Men's Mysteries, by Elbee Kanobe

Men's Mysteries

by El Bee Kanobe

I was once honored by being asked to conduct the Men's Mysteries for God and Goddess Greening at Ozark Avalon. It was held on Ostara weekend and of course the theme was very sensual and sexual.

Ostara is the awakening of the new Maiden's sexuality, the quickening of the Sun God and the polarity of opposites. It is about the balance of light and dark, heat and cold, male and female. As the theme suggests, it is also a Greening. It's a greening of the Earth in the form of grass and trees and herbs, plants of all sorts. But it's more than that. It's new birth in all its forms. It's the rising energy of an awakening earth after a Winter slumber.

With all of this in mind, I found myself struggling to find a format for my workshop. As I asked around for direction I realized that most men have no idea whatsoever what Men's Mysteries are. Many men thought it was a "gay thing." Some thought it was a "sexist thing" which excluded the Goddess. Still others viewed it as something not worth pursuing. In all, only three in ten men showed an interest.

Having come from the old school of thought that teaches us that all paths to knowledge should be followed, I was somewhat dismayed. I would have thought more Pagan men would have a better understanding of our Mysteries. At the least, we should have an interest in them. With this new realization I was forced to ask myself why there is so little understanding of what should be a natural part of our Paganism.

Is it that we do not take seriously our own spiritual growth? Do we not know we are held responsible for that growth? Are we ignorant and uninformed or just lazy and uncaring? Do we truly believe in the principle of balance and polarity in all things?

Whatever the reasons, one thing is certain. The Elders of our community need to take a bolder leadership role. Men need to gather together more often to exchange ideas and have fellowship. This workshop took on a new meaning for me.

What are Men's Mysteries? What do we think when we talk about Men's Mysteries? When I ask myself these questions, many things come to mind. Celebrating our manhood and male sexuality are the most obvious of the Mysteries. These can only be fully understood by men. The same can be said of the Women's Mysteries of childbirth or prolonged orgasm. Only women can know them. We know our Mysteries not just on an intellectual level, but on a deep spiritual level as well. If a man cannot perceive his Mysteries on this spiritual plain, he is lacking a basic discipline for working true effective magick and perhaps should rethink his reasons for calling himself a Pagan.

There are many things that are expressly male and can only be understood on the spiritual plain. Blood Lust is one. How do we recognize it in us? How do we control it and when is it proper to abandon ourselves to it? Why do we relish the sight, smell and taste of blood rushing from the wounds of our mortal enemies or the body rush we get from the thrill of the hunt?

A companion Mystery to Blood Lust is the Mystery of Strength. We are physically stronger than children and women. Women know it and sometimes fear it. Sometimes the fear is even justified. For thousands of years men have used their strength to dominate those weaker than themselves. The Mystery of Strength is knowing how to control it, how to use it for lifting up instead of tearing down, how to use it for honor instead of domination. Honor is one of the Mysteries most difficult to understand. We know what it is but often fail miserably when faced with doing the honorable thing. It is a Mystery men desperately need to relearn.

There are other Men's Mysteries. They include power over our environment, worship of our God, hunting and providing, love and lust and bonding and many others. Some are very obscure while many just slap you in the face. One of the people I talked to about my workshop was a woman known by many of us as Purple Jenny. She said, "Since it defies all other explanations it must be a man thing." This is my new rule of thumb. If something is thought of as a man thing it must be a Mystery that needs exploring on a more spiritual level.

Why is it necessary to celebrate Men's Mysteries? I believe it's because it validates who we are in this physical form in this particular incarnation. By this I mean to say it gives us a meaning for being. There are other things that give meaning to life as well as spiritual celebration but I believe it to be primary. Spiritual celebration of Men's Mysteries also provides us with an opportunity to embrace other men both physically and spiritually and teaches us to trust one another. It also both humbles us and empowers us at the same time.

As we prepared ourselves for ritual and started getting naked, I could feel some tension in our group. It wasn't as if any of us had never been naked in public. In fact, all of us could be considered exhibitionists of some renown. This situation, however, was a whole new game. It wasn't a quick dash across the countryside or a group shower or skinny dipping in the lake. Nor was it dancing naked in and out of the shadows of a ritual fire. .

This was a group of men, quite well known to each, other standing elbow to elbow questioning our vanities. Stripped of our clothes we were all equal. Except for our skin we were clothed only in the markings that identified us as belonging to the tribe, our tattoos and piercings.

I cannot go into the details of our ritual because, after all, it was one of our Mysteries. I can, however, share some of our observations. Even though none of us were perfect, we were perfect in the sight of our God and Goddess. As we looked around, a question was asked. Why would any woman or man love us for our bodies as do our Deities?

We're too fat or too skinny. We have scars and stretch marks, Our balls are too large or our penises too small. Our breasts sag or our waists are in the wrong places. We have pimples and blackheads in private spots. We have ugly toenails, yellow teeth, scabs, oily hair and gas. The list is endless. We definitely were not a pretty sight. Yet since those people who love us see us as perfect, as does our God and Goddess, they must embody our deities. I believe our relationships with our lovers will take on a whole new meaning if we learn this one truth.

Another truth is this: we are as Gods. We are Gods. The Gods are in us and they give us power. Therefore, when we come before our Goddess as a perfect naked God, there can be no greater Magick.

These were the Men's Mysteries at Ostara and they were blatantly sensual and sexual. The male/female polarity of this gathering was pervasive. It seeped into every pore of my body and every corner of my psyche. This polarity is a basic tenet of witchcraft and must be a part of our world view. Otherwise, we are only social pagans or actors in a make-believe.