Phil Hine posted recently. You should read it.
Interestingly, it contained a link to a post which I had not read, but which was fascinating and fairly relevant to the possibility of gods experimenting with us. Also: mmmm…. Baphomet.
In turn, that post linked to another which I had read before but which I try to link to whenever it comes to mind. It also happens to be relevant to the subject of sacred sexuality.
You may have noticed by now, dear readers, that I cannot keep my mouth shut when I see people talking about things I have an opinion on. And y’all know that I have opinions on nearly every fucking thing on this mad, spinning Earth. But that’s what blogging is, right? An opportunity to express our opinions? Well, that’s one thing, anyway. Unlike some of last soapbox moments, though, this is not a direct response to anything. People write things, I read them, and it makes me think.(*)
I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a traditionalist. I have never been invited to join a Lodge or Coven. I had long disdained the grimoire traditions, and while I have come around on that issue in theory, the fact is (for reasons too numerous, and ultimately too obvious) that they will never be a major component of my practice. It would be an oversimplification, but my practice could be fairly described as eclectic Wicca.
Nor am I a cutting-edge radical, disdainful of everything that has come before. Hell, I didn’t even get into studying Chaos Magick until I started my ceremonial project. Embarrassing as it is now, I didn’t really understand where the one ended and the other began; I just thought of Chaos as post-modern choose-your-own-adventure ceremonialism. I know perfectly well that it’s a fucking bad idea to summon Goetic demons without the full pomp and circumstance: they’ll take that shit personally. I know better than to mix and match traditions with no regard for the histories involved or the subtleties of difference in technique and emphasis.
My practice lies somewhere in between these two extremes. I have pushed the Wiccan framework as far as it can go and serve my needs, and in doing so I have read about as far and wide as one can on the subject without ever being initiated. I have moved beyond Wicca using shamanic techniques gleaned from Michael Harner, Gale Wood, Christopher Penczak, a few friends, a hand-full of workshops, and an ever-growing body of UPG—ever conscious of the deeply problematic elements of neo-shamanic practice, ranging from bad scholarship to appropriation of indigenous practices to outright “playing Indian”. I have incorporated energy work with no parallel in any tradition I can find in print—Maya Heath’s Energies is the closest I’ve ever seen—but which a significant minority of the practitioners I’ve encountered in the world recognize as close enough to something they, too, did when they were young. I’ve incorporated some of the Chaos techniques from my as-yet-incomplete survey—sigils in particular—and I’m working on comprehending certain portions of ceremonial arts as well—the evocation of spirits.
But, as you have already surmised, I am not content to merely reproduce the work that has been done before: I’m pushing forward in the directions that are most interesting to me, and where my native talent calls to be explored. I’m experimenting with mask-making, and the particular sort of invocation and embodiment unique to mask-work. Through my shamanic work, I’m engaging in congress with spirits the likes of which I have never seen addressed in anything I’ve yet read. I’m experimenting with the use of sex, drugs, and music in my magic: this is fucking ecstatic work, folks, and sometimes I need higher octane fuel than I can (yet) get my brain to produce on its own.
RO (and all the others) is right to point out that yes, there are dangers. When you mix traditions and tech—and I do both, for all my concerns about cultural appropriation and pissing of the various Powers That Be—things can go horribly awry. But I’m with RO on the next step, too: do it anyway! Magic has been a process of experimentation and syncretism for as long as people have been doing it. Sometimes you’re going to botch. Sometimes you’re going to piss off some people … or some spirits … or maybe even some gods. People can be managed. Spirits and gods can be propitiated. Magical backlash can be healed.
Hell, some day you might even fuck up so bad that you have to step out of the game for a year. Or three. But you come back to it. Trust me: you’ll fucking come back to it.
We’re hip deep in the forces of creation, y’all. No matter what you’re told, there are no flawless systems. Even when it looks like you’ve found one, you’re still going to have to adapt it to your own particular brain and body. And even if you don’t, some spirit you get involved with is going to issue a geas or taboo that’ll fuck up your perfect tradition, rock your boat, and maybe even upset your whole damn world. (Trust me on this one: if it’s happened to me once, it’s happened to me twice.)
(*) But rather than link to any of the inspirations for this musing in the text body above, I’m going to collect them here to make sure that none of this very interesting reading material gets missed.
