Hyldor Queen's Housles

The Hyldor Queen's Housle
Rose and Thorn

* * *

"The Dame goes forth, the Dame comes back,
As Malkin ghost, as spectral Cat
As Serpent red, as Owl weer white
As Maythen sweet, as gold Scarespite;
The Dame flys out, the Dame flys in,
As Nightshade grim, on Cauldron rim
In round Horn-Cup, by Hattock hole
With Red dark bread, In Walnut bowl;

By Sunken door, Below the ground
Where all the Dead, and Dreams are found..."

The Red Meal is the Housle Sacrament by which the wise unite themselves to the potencies of the unseen world. It is the final and most ancient of practices come down to us from olden times, the symbolic consumption of and coalescence with the essence of spiritual forces themselves. It is the sacrament of worship and union with the great forces that seethe beyond the veil of waking, in the changing-yet- unchanging world.

It is the meal that the living and the dead partake in, so as to walk one among the other; it is the worshipful feast in the Queen’s ineffable Name, and the reenactment of the greater glory of the royal spirit that appears Horned amidst the ways. His flesh is the offering for all life; His blood is an invisible river that divides the quick and the dead. The fruit of the hidden trees kept by the Queen of Fair Elfland is symbolized by the bread and ale, and those who take it after it is transformed by her divine power take the essence of the life and soul of mankind into themselves in a new balanced form, one that births wisdom and insight, not a poisonous one that leads to restriction and death.

Man bears a secret fire that generates his deepest awareness and his force; like the gods, he recognizes good and evil and has a special interaction with the unseen reality. The process of eating bread and drinking some sained drink, when these things are taken as symbols or representatives of the body and blood of a god, shows in symbol the truth of a greater reality- that of union with the Old Ones- and this symbolic action here allows for the force of the higher reality to come through and make the two worlds one.

The red meal is chiefly for the Greatest spirits, and for the dead, for the old legends said that the dead ate red food- the faith of the old times is one of the living and the dead, it is by eating the red food of the dead that the living become both alive and dead, and the dead become alive.

The meal in this sense is a symbol of the meal in the netherworld, near the pond of souls, where Dame Hell spins and draws souls out. Red on the bones or lips and eyes of the dead will give them life again. The red food is covered with red ale or wine and partially eaten, and then buried or drowned for the Huldu-dead, in the presence of a spindle or shuttle, with the finger pricked and the blood given to the bread on the anniversary of the family dead, and always near a well, a large tree, a body of water, an animal’s burrow, a hollow root, or a deep hole in ground.

Concerning the use of the Horn:

The Horn announces the Old One, the Son of Light and the Son of Darkness Below, who are by Mystery one power. Though it is not strictly necessary, a horn can be blown at the summoning of the Old One in any of these meals, or when he is called upon for any reason, but most especially when the Hidden Folk or the Dead are summoned. They should always be called in the name of the Son of Light.

Two bits of Advice that will Greatly Advantage you in the performace of the Red Meal or Housle:

When doing any kind of Craft Rite, from a simple Housle all the way to the greatest of wisdom or power workings, it is important to keep two simple factors in mind, two understandings that will make any ritual a truly moving and powerful experience. First, always remember that all things are connected, that no two forces or beings are separate within the great Body of Nature; therefore, any invocation, any thought or feeling has an affect that is tangible, even across what seem to be vast reaches of space or even time.

If you allow yourself to rest in the secure knowledge that all things are united, and that all motions and events and even words and thoughts echo through an intimate, inter-locked natural system of relationship and Fate, you will be more able to appreciate the affects of your invocations and ritual motions, and more able to 'feel' them bringing about the needed and desired transformations on the subtle level. Keeping the understanding of connectivity firmly in mind and trusting it implicitly is a foremost vital thing to bear with you in your rites.

Secondly, when you perform rites and make invocations, or anything, always gently allow yourself to be as deliberate and steady as possible- when I say this, I mean that you should always speak, act, move, and even think with a deliberate, planned out, almost "slow" feel; this is a good way to fall into a deep trance that we like to call "Slow time". When you lift a forked wood or a rod or a bowl, when you make invocations, let your every action be as even, steady, and deliberate as possible; these are powerful actions, sacred actions, and deserving of your EVERY BIT of awareness and attention. When you speak, allow your words to flow steadily and calmly, resonating with deliberate focus.

The mind will try to "speed up" on you, but gently keep it reigned in, and let awareness be deep, steady, and FULLY absorbed on what you are doing, not matter how minor it seems. The power of the rite, the motions, all suddenly increase in amazing ways. Some experienced folk like to get into trances before the start of the rite, but others know another truth: that deliberately and steadily paying full attention to the motions of the Rite can itself be a door into the Trance, and in this way, some find it easier than "putting on the Mantle" before they begin. It is simply another approach to this (or any other) Rite. Try both, or use both as you feel the need.

