My early experiences with the Guardians proceeded in stages. I began by calling Star Seeker/Star Finder, and I called him alone at first.
The following represents my present, typical call to Star Seeker, with notes.
Facing East, ahem, East-ish.[1]
I invoke by the Wyrms that Are Wise.
Here, I generally trace and traject/project the two primary WtaW I have from Star Seeker. Typically, as I do so, channeling a bit of elthil into them, immersing myself in Star Seeker-ness, I will see him and sometimes Dragon-Him behind him. All of my calls to the Guardians wind up working in this way, though the experience with Zenith, Nadir, and Center is different.
Notably, yes, I use a wand for Star Seeker.
Star Seeker, Hûro-Tûr,[2]
Wyrms that Are Wise in the Skies (Storms) Above
I will opt for Skies or Storms as the moment guides me.
Star Seeker,
Dragon of the Tempests, Lord of the Risen Winds,
Star Seeker,
Lord of Insight and Eloquence,
I did not get Knowledge and Self so much for a long while, so I opted instead for Insight and Eloquence. Eventually, I opted to go with both lines, especially after I realized, “Well, hell, you are Lord of Knowledge and Self.”
Lord of Knowledge and Self,
May I know your blessing and presence once again,
In this time and place,
In my life, my dreams, my work, my art,
I may drop In this time and place and/or In my life…etc. in individual iterations of this call. I adopt the polite modal may. I resisted typical evocational commands, seeking to invite the Guardians around for ritual and chat. I suppose I tried to acknowledge the Guardians’ agency in these regards.
Star Seeker,
I welcome you.
Again, rather than a command or ritual Appear! or whatever, I opt instead for a polite welcome.
(I ask you attend, and witness these rites tonight.)
I’ve used this optional closing line when my intent is not to engage in conversation with the Guardians but to do a more formal rite on Designated Formal Rite Business Is Happening Tonight nights.
Often, on completing, I will find myself experiencing the signs of “Hey, you’re engaging in magical trance states of consciousness and your body is reacting/acknowledging/participating in that” that Jan Fries points to in most of his books: a bit of “seething.” I think, in many cases, these experiences with the Guardians wind up reflecting casting aside distraction and immediate blocks to get me at the magical business at hand. Often, I’ve reacted more dramatically with Black Mother, Zenith, and Nadir. More recently, I note often a “rush” of wind, flame, flowing and enveloping waters, or the coiling roots and weight of the earth with the “elemental” Guardians.
Now, when I first called up Star Seeker, I had no real idea who or what would show up. But I am a nerdy girl, and the Guardians can reflect parts of ourselves, and I saw a grinning Tenth Doctor stepping forth out of sky blue tempests. I still see Star Seeker in this way, and yes, I expect most folks will now judge me for such, but—you were probably going to do so anyway. But the Knowledge, the Insight, the Vision Expansive, the Quick Imagination, the Self and so on I sought in Star Seeker came back reflected at me with “Ten.” Obviously, this is the mask Star Seeker was wearing for me, which got my attention, which got me to pay attention.
I worked and chatted with Star Seeker for several evenings, gained a WtaW he wanted me to make sense of before continuing on to Shining Flame. You can find my record of those “challenges” in the early archive of this blog. In a way, the Guardians were testing my senses, confronting some of my assumptions, and pushing me to start thinking about the kinds of concerns the Guardians are adept at.
Ultimately, Star Seeker helps me confront, reflect upon, and explore Knowledge and Self, my Insight and my Eloquence. For me, this reflection begins my (Iron and Pearl) Pentacle work, which I try to pull off at least once a week now. As I proceed/progress through such a working, I get closer and closer to Center. As T Thorn Coyle has written, the trick is not to never leave that Center, not to be unflappable, but to work on being able to get back to Center faster and more gently, easily, empoweringly than you would otherwise.
If you let him, Star Seeker is chatty but probing. The question he often asks me after pleasantries is “What have you learned?” And he will continue asking, making you consider what you’ve learned since last you had this conversation—about yourself, about your magic, about the world, and on. When you and he feel you’ve reached the end of your chat, he’ll nudge you on to Shining Flame.
At other times, I’ve asked Star Seeker questions about magic, lore, about those kinds of things, and if he feels the answers would mean something to me then, he’ll offer his thoughts. In these regards, the Guardians are guides, are confidants, are challengers—they’re very much teachers—and at times, they have acted as guardians. Shining Flame and Black Mother, in particular, have helped “guard” on some occasions.
In the next part, I’ll move on to Shining Flame and Pride and Truth. I want to say, though, that I think the Guardians will appear and act much as you expect them to, or how you mask them (or how they choose to mask themselves for you). And the challenges and tests they may pose for you will reflect what you need or can handle at the time. I encourage you to take your time, get to know them, and at the same time work at getting to know yourself.
[1] I have noted that “casting the sphere” begins with the North, around to West, up to Zenith, down to Nadir, then Center. However, calling the Guardians always begins with East and Star Seeker. I’ve tried opening with North/Black Mother, but that never feels right. Similarly, beginning the sphere from East doesn’t feel right either. My own research points to the North or East opening question as one that has persisted for a while, with some folks suggesting the GD offered the wrong order intentionally to confound the non-initiated. Beh. I have to admit that I have gone with what works for me, and my experiments otherwise have felt askew and unaligned with harmony.
[2] Storm-Lord/King
Edited to bracket off the calls with horizontal lines.
Image: More Sky (by me)