RO has posted twice (at least) on similar subjects, and introduced me to some very interesting and important work being done in the Celtic traditions. Jason Miller has also talked about his syncretism, personally, and recently more generally (though his snark about the issue of appropriation is grossly inappropriate). Peter Alexander Vaughn has a couple posts that touch on the issues.
I’m sure there’s still something important that I’m missing.
I feel like I’m always a few steps behind. Especially lately. I didn’t get my Dark Moon work written up until nearly a week after, and most of that only got done because I called in sick Friday. Then I got a day behind because I always have trouble with my internet at home, and … blah blah blah. Whine whine whine.
The real problem is that I’m sick. And you, my dear readers, already know what the worst part about been a sick witch is. You know that if you could fucking do something about it, if only you had the strength to … well, stand up, cast a Circle, and do something about it. Cause it turns out that, no, our bodies aren’t just cars we drive around. They are our prime materia. Without them, we are nothing. So, lacking the mojo to fix myself over the weekend, I stayed in bed a lot. I drank a lot of fluids. Sannafrid was kind enough to bring me soup and remind me that, yes, I have people out here in Indiana who give a fuck about me—which helped even more than the soup. I think I’m finally to a point where I can conjure enough power to try to put myself back on track. Of course, I’ve already missed the Day and Hour of the Sun, the hypothetically best time to do that. Fortunately I’m more witch than magician, and I can work around that.
But, enough about that.
Before I got sick, I was finally making some progress on that whole astral projection thing. During a fit of insomnia that preceded my dive from “struggling against being sick” into “not going to class because I was up all night blowing my nose”, I discovered that Donald Michael Kraig covers the subject in the concluding chapter of his Modern Magick. For whatever reason, the method he describes worked better for me than any other I’ve tried, and I was able to achieve what Kraig describes as bilocation: ambling around my apartment, touching things to establish my sense of reality. Which was fucking awesome. If I could actually manage to pull it off every night (Have you notice I struggle with maintaining a daily anything? Yeah. Makes keeping up with my homework a problem, sometimes.) I would probably already be fully OBE.
I even had an interesting experience just while circumnavigating the apartment. When I pushed aside the blinds to place my astral hand against the window, I saw a giant something outside my window—big enough that all I really saw was an eye. This startled me, of course, and I pulled back, letting the “blinds” drop, and then had a good laugh at myself. Until something large slammed into the house Wards. Not being entirely sure what was going on, I decided to perform my Pentagram Rite astrally, then went back to my body. After which I went to sleep and nothing exciting happened.
I (sort of) managed it again last night while struggling with another bout of insomnia, only this time I kept crashing into things and breaking them. Retreating back to my body, I descended to my Inner Temple, where I did a little bit of maintenance and chatted with my spirit guide/friend Tsu. My mind must have still been unrully, though, because we got sucked through an open door into the Elemental Realm of Fire (a la Peckzac’s Outer Temple meditations. Interestingly, I felt a lot better after we hung out in the fire for a while.
So, while I have been sick and busy and not quite up to healing myself, I haven’t been wholly inactive. Which is good. I need to stay active to go forward.
Finally, while sick, I spent some time working on one of my other New Year, New You goals: migrating this blog to WordPress. As I have mentioned once or twice, I originally wanted to blog there anyway, but the site was down the day I tried. WP is technically superior, easier to operate, and easier to customize. And then there’s that whole thing with Google’s sudden changes to their privacy policies. Heheh. Yeah. So, within the next few weeks, I’ll be moving. I’ll keep this account “alive”, of course, to better show my love to all those people who live on blogger, but it won’t be active.
Which is sad, in a way: I broke 700 pageviews for the first time last month, and I have a very good time of making it to 800 this month. I even have a few amazing people who comment regularly. Comments or no, though, I love you all and I hope you’ll come with me.
I did three tarot readings over the course of the Dark Moon: one preceding each of my rituals, and one to give me an idea of what I need to look forward to over the next month.
The first reading, concerning my performance of Lon Milo DuQuette’s banishing/invocation, was reasonably clear and positive.
1/2 – Present position and current influence – 3 Disks “Works” / 2 Wands “Dominion” – Taking concrete steps, translating ideas into reality. Crossed by willpower and a willingness to take risks.
