Folding the flag

For storage, American flags should be folded into a triangular pattern, as can be seen here and here. I also found a brief video demonstration, which can be seen here. On a practical level, folding the flag is an opportunity to inspect it for damage, which should be repaired if possible.

There happen to be 13 folds in this process, and that’s a number with all manner of associations. I’ve seen scripts that involve invoking one or another christian deity; I’d like to think that there are witches and pagans with some ideas about how to work with the flag and those 13 folds, too. Here’s one possible Hellenic invocation for folding a flag:

1. fold in half lengthwise, representing the separation of Gaia and Ouranos
2. fold in half lengthwise, representing the overthrow of Ouranos
3. fold the striped end up to line up with the opposite edge, representing the birth and consumption of Hestia
4. fold straight across, representing the birth and consumption of Demeter
5. fold along the hypotenuse, representing the birth and consumption of Hera
6. fold straight across, representing the birth and consumption of Haides
7. fold along the hypotenuse, representing the birth and consumption of Poseidon
8. fold straight across, representing the birth of Zeus
9. fold along the hypotenuse, representing the overthrow of Kronos
10. fold straight across, representing the dividing of the world
11. fold along the hypotenuse, remembering the gift of fire from Prometheus
12. fold straight across, remembering mortals now passed
13. fold straight across and tuck, honoring the deathless gods

I imagine that there could be Hellenic folding prayers that invoke virtues, or daimons, or involve promises of future offerings in return for certain conditions being met. As discussed in the post on flag magic, in this context I only would request something that’s aligned with those nominal “American” values for which the flag hungers.

What would it look like for heathens to fold a flag—would it be similar to a sumbel or a blot, or would it be different than either? How about in voodoo, or wicca, or in discordian practice? I’d be very curious to see the different ways we can infuse this universal act with cultural context or sacred meaning. Symbolism can be tied to the act of folding as well as the number of folds. There might be a way to incorporate other factors, such as direction or time of day or year. Maybe someday it will be common to see flag swaps at pagan events, where you can bring a flag that was blessed and folded at Pagan Spirit Gathering when it was at Wisteria, and trade it for one that was flown over the capitol and dipped in the Potomac. There could be flags in every state in this union, flags touched by our gods and our spirits, bending the world to align this country with the values in its foundational documents. A spell like that, aligned with those values, would spread even to flags that are displayed by people who don’t support American values at all—the ones who put saw blades in rivers, for example—and use those flags to lift up the spirit of this land.

Trackbacks and comments with what you’d include in a flag-folding invocation are heartily welcome.