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.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
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.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Tarot Essay: The Ace of Wands
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.
Ace of Wands, first card of the suit of Wands, is a card with some very potent symbolism. Generally Wands represent creativity, energy, life force and sexuality and is almost always represented as a stick or branch. The traditional elemental attribution is to Fire. There are a couple of contexts in which these attributions make sense.
One of these contexts is Prometheus's fennel stalk. Prometheus stole the spark of fire from Olympus by hiding it in a fennel stalk to transport it to humanity. In my view this is the first image of the Ace of Wands, the hollow stick holding the spark of divine fire within it. The divine fire is creativity itself from which springs innovation and all culture. The fire is a spiritual fire and not a physical fire but the two do share some qualities. Its movement is upward, rising. Elemental fire is the lightest and most subtle of the four and lifts like hot air above the others. Spiritual fire also energizes and incites movement.
The Wand with the Spiritual fire inside also symbolizes all life. The Spiritual fire becomes the energy of life within living things, pushing out in all directions not only as spiritual emanation but also as metabolism and growth of the physical body. This is the image of the sprouting or fruiting branch. The sprouting branch as Ace of Wands also aptly symbolizes the creative nature of this card as it is continually creating leaves and fruit. In this respect the Wand is similar to the Shiva Lingam, a phallic symbol from which all forms are created.
Through history wands and staffs have been symbols of authority. In this context the Ace of Wands is God bestowing the wand of divine authority. This is Moses's staff, the magician's wand, and the scepter of a king.
The Ace of Wands is generally a very positive card but it does have attributes on the liability end of the spectrum of its meanings. Numerically this card is a 1, the very beginning, and can represent energy that is wild, amorphous, and perhaps unattainable. If you needed energy for a specific purpose this could indicate seeing it exists all around but not necessarily in the form you need. Like feeling a room full of people alive with nervous or excited energy but actually wanting an outlet with electrical energy.
The Ace of Wands
Ace of Wands, first card of the suit of Wands, is a card with some very potent symbolism. Generally Wands represent creativity, energy, life force and sexuality and is almost always represented as a stick or branch. The traditional elemental attribution is to Fire. There are a couple of contexts in which these attributions make sense.
One of these contexts is Prometheus's fennel stalk. Prometheus stole the spark of fire from Olympus by hiding it in a fennel stalk to transport it to humanity. In my view this is the first image of the Ace of Wands, the hollow stick holding the spark of divine fire within it. The divine fire is creativity itself from which springs innovation and all culture. The fire is a spiritual fire and not a physical fire but the two do share some qualities. Its movement is upward, rising. Elemental fire is the lightest and most subtle of the four and lifts like hot air above the others. Spiritual fire also energizes and incites movement.
The Wand with the Spiritual fire inside also symbolizes all life. The Spiritual fire becomes the energy of life within living things, pushing out in all directions not only as spiritual emanation but also as metabolism and growth of the physical body. This is the image of the sprouting or fruiting branch. The sprouting branch as Ace of Wands also aptly symbolizes the creative nature of this card as it is continually creating leaves and fruit. In this respect the Wand is similar to the Shiva Lingam, a phallic symbol from which all forms are created.
Through history wands and staffs have been symbols of authority. In this context the Ace of Wands is God bestowing the wand of divine authority. This is Moses's staff, the magician's wand, and the scepter of a king.
The Ace of Wands is generally a very positive card but it does have attributes on the liability end of the spectrum of its meanings. Numerically this card is a 1, the very beginning, and can represent energy that is wild, amorphous, and perhaps unattainable. If you needed energy for a specific purpose this could indicate seeing it exists all around but not necessarily in the form you need. Like feeling a room full of people alive with nervous or excited energy but actually wanting an outlet with electrical energy.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
On The First Character
This morning, during the hour of Mars, at dawn, I performed the rite of the First Character from the Grimorium Verum. This is a big step forward on this path and is a step that indicates true commitment to the practice.
One could argue that I have done things way out of order. One way to interpret the instructions is that one is supposed to have this little talisman made and in place before starting any of the work of gathering tools or any of it. I, however, interpreted the instructions to mean that the First Character was part of the operations involving the parchment and so must be carried out after all the tools had been gathered. But in studying the material to prepare the talisman I noted that there is no instruction in terms of astrological timing other than the day and hour. In other words there was nothing about Moon phase or any of the zodiacal signs. Nor do the instructions actually call for the use of consecrated parchment.
This morning's operation was a bit of a compromise. The tools are not yet all finished but I have the tools to bless and asperge everything and draw out the characters. Often in cases like this I trust that I am guided by my intuition and that things are proceeding as they are supposed to.
And now the talisman is in a pocket of a tee shirt under my shirt and tie as I write this. I had a difficult time finding pocket tee shirts in plain white for under $10 each. But I eventually did and now I wear it inside out so that the pocket is on the right hand side.