3 – That which crowns it – Ace of Wands – New beginnings, willpower, decisiveness, opportunity for self-development.
4 – It rests upon this – 10 Disks “Wealth” – Becoming aware of one’s circumstances. Awareness of one’s inner and outer wealth.
5 – That which is going out – 10 Swords “Ruin” – Chaos, confusion, pain. Mental implosions and collapse. Who doesn’t love to see this on the outs?
6 – That which is coming in – 9 Cups “Happiness” – Meaningful experience, quiet happiness, joy that lets the heart overflow.
7 – The Querrant – VIII Adjustment – Objectivity, balance, karma, sober perception.
8 – Inner Influences – II the Priestess – Inner guidance, deep spiritual experiences.
9 – Outer Influences – VI the Lovers – The Chemical Wedding, duality and union of opposites, division and decisions.
10 – Conclusion – 6 Swords “Science” + XV the Devil – Perception, progress, openness, insight, thirst for power and encountering the Shadow.
The second reading I did concerned my performance of the Rite of Jeu. The reading was less clear, but I chose to interpret it as a green flag nevertheless. Looking back at the reading more closely, after the experience itself, I definitely feel like I made the right call.
1 / 2 – Current position and influences – XIX the Sun / XIV Art – Bliss, joy, new birth, success, and self-development. Crossed by the balance of powers, finding the right proportion, harmony, and healing.
3 – That which Crowns it – I the Magus – Activity, resolution, willpower, vital force, having the highest perceptions.
4 – It rests upon this – Knight of Swords – Discernment, flexibility, intelligence, striving toward new goals.
5 – That which is going out – 10 Swords “Ruin” – An intriguing repetition, and one which I could only view as auspicious.
6 – That which is coming in – 6 Disks “Success” – increase, favorable interplay of forces,
7 – The Querrant – III the Empress – Growth, creative potential, intuitive power, renewal, insight into the internal cycle.
8 – Inner Influences – XXI the Universe – Joy of living, being in the right place at the right time, resting in one’s center, being one in the beginning and the end.
9 – Outer Influences – 2 Disks “Change” – Change, mutual fructification, insight into the vital rhythm of growth and regression. In a sea of big-mover cards, this one seemed a little strange.
10 – 9 Swords “Cruelty” + XX the Aeon – Worries, panic, nightmares, primitive fantasies of violence. Transformation, new beginnings, spiritual development, being captured by the spirit of the new age.
The final reading I did over the dark moon was my usual monthly—switched to the Dark Moon for the various reasons discussed previously. I might have done the reading at the depth of the moon, but I though I’d give the Stele of Jeu rite at least 24 hours to ripple out before looking to the future.
I had actually considered performing the rite again on Monday, but ultimately concluded that I was too exhausted to pull it off. In fact, I didn’t actually give the monthly reading more than a cursory glance the night I laid them out. Instead, I proceeded to promptly fall over.
1st House – Self, Viewpoint, the Mask – Queen of Swords – Wealth of ideas, presence of mind, independence, and quick-wittedness.
2nd House – Finances, Communication – IV the Emperor – Willingness to take responsibility, initiative, pragmatism. Clear structures, consolidation, realizing plans, perfectionism.
3rd House – Daily Experiences & Immediate Influences – XIV Art – Finding the right proportions, balance of powers, harmony, overcoming differences. Resolving conflicts, joyful and productive work,
4th House – Home-place, Family, Land & Roots – Knight of Disks – Firmness, sobriety, perseverance. Responsible position. Enjoying what has been achieved.
5th House – Pleasure, Hobbies, & Lovers– 4 Swords “Truce” – Sham peace, temporary retreat, calm before the storm, isolation, building up one’s strength.
6th House – Work, Illness, Duty, & Routine – Prince of Swords – Good ol’ P of S is fighting himself. He’s working too hard. Unlike the other knights and the other princes, his chariot is drawn by no noble steed: rather, it is drawn by miniature versions of himself. He is at odds with himself, unable to choose a direction, unable to focus. He is the proverbial chicken running around with his head cut off. He needs to focus.
