The Witches’ Pyramid

/ Yvonne Aburrow

The Witches’ Pyramid. To know, to dare, to will, to keep silent.

Remember when you were a kid and you made a wish when you blew out your birthday cake candles, and you had to not tell anyone what the wish was, or it wouldn’t come true? That operates according to the principle of the Witches’ Pyramid. You KNOW what you want, and you KNOW what to do, and you KNOW you have to keep it secret. So you WILL what you desire (making a wish). You DARE to blow out the candles and make a wish. And then you KEEP SILENT (not telling anyone what you wished).

That’s why witches are secretive about the Craft, because we know that if we go into great detail about what we did, the magic will be less effective. That’s why you don’t see me specific sharing details of altars or rituals or spells.

Air is to Know, Scire; Fire is to Will, Velle; Water is to Dare, Audere; and Earth is to Keep Silence, Tacere.
“To attain the SANCTUM REGNUM, in other words, the knowledge and power of the Magi, there are four indispensable conditions–an intelligence illuminated by study, an intrepidity which nothing can check, a will which cannot be broken, and a prudence which nothing can corrupt and nothing intoxicate. TO KNOW, TO DARE, TO WILL, TO KEEP SILENCE–such are the four words of the Magus, inscribed upon the four symbolical forms of the sphinx.” Eliphas Lévi, Transcendental Magic
“You are familiar with the Four Powers of the Sphinx, attributed by the Adepts of old time to their Four Elements. Air is to Know, Scire; Fire is to Will, Velle; Water is to Dare, Audere; and Earth is to Keep Silence, Tacere. “ — Aleister Crowley, ‘Magick Without Tears’

Further Reading

The Five Pagan Virtues: the Powers of the Sphinx from Knot Magic 101

Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears

If you enjoyed this post, you might like my books.

All acts of love and pleasure: inclusive Wicca, by Yvonne Aburrow
Dark Mirror: the inner work of witchcraft, by Yvonne Aburrow
The Night Journey: witchcraft as transformation, by Yvonne Aburrow
Visit my books page