The Circle of Veles: Opening the Gate

The Slavic magical Tradition has preserved several distinct cyclical rituals – “Kols” – directed toward the acquisition of Wisdom and Power.

The first Kol, from which every magical path begins, is the Circle of Veles.

Let us begin with a definition: the Circle of Veles is a cyclical ritual that allows its participant to open within themselves the possibility of accumulating Power.

Now let us dismantle this definition – as a whole and in its parts. We will proceed inductively and begin with the words that compose it.

We already understand that “Kol” is the name of a cyclical ritual. Cyclicity here implies that, upon completion of the ritual, the participant returns to a point that coincides with the starting point along two coordinates, yet differs along a third. In other words, a Kol is a segment of a spiral that raises (or lowers) the participant along the axis of Awareness.

The Kol under consideration is dedicated to the god Veles.

In the Slavic Tradition Veles is the God of World Order, the Keeper of the Threshold, the God who upholds the integrity of the Cosmos and the non-mixing of the Worlds.

It is by virtue of this that Veles is the First Keeper of Incarnation, separating the primary categories – Chaos and Cosmos, Nav and Yav, Prav and Kriv.

Slavic mythological thought is in essence intuitive-inspired, and therefore runic in form.

This is what is symbolized by the graphic Signs of Veles, frequently encountered in Slavic ornament:

These two pairs differ in form, determined by the material on which the signs were inscribed: on stone it is easier to carve right angles, and on wood – slanting ones, along the grain. In each pair the first sign denotes the Principle of the Agent (in this case Veles), and the second – the Effect upon the outside observer (the human being).

Since Veles is an Ancient God, existing even before the Manifestation of the World, from His point of view events unfolded thus:

For our present discussion it is essential only that Veles is the central point in the birth of World Polarity, and hence His role as Keeper of the Threshold.

For an observer situated below the aforementioned Agents, the picture appears otherwise (symmetrically):

And in projection into Matter (that is, from the lowest point):

Thus the Quaternary division

of the world arises (and the quaternary division of the Kol, that is, of the World Cycle, and of the Kol – that is, of the cyclical Ritual, for every Ritual reflects the process of Cosmogony).

The Sign of Veles describes the Threshold in the full range of this concept. We have just examined the Threshold as the Boundary between the Creator and the Creators.

The Threshold may also be considered as the boundary between the Creating and the Created:

In this form the Sign of Veles presents the picture from an ontological point of view: Rod and That Which Is With Him (Nature) are co-eternal, separated by the Boundary of Veles.

Gnoseologically, however, that is, for the knowing consciousness, the Creator precedes the Created, and creation itself is regarded as Process, that is, in dynamics. Thus the World dynamic cycle, or vortex, arises.

Before turning to this dynamic aspect, let us consider several further correspondences in the Sign of Veles:

These series of correspondences bring us to an important conclusion: Veles is not only the Power of the Limit, but also the Power of Connection, for in each pair every member is bound to its corresponding second member.

Traditionally, the path of Evolution is associated with the Sun, and thus with movement sunwise (clockwise), while Involution is associated with the Earth and movement widdershins (counter-clockwise).

From the standpoint of the Sign of Veles these principles are symbolized by two half-swastikas that arise when this Sign is set into motion:

Since Veles is the God of the Limit, such dynamization – and thus the crossing of this Limit – is perceived as a violation of Order, that is, as negative. In our world such crossings are called death.

The first crossing (sunwise) is perceived as the passage from Yav into Nav, that is, as physical death, and the second crossing (widdershins) – as the passage from Kriv into Prav, that is, as magical death. The first crossing is the Circle of Veles in the sense of the Cycle of Life (and therefore Veles is the Father of Life), and the second crossing constitutes the essence of the Circle of Veles as a Ritual.

Thus we come to the essence of the Ritual of the Circle of Veles.

As we already know, at the core of this Ritual stands the understanding that on the level of Yav the corresponding Kriv normally dominates, yet a transition from Kriv into Prav is possible:

Therefore, the task of the Circle of Veles is to shift the plane of consciousness from perceiving the world from the standpoint of Kriv (that is, of human perception) to perception from the standpoint of Prav (that is, magical, seer’s perception). This opens the way to the accumulation of Power and makes the Circle of Veles the necessary first step on the path of the Seer.

Here it must be noted that the value of the Circle of Veles lies not only in the fact that it grants such a transition, but also in the fact that this transition is one-way, for Veles, as Lord of the Limit, does not favor repeated crossings of the boundary; therefore the effect of the Kol is usually long-term.

As already mentioned, when projected into matter, the Sign of Veles becomes the quaternary Sign of Dazhbog – the cross.

Thus, each point along the path of transition in the Ritual corresponds to certain principles symbolized by the Elements and by the cardinal directions:

Note that the initial (1) and final (4) points in this Ritual do not differ in their vertical coordinate, yet they do differ in the horizontal. For this reason the Circle of Veles in itself does not grant Power, but it is a necessary condition for its accumulation, for it shifts consciousness from the realm of ineffective expenditure (Kriv) into the realm of effective realization (Prav).

Also note that it is the introduction of the mobile Element of Fire into the ossified Element of Kriv that enables one to break its fetters, and the establishment of the firmness of Earth within the mobile Element of Prav that makes it possible to fix the result.

Finally, to clarify the theoretical foundations of the Circle of Veles (its practical implementation must not remain in the world of words), let us present two further series of correspondences: