A Sorcerers Tale

Igniting the fire within

7 min readMar 10, 2021

Recreation of the wizard that appeared on my doorstep

“The wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.” J.R.R. Tolken

FIRST LIGHT

Magical experiences may not be the most receptive dinner conversation. The marvel is in the SORCE-RR, which conjures magic that makes you rub your eyes👀.

Before novels, wizards were known as shamans — a priest to the Mayan culture, and Taita’s in the Amazon.

Do wizards exist?

Don Juan was an extraordinary Yaqui sorcerer.

Writers such as Carlos Castaneda have preserved this ancient practice. The word ‘wizard’ is derived from the Middle English word ‘wys’ (meaning wise). The popular movies of harry potter have created a whole new counter culture of wizardry. Nicolas Flamel, the real-life wizard behind the sorcerer’s stone, is estimated to be around 665 years of age if he did discover the elixir of life.

Experiences that defy the imagination are the challenge of a sorcerer when communicating through words.

Believing in such mysteries may be the placebo that attracts such mesmerizing events. Fascinated by magic, no ticket is required. Life itself is the grand finale, with many tricks leading up to the big surprise.

“The marvel of sorcery is that every sorcerer has to prove everything with his own experience.” The Art of Dreaming — Carlos Castaneda.

SPARK OF FIRE

Arriving in mystical form, an invitation came to attend a gathering in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The hosts of many participants were naturopathic doctor. 4 Canadians headed south, each of a different cultural background. The special occasion was a visitor from Mexico offering his services for a special fire ceremony. This visitor is a shaman from the southern part of Mexico. The origins of the fire ceremonies are preserved in sacred fire communities of Central and South America.

3 of us drummed and played instruments during the ritual. A novice student to the world of ceremony, I observed closely and reacted accordingly. I had drummed in Vodu rituals in New Orleans, but something about this seemed different.

I was asked to drum with more force during a particular part of the ceremony, under the guidance of the friend who invited me. Everything appeared normal up until that point. Then, suddenly something remarkable happened in synchronicity.

The shaman’s whole body sitting in front of the fire started shaking.

The drum's power is something I know deeply, and within that force, I continued with courage.

Requested to intensify the drumming, the shaman’s body looked like an exorcism was happening. After its climax, the shaking and drumming came to a standstill. A spirit had entered the shaman’s body. The spirit began to speak to the group sitting around the fire.

The tone of his voice changed. The body language of the shaman transformed. There was an entity speaking through him. My curiosity grew as the fire danced. Drawing me closer, the comforting voice materialized from the center of the flames.

Drawing of Charan Singh Ajpu by; Alexander Fals

I had participated in mind-altering plant medicine ceremonies before. Being familiar with altered states of consciousness, anything is possible with visionary or psychoactive substances. This wasn’t like anything I had read in magic books or seen on DMT.

The opening of the ceremony was quite beautiful, even the children participated. No stimulants or substances were allowed. Purely tobacco and cacao were permitted to be consumed during this ceremony. With no punch being served, I wasn’t quite certain what I had witnessed. Surreal, the unearthly event felt reassuring.

“I think that the ideal space must contain elements of magic, serenity, sorcery, and mystery” Luis Barragan

PRIMORDIAL SPIRIT

The shaman held the ability to allow spirits to communicate through him. The most commonly known names of this practice are “medium” or “channelling spirits.”

The following day I had a chance to speak with this shaman and hear his story. He had no recollection of what happened during the time the entity entered his body.

His process started when visiting a sacred location in Mexico. He went for a walk and saw a labyrinth; he did not recall such a place existing and decided to investigate.

In the labyrinth, a voice offered him the ability to awaken as a shaman.

He wasn’t really sure this was real and replied YES. The following day, and each day after that, the voice woke him to begin his training at exactly 5 am. He eventually accepted the consequences of his actions. He had no idea what he agreed upon, and from that day forward, his contract began.

“The portal had opened; I could not reverse what I had seen. The unexplainable encompassed my destiny.”

In Colombia 5 years later, while recovering from 3 fractures something remarkable occurs. At the moment of contemplating my next move, a woman invited me to visit a local yoga ashram.

Upon inspection of my fractures, the teacher encouraged me to participate in his intensive yoga course. Raja Chakra Kan, a Mayan Priest, integrates traditional yoga with the Mayan cosmo-vision. Meditation, fire ceremonies, initiations, and healings were offered with the yoga training. 300 hours in 21 days.

After my first encounter with sorcery, anywhere I travelled lead to the fire keepers, shamans, and priests.

Entering the yoga ashram required a wizard’s walking stick. Leaving the sorcerer's sacred space, I was vibrant from head to toe. Moving as fluid as a stream of water, strolling towards my cardinal directions.

“Wizards are all the same, you talk nonsense while making wise and meaningful faces” Gerald of trivia.

EAGLES CALL

The eagle soared through the mountains with echoes calling me home. Bordering many forests, the land’s quartz deposits attracted more than a fire on a cold night. A cabin provided integration and time to process.

Within a few breaths, linear time vanished. An old wizard appeared on my doors step, a doctor, an alchemist, a venom healer, and a saint. Soon thereafter, Taita’s from the jungle arrived. In that order exactly, from new moon to full. It still feels like a dream. The details are too juicy to chew all in one bite.

We all agreed to host a medicine ceremony at the cabin; I volunteered as firekeeper. In the middle of the thunderstorms, the Taita’s passed a message on to me. The spirits advised them that I continue working with the sacred Mayan Calendar. Reassuring me of my purpose, they handed me a special gift. Shortly after that night, an opportunity was presented to me by a Mayan Priest.

“Without looking, the path found me, and as I began to walk, the route lit up to guide me further.”

My spirit awakened, guides appeared. What I saw in the fire entered my dreams. The teachers arrived in divine order. The closer to the sacred fire, the more celestial doors opened. Labyrinths offered blessings, and the illusion of reality stretched into the cosmos.

TALE OF A WIZARD

The tale of a wizard is a long and windy road. Those who tell the stories are not certain of a beginning or end. Many shapes appear in the fire. They are messages from a paradigm. Some say seeing is believing.

Books act as maps if the compass follows the heart. The experience itself can not be matched by words. There is no translation required for the journey within. Expressing outward, one’s interpretation is magic from the SORCE-erer.

The source is the spirit that ignites. The path is illuminated with a lantern. It’s destiny with a wand. The wizard's robe is the colour of the internal flame.

Great stories are wonderful to read, marvellous to witness, and humbling to tell. Walking the path of life, two eyes look forward. The third eye sees through the forest.

“This is the sorcery of literature, we are healed by our stories” Terry Temptest Williams.

The Hermit Card by Corinne