From: Tyagi@cup.portal.com (Tyagi Mordred Nagasiva)
Newsgroups: alt.magick,alt.pagan,alt.mythology,talk.religion.newage
Subject: Elves
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 93 08:37:50 PST

931116

A friend email'd me about Elves recently.  I found this as I was weeding
through my paperwork and figured I'd post it.  Enjoy.
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The Elven Way
By Ilon BlueSky [From 'Elven Glen', Vol. 1, Issue 1, page 3.]


Elves are of a special nature.  They are sometimes gay and playful,
sometimes musing and contemplative.  Their magical Way is as difficult
to describe as the way the wind whips your hair about on an autumn
afternoon, or the way the forest smells on a spring morning.  Utterly
natural and largely spontaneous, the elven Way includes all others in
its eclecticism while it it excludes them in its lack of concrete
structure.

For this reason, it may be difficult to spot an elf right away.  They
may be engaged in activities which seem foreign to any elven
stereotype.  Since their movements coordinate with the underlying Song
of Nature, however, given time even an engaged elf can be
distinguished quite easily.  Yet spotting an elf will not really allow
a glimpse of their mystical Way, for such is their magick that it
blends into their surroundings much as a cloud dissapates in the sky.

In fact, it is more accurate to say that elven magick is absorbed by,
or becomes, their environment.  Magick for elves is less a labor and
more a part of their very being.  Those skilled in magick dance in
attunement to the essence of All in the very act of living their
lives, whatever its form may be.  Natural power flows out from them
and heals everything it touches.  To some in their sphere of influence
this may seem uncomfortable or painful, while to others it is a joyous
experience.

This doesn't mean that the elven Way is easy or that those who walk it
face less of a challenge than those on more structured paths toward
the Source.

Elves often begin their journey from little spiritual foundation.
Their parents provide them with none, or that which their parents do
provide is released in emotional abhorrence or dashed to pieces by
critical intellect.  Cut loose, they face a most challenging dilemma -
whether to begin an alternate path put forward by the Elders or to
forge a new path through the wilderness of spirit.  Most fall
somewhere between these extremes, mixing together that which seems
familiar and attempting to weave a fabric allowing them independence
and freedom to express their sometimes unusual tastes.

Yet even these are only the initial steps along the elven Way.  They
may also develop relationships with the powers Faerie (by whatever
name), find friends among the various nature spirits, travel the outer
reaches of the elemental planes, locate and worship the Star Goddess
or other worthy deities, seek out the Fountain of Immortality, or
trespass the Summerlands, among many other courageous and potentially
dangerous adventures.

None of these endeavors in and of themselves constitute an exercise of
elven magick.  Each may provide a puzzle-piece, a key to unlock the
door that leads toward the mystery known to some as the Secret of
Merlin, the Art of the Elven Sages, and the lifeblood of Faerie
children everywhere.

While these words may sound rather precise, they only hint at the
nature of ways elven, especially regarding arts of true magick.  Along
the elven Way are signposts pointing toward an indescribable path of
magick which participates greatly in the patterned, cosmic ebb and
flow of Universal Tides.  Those who navigate these waters do so
without the aid of boat or sail.  The waters have been called 'the
sub- conscious realm', yet this minimizes the beauty and complexity of
such an expanse.

Elves trained in the ways of Seeing and Exploring move within this
dark demesne as an otter swims among the seaweed forests off the
California coast.  They learn the highways and byways, gradually
losing themselves in the ecstasy of discovery, revealing the purest
and deepest magick of their being.

The elven Way is not a particular form, it is a style.  It is not
exactly a well-worn path, but is more accurately an art of
path-walking.  It is not a mindset, it is an attitude, a commitment to
eternal youth, the honoring of the Old Ones, and a vow to serve the
Mystery of Life.