As I write this, I am skipping class in favor of nursing a cold. I have been putting off homework in favor of other homework. I’m fighting the urge to play social dominance games with one of my professors, and not quite sure that I’m keeping up on the long-term projects I should be working on.
Not good. Need to turn this shit around.
7th House – Partnership – Queen of Wands – Healthy sense of self-assurance, initiative, impulsiveness, independence. Equality, mature relationship, the Tantra of love, heartfelt warmth.
8th House – Taboo, Crisis, Sex, Death & Taxes – 2 Swords “Peace” – State of balance, relaxation, serenity, compromise. I’m really not sure how to read this except as “no worries”.
9th House – Higher Perception, Journeys, & Movement – Knight of Swords – Versatility, discernment, flexibility, intelligence. Steering toward new goals while inspired by ideas.
10th House – Recognition, Career, Ambition, & Status – 8 Wands “Swiftness” – “Ahah” experience, sudden resolution to problems. Innovation, electrifying ideas, favorable developments, foreign business deals, advanced education, taking quick action.
11th House – Friendships, Groups, & Social Activities – 5 Disks “Worry” – Helplessness, fear of loss, frustration at nothing working out. Having a negative influence on each-other.
12th House – Secrets, Hopes, & Fears – XIII Death – Parting, natural end. Confronting transience. Beginning of a fundamental change.
+2 – XXI the Universe / 0 the Fool – Completion, joy of living, being in the right place at the right time, resting in one’s center. Crossed by original potential, creative chaos, new beginnings, starting off into the unknown.
So … that’s five Major Arcana, five court cards, and four minor arcana. Four swords, three disks, two wands, no cups. (Seriously? No cups for my doulble-Scorpio ass?)
The World and the Fool at the heart of things tell me that although it may not look like there’s much going on at first, there’s some big shit afoot. This impression is reinforced by the Death card (even if it is in the 12th House).
I feel confident that XIII, XXI, and 0 must be related to my resumed and escalated magical practice. In particular, these are all things that are supposed to happen when you invoke the agathos daimon. And I’m going to keep doing it: I want to die and be reborn: I want another initiatory experience.
The overwhelming presence of the court cards tells me that people are going to be very significant this month. Not terribly surprising, given the nature of academia.
The only “bad” card I see is 5D in the 11th House, though the Prince of Swords isn’t one of my favorites. I’m a little concerned about that 5D, actually. I’m always nervous about things going awry in my very small circle of friends: I don’t’ have any to loose.
I’m also concerned about 8 Wands in the 10th House. That could be really good. Or it could be “shit goes crazy”. Not that these things are in any way mutually exclusive. One wonders how it relates to IV in the 2nd House. I hope this means that I’ll manage to get my hustle started up.
2 Swords in the 8th House confuses me, of course. I don’t really have taboos. But how can “peace” be a crisis? Or does my more optimistic interpretation above actually float: that there4 is no crisis this month?
Sunday night I tried something that would have terrified younger versions of myself. The rite in question, of course, is the Stele of Jeu, from which Aleister Crowley derived the Preliminary Invocation of the Goetia and, later, Liber Semekh.
I had been thinking about doing the ritual for a while. It had been suggested to me that the astrology for starting this sort of project was ideal (although, re-reading that post this morning, it seems much more immediate and less “the astrological current of the coming weeks”. Oh, well. It got me going.), it was just a question of which of the various versions of such a rite. Finally, the Stele came across my field of vision one too many times to ignore. A colleague whom I admire was willing to hook me up with a copy of Hans Dieter Betz’s beautiful tome, as well as to give me a bit of preliminary advice.
The evening was set aside for nothing but this: I had done my house-cleansing the night before; I would do my monthly tarot the following night. I broke out all the stops… including that oft-advocated practice which I have historically disdained: the preliminary divination.
The 9S there at the end made me nervous, but the Aeon more than made up for it. It was go time.
Proceeding with the ritual, I opened with my Pentagram Rite. I cast a full, formal circle, and made offerings to all my gods and allies. I drew a circle in salt, and cast another circle within it. I read through the ritual a final time once I had sealed myself within the salt circle, and felt a presence watching and waiting. I almost got the impression it was waiting to see if I would fuck up.
