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| Scirlin Head, archival inkjet print, 2015 |
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| Two Crooked Sticks, archival inkjet print, 2015 |
Monday, September 7, 2015
Artwork For Spirits
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
I Am Not A Demonolator
Up until just a few days ago I had no real idea what Demonolatry actually was. I tended to shy away from any reference to Demonolatry that I would come across on the interwebs in the course of researching spirits. But as I dig deeper and deeper into the spirits of the Grimorium Verum it seemed to me a question that I needed to answer for my own peace of mind. If I were to work with the grimoiric spirits in a meditative way without the prescribed ritual restraints of the classic grimoires does that make me a demonolator?
As I saw it the first step was to find out from demonolators what Demonolatry was. I purchased "The Complete Book of Deomonolatry" and "Demonolatry Goetia" both by S. Connolly and "Goetic Demonolatry" by Ellen Purswell. In the past few days I have started, but not finished, all three books. I have read the most of the "Complete Book" because it has the most basic information.
While I do think there are some methods and philosophies that can be helpful in spirit relationships I can say with some confidence that there is enough of a difference in philosophy that I do not count myself among them.
One of the things I discovered in my research is that Demonolatry is not quite as immature as I had perceived. It had, up to this point, struck me as a thing rebellious kids did to be edgy and to frighten the grandparents. This is also kind of how I perceive the Juggalo fans of the band The Insane Clown Posse. There is, however, a certain amount of self-consciousness about Demonolatry; a feeling that they must fight for their own legitimacy. Though perhaps I'm picking this up from the writing style of S. Connolly and members may or may not feel this way. It seems to be the awkwardness of newness. While there are accounts of a "lineage" going back hundreds of years the movement really started with the Internet Age and so is barely twenty years old yet, still infancy in religious terms.
Respectful treatment of the spirits as ancient and powerful is a theme that I can definitely get behind. In fact it was taking this tone with these spirits that brought the question up in the first place. There is much, however, on which we differ. Here are a few highlights.
First and foremost is the concept of God. In Demonolatry it is the demons and specifically Satan that is considered the highest power. I will probably get into another post about my concept of God but suffice to say now that it is not Satan. Nor do I feel the need to attach such a culturally laden label to my ideas about God.
Secondly the information about correspondences attributed to each of the demons (Enns, elemental, and astrological attributions) strike me as someone's personal gnosis that the whole group is running with. The Enns in particular strike me as something I could come up with and my own invention would suit me better than what is published.
Third, the spiritual focus is very narrow, constricted to the hierarchies presented in the books. There seems to be no room for other spirits. By itself this is fine but it is another point in which I differ.
Fourth, I really dislike the word "demonolatry". It points out the weird love/hate relationship with Christianity that much of Satanic philosophy is built upon. It sounds like idolatry which is a word that I have only come across in the Abrahamic religions. It is the use of this word that contributes much of the air of immaturity about the philosophy, in my opinion.
So... some of my methods and philosophies could be described as demonolatrist in that I'm not treating these spirits as flat out enemies. Powerful? Yes. Dangerous? Potentially. Automatic enemy? No. Automatic friend? No.
I guess in many ways I'm still working on a definition of what I'm practicing, but Demonolatry is not it.
As I saw it the first step was to find out from demonolators what Demonolatry was. I purchased "The Complete Book of Deomonolatry" and "Demonolatry Goetia" both by S. Connolly and "Goetic Demonolatry" by Ellen Purswell. In the past few days I have started, but not finished, all three books. I have read the most of the "Complete Book" because it has the most basic information.
While I do think there are some methods and philosophies that can be helpful in spirit relationships I can say with some confidence that there is enough of a difference in philosophy that I do not count myself among them.