And yes, that is not red ink on the talisman. I used diabetic lancets to let the blood with which I drew the character. I stabbed my pinky finger probably 7 or 8 times to get enough blood for drawings on both sides.
And so the initiation has begun. By this the practice deepens.
I find the use of blood curious in this operation. Such a powerful symbol encompassing Life, Death, Energy, Identity, Health, Family, and a whole host of other concepts. I must say that now that the operation is finished I think the gravity of this act is only just now slowly dawning on me. At the time I thought little of it and had more reaction to the anticipation of pain in lancing my finger than I did to laying my essence on the paper. In this context does the blood work as an offering? Or is its purpose more for unambiguous identity? This First Character is mine and I have signed up in the most bonding way possible, signed in my own blood. Perhaps both.
As I write this it is now six hours since I did the rite. I've been trying to stay very observant of my environment and any internal changes. So far the day seems to be moving in a more or less normal pattern for me.
We shall see what the challenges of this initiation will be.
 |
| Recto side of my First Character. |
One could argue that I have done things way out of order. One way to interpret the instructions is that one is supposed to have this little talisman made and in place before starting any of the work of gathering tools or any of it. I, however, interpreted the instructions to mean that the First Character was part of the operations involving the parchment and so must be carried out after all the tools had been gathered. But in studying the material to prepare the talisman I noted that there is no instruction in terms of astrological timing other than the day and hour. In other words there was nothing about Moon phase or any of the zodiacal signs. Nor do the instructions actually call for the use of consecrated parchment.
This morning's operation was a bit of a compromise. The tools are not yet all finished but I have the tools to bless and asperge everything and draw out the characters. Often in cases like this I trust that I am guided by my intuition and that things are proceeding as they are supposed to.
And now the talisman is in a pocket of a tee shirt under my shirt and tie as I write this. I had a difficult time finding pocket tee shirts in plain white for under $10 each. But I eventually did and now I wear it inside out so that the pocket is on the right hand side.
And yes, that is not red ink on the talisman. I used diabetic lancets to let the blood with which I drew the character. I stabbed my pinky finger probably 7 or 8 times to get enough blood for drawings on both sides.
 |
| Astaroth sigil on the verso side of my First Character. |
And so the initiation has begun. By this the practice deepens.
I find the use of blood curious in this operation. Such a powerful symbol encompassing Life, Death, Energy, Identity, Health, Family, and a whole host of other concepts. I must say that now that the operation is finished I think the gravity of this act is only just now slowly dawning on me. At the time I thought little of it and had more reaction to the anticipation of pain in lancing my finger than I did to laying my essence on the paper. In this context does the blood work as an offering? Or is its purpose more for unambiguous identity? This First Character is mine and I have signed up in the most bonding way possible, signed in my own blood. Perhaps both.
As I write this it is now six hours since I did the rite. I've been trying to stay very observant of my environment and any internal changes. So far the day seems to be moving in a more or less normal pattern for me.
We shall see what the challenges of this initiation will be.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
The Frustration
Indulge me for a moment, dear reader, as I express some frustration.
One thing left.
The Jupiter knife. That is the last piece in this stage. Once I have that I will have all the basic items prescribed by the True Grimoire to begin the work in earnest. Or at least to move on to the parchment steps. While not every thing I have gathered so far has been properly consecrated it has none the less been procured.
Except for this knife.
For several months now something has been coming up during the one hour on a Thursday each month when the window opens. Especially with work. Is there a correlation there? What is the lesson I am supposed to be learning by this delay?
In reading the Grimorium Verum Yahoo Group archives about the knives it seems that this knife was the first tool for some to procure. It makes sense in that it is mentioned first in the book and requires no spirit sigils in its consecration. But of course I'm doing things ass backward.
The quest continues.
Thank you for my childish rant. I feel better now.
One thing left.
The Jupiter knife. That is the last piece in this stage. Once I have that I will have all the basic items prescribed by the True Grimoire to begin the work in earnest. Or at least to move on to the parchment steps. While not every thing I have gathered so far has been properly consecrated it has none the less been procured.
Except for this knife.
For several months now something has been coming up during the one hour on a Thursday each month when the window opens. Especially with work. Is there a correlation there? What is the lesson I am supposed to be learning by this delay?
In reading the Grimorium Verum Yahoo Group archives about the knives it seems that this knife was the first tool for some to procure. It makes sense in that it is mentioned first in the book and requires no spirit sigils in its consecration. But of course I'm doing things ass backward.
The quest continues.
Thank you for my childish rant. I feel better now.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Further Meditations on Surgat
In the course of working with Surgat I have been receiving more information on his nature and ways to work with him.
Thinking of Surgat in shamanic terms he is the "Opener of the Ways". In this way he has connections to Charon the Ferryman. He helps the magician to transverse barriers and penetrate membranes but he is not a spirit of transportation. He is stationary in the sense that he remains at the gateway; Charon never leaves the river.
