Maewyn (PDF)

Maewyn

Harrison Burdo

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Contents
Section I - Theory
Maewyn
Oison the Horseman
The Serpentine Elementals
Plant Geometries
Section II - Practice
All contents within the present work are copyright 2017 Harrison Burdo, All Rights Reserved.

The White Horse
The Ancestral Mound
The Standing Stone
Maewyn Succat
Conclusion

Section I - Theory
In which the magician Maewyn Succat is
presented in a context befitting to an adept of
the Green Ray, that the mysteries transcribed
in his myths and legends may be unveiled.

Maewyn
St. Patrick, born Maewyn Succat, was a talented magician who utilized his
power in the service of humanity, under the guise of the Catholic Church.
He travelled to Ireland as a missionary in the 5th Century C.E. and in
order to understand him we must paint an image of the Irish landscape
at that period of time. The land itself was likely not terribly different,
save for being comparably devoid of city infrastructure, and even today
this very protected land has not received the worst of the industrial era.
The people were in many respects different, and yet in many respects
the same as they are known today. Irish Catholicism has always been
a very Old and Pagan Catholicism. Here is a culture that shifted
with the needs of changing times and yet stayed true to their roots.
When Maewyn arrived in Ireland Catholicism had already been
established by the Roman Empire. Roman occupation in the region
was secured in part by the efforts of Julius Caesar and his Etruscan
magic. The magic and pantheons of both Ireland and the Etruscan
culture made use of the Nordic and Celtic Rays of magic, and when
Caesar worked the Etruscan current, which developed somewhat

later than that which developed in Ireland directly out of Atlantis, it
was akin to the younger gods usurping the older ones. This magical
dynamic was supported by the third wave of Atlantean magic that
had developed in Egypt and was passed to Greece, and thence Rome.
By this time the currents of Egyptian magic had been powered down
by priesthoods and conserved amongst what would develop into the
generalized Western Mystery Tradition. With Roman occupation in
Egypt and corruption present in many of the priesthoods this was a
necessity in order to ensure that certain currents of magic could not
be abused. They were simply taken offline and awaited reactivation at
a future period. In the meantime the fulcrum of magical power was
being moved into Europe and priesthoods such as the Pythagoreans and
their descendants were preserving components of the older tradition.
Christianity in its Gnostic Catholic denomination was another
current of initiation that preserved elements of a much older
tradition. It’s principles had, however, become corrupted by
the state, and thus was the Holy Roman Empire born and
developed in a distinctively anti-Christian manner, having far
more in common with the conquering qualities of the Nordic Ray.
Not all Catholics were corrupted however. The work of many “saints”,
under the guise of Catholicism, serves as testament to a magical
tradition continuous under one or another religious guise. The saints
are often appropriately called such for their willingness and ability
to adapt to the needs of their time as working magicians. When
a saint died, often by martyrdom, they were enjoined to a legion
or lineage of the dead that supported those who would come after
them. They contributed immensely to the magical tradition that we
continue today, and in a certain respect made our work easier by
walking the path before us, as we will do for those that come after us.
Maewyn was not the only Catholic magician to maintain a connection
with the underworld by any means. It is now commonly understood by
practicing magicians that Catholicism is based largely in the practice
of necromancy. The dead reside in the underworld and the saints,
as it were, often serve as a mediator to some increasingly primordial
and powerful force buried deeper in the sands of time than they.