One of the things I discovered in my research is that Demonolatry is not quite as immature as I had perceived. It had, up to this point, struck me as a thing rebellious kids did to be edgy and to frighten the grandparents. This is also kind of how I perceive the Juggalo fans of the band The Insane Clown Posse. There is, however, a certain amount of self-consciousness about Demonolatry; a feeling that they must fight for their own legitimacy. Though perhaps I'm picking this up from the writing style of S. Connolly and members may or may not feel this way. It seems to be the awkwardness of newness. While there are accounts of a "lineage" going back hundreds of years the movement really started with the Internet Age and so is barely twenty years old yet, still infancy in religious terms.
Respectful treatment of the spirits as ancient and powerful is a theme that I can definitely get behind. In fact it was taking this tone with these spirits that brought the question up in the first place. There is much, however, on which we differ. Here are a few highlights.
First and foremost is the concept of God. In Demonolatry it is the demons and specifically Satan that is considered the highest power. I will probably get into another post about my concept of God but suffice to say now that it is not Satan. Nor do I feel the need to attach such a culturally laden label to my ideas about God.
Secondly the information about correspondences attributed to each of the demons (Enns, elemental, and astrological attributions) strike me as someone's personal gnosis that the whole group is running with. The Enns in particular strike me as something I could come up with and my own invention would suit me better than what is published.
Third, the spiritual focus is very narrow, constricted to the hierarchies presented in the books. There seems to be no room for other spirits. By itself this is fine but it is another point in which I differ.
Fourth, I really dislike the word "demonolatry". It points out the weird love/hate relationship with Christianity that much of Satanic philosophy is built upon. It sounds like idolatry which is a word that I have only come across in the Abrahamic religions. It is the use of this word that contributes much of the air of immaturity about the philosophy, in my opinion.
So... some of my methods and philosophies could be described as demonolatrist in that I'm not treating these spirits as flat out enemies. Powerful? Yes. Dangerous? Potentially. Automatic enemy? No. Automatic friend? No.
I guess in many ways I'm still working on a definition of what I'm practicing, but Demonolatry is not it.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
The Bloodstone
It shines like the sun. It burns like a torch. Prometheus's blood illuminates and delineates.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Tarot Essay: The 10 of Swords
The tarot is very important to me. It is my preferred method of divination and I find it to be a fluid and varied set of symbols that continuously unfolds and shows me new things and insights. Let's explore, for a few moments, the symbolic connotations of one of the tarot cards. Eventually I'd like to get through all 78 but I'll be tackling them one at a time and not necessarily in any specific order.
10 of Swords
Asking my deck which of the cards to write about I have pulled the 10 of Swords. The Ten of Swords, in the Marseilles deck that I am using, indicates the end of cycles on the mental plane. 10s are endings, deaths, the shell that is left after life has vacated a thing. Applied to the mental plane this could be ancient ideologies, old ideas that no one subscribes to anymore; the policies of an Old Guard that are considered embarrassing to believe. The 10 of Swords indicates forgotten technologies lying dormant in lost books. 10s are passive / receptive numbers they indicate the full cessation in the turning of a cycle, the desiccated bones of a once mighty beast. No more chance for growth. All putrefaction has ended and now nutrients wait for the spark of the next cycle to begin.
In a divination the 10 of Swords indicates a resting period, a space in between the active waning of old ideas and the germination of new ideas. It is a card that tells you to let things be, stop thinking about it. The moment when these ideas were valid has passed. It is time to abandon the plans.
Looking at the continuum of benefit to liability on one end we have rest, the end of a cycle of growth with all its trials, hardships and rewards. In light of the Swords suit this could be the day after academic graduation.
On the other end we have loss, the shocked silence after an immediate cessation of ideas and thoughts. It could be a traitor lying comfortably in a country to whom he sold his homeland. It could be amnesia from a traumatic brain injury.
The image of this card always struck me as looking like two swords thrust into a pair of lungs through a ribcage. Given the airy connotations of the suit of Swords this makes some sense to me. It fits the tone of this card.
In a divination the 10 of Swords indicates a resting period, a space in between the active waning of old ideas and the germination of new ideas. It is a card that tells you to let things be, stop thinking about it. The moment when these ideas were valid has passed. It is time to abandon the plans.
