The Witches’ Pyramid

To Know, To Will, To Dare and To Keep Silent, make up the four principles of what is known as The Witches’ Pyramid. These principals are very important to a successful ritual, spell, as well as forming a foundation for our walk on the Spiral.

To Know

Corresponds to Air - The Mental Apsect
Know who you are and what you are. Know the magickal rite you are to perform; what is required. Know your intention and possible repercussions. Know your correspondences and timings. Learn thoroughly as much of the Craft as you can - knowledge is power. The more you learn the more focused your energy will become, adding to the power of your spell work.

To Will

Corresponds to Fire - The Passion to to make manifest
This relates to your feelings about yourself. You must have confidence in yourself and in your spell for it work. You must believe the energy you send out will due as you will it to do. You must be totally focused on what you are doing and why you are doing it. You must embue your spell, your ritual, with the correct energy or not only may your spell not work, it may backfire on you. Use as many sensory "props" as necessary, but "know" that the magick is within YOU, not within the "props." For the magic to happen, you must will the magick to work and make manifest your desire.

To Dare

Corresponds to Water - Emotions within the Need; Drive to Overcome and Achieve
Before doing the spell, understand what you are doing and why you are doing it. Is there another, more mundane, way to achieve your goal? Will the spell accomplish exactly what you want it to accomplish? Be very clear in your own mind why you believe you must use the spell to achieve your result. When you are certain, then dare to do what you have planned, and follow through with all aspects of your spell. There must be no mixed emotions, no half-way in beginning, middle, or ending the spell.

To Keep Silent

Corresponds to Earth - The Silence within; being centered and grounded
After performing your spell, don't speak much about it, or dwell on whether or not it "worked." Use the energy you'd waste worrying to do something better with your time and effort, or give it to the spell in follow-up "replenishments." Don't speak of your efforts, or you may introduce uncertainty and weakness into the situation. Questions from others can work to undermine your work, whether they are aware of it or not. Also, keeping silent ensures no one who is not properly prepared will attempt to do something beyond their abilities - and end up hurting themselves or others.

These are the main points of the Witches Pyramid that come to us from Ceremonial Magick. We have adapted and added one more, at the top of the Pyramid:

To Love

Corresponds to Akasha - Spirit
Spirit brings the other four elements into balance to make manifest the goal. In Ceremonial Magick, the Law is "Love is the Law; love under will." But in the Charge of the Goddess, She says that her law is "Love unto all beings," and therefore, I place "Love Over the Law." For if our intent is not pure; if we have not considered the other four aspects of the Pyramid "with love," then those four aspects will not balance, may backfire, and may add to our own karmic burden.

Note: Some traditions hold that the fifth point is "To Go," still keeping the alignment with Spirit. They teach that this is what is achieved when one has mastered the other four aspects of Pyramid and is completely ready to be of use to others in positive ways. They see this as the meaning behind a Witch's Oath of Service.

Pyramid or Pentagram?

Adapted from Ceremonial Magick, most see these teachings as either levels of the pyramid, or with the Four Aspects being the four corners at the base of the pyramid. The fifth (if taught) becomes the capstone to the pyramid.

The way I've taught the lessons has always been to use the Pentagram as illustration, with the Four Teachings at each of it's corresponding Elemental points, including the Fifth at the top of the Pentagram.

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