It was common that communion with the saints throughout the
world would essentially replace prior communion with other spirits
such as deities and powerful spirits of the land. As times changed and
civilization became increasingly refined so too did the customs of the
human-magical dynamic change in order to adapt to what was best
for the changes. It would have been an imbalance for a person living
in a then-modern civilization to work extensively with a spirit that
guided and protected nomadic tribes, for example. Such a relationship
may have changed so that the spirit would become a protector over
those who travel, as nomadic lifestyles continued to fade out amidst
the majority of humanity. The saints often provided buffers that were
better adjusted to modernity and the needs of the time, at the cost of
a change in the threshold of power due to their acting as a filter to it.
As filters, the saints are able to concentrate certain powers towards a
desired end. While humanity was becoming increasingly disconnected
from nature this was of great benefit, for the ability to direct the power
of powerful spirits of the land was becoming challenging for many
who had adopted different lifestyles. Human ancestors are generally
the easiest inner contacts from the underworld to work with and the
saints are no exception to this. There is nonetheless something of a
compromise present when working with the saints as mediators to
deeper powers, and sometimes this is for the safety of the magician.
Oison the Horseman
An example of magical filters is found in the story of Oison whom had
departed this world for Tir na Gog, the land of eternal youth. Oison
missed the land and people of Ireland that he once knew and his love
interest, the goddess Niamh, helped him to visit the mortal world, with
the condition that he remain mounted upon a horse from Tir na Gog
whilst there. After discovering that all of the people he once knew were
now long dead, Oison was making his way back for Tir na Gog when
he came upon a man attempting to lift a heavy stone and endeavored
to assist him. When he dismounted he rapidly aged, and during this
process held a conversation with Maewyn. At the conclusion of their
discussion Oison dies and Maewyn goes on living. Catholics have
sometimes interpreted this as the victory of Catholicism over the Old
Ways, but there are layers of esoteric significance to the story as well.

When one rides a horse on the inner planes the energetic impact
upon our physical body is reduced. This is helpful for the purpose
of achieving balance between the inner and outer planes. Were we to
spend very extensive time deep in the underworld amidst the dead,
the effect upon our body could potentially cause harm or accelerated
aging. There is something in this to be said of the law of sympathies;
if we are strictly sympathetic with inner contacts amongst the dead,
that will be what we are surrounded with on the inner planes. Magic is
all about balance, hence why balancing the underworld with celestial
and sub-celestial powers can be beneficial. This also serves the purpose
of hearing and experiencing variable perspectives on the universal
condition, as the myriad beings present in the underworld may share
altogether variant perspectives, not only from one another, but from
the moons, planets, stars, entities in between the stars, angels etc.
Oison entered the world of time from a world of timelessness and
accordingly this act was akin to entering the world of the dead from the
vantage point of the living world. The story suggests entering such planes
on horseback not as a rule, but as a particular magical dynamic that we
may choose to work through. It is yet another type of magical filter.
That Oison stops to assist a man that is attempting to lift a heavy stone
is also of a magical significance. Standing stones act as magical filters to
very ancient and primal spirits of the land. The man who was attempting
to “lift” the stone was making an effort to mediate the power of a spirit
residing deep in the underworld through his body. A group of magicians
may carry a heavy magical burden with greater ease than a solitary
practitioner, and as such Oison attempts to assist him. The mortal world
is however already a heavy burden for Oison and to attempt to mediate
a power from deep in the earth in his condition would have been very
dangerous. Maewyn represents to Oison a magician who has taken
care to remain balanced within the framework of their magical filters.
This story serves primarily as a warning against working with the spirits
of the land without thorough usage of magical filters, and speaks of
the potential for certain dangers where filters are neglected. Beyond
its cautionary message, the dynamics of magical filters are explained
in a relatively thorough manner. It is not a matter of good or bad, but
when viewed unconditionally and scientifically is simply a manner of

