This post is part of a series, though it need not be read in whole or in order. You can read the first post here. You can find the rest of the posts here.
The first pages of your book obviously and inevitably represent a highly idealized vision of your practice. For me that was the Stele of Jeu, followed by a triangle of art for each of the seven traditional planets. What followed were a handful of rituals that I had done and more that I wanted to do: the prayer for a vision from the Serpent-Faced God(dess), aTyphonic Initiation, a pair of scrying spells, and a handful of herb-gathering rituals, all from the Greek Magical Papyri.
No matter how settled you are in your practice when you begin the work of the Book, Bell, and Blade, no matter how confident you are in your organization of those first pages, a time will come when you need to add more. If you have anticipated the particular need that arises – as I anticipated that I would need room for new circles and other images beyond my initial planetary circles – so much the better. Eventually, a need will arise for which you have not prepared. For me, most recently, that has been road-opening magic.
I’ve done road openers a few times over the years, of course. (We all have, haven’t we?) But my familiars recently informed me that I should be doing it more often – specifically, at the beginning of each calendar month. For the first round (July), I got my Lunar Shenanigans Crew involved, and we devoted a whole moon ritual to removing obstacles and making opportunities for ourselves. The second round (August), I brought my Book to bear, using the same pages as I use for my daily offerings. It was very free-form, but it was also very effective. I wish that I’d taken better notes.
For this month (September), I sat down and added a new pair of pages for the work, which I will be doing … if not literally every month, probably more than not. I started with the pair of circles on the outside (each around one of the burn marks from my altar fire at the beginning of the year, and the Circle of Art/Triangle of Conjuration just a little up from center for a nice visual balance. I wanted to cover the page in seals and sigils, but in that moment I wasn’t sure what was called for.
After the ritual (which gets its own post), I was given a crossroads sigil to add to the circle.
It’s simple -bordering on bitch basic – but that’s alright. A crossroads sigil probably should be simple. I also suspect that I will add to it after future rituals. I also suspect that I will be adding other seals and sigils in and around the Circle of Art (itself a crossroads of sorts): keys and torches of Hekate; Hermes’ messenger wand; the road-opening sigil from Aidan Wachter’s Weaving Fate; some weird shit I chanel in the moment.
I don’t know, exactly, what I will next be adding to my Book. There are a few candidates, half-formed visions of rituals that I need to flesh out and then write down. Protection sigils. A consecration spell. The care and feeding of a Third Lunar Mansion talisman. But I know that, in time, a new need will arise, and I will have the tools to fulfill it.
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