Cleansing Circle
Author: Twenaria, notes by Metron Dragonsvalley
An Essay Exploring the Workings
Place/Gathering Discovered: unknown, passed along through various channels Date: unknown Transcribed by: unknown of the Kathrani Cleansing Circle By Twenaria Additional material by Metron Dragonsvalley In the last few years, all of us, at sometime or another, have participated in a Cleansing Circle to rid our friends and allies (and ourselves) of Taint. Although we may know where to sit, and what to do, we may not know how it works. I had my own theories, which may not have been far off, but it would make sense that if we know how it works – and why – perhaps it will become easier for us to do our jobs. First things first. Taint. Taint can be acquired many many ways. It can be absorbed from a Bainen temple, it can invade our beings if we spend to much time in an area cursed with Bain, it can come from soneone trying to channel magic from the Kal kre Bain. The list could continue, but we have other things to discuss. Taint invades the soul like a disease. The more it touches, the more it corrupts. It affects the soul and the will of the person it is infesting. As time passes, it spreads like poison through the soul. It becomes harder and harder for the person to be themselves. They become grouchy, have headaches, for those not terribly tainted, all the way to feeling nothing but pain and anger, or being flat out unconcious. Each reaction seems to depend on the person. If left to itself, the taint will eventually destroy and replace the person’s soul with itself. Those that have been blessed by the touch of the Kal en Dral are apparently choice for Taint. I’ve heard the term “tasty” used more than once. Perhaps its a treat for them to corrupt our souls? A willing person can accept the Taint from one person into themselves. However, we prefer a traditional cleansing circle, with the four points represented by one associated with that element, placed at the correct compass point. Ma in the North, Ko in the East, Ka in the South, and To in the West. By doing this, we are trying to get the attention of the spirit of the Kal to help us, and so we can help them cleanse the taint. There are two type of positions to be filled in a circle. The first, and mandatory, position that must be filled, is the Focus. It is up to the Focus to help the spirit of their element do the job at hand. The Focus gives themselves over to the spirit of the element. This is something that requies a bond of trust, and can be a bit dissconcerting. It is the job of the Anchor to keep their Focus focused. It can be taxing to all parties involved. The Anchors help by contributing their strength to the Focus. There can be more Anchors to support the Focus of each element. The more difficult the job, the more backup may be needed for the focuses. Once the Foci and the Anchors have been placed, we have basically formed a living temple to the Kal. With this temple, we have formed a gateway to allow the spirits to work with us and through us. Trust is a major component to the ritual. In order for the cleansing to work to its greatest capacity, the focus must give themselves over to the spirit completely. Not doing so may hinder the process. Once the connection has been made between the spirits and the participants, the power must be directed. Generally, one person in the circle can do this, as long as they know what is going on. Ma, Water, is the element that acts a connector, and as a binding agent. It forms a connection between the spirits and the people forming the circle. It binds the participants together, and the spirits to them, and lastly binds those to the victim of the taint. It also acts as a current, keeping the flow of energy moving. To, Air, is the hunter. In this case, the To is to seek out the Taint, and zero in on it. Reeve has told me that he could “see the Taint as thousands and thousands of the tiniest little insect-like Bainen. These things do not merely sit inert in the body. In fact, I would theorize that they don’t exist physically. They are spirits only. And that is what they feed upon. I have witnessed these things attacking the souls of the living creatures they infest. They feed voraciously for their size.” From what I have been told, the tainted is being seen as though it has a reddish glow or slime to it. The darker the red, the more Taint. If the person seems to be black, then their soul has been consumed by Taint, and the cleansing circle cannot help them. They are lost. Ka, the fire, the purifier has a very simple, but draining job. It is to destroy the Taint, burn it out of the victim’s system. This is painful for the victim, often feeling as tho the blood is aflame inside ones veins. The more Taint, the more painful the experience. There is not much to be done for the pain, sadly. However, once it is done, it is done, and does not seem to linger. I am told that if the Ka does not allow the Kal to help, they are actually feeding the fire of cleansing with their own energy, and will sometimes even require as much healing as the victim. I have seen Kas walk away, or end up dead and scalped, burned to a crisp. Not pleasant, however necessary it may be. Ko, Earth, the healer, the stabilizer, does