“WE ARE THE WITCHCRAFT. We are the
oldest organization in the world. When man was born, we were. We sang the first
cradle song. We healed the first wound, we comforted the first terror. We were
the Guardians against the Darkness, the Helpers on the Left Hand Side. Rock
drawings in the Pyrenees remember us, and little clay images, made for an old
purpose when the world was new. Our hand was on the old stone circles, the
monolith, the dolmen, and the druid oak. We sang the first hunting songs, we
made the first crops to grow; when man stood naked before the Powers that made
him, we sang the first chant of terror and wonder. We wooed among the Pyramids,
watched Egypt rise and fall, ruled for a space in Chaldea and Babylon, the
Magian Kings. We sat among the secret assemblies of Israel, and danced the wild
and stately dances in the sacred groves of Greece.”
–
Jack Parsons, We Are the Witchcraft
Archeological and
anthropological evidence shows that since before recorded history, people from
neighboring tribes would gather together. They would feast, tell stories, sing
songs, and dance. These gatherings would promote trade, the dissemination of
knowledge, help people find mates outside their genetic lineage, and strengthen
social bonds. It was and remains a quintessential human experience. Reflections
of these gatherings exist today, manifesting at music festivals, conventions,
and churches. Sadly, much of the original form has been stripped away, creating
a spectacle to be consumed rather than to be participated in. We believe that bringing
back the original forms and intent of the gathering of the tribes is essential
for our spiritual awakening and for the survival of the species.
We call it the Sabbat. A
loaded term, the use of the word Sabbat to describe a gathering of witches
comes from the Middle Ages, when racist Europeans wanting to link Jewish
religion with Satanism, bastardized the Jewish word for their religious
observance, “Shabbat.” We would not be the first to take a word used against us
and throw it back at our oppressors. And make no mistake, in modern times the
Sabbat is an act of rebellion. It flies against every authority that wishes to
turn us into individual atoms of consumption that simply obey. In this sense, Emergent
Magick can be seen as an ideology. A new form of human interaction that eschews
the 20th century’s social structures—capitalism, communism, and fascism—and
creates a new principle for humans to interact based on community, group
experience, and spiritual fulfillment.
The purpose of the Sabbat is manifold. It
provides context for humans to come together in ways that benefit the group
rather than destroy and take. A successful Sabbat requires all participants to
interact within altered states of consciousness. We commune with each other not
only within the physical dimension, but in a spiritual dimension as well. A
Sabbat has no audience. All participants contribute in their own way. Sabbat
should be seen as not only a noun but a verb. It describes a living, breathing
process. A work of art created by all those who attend. Everything that happens
at a Sabbat—dancing, eating, conversation, lovemaking—contributes to the work
as a whole. The entirety of the Sabbat takes place outside “normal” space and
time. While the normal acquisition of food, shelter, and comfort that occurs
day-to-day also occur during the Sabbat, those activities are given greater
purpose and meaning.
If at all possible, a
Sabbat should be held outdoors. We understand that the elements, access, and
need for privacy prevent many from doing so. We have held many a Sabbat in
homes and other spaces, and the lack of access to natural spaces should not
hold you back. The reason for going out into the wild is that the Sabbat not
only means communing with other humans, but communing with the natural world and
the spirts it contains. Our arrogance as a species leads us to believe we are
somehow outside or above the natural world. In truth, we exist because of it,
and the other beings, both physical and spiritual, are our equals. Interacting
with them as equals opens us up to learning and levels of consciousness
otherwise unattainable. Nothing will remind you of your own animal nature as
much as mud-caked feet, scratches and bruises, and sticks and bugs in your
hair. Hold one weekend-long Sabbat in the woods once per year, and you’ll
remember what’s truly important.
This discovery of what you
find physically and spiritually necessary is another goal of the Sabbat. While
we commune with others and the world around us, we also commune with ourselves.
What you do during a Sabbat should test your limits. A true Sabbat will include
things you never thought yourself capable. Tests of physical, mental, and
spiritual endurance push a magus to truly, “Know Thyself.”