Lacking the formula and the six names to which the Stele referred (PGM V.156-60), I omitted them, but I still began with the preliminary invocation which appears at the end of the letter (165-70). Beginning the ritual, the sensation of something watching over my shoulder grew stronger. Not trusting myself to memorize so many voces magicae and barbarous words, I read the rite directly from my printout[1].
I had been warned to stop if any poltergeist phenomena occurred, and there were a few moments when the Indiana wind gave me a scare, but the ritual went off without a hitch. The watching presence disappeared somewhere through the middle of the ritual, and nothing seemed to happen at first.
Then the first wave of power hit me.
The only thing I can compare the experience to is the sort of top-notch, sticky-green, creeper weed that I haven’t had since I left Larryville. It was slow at first: a sort of spiritual bliss, a sense of fullness and euphoria. I just basked in it for a while before I decided to clean up after the ritual. Which was when it started to become apparent just how potent the ritual had been.
I ended up closing/cleaning up in three separate stages, because I kept forgetting what all needed to be done. There was a particularly interesting surge of power when I broke the salt circle. I could barely operate my phone to text my friends and let them know that, no, I hadn’t botched the ritual and that a rescue party would not be needed. (What, you don’t take such precautions when trying something that new?)
The waves of euphoria kept getting stronger, and after a while I could barely walk. I tried to journal about it, but it was all so surreal that (as you can see) words couldn’t quite convey it. I remember thinking “nothing has moved my insides around this much since my initiation”.
When I laid down, though, the mood shifted. I was confronted with violent images I can only call visions. A close friend being run over by bus then getting up and boarding the bus. A man in a business suit whose head exploded into a snarling wolf’s maw. There were others—countless others—but only those first two were with me when I woke, after a night of strange and similarly violent dreams. Despite that, I was still high on the ritual.
In fact, I was high until noon the next day. I still feel like my aura’s been “inflated”, and I don’t think that the godhood I felt coming out of yoga yesterday morning was, well, just the yoga. People who never had a spare glance for me last semester suddenly remember my name.
I can’t wait to do it again.
Up next: Dark Moon 3/3: Tarot and Splat
[1] I’m a very post-modern magician in my own way. Besides, better to loose a little power by reading the text from a page than to mangle the incantation, or to accidentally summon or anger someone by practicing it aloud outside the Circle.
Betz, Hans Dieter. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.
I haven’t lived in Indiana for very long. I don’t really have any sacred spaces out here, and while I’m animist/pantheist enough that (in theory) all space is sacred space, the weather lately has sucked so bad that—between the rain, the sleet, and the more rain—going outside just hasn’t been conducive to mediating I any might have wanted to do. So, for practical purposes, the sacred pace I have available to me is my home: the temple I’ve been building and refining since I arrived in August.
The Sunrise Temple has been in good condition ever since I got back from KC: I’ve been cleaning house and cleansing at least once a week. But the altar had gotten cluttered with all the work I was doing in preparation of first driving back to Kansas City, then the work I was doing when I first came back to produce my Learn Greek talismans (the first one when I posted about the, then the second and third [one for my altar, one for my bag] a week later when my backpack ate the first).
Fortunately, I had a Dark Moon to work with this weekend. And I had a lot of work I wanted to do. Saturday night had four things on the slate: trying out Lon Milo DuQuette’s banishing/invocation; cleansing the house; blessing my Dark Moon water; and rebuilding my altar.
Being uncertain how the DuQuette I actually started with the house-cleansing: cleaning up my mess, sweeping the floors (I really want a fancy besom like they sell at the Renaisance Faire), and smudging everything. I really need to do continue doing this no less than once a week. I get scattered when I don’t.
Following that, I did a little preparatory divination. I’ve never done any of DuQuette’s work before, and the ritual blew Aradia’s mind, so it seemed prudent.
All the “present” information looked really good, I always love to see a 10S on the way out, and 6S and The Devil seemed like a workable outcome. So I went for it: putting on a random mix of ancient Greek music I stole from the internet and Holst’s Planet Suite, I was ready to get started.
For those who haven’t read DuQuette’s Low Magick, it’s an Inner Working (visualization exercise) and Aradia sums it up pretty well. But neither Ganesha nor Kwan Yin are quite my style. After a week or so of contemplation since finishing the book, I came to the conclusion that Ἔρος was the god for me. And boyhowdy, was s/he.
