The Grigori or Guardians are called or invoked to protect a circle and to assist practitioners in their rites, we speak of Grigori worship. Discover their history and legends which are associated with them.
Cult of the Grigori
Despite their different images or names, we find the concept of “Guardians” in several traditions, including the Wiccan tradition and even the Kabalist or Judeo/Christian tradition. In Stregheria, and particularly among the practitioners of Tanarra (stellar worship), they are called Grigori. This takes us back to the time of the first star cults, where this belief originated. The Tanarra has preserved the ancient mysteries of the stars and it is through the teachings of these that we come to better understand who the Grigori really are.
In the first stellar cults Persians, there were four “royal” stars, known as the “Lords”: these were the Guardians. Each of these four stars “governed” one of the four cardinal points, common to astrology. This particular system must date from 3000 BCE. For each of the Guardians, there was a ritual position to invoke them during the opening of magic circles. It is said that there is a definite connection between a witch's "powers" and her dealings with the Guardians. Here are the ritual positions associated with each of the grigori as well as their names:
1. Ritual posture to invoke the star Fornalhaut, the Guardian of the North: standing, simply leaving the arms at the sides of the body.
2. Ritual posture to invoke the star Aldeberan, the Guardian of the East: standing, arms raised to shoulder height.
3. Ritual posture to invoke the star Regulus, the Guardian of the South: standing, arms raised towards the sky.
4. Ritual posture to invoke the star Antares, the Guardian of the West, standing, arms folded in front of his stomach, the left hand holds the right hand, palms facing the sky.
Towers were built bearing the symbol of the Guardians, as a form of worship, and each of the symbols stood at the very top of these towers, with the aim of summoning the Grigori. During the summoning rites, these symbols were traced in the air with torches or ritual wands and the secret names of the Grigori were then pronounced.
According to myth, the Grigori themselves were gods who watched over Terra. Their nature as well as their rank were changed by the lunar and solar cults, which replaced the stellar cults. THE Greeks subsequently called them: “Gods of the Winds”. In Stregheria, these ancient beings are the Guardians of other dimensions or other “worlds”, protectors of ritual circles and witnesses of rites perpetuated throughout the ages.
To truly understand the Grigori, we must see their role in Witchcraft, as a Religion. Our first meeting with them is usually during the opening of a magic circle in which several rites will be practiced. The Guardians are called, invoked to guard the circle, protect the practitioners and assist them in their rituals. Where does the need for assistance come from?
We must first consider the relationship that exists between witches/wizards and Guardians. When a person is initiated, he or she is presented to the four cardinal points, where the four Guardians have previously been invoked. The initiate is then presented before each of them and his practitioner name is revealed to him. From this moment on, the initiate is helped, protected and looked after.
The Grigori guard the gates to the astral world. They can allow a magical act to take place there or they neutralize it, eliminate it. This is why certain ritual gestures, postures or evocative symbols are used, such as the pentagram, in order to announce the presence and intentions of a practitioner to the Grigori. Once these signs and symbols are accepted by them, the practitioner can have "access" to other worlds. According to belief, it is these Guardians who assist Witches/Sorcerers in their spiritual evolution and who escort them into the world of the dead until the next life.
Nothing can be hidden from them, because they know everything and can know everything, being omnipotent, however this does not mean that a wizard or witch must fear the hour of his or her death if he or she has done wrong. during his or her life, because there is no “heaven” or “hell” as in the Judeo/Christian tradition, he or she would only be punished in his or her karma and not for eternity.
Some myths reveal that the Grigori once had a physical body, but they evolved to become astral entities long before the arrival of humanity. They became “Beings of Light”, since they were linked to the stars. The oldest legends even say that the Grigori come from the stars. This association was even so strong during the first stellar cults that they were considered to be stars that had descended to Earth.
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