You will discover that these two bits of advice greatly increase any rite's power and affect: the rewarding feeling of any rite is increased when the rite participants are resting in the secure awareness of the interconnectivity of all things, and celebrating every word and motion of a holy rite with the ultimate pure, focused awareness and deliberate steadiness.

You need a cup of wine or dark ale (or some other libation) and a plate of dark bread (wheat or rye).

You begin by gathering, and the group leader (or the person chosen to do the Houzle) invokes a mild trance state, and then briefly invokes the Cauldron, the Godstone, and the Cunning Fire. Alternatively, the leader may do a crossing. Then, he or she kindles a sacred flame in a lantern or candle.

The Hyldor Cuveen Fire Kindling incantation typically goes like this, should you wish to use it:

“Come Forth, Creature of Fire, exorcised by the power of the Master, who bears the Cunning-Serpent Fire between his horns, to illuminate my Art.

Shine here with hallowing might! Enlighten my Crafting, grant illumination to the souls of the gathered;

Be thou a lamplight on the ghost-roads to attract those spirits called forth by the same.”

If you are working ourdoors, just moonlight is enough for the Houzle, unless you want or need a fire. Also, since the Houzle is supposed to be done every full moon, a small mirror should be used to reflect the light of the moon into the wine or ale before it is Sained.

A bell is then rung to officially begin the Houzle rite. Then, with a voice of authority, (an invocation) he or she dips the Arthame (knife) into the cup of wine, and states:

(summer months)

“Ageless Lady in the Land, Sky-clothed and tawny-tressed
Fire-Maid, Hyldor, Our beloved Lady and Elven Queen,
Thou who art clad in white, thou art asked to come and appear,
To fill the Horn Cup with favor, love abundant everyday.
Great Queen, thy blessings give to this sacramental wine in thy wondrous name.
May We thrive. Great Mercy.”

or

(winter months)

“Old Dark One under the Hill,
Black-tressed, rosy-lipped, and white of face,
Clothed you are in death and spinner of Fate,
Ringed by the Hyldor Folk in your Tree;
Queen of Elfhame, the Great Ellhorn-Annis,
Dame Fate clad in white, thou art asked to come and appear,
To fill the Horn Cup with favor, deepest wisdom grant this eve.
White Queen, thy blessing give to this sacramental wine in thy wondrous name.
May We thrive. Great Mercy.”

Then the tip of the knife is layed against the bread, and the following invocation is given:

(summer months)

Master Orvendale, Great Archer, and Bringer of Light,
The May-Queen’s Devil, Buccos, raise your head in the Horn Dance!
King and Teacher of the secret faith, grow forth as ye hear the summons to arms.
Hear the sacred bell, and look upon our Art.
Grief I suffer, pain have I without thee.
Superior Lord, therefore be this night with your faithful gathering,
Bless our lives and sain the sacred bread with power, might, And wisdom.
May We thrive. Great Mercy.“

or

(winter months)

“Dark Robin, Great Rider clad in Black,
Lord of the Skull and the Hell-track,
Father over Night and Equal to Fate herself,
grow forth as ye hear the summons to arms.
Hear the sacred bell, and look upon our Art.
Grief I suffer, pain have I without thee.
Superior Lord, therefore be this night with your faithful gathering,
Bless our lives and sain this bread with power, Might, and wisdom.
May We thrive. Great Mercy.“

Then everyone takes a sip of the wine and takes a bite of bread.

Before the wine is sipped, the person drinking (or, in the case of a cuveen, the person offering the wine to the drinker) must say:

“(I) Drink this wine in Our Lady’s name. She will gather you (me) home again.”

Before the bread is eaten, the person eating (or, in the case of a cuveen, the person offering the bread to the eater) must say:

“(I) Eat this bread in the Unknown Name with sorrow, care, and fearful dread.”

The rite leader then offers the rest of the wine and bread to the Roots of a Tree, or to the foot of a standing stone, the ground, or to a bowl on an indoors shrine, while chanting any or all of the following blessings to dedicate the rest of the Houzle to the Other powers who may be honored by the Cuveen: The gathered cuveen should repeat the words of any blessing given by the leader, as they are said.

“Blessings be upon the Feeorin in the hollow hills, upon my ancestors who have journeyed into the Meadows of Elfhame below”

“Blessings be upon the Ancient powers of Death and Life”

“Blessings be upon the Dark and Bright powers in the Land”

“Blessings be upon the Spirits of the forest and heath, of the fields and the waters.”

“Blessings be upon the Old Ones of the Hill and the Mound”

“Blessings be upon the Ancestor-powers of my blood, and the Master Souls”

“Blessings be upon our fetches, the Puckerel and the Other, and strength to our union"

And finally, the blessing is given, in which the mystery is stated.

The Houzle leader says:

“As some is taken, so is this given,
By the sons and daughters of the Family of the Old Faith:
For what is taken is truly given
And what is given is truly taken
The day and night are wed
As the living and the dead.
Here is shown a mystery.”

Then the Bell is rung, and the rite is concluded.

Site last updated: November 2, 2005