. Fall Equinox Fall Equinox occurs when the Sun is at 0* in Libra. (0* Aries in the Southern Hemisphere) Usually this occurs around the 23rd of September. (21st of March in the Southern Hemisphere) For Fall Equinox we try to have the ritual in someone's garden. Often, we will use fruits of the harvest for the sacrament. Similar to Spring Equinox, we use are usual format for the ritual except for the following section which we substitute for the Raising energy section of the ritual. Members of the most numerous gender bring with them some personal item of clothing that does not make it obvious who brought it. All of the Items must be of the same type. Traditionally, in Tantra, shoes are used. But we prefer something sexier like bras or underwear. All of the items are placed into a basket before the ritual and at this point, the basket is placed in the center of the circle. The owners of the items sit in a circle around the basket facing outward and drumming. Members of the least numerous gender dance around and when the mood strikes them, they reach into the basket without looking and pull out an item. Then, while flirting with all of the drummers, they try to figure out whom the item belongs to. If there are any left over drummers, some of the dancers get to pick again. When they finally figure out whom the items belong to, the couples and triads go out to the edge of the circle and begin Making Love. Whether this continues to completion is up to the individual couples and traids. Mid-Scorpio This is the day when the sun reaches 15* in Scorpio. In the year 2000, this occurs on November 7th. On this day The High Priest becomes leader of the Pod and the High Priestess becomes his assistant. In the Northern Hemisphere, a group scrying is done during the working part of the ritual and the High Priest is "on top" for the Great Rite. In the Northern Southern Hemisphere, you should hold "May Games" as couples compete to become the May Queen and King. Ideally we would like to have a festival in each country where all of the Pods in the country attend. People must compete as a couple. The "games" consist of various erotic games such as "nude twister", "body painting (with edible paint)" and "body paint removing". High Priestesses and High Priests are not allowed to compete. The winning couple performs the Great Rite by the maypole while the rest of us perform a maypole dance. The May Queen serves for a whole year. But the May king only serves until Mid-Scorpio. For the duration of their term, any Primary relationships that the May couple were in are dissolved. The act as if they were 7th level members, forsaking their own pleasure and totally giving them selves to the service and pleasure of others. This is a good way for interested people to get a preview of what 7th level would be like. But the May couple are Not 7th Level. It is possible however that if the May couple have been particularly selfless, the Council may grant them 7th level at the end of their term. Winter Solstice The Winter Solstice occurs when the Sun enters 0* Capricorn. (0* Cancer in the Southern Hemisphere) This Occurs around December June 21st. (June 21st in the Southern Hemisphere) On the shortest day of the year, many of us tend to get the "holiday blues". So, for the Great Rite section of the Ritual, we play a game called "doused lights." We turn out all light sources, making it completely pitch dark in the room. Then we slowly grope around in the darkness until we find someone, who we begin Making Love with. Suddenly the appointed light bearer lights a candle revealing all. We then, sit in a circle and go around the circle telling jokes that start out: "I knew it was you all along because ____." Then Someone else is appointed light bearer, the light is doused and we begin again. We keep playing until everyone is in good spirits . . . and tired. Ritual Space The best place to hold our rituals is outdoors. In the winter, we sometimes build a large bonfire so that we can be both skyclad and warm. But it is not always possible to find a place where sky clad and highly sexual rituals can be performed. When this is the case, we hold them indoors. Membership costs Some have asked how much it cost to be a member of the 1st Church of Polyamory. The answer is: nothing. Membership is free. Because we are a very sex positive church, even taking donations could be construed as prostitution. So in order to stay out of legal trouble, membership is free. This limits the kind to things we can do as a church as everything has to be done by volunteers. And you can help. . . . Magickal names Also, because of the repressive laws everywhere, you should not use your real, mundane name when dealing with other members to the Church. Choose a Magickal name for people to call you. The only people who have a right to know you real name are your Primary Spice. Self Initiation into 1st level The initiations of the 1st church of Polyamory will never be published. However, since the 1st Level merely symbolizes your entry into the Church, here is how you can give yourself an equivalent experience. Find a "life study drawing" class at you local collage and volunteer to be a Model. (This is an art class where they draw people using nude models) As you are modeling, concentrate on how these artists are closely scrutinizing your every feature in an effort to capture some of the essence of your divinity on paper. After you have done this, you can truthfully tell people that you are now a member of the 1st Church of Polyamory. Other groups There is much that you should also know about that was not included because it is not unique to the 1st Church of Polyamory. You should also familiarize yourself with Tarot, Astrology, Geomancy, Qabalah, Magickal Alphabets, Scrying, and many other diverse fields of Magick. Our church is really only focused on one area of Magick. If you want a more comprehensive education, the degrees of the Ordo Templi Orientis are a good source. Many of their members are polyamorous. Similarly, The Church of All Worlds is another good organization for polyamorous people who would like to be a part of a more public generic pagan church. We recommend membership in both these organisations. The requirements for 2nd Level Candidates for 2nd Level: 1) Should have become knowledgeable in all of the 1st level material. 2) They should also be knowledgeable in a wide variety of other forms of Magick. 3) They must be able to perform from memory a complete ritual the style of the 1st Church of Polyamory including: banishing with a pentagram ritual (Star Ruby, lesser banishing ritual of the Pentagram, or Vel Reguli), Invoking light with a hexagram ritual (Star Sapphire or lesser invoking ritual of the hexagram), Invoking Love with the Heptagram ritual, Calling Quarters, Invoking God/dess, and dismissing quarters. 4) It must also have been a year since they were initiated into 1st level by a Priest/ess of the 1st Church of Polyamory. (self initiation does not count for people who want to progress further)
1st Church of Polyamory links
1st Church of Polyamory Main Page
1st Level teachings: part one
So you want to start a Pod
Local Pods
2nd Level Teachings
