Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of 1000 Spells: A Concise Reference Book for the Magical Arts - Judika Illes - Страница 43

Magic in its modern state arrived with the advent of the Iron Age. The smith’s art, the original alchemy, was kept secret for centuries: those who knew it were able to forge weapons that could completely dominate their neighbors. By virtue of their contact with this magic material, and because they alone were privy to its secrets, smiths were more than just artisans: they were the original magicians, the Masters of Fire. Smiths became the first professional magicians (as opposed to shamans), called in to perform spell-casting on behalf of others.

Smiths were simultaneously respected and needed, feared and persecuted:

 Because the smith is in close contact with the ultimate power substance and, in fact, bends it to his will, he is perceived as possessing more magic power than the average person. He is protected and his personal magical energy continually replenished and reinvigorated by iron

 However, because iron ore may be perceived as Earth’s menstrual blood, a substance typically restricted or taboo, the ironworker who handles it openly and constantly may also be perceived as tainted. On the one hand, the smith is powerful enough to break taboos and thrive, but on the other, this contact makes conservative elements of society uncomfortable. The smith is able to go where others cannot, perform rituals that others cannot: whatever spiritual cleansing or protective rituals the smith requires for his own spiritual survival and protection are unknown to everyone outside the ironworking clan, and thus are suspect

 Another perception derives from Central Asia’s Turkish tribes. They believed that raw metals in general came from Earth’s bowels. The raw materials were Earth’s waste products, which would ultimately develop into finished metal, by itself, over long periods of time, if they were left undisturbed and buried. The smith’s oven is, thus, a substitute for Earth’s womb. This artificial womb gives birth to metal. The Master of Fire is thus believed to assert power over Time as he accelerates the process. Because of this he has healing powers and can read the future, but he is also always on the verge of spiritual disaster: digging ore out of the Earth, rooting around in Earth, any kind of digging is akin to rape. Only the ironworker knows if and how he can be purified

The ironworker became a much-needed member of society. Beyond smith craft, he was typically also a healer, herbal practitioner, dentist, surgeon, body artist, and often the sole person permitted to perform circumcision and thus in charge of spiritual initiation. He carves amulets, devises rituals, and confers with the Spirits on behalf of others, a combination artisanshaman. Secrets of metalworking were carefully guarded. Smiths evolved into clans, their techniques into family secrets.

The concept that one can pay someone else to cast a spell for you enters magic as well. A professional class of magical practitioners was born. The smith’s wife, the woman who has sex with the Master of Fire, bears his children, and may be his professional assistant, becomes transformed into a person of power in her own right, typically performing the role of herbalist, midwife and women’s healer, henna artist (henna also being a substance associated with menstrual blood), and, especially, fortune teller. In some traditional African areas, a wedding may be delayed until the smith’s wife can arrive to dress the bride’s hair, provide her henna or otherwise bless and attend her.

Societal ambivalence toward the smith cannot be emphasized enough; it will eventually be projected onto magic itself. The history of ironworking to a great extent parallels the history of magic working. Although the smith is required by society, he and his family also remain apart and distinct. People need them, their services are necessary, yet people are afraid to get close to them, or allow them to live as fully integrated members of society. Their very power and skill sets them apart. The Bible associates ironworkers with the Kenites, descendants of Cain, a Jewish tribe that isn’t one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The most famous Kenite, the otherwise unarmed woman Jael, kills the fleeing enemy general Sisera with a hammer, one of the smith’s primary tools.

Ironworkers developed into nomads, traveling from town to town, village to village, staying as long as there was work, and then moving on. This is still true in parts of Africa and Western Asia. There are still Bedouin tribes who await the arrival of the smith to perform circumcisions.

Complicating the picture even further is that the smiths providing services to the majority culture are frequently members of minority groups. It is a complex relationship with tremendous potential for tension: the ironworker performs ritual functions and serves as a repository of spiritual knowledge for traditions that he may or may not share.

In Europe, smithcraft is associated with Tinkers, Travelers, and, most especially, the Romany, who traveled with the Tatar and Mongol armies, performing metalwork. Romany culture, as first witnessed by Europeans, is very typical of ironworking clans: the men were metal smiths while the women told fortunes. In rural Africa and Western Asia, smiths are frequently of Jewish origin, although their personal traditions may have veered far from conventional Judaism. Persecution of the Ethiopian Jewish community, the Beta Israel, derives both from their religion and from their traditional occupation as ironworkers. The Ineden, smiths associated with the at least nominally Muslim Tuareg, are also believed to be of Jewish origin. Distinct clans, they perform the role of general handymen for the majority group: blacksmith, jeweler, armourer, woodworker, healer, herbalist, poet, musician, singer, and general consultant on spiritual and traditional matters. Essential to traditional Tuareg culture, they are simultaneously of low status.

With the coming of Christianity, European ironworkers would be vilified and identified with the devil, who was frequently depicted in the guise of a smith. Some of their traditional spiritual power remained: in the original Gretna Green weddings, the couple was able to cross the border from England and be married by the smith.

Saint Patrick’s Breastplate, a famous Irish prayer attributed to the saint, calls on God for protection against “incantations of false prophets, against the black laws of paganism, against spells of women, smiths and druids, against all knowledge that is forbidden the human soul.”

Because one can safely assume that any modern metal has not been extracted from Earth using respectful, propitiating spells and rituals, any new metal with which you work should be thoroughly cleansed and charged. That said, silver and iron are both believed to be incorruptible; although they may be used for ill, malevolent vibrations should not cling to them as they will to other metals or materials.

Metal is incorporated into all manner of spells, from the simple to the complex. Metal steadily, constantly and consistently radiates its power: the spell, thus, keeps going even after initial human participation is ended. Magic rings, for instance, need to be initially crafted, charged, and consecrated but once this has been done, they radiate their own power, drawing toward you whatever they have been programmed to pull, even as your attention turns elsewhere.

Basic household and farm tools are often incorporated into magic spells. What we perceive as mundane was once recognized as exceptionally magically charged. The magic remains, it is human perception that changes. Hammers, knives, and other metal tools are shared by many occupations. The anvil is reserved for the smith and thus is full of power and sacredness.

An anvil converts to an altar and may be used as such even by someone who is not a smith. That person begins the following spell at Step 3 and assumes the role of the smith in Steps 6 and 7.