Looking at the continuum of benefit to liability on one end we have rest, the end of a cycle of growth with all its trials, hardships and rewards. In light of the Swords suit this could be the day after academic graduation.
On the other end we have loss, the shocked silence after an immediate cessation of ideas and thoughts. It could be a traitor lying comfortably in a country to whom he sold his homeland. It could be amnesia from a traumatic brain injury.
The image of this card always struck me as looking like two swords thrust into a pair of lungs through a ribcage. Given the airy connotations of the suit of Swords this makes some sense to me. It fits the tone of this card.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Beginning With The Tarot, pt 1
Advice to those beginning to use tarot cards.
1. The magic lies in shuffling. The magic lies in knowing when to stop.
2. If the cards don't make sense the error lies in the interpretation.
3. Even if you can't interpret the reading into words, a part of you still understands.
4. All interpretations are correct.
5. Rules that include who can touch your cards, how they need to be energized or cleansed, or how they need to stored you set yourself. Make your own rules.
6. All the cards have a range of interpretations.
More to come...
1. The magic lies in shuffling. The magic lies in knowing when to stop.
2. If the cards don't make sense the error lies in the interpretation.
3. Even if you can't interpret the reading into words, a part of you still understands.
4. All interpretations are correct.
5. Rules that include who can touch your cards, how they need to be energized or cleansed, or how they need to stored you set yourself. Make your own rules.
6. All the cards have a range of interpretations.
More to come...
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Where The Power Lies
In the downtown area where I work there is a Nike store that has had a sign in their window advertising a shoe "so fast it comes with an airbag". I find the advertisement amusing partly because I like to image an airbag inflating in someone's face if they stub a toe but mostly because of a mentality that assumes that power is granted by an object. Magic is full of this. I constantly hear talk of which grimoire is the most powerful, which tarot cards the most accurate. It's like asking a couple of kids whose bicycle is faster. Sure the performance of one bike may be more efficient or it may be lighter than the other but that is not the source of the power of the bike. The power comes from the strength and determination of the rider.
The same can be said of grimoires and tarot cards. The effectiveness of both of these items have less to do with their content and more to do with the conviction of the practitioner.
Let's take the case of the Simon Necronomicon. This is a book mostly based on the fictional works of H.P. Lovecraft. It was published in the late 1970s and was a mix of Babylonian names, invented sigils, and material from Lovecraft's writings. It has no pedigree or ancient lineage. But people have gotten it to work, contacted its spirits according to the procedures in the book, and it has spawned a subset of grimoiric magic all its own.
Why are there Hello Kitty tarot cards that people are able to use effectively? Because the content is secondary to the practitioner.
Content is secondary to the practitioner.
The same can be said of grimoires and tarot cards. The effectiveness of both of these items have less to do with their content and more to do with the conviction of the practitioner.
Let's take the case of the Simon Necronomicon. This is a book mostly based on the fictional works of H.P. Lovecraft. It was published in the late 1970s and was a mix of Babylonian names, invented sigils, and material from Lovecraft's writings. It has no pedigree or ancient lineage. But people have gotten it to work, contacted its spirits according to the procedures in the book, and it has spawned a subset of grimoiric magic all its own.
Why are there Hello Kitty tarot cards that people are able to use effectively? Because the content is secondary to the practitioner.
Content is secondary to the practitioner.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Hearing From Spirits, part 2
I made a mistake.
My mistake was thinking that I needed to keep my First Character on my person at all times. Now, granted, I don't shower with it, but even then it is only a few feet away. In retrospect I think it would have been better to leave it behind for an hour. Here is how I learned this lesson.
A few days ago, while on vacation, my family and I decided to go to the river to go swimming. My First Character was laminated in 5 mil plastic and I also put it in a tiny zipper baggie. It was waterproof. With the double wrapped seal in my pocket I wadded into the river. I dipped my head under the water and when I came up I instinctively put my hand to my pocket to check on the seal and it was gone! In a panic I looked around and saw it floating down the river! I swam after it and caught it. It was undamaged and all was well. We swam for a bit more and then we prepared to leave.
