Andrew Chumbley and the Horse Traditions
The Azoetia by Andrew Chumbley is an important text for those of the horse-head stang tradition. Chumbley was deeply attached to this icon and it features repeatedly in his texts. The interpretation of them is, however, difficult. The rites themselves read like a riddle with heavy use of complex language and difficult terms.At the heart of the text are three rites which are termed the 'Rites of the Sabbat'. These are the Rite of Ingress, The Rite of Congress and the Rite of Egress. The third of these has some elements that are if interest to Cochranian Wiccans.
The rite starts with the words 'Hekas, Hekas, Este Babeloi'. This is a term associated with the Golden Dawn Tradition meaning "Far, far be removed the profane." This is followed by the Summoning which is a call to the 'Cunning Men and Women of the Craft'
The next stage is the four offerings. These are referred to as 'The Body of the Sphinx'. The Sphinx is made up of the four quarters of the zodiac. The most obvious is that it has the body of a lion (Leo) and the face of a man (Aquarius), but also it has the feet of a bull (Taurus) and the wings of an eagle (Scorpio). Chumbley writes "This is the Body of the Sphinx which thou must sacrifice.The four offerings are four different coloured candles which are taken to the four quarters of the circle. The colours of these seem to be linked to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first candle is described"In the Occidental Gate of the Circle fashion the First Icon in Thine own True Likeness ...... from the Pale Wax of a Candle, such as burneth in the West with the Light of the Dying Sun." This plae candle seems to be tied to the pale horse of the four horsemen. It is followed by the white, red and black candles which are the colours of the other three horses.
In each quarter Chumbley seems to have placed a clay vase, and the symbol of the quarter appears to have been placed into the vase. A fifth vessel is used to represent the quintessence of spirit, termed the azoth.
The Sleep of Thanatos
The circle then proceeds to 'The Sleep of Thanatos' or the sleep among the dead. This appears to have been a period of meditating and dream work. After this the three formulas of Invocation/Evocation are read together with the Egress Conummatum. The Arcanum is then read. Finally the rite ends with the Circle Chant of the Sabbat, where the 'Great Sigil of the Round Dance'is traced 'Three Times Round'. This appears to be a pentacle which is drawn at the four quarters of the circle three times.There is a great deal of detail to these rites. When read, they seem to bear the hallmarks of the Golden Dawn tradition and to have some similarities to both Gardnerian and Cochranian rites. It would be a difficult task to discover all of Chumbley's sources, however they seem to be derived from a mix of neo-pagan and traditional sources.