Copying texts as a spiritual practice
This is a meditative practice that I personally adore, so I wanted to share it with all of you! In this post, I'll go through a brief history of this practice in different cultures and relate it back to paganism/occultism, and then give you a little tutorial on how to do it.
Copying texts is one of the oldest devotional actions in the world and can be traced back to the beginning of writing itself. The oldest known devotional text comes from the 23rd century BCE and was dedicated to Innana.
The idea of there being a certain reward for doing this action, however, first occurs in Buddhism, where various sutras, dharani incantations and even names of deities themselves are described as granting merits to those who write them. The oldest printed text in the world itself came into being as a result of this very devotional act) that being the Hyakumantล Darani found in a miniature pagoda in Japan). Here is a quote describing the rewards for such acts found in the Aparimitฤyurjรฑฤna Sลซtra:
"those beings who will write out or cause to be written out this Dharma discourse called โUttering the Praise of the Qualities of the Tathฤgata Aparimitฤyus,โ and even those who hear or recite its title only, up to those who write a copy, keep it at home, and offer flowers, perfume, incense, and garlands to it, will, when their lifespan is ending, still be able to live to a hundred years."
With the spread of Christianity, which in a lot of ways defined scripture as we know it today, the copying of the Bible became an integral practice of meditation in monasteries, and the copies of the Bible made in this context were for a long time the only available ones at all. Their manuscripts would often be illustrated with various images, geometric patterns, and other decorations that made the texts come to life. The best example of this is the famous Book of Kells.
In Islam, writing itself ceased being a mere way to propagate scripture but became a divine mandated act. The Qur'an itself contains many metaphors and references to pens, writing, and physical books, likely reflecting the rich crossroads of Jewish and Christian literary traditions it sprung up in. One of the narrations from the hadiths even describes the act of creation as having been caused by writing:
"The first thing Allah created was the pen. He told it to write, so it wrote what was to take place till Doomsday. This is with Allah on His Throne."
In the late 19th and 20th century, occult circles, a new category of psychic phenomenon, became all the rage: automatic writing. This was a practice utilised by spiritists, theosophists, and neo-hermeticists alike, and it often involved attempts at writing without utilising the conscious mind or alternatively channeling spirits and spiritual beings.
Within pagan religions, this practice, too, isn't without precedent. In various philosophical traditions of late antiquity, written texts in physical form were integral for the transmission of information, rituals and doctrines across the increasingly interconnected Mediterranean basin. In the Discourse on the Eights and Ninth, a Hermetic text found in the Nag Hammadi library, we find this extortion at the end of the text:
"My <son>, write the language of the book on steles of turquoise. My son, it is proper to write this book on steles of turquoise, in hieroglyphic characters. For Mind himself has become overseer of these. Therefore, I command that this teaching be carved on stone, and that you place it in my sanctuary. Eight guardians guard it with [...] of the Sun. The males on the right are frog-faced, and the females on the left are cat-faced. And put a square milk-stone at the base of the turquoise tablets, and write the name on the azure stone tablet in hieroglyphic characters. My son, you will do this when I am in Virgo, and the sun is in the first half of the day, and fifteen degrees have passed by me."
The good news is that this is one of the most accessible devotional practices available to everyone, from beginners to more advanced practitioners. To begin, simply find a text that you wish to put into writing, whether it be an ancient hymn, philosophical discourse, take out your pen, and begin copying!
As you write, focus on the text, on each word therein, contemplate them, and take it slowly. Focus on honouring the words themselves with good and deliberate handwriting, and don't be shy! Use colours, draw illustrations, add little serrifs and swirls, and make it a little work of art.
I like having a little pocket-sized notebook in which I write passages that I find particularly inspiring, comforting, or beautiful, and I like to flip through when out and about and I find myself needing something to ground me.
