William R. Mistele - Undines: Lessons from the Realm of the Water Spirits

Copyright 2010 by William R. Mistele. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the written permission of the publisher. For information contact North Atlantic Books.

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Cover and book design by Suzanne Albertson

Undines: Lessons from the Realm of the Water Spirits is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mistele, William R.
Undines / by William R. Mistele.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
eISBN: 978-1-58394-395-3
1. Water spirits. 2. Spiritual life. I. Title.
BF1999.M719 2010
133.9dc22
2010005039

v3.1

From the undinesto humanity:
The universe is on fire
with wonder, beauty, and ecstasy.

I would like to express my gratitude to the Czech magician Franz Bardon for his marvelous system of magical training that he presents in his first book, Initiation into Hermetics. Without Bardons guidance, most of my interactions with nature spirits would have been haphazard and without clarity. The sylphs, undines, gnomes, and salamanders mentioned in this work are briefly introduced by Bardon in his second book, The Practice of Magical Evocation.

What I have found most enjoyable about Bardons training system is its level of challenge. Bardon offers a path that is as precise and powerful for the inner world of imagination and spirit as are science and technology in the outer world of industry, research, and development. But the truth is that the outer and the inner worlds are not separate. We live equally within both, and the two are present in every decision we make.

I will leave it to the reader to determine in what light to view my stories. I will be happy if my dialogues with nature spirits provide entertainment, enjoyment, and delight. I have always loved creative writing that imbues the ordinary world with magic and wonder. This is in line with mythologist Joseph Campbells thesis that the first task of any religion or mythology is to turn everyday life into a spiritual training ground by reminding us that life is awesome, wonderful, and mysterious.

On the other hand, it would be unfair if I fail to caution readers about the dangers of contacting nature spirits without first undertaking a serious training. In accordance with his goals of offering to mankind a complete introduction to the spiritual universe, Bardon has revealed the names and sigils of the most powerful nature spirits on our planet. These nature spirits are very ancient and possess great magical knowledge. It is my desire to share the beauty and the wonder of these beings who offer us so many gifts of wisdom and love.

Thanks also to Emilie Uyehara, a Wiccan priestess who channeled Istiphul for a poem and granted me a longer session, and to Ronda Voorhees, with whom I conducted interviews that were the basis for the story A Modern Undine.

WILLIAM R. MISTELE

The natural world abounds with elemental beings composed of water, air, earth, and fire. Undines are nature spirits composed of the water element. It has not been easy to describe the undines in this book. In thirty years of magical practice, I have met perhaps ten individuals who interact on some level with these beings. Not only are undines poorly represented in literature, religion, and folktales, but direct experience with them is quite rare as well.

If we turn to religion, it is only in a few instances that we find any discussion of nature spirits. Interaction with these beings, even in nature religions such as among Wiccans and Druids, often occurs only indirectly or at a distance. There are Sufi masters and Hindu yogis whose religions have historical references to these beings. But again you will be hard-pressed to find a Sufi master or a swami who can say, Oh yes, last Tuesday I spent some time with a salamander as I was learning to control fire or A sylph instructed me on how to change the course of a hurricane.

As a result, I have turned to art. I present entertaining stories and dialogues rather than discussing rituals and employing esoteric diagrams and symbols. If I can entertain, then at least on this level I am communicating something. Life is magical. Our sense of awe and wonder constantly reminds us of the primacy of perception, the delight of mutually shared empathy, and the power of intuition. There are kingdoms that have yet to be explored within the depths of our feelings.

I suspect there remain a few problems on earth that can only be solved through magic or high levels of applied spiritual power. In my mind, such problems include replacing war with peace and limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction. It is these issues involving survival and establishing justice that motivate me. The undines offer gifts that contribute to these endsdeveloping a direct, heart-to-heart connection to anyone else on earth and taking ones deepest desires and transforming them in ways that are both satisfying and fulfilling.

Undines are part of oral traditions, historical literature, and mythology. They go by various names: water sprites, water spirits, water nymphs, nixies, naiads, ondines, and so on.

Undines are sometimes considered to be half fish in their lower extremities and half woman in the upper; this image comes to mind especially when undines are called mermaids. In other legends, it is said that if an undine wishes to assume human form, she can enter the body of a woman at the moment of death. Restoring the body to health, the undine then lives out the rest of her days in the appearance of a human woman. In this case, she can marry a man. In some of these stories, if the man is unfaithful to her, they both die. At death, the undine returns to her own domain within the ocean.

The undines described in this book are not half fish and half woman. They are not attached to any well, lake, river, or ocean. No religion, race, or ethnic group has an affiliation with them. They do not belong to mythology or to the past. They do not need to be protected or sentimentalized. They are neither inferior nor fragile. They are not an endangered species.