Surgat's symbol is the open archway, or better yet, an arcade of open archways. The post and lintel and the vaulted arch both work but the vaulted arch is better. The open arches also reinforce my thinking of Surgat as an airy spirit as they carry connotations of ventilation and the movement of air. I also saw what at first appeared to be a starburst but which resolved into a vision of an infinite number of paths extending into a vanishing point. Doors were open before me as far as I could see and the straight paths extending forever forward until they all met at a point on the horizon.
Then I was reminded of a time in my youth in which I had violated a person's trust and gone snooping where I wasn't welcome. I was told that not all locks are meant to be opened. Whoever places a lock, be it literal or metaphoric, put it in place for a reason. I was told of the potential violating nature of breaking a lock. It was characterized as a kind of rape. I received another warning on the opening of gateways which was to remember that when doors are open they are open both ways. Opening a door for yourself could open it for others as well.
Thinking of Surgat in shamanic terms he is the "Opener of the Ways". In this way he has connections to Charon the Ferryman. He helps the magician to transverse barriers and penetrate membranes but he is not a spirit of transportation. He is stationary in the sense that he remains at the gateway; Charon never leaves the river.
Surgat's symbol is the open archway, or better yet, an arcade of open archways. The post and lintel and the vaulted arch both work but the vaulted arch is better. The open arches also reinforce my thinking of Surgat as an airy spirit as they carry connotations of ventilation and the movement of air. I also saw what at first appeared to be a starburst but which resolved into a vision of an infinite number of paths extending into a vanishing point. Doors were open before me as far as I could see and the straight paths extending forever forward until they all met at a point on the horizon.
Then I was reminded of a time in my youth in which I had violated a person's trust and gone snooping where I wasn't welcome. I was told that not all locks are meant to be opened. Whoever places a lock, be it literal or metaphoric, put it in place for a reason. I was told of the potential violating nature of breaking a lock. It was characterized as a kind of rape. I received another warning on the opening of gateways which was to remember that when doors are open they are open both ways. Opening a door for yourself could open it for others as well.
 |
| Gate surmounted by the eagle, another symbol of Surgat |
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
The Astrachios Prayer
In Jake Stratton-Kent's True Grimoire he gives his reconstruction of the Prayer For Success.
Jake Stratton-Kent goes into some detailas to the potential derivations of each of the names in his Testament of Cyprian vol. 2 and I won't go into that here. What I want to present here is just another bit of UPG.
UPG? Unverified Personal Gnosis. In other words, information from spirits or divination that may or may not be true in an objective way. Which is funny to say about any thing in the occult. Ultimately it's all subjective so one works with the information one discovers as they may.
At any rate, I digress.
I asked my tarot cards "what is the relationship between Scirlin and the spirits of the Astrachios prayer?". Without going into the specific cards I drew, I interpreted the reading as Scirlin influences the internal world of the magician, the Verum spirits influence the external world of the magician. This is the pattern I've been using. When I want the world to be rearranged to my advantage it is Astrachios et. al. I call upon. When I need to figure out a problem or need instruction it is Scirlin I call.
So far I have had success using this model. I have had requests fulfilled by making requests of the spirits of the Astrachios prayer.
This is another route of study in this practice. I'll be posting more thoughts as I progress.
Astrachios, Asac, Acra Bedrimuliel, Silat, Arabonas, Irehalem, Ideodoc, Archarzel, Blautel, Baracata, Adonai, Elohim, Emagro, Abragateh, Samoel, Geburahel, Cadato, Era, Elohi, Achsah, Ebmisha, Imachadel, Daniel, Dama, Elamos, Izachel, Bael, Scirlin; Genium Domos.In the grimoire this prayer is listed as one to recite several times a day as one fasts and prepares for the evocations. I have found it is a powerful prayer to recite as a daily practice. I have been viewing this prayer as a list of 28 names of spirits who can help guide me as I learn this magic.
Jake Stratton-Kent goes into some detailas to the potential derivations of each of the names in his Testament of Cyprian vol. 2 and I won't go into that here. What I want to present here is just another bit of UPG.
UPG? Unverified Personal Gnosis. In other words, information from spirits or divination that may or may not be true in an objective way. Which is funny to say about any thing in the occult. Ultimately it's all subjective so one works with the information one discovers as they may.
At any rate, I digress.
I asked my tarot cards "what is the relationship between Scirlin and the spirits of the Astrachios prayer?". Without going into the specific cards I drew, I interpreted the reading as Scirlin influences the internal world of the magician, the Verum spirits influence the external world of the magician. This is the pattern I've been using. When I want the world to be rearranged to my advantage it is Astrachios et. al. I call upon. When I need to figure out a problem or need instruction it is Scirlin I call.
So far I have had success using this model. I have had requests fulfilled by making requests of the spirits of the Astrachios prayer.
This is another route of study in this practice. I'll be posting more thoughts as I progress.
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