I disn’t get the sort of transcendental brain-borking Aradia did, but damn did I get high. Just as I was finishing, the music switched from soft, soothing, and ancient to Holst’s Jupiter: the Bringer of Jollity, and I was ready to work.
Behold, my beautiful new altar:
Taller, cleaner, with room for more idols,and with places to store my active projects—particularly the collection of seals and tokens representing the friends who’ve graciously allowed me to include them in my ascendancy/prosperity work. I’m still in the process of fine-tuning the arrangement, of course, but I’m very pleased so far.
I finished everything up by feeding my gods and allies, and preparing my house-wards for the following evenings bigger, better, and potentially explosive experiment.
Next up: Dark Moon 2/3: the Stele of Jeu.
Apparently, the occult corners of the internet have recently exploded in controversy. Mostly in corners I don’t frequent, actually, although a few of my favorite bloggers have added their two cents (Jason and RO both link to the broader controversy, and also provide a little bit of context). I avoided the “physical” manifestation of spirits brouhaha on account of I haven’t ever done any conjuration and therefore had nothing to contribute (though I hear that didn’t stop everyone). Besides, it’s an old controversy among those who enjoy talking about the theory of magic as much as they enjoy actually doing it. To my warped mind that gives me leave to comment on the matter of “it’s all in your head”.
Interestingly, it’s a subject that’s been on my mind. I have, after all, just finished Lon Milo Duquette’s latest book, in which he advocates the vary theory under debate (which apparently I haven’t gotten around to reviewing; I’ll have to fix that as soon as Sannafrid gives it back). The general direction of my thoughts on this matter can be inferred from an old post of mine. At the time I was speaking of the particular tendency of some Wiccans and New Agers to gloss over the distinctions between cultures and divinities in favor of their own, alternate, fluffy-bunny reality, but the same arguments apply.
Aalways, though, it’s more nuanced than that. Fr. SEA discusses DuQuette’s example of the love spell, which doesn’t make someone love you so much as it makes you into the person your beloved will love back. In the case of the particular example, it makes a great deal of sense. What’s left out of the resulting discussion is how explicitly solipsistic DuQuette’s worldview is: at the end of Low Magick he explicitly states that he’s not entirely certain there is a world outside himself (quote and citation to come when I get the book back in my hands). It’s also meant to be humorous, because Lon Milo DuQuette is a funny, funny guy.
Let’s not forget that Chaos Magick maxim (where did it come from, anyway?): “It’s all in your head, except when it isn’t.” Magic generally takes the path of least resistance in order to get things done. How often have we been admonished to be careful not to kill Grandma for the inheritance with a poorly-targeted money spell? As Gordon so eloquently pointed out: “Magic has an extremely frustrating ability to give you your desired results in the least convenient way possible.” What, by and large, is the least convenient and most energy-efficient way to make change happen? Cramming your own damn square peg into that proverbial round hole, that’s what.
Now, my own take on this is necessarily skewed. Although I have practiced magic for fifteen years, I spent the first decade devoted almost exclusively to pulling my head out of my own ass, getting it screwed on in the proper direction (forward-facing, but never, ever “straight” ;p ), and clearing out the cob-webs. It’s only in the last four or five years that I’ve escalated my outward-focused magic from the web of influence that puts me in the right place at the right time into actually manifesting changes in the world around me. And while that’s been working out for me pretty damn well and very concretely so far, my experience definitely bears out Gordon’s addendum to that above maxim.
All that said, Jason’s take on this is very compelling: that some of the larger entities we deal with cut cross-ways through our measly, mortal, three-or-four dimensional understanding of reality, that they are both within us and without us. That fits in perfectly with my understanding of a spiritual reality which is at the very least equally complex as the material reality, and probably more so by orders of magnitude. So, too, RO’s argument that the distinctions of “within” and “without” are matters of perspective which the clever magician will use as best suits their means and ends.
Still, I remain skeptical of the idea of a “top-down” construction of reality, whether it figures the magician or some Absolute Divinity at the “top”. That Neo-Platonic paradigm and all its children are too simplistic for me, intellectually, and fly in the face of the rational conclusions I have drawn based on my own personal experiences.