Our little party split up because we took two cars. The group I was with got in our car and it wouldn't start. The other car with the others took off down the road before we could stop them. It was a Saturday and it was the Fourth of July, a holiday in the United States in which virtually no businesses are open. None of us had a phone and we were in rural Montana so the phone wouldn't have helped anyway. To get out of the situation we had to walk to a house about a half mile away and use their phonebook and phone to call for help.
It was then that I started to wonder if perhaps swimming with the First Character was a less than ideal idea.
One of the other activities on this vacation was to attend a raku party in which guests glaze a ceramic vase that is then fired in a kiln. Most of the guests' vessels turned out beautifully but every one of mine broke in the fire. I glazed six of them and took measures to make sure they would survive but none did.
In things spiritual I tend to a bit of solipsism and I try to temper it with an objective view but these two events suggest that perhaps I had not endeared myself to Astaroth by this action.
Now I find myself consulting my divination tools to find out if I have indeed made a mistake, if I have offended Astaroth, and what to do to remedy the situation. As I began this post, I know that I did make a mistake. The Wolf Coin suggests that Astaroth is not offended but that it was this spirit that affected the car troubles. Maybe sort of like saying "I'm not mad, but don't do it again". I have consulted my tarot cards as to what the remedy should be but I am still interpreting the answer.
I guess that if I had really offended Astaroth the consequences would have, or could have, been much worse. I will chalk this little adventure up to initiation trials, albeit rather minor.
Don't put the seals of Chthonic and Infernal spirits under water.
Lesson learned.
My mistake was thinking that I needed to keep my First Character on my person at all times. Now, granted, I don't shower with it, but even then it is only a few feet away. In retrospect I think it would have been better to leave it behind for an hour. Here is how I learned this lesson.
A few days ago, while on vacation, my family and I decided to go to the river to go swimming. My First Character was laminated in 5 mil plastic and I also put it in a tiny zipper baggie. It was waterproof. With the double wrapped seal in my pocket I wadded into the river. I dipped my head under the water and when I came up I instinctively put my hand to my pocket to check on the seal and it was gone! In a panic I looked around and saw it floating down the river! I swam after it and caught it. It was undamaged and all was well. We swam for a bit more and then we prepared to leave.
Our little party split up because we took two cars. The group I was with got in our car and it wouldn't start. The other car with the others took off down the road before we could stop them. It was a Saturday and it was the Fourth of July, a holiday in the United States in which virtually no businesses are open. None of us had a phone and we were in rural Montana so the phone wouldn't have helped anyway. To get out of the situation we had to walk to a house about a half mile away and use their phonebook and phone to call for help.
It was then that I started to wonder if perhaps swimming with the First Character was a less than ideal idea.
One of the other activities on this vacation was to attend a raku party in which guests glaze a ceramic vase that is then fired in a kiln. Most of the guests' vessels turned out beautifully but every one of mine broke in the fire. I glazed six of them and took measures to make sure they would survive but none did.
In things spiritual I tend to a bit of solipsism and I try to temper it with an objective view but these two events suggest that perhaps I had not endeared myself to Astaroth by this action.
Now I find myself consulting my divination tools to find out if I have indeed made a mistake, if I have offended Astaroth, and what to do to remedy the situation. As I began this post, I know that I did make a mistake. The Wolf Coin suggests that Astaroth is not offended but that it was this spirit that affected the car troubles. Maybe sort of like saying "I'm not mad, but don't do it again". I have consulted my tarot cards as to what the remedy should be but I am still interpreting the answer.
I guess that if I had really offended Astaroth the consequences would have, or could have, been much worse. I will chalk this little adventure up to initiation trials, albeit rather minor.
Don't put the seals of Chthonic and Infernal spirits under water.
Lesson learned.
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