understanding how certain dynamics affect the practices of the magician.
The Serpentine Elementals
Maewyn is perhaps most commonly known for banishing all snakes
from Ireland. While there had not been wild physical snakes in
Ireland for thousands of years predating Maewyn’s work there,
this story does bear a significance to the primal serpent power, a
force that rises from the depths of the earth. According to legend
Maewyn had completed a 40 day fast upon a mountain and
was confronted by serpents at the point of his descent. These he
drove into the sea, and Ireland was rid of its serpent population.
The fact that Maewyn “drove” the serpents is indicative of his mastery
over the serpent power in of itself. He understood the manner in which
this force could be directed. As he had just completed a fast, his body was
purified and prepared for the mediation of immense power. Again we see
a dynamic wherein magical impact upon the physical body is indicated.
This event describes Maewyn directing a deep power of the land into
the sea. The meaning of this is clearer if we see it as redirecting power
rather than banishing power. There are times when the elemental
nature of a land may require tempering. When this is needed, power
from one element may be moved to another while being mediated
through our body. Maewyn fasted upon a mountain, thus indicating
the element of earth and the magical direction of north. He descended
the mountain towards the sea, representing the magical direction
of west, correlating with the element water. The serpents represent
the elemental powers of the earth in all their elemental forms.
From this perspective we see a process wherein Maewyn prepared
and executed a powerful magical change upon the landscape of
Ireland by redirecting the course of its elemental energies according
to the needs of the land. He prepared for this by fasting on a
mountain top, at a place where the heavens and the earth meet in
equilibrium, and where he could be alone to connect with the land.
It is likely that this fast was held during the Catholic celebration of
Lent, which concludes in early spring, and that his redirecting of the
earth element towards the water element would help to magically

regulate the cycles of rain and mist so prevalent in the Irish landscape.
Plant Geometries
Legend tells of Maewyn revealing the three-leafed shamrock as a symbol
of the Holy Trinity during his Catholic missionary work with the native
pagan population. The notion of a three-in-one deity was not necessarily
anything new to the Irish populous, and exists clearly in their mythology,
poetry and art from times preceding Maewyn’s teachings. What Maewyn
did teach was that the Holy Trinity of Catholicism was an absolute
expression of what the pagan Irish populous understood with the
spirits of the land. The purpose of this teaching was that of equilibrium.
It is significant that Maewyn taught by means of a plant; it was in
fact the plant who was the teacher. Plants have much to say, and
communication with plants is the first and perhaps most important
lesson that we may extract from this particular legend. It is probable
that the native Irish population maintained a healthy relationship
with their plant population, and as such Maewyn wasn’t necessarily
teaching them how to speak to plants. Instead it is of greater likelihood
that he was working with plant teachers to gain increased trust in the
human populous. If the plant teachers could agree with Maewyn’s
teaching the native humans would be more likely to trust him.
Plants are undoubtedly very sacred beings. They mediate the immense
power of the sun unto the earth and all of its inhabitants. The process
of photosynthesis in of itself can be said to embody the essence of
the Holy Trinity. From this perspective the Father is the stellar sun,
the Son is the plant, and the Holy Spirit is the photonic radiation
or light. This dynamic exists inwardly, with our physical body being
the “Son” of our innermost essence, the “Father”, and the mediating
power being the “Holy Spirit”. This may be viewed in myriad ways.
The material plane is often considered to be a three-dimensional
plane. As such it is easy for anything to be explained in quantities of
three. This law is utilized all throughout our lives and that Maewyn
utilized this in his teachings indicates his work with the higher and
mathematical abstract planes. He was able to mediate a lesson about
mathematical cosmic order through the clover, a plant that the

people of Ireland maintained a close connection with. This reveals
that a universal, or truly Catholic, doctrine was being taught by him.
The clover, like all plants, is in communication with the celestial
bodies and simultaneously has its roots in the earth and underworld.
Plants are the example to look to when we desire to learn about
equilibrium. The clover is a plant that remains close to the ground,
close to the earth. Maewyn was not asking the human populous to
neglect their earthy and underworld customs and traditions, but only
to balance them and view things in a universal way. In this it appears
that he was transmitting the true essence of Catholicism to Ireland.

Section II - Practice
In which the arte of the Green Ray is put
into applied practice, that the exemplary
teachings of Maewyn Succat may be
embodied by the seeker of Chthonic Wisdom.