Finally, however, I wish to make clear: my conclusions and beliefs are inevitably founded on just that: my own research and personal experiences. All of the stances I have seen so far are well considered and, I assume, similarly founded on years of research and experimentation. Which, if we assume that everyone is operating and arguing in good faith (and I do), only goes to prove that the universe is bigger and more complex than any of our puny, mortal, meat-brains can comprehend.
Love and light, folks. The blessings of your favorite gods on each and every one of you.
When I set myself to the study of the Western Ceremonial tradition it was largely an intellectual exercise. Yes, I expected to be a more competent and powerful witch/magician by the end of it, but I’d already learned the rudiments of sigils from Chaos magic (which I had largely understood as a subset of the ceremonial tradition, though I now know better) and I didn’t imagine that there would be much that would actually stick with me after the experiments were done. After five months of study, I have come to understand just how little of what I thought I knew about the ceremonial tradition has any basis in reality. Conversely, I have found that my chief concern was fairly well founded: I am fundamentally incompatible with some of the powers it deals with, though not in the ways I had imagined. I have also come to recognize what the ceremonial tradition has to offer me personally: access to planetary Powers.
Various manuals of witchcraft that I have read in the course of my life have come with huge tables of plants, rocks, scents, colors, and their planetary correspondences. But the rationale of those correspondences has never really been explained, nor why the attributions and uses of those correspondences varies so radically from the mythologies and portfolios of the divinities for which the planets have been named. My explorations of ceremonial magic have helped me to understand (for example) why it is that Mars, the planet, has so little to do with Mars, the Roman god of war and the citizen-soldier.
More interestingly, particularly from my perspective as a visionary/shamanic witch looking to delve into that most forbidden of arts known as the evocation of spirits, I have learned of the multitudinous hosts and legions of spirits who make up those planetary Powers. Even if, having acquired some skill at conjuration, I decide that it’s not for me, the names and sigils—phone numbers, as Frater Acher describes them (and I need that book)—will still be useful in seeking out contacts by other means.
Despite my best intentions, I am still having difficulty translating my theoretical studies into actual praxis. This is partly a matter of trying to convert certain patterns into ones I understand, partly a matter of struggling to overcome inertia after having fallen off the horse (so to speak) of daily practice.
I want to begin seeking that thing known as “Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel” (or, you know, something along those lines, since I don’t quite buy the “guardian angel” part), but I have not yet settled on a particular ritual to that end. The Stele of Jeu? The Bornless Rite? Liber Samekh? (Sure, they’re all variations on the same tune, but I still need to choose one.) Or some other ritual I haven’t found yet, aimed at the same goal? Right now I’m leaning heavily toward the Stele of Jeu. Very heavily.
When I resume pursing the planetary forces themselves, do I continue with the quasi-Golden Dawn route of Penczak’s High Temple? Do I buy RO’s Gate Rites (I’ve been tempted for a while)? Do I go whole-hog and dig into Abremelin? Frustratingly, a lot of these questions would be a lot easier if I were Christian, or at very least if I weren’t energetically incompatible with the Archangels. I really need to get my hands on a copy of the PGM—both translated and not.
I’ll say this much, though: by the time I’m done, there will be a neo-Pagan grimoire for sale somewhere. I can’t be the only one struggling with some of these issues. And maybe, as I continue, I’ll find that someone else has already done this. Maybe I can use their work, maybe I can build on it, and maybe I’ll blow them out of the water. There’s only one way to find out.
A research paper is no stronger than its thesis. Until now, I had been doing no more and no less than preliminary exploration. Now I have more specific aims—my theses, to continue the metaphor: to get in touch with the Planetary forces, Powers, “elementals” (for lack of a better word) and spirits; to craft rites which fit within a neo-Pagan conceptual framework; and to make those experiments available to the public.
Last night I made my first ever attempt at anything that might be called planetary magic. In the Hour of Mercury on the Day of Mercury, I blended a planetary incense—ground nutmeg, ground majoram, fennel, and lavender (because that was what I had on hand, and could get at my local pagan store; looking to Cunningham’s Book of Shadows for the correspondences)—and made two talismans under the auspices of Mercury.