just that. The Ko, sitting in the East, must be the solid foundation for the others in the ritual. It is up to the rock to be the connection to this realm, and to make sure everyone has the strength to finish what has been started. the Ko will provide that strength. It makes a more stable bond between the participants that Ma made by reinforcing it. Once the Taint has been burned out, Ko moves in, cooling the burn, soothing the wounds (of the Ka and the victim). Ko heals the damage done, to help the soul rebuild itself. For a circle to be complete, it must end where it started. Ma ends the cycle by flushing through all, washing away the pain, aiding in the healing process. Each element is a vital and necessary part to each ritual. Ma to bind, To to seek, Ka to purify and Ko to sooth and strengthen. I hope this aids us in our duty. I have left this report as simple as I could. Each person will build on thier own contribution to this ritual, and make it thier own on some way or another. Hopefully, this will allow our circles to move easier, as we now have a better gasp on what is to be done by ourselves and our fellow Ichigiritorennin. I invite dicusion. Please, we should share what we know, and how we each do it to learn techniques. This is not to say that I should do as Zeek does, but perhaps if we all work together, we can find stronger bonds, to move faster and more effectivly through our endevours. Thank you for your time, I know my words are not a pretty as some. A Repsonse to Twenaria’s First Essay By Brynn I’m sorry this is belated, but I wanted to thank Twenaria deeply for writing this explanation of the Cleansing Circle. It describes the ritual just as I have come to understand it. It is certainly an important guide for new members. It took a long time for me to figure out how to perform my role effectively (if I can even be so bold). Twenaria is right – trust, rather than strength or learning, is the most important thing that we bring to the ritual. If you let the Kal do the work, it should not be a stressful exercise even though it is tiring. I don’t think this applies to circle leaders, unfortunately – that seems to be a more intensive job, from what I’ve seen. I wanted to add one thing that I discovered in the cleansing circle at Tourneys of Chiron 9. Other things besides Taint can be seen and affected by the circle’s elements. I’m sure others can explain it better, but there was a “wall” of sorts in some of the victims, concealing the taint that we knew was present. Ka could not burn through it and the leader could not see it alone, but To could sense it. Once it was revealed, the flow of Ma seeped “behind” it, pressing it away from the taint and allowing Ka to reach the Taint and burn it away. I do not know how to direct this sort of thing, Ma seemed to know the way around it, and I do not know what became of the wall once moved. This sort of barrier might not be encountered again, but if evil can play one trick, it can play many others. This example illustrates the versatiliy of the cleansing circle. An Essay Exploring the Possiblities of a Cleansing Without a Circle By Twenaria I have done some asking around to a few people on the ability to cleanse others without the support of a full Circle. From what I have uncovered, in order to do this, one must be a full Kathrani. I am under the understanding that an Ichigiritorennin does not have a strong enough connection to the Munuko to be able to accomplish this. This is a potentially dangerous task. Be aware of the dangers before even trying this. It will leave you drained. Keep in mind, you are doing the work of Four, at least. You need to know what each point does, and how it moves. I have heard a couple ways to do this. I think that as with a fully supported cleansing, each will be personal, and should be molded to however you can best accomplish the task. Prepare yourself however you may normally do so to focus your thoughts and energy. Build the bridge with water to join all the points, use Air to Seek the taint, Burn it away with Ka, and let Ko Strengthen everyone and the bridges while it Heals the damage done, then let water Wash thru, pushing the pain away. Make yourself a mini circle. A much more drastic approach is this. This is estremely dangerous, and should only be used as a last resort, please. Essentially, you will be taking the taint unto yourself. Taint prefers a willing victim, and as we are “blessed” or “touched” by the Kal, we are that much more attractive to taint. Once the Taint is in you, use what you know of Cirlce to cleanse yourself. However, we can only take on, and cleanse, up to one quarter of what would normally destroy a soul. Maybe this is due to the fact we are represnting only one quarter of the circle? As I said before, this will be a draining process, and should only be attempted when there are no other options. I hope this is complete, as I have not tried such a thing myself. If I find anything to be different than what I have written here, I will inform you all right away. And of course, if I have misunderstood, please correct me. Thank you all. |
Created by Janna Oakfellow-Pushee at 04-03-08 09:15 PM
Last Modified by Faelinn Shadowmoon (Leanne Micciche) at 04-05-08 01:57 PM