The first was a pure Planetary Talisman, with the Planetary Talisman of Mercury on one side and the Planetary Seal of Mercury on the other (the Talisman did, indeed, come from Asterion; the Seal I used for refference may have come from anywhere). Because I am a decidedly post-modern Magos, and because I lack the proper tools to inscribe the Talisman legibly into clay, I printed out the Talisman and colored it by hand; pressing the clay onto the back of the paper Talisman, I then scribed the relatively simple geometry of the Seal into clay on the other side.
The second talisman was to a much more specific purpose. Attic Greek kicked my ass last semester, and I can’t afford to let that happen again. Fortunately, I’m a witch, and there are Powers I can call upon for aid; in this case, the Powers of Mercury, the glib god Hermes, and the Titan muse Mneme. The quick wit and silver tongue of Hermes are things that I desperately need, and the aid of goddess of memory even more so; besides, who better to call upon for this assistance than two gods first worshiped in the language I’m trying to learn? Each are credited (by some, obviously conflicting, sources) with inventing language all together!
[More and better pictures once I’ve finished painting them.]
And what was the purpose of the Planetary Talisman, you ask? The specific inspiration came from Lon Milo DuQuette, as I mentioned the other day. In his new book Low Magick, he discusses using planetary talismans to help balance and enhance his life (Low Magick 49-55), as suggested by Israel Regardie (Talismans pp). And I would, of course, be lying if there weren’t a certain element of “to see if I could”.
So … behold! My first ritual magic of the new year! Magic of a sort I have barely dabbled in before! And hot damn, it was fun. Ritual magic plus arts and crafts.
Both talismans are mixed-media, using a combination of printed paper, colored pencils, air-dry clay, scribed with a copper stylus, and painted with acrylic.
I set myself a number of goals to complete by then end of break:
Immediate
1) Finish the car-protection talismans … [Complete]
2) Write up my Dark Moon rites … [Complete]
3) Keep up with the New Year New You prompts … [So far, so good]
Short Term: Complete Before Break Ends
1) Interpret the natal chart I’ve calculated for Sannafrid … [FAIL]
2) New title for my book of shadows … [Complete]
3) Research or design and make a talisman to help me with my Greek language studies … [WIP]
4) Resume my attempts at astral projection. [WIP]
So far, I think that I’m doing pretty well.
The car-protection talismans, as it turned out, did not need more work so much as to finish “baking”. A second round of orange (Mercury/Hod) chime candles and a few more days in the altar was all they needed to feel “done”. I could feel mine at work—along with the Ganesha who, as Deborah suggested, now lives on the dash—as I made the drive. There were no scary moments, no construction delays, no cops, and no accidents or detours anywhere between the Western border of Missouri and the Eastern border of Indiana. For those of you who’ve never made that drive, that’s really pretty improbable.
I am even now working on my Mercury talisman to help me with my study of the Ancient Greek language(s). Since I’m going to be drawing on Mercury anyway, I’m thinking now’s as good a time as any to make a more general Mercury talisman to help me with the Retrograde and somewhat afflicted Mercury in my natal chart—an idea for which I must thank Lon Milo DuQuette (Low Magick), who in turn got it from Mr. Israel Regardie. The designs are done (or as done as I get things before going into trance and, well, doing them), and I just need to go shopping for some supplies (Setting up a new temple takes so much work. I might be done before I finish my undergrad. Maybe.) More on that tomorrow when the Work is done.
Last night and the night before, I made my first attempts at astral projection in a number of years. An actual book on the subject does not seem to have made it back to Indiana with me, but fortunately for me: we have the internet. The first night I simply tried to pull the techniques from memory (I did study the subject intensively, once upon a time), and got as far as walking around my apartment … but I made the attempt as part of a larger, visionary Moon-working, and I believe that I was hemmed in by my Circle. The second night (last night) I attempted a sort of modified Monroe technique, and got as far as the vibratory state. Unfortunately, I repeatedly fell asleep while making the attempt and ultimately gave up for the evening. Still: the goal I set myself for “before classes resume” (they resumed today) was to renew my attempts. My goal for success is Valentines Day and the goalpost of the New Year, New You project.
That leaves only one goal for the break between semesters unaccomplished: Sannafrid’s natal chart. I suck. In my defense: I did get a lot done, and her chart is complicated: two very busy Houses, lots of aspects